Low Temperature Biological Treatment of Chemical Oxygen Demand for Agricultural Water Reuse Application Using Robust Biocatalysts
The agriculture industry is especially vulnerable to forecasted water shortages. In the fresh and fresh-cut produce sector, conventional flume-based washing with recirculation exhibits high water demand. This leads to a large water footprint and possible cross-contamination of pathogens. These can be alleviated through advanced water reuse processes, such as membrane technologies including reverse osmosis (RO). Water reuse technologies effectively remove dissolved constituents but can easily foul without pre-treatment. Biological treatment is effective for the removal of organic compounds responsible for fouling, but not at the low temperatures encountered at most produce processing facilities. This study showed that the Microvi MicroNiche Engineering (MNE) technology effectively removes organic compounds (> 80%) at low temperatures (6-8 °C) from wash water. The MNE technology uses synthetic microorganism-material composites with negligible solids production, making it advantageously situated as an effective bio-pretreatment for RO. A preliminary technoeconomic analysis showed 60-80% savings in operation and maintenance costs (OPEX) when using the Microvi MNE technology for organics removal. This study and the accompanying economic analysis indicated that the proposed technology process will substantially reduce the cost barrier for adopting water reuse practices, thereby contributing to increased food safety and furthering sustainable water reuse processes across the agricultural industry.
[1] Voosen, P. (2020). The hunger forecast. Science (New York, N.Y.), 368(6488), 226–229.
[2] Mosley, L. M. (2015). Drought impacts on the water quality of freshwater systems; review and integration. Earth-Science Reviews, 140, 203–214.
[3] Mullin, M. (2020). The effects of drinking water service fragmentation on drought-related water security. Science, 368(6488), 274–277.
[4] Freshwater: Supply Concerns Continue, and Uncertainties Complicate Planning (Report to Congressional Requesters GAO-14-430). (2014). United States Goverment Accountability Office.
[5] US EPA, O. (2019, September 6). Draft National Water Reuse Action Plan (Reports and Assessments). US EPA.
[6] Rockström, J., Falkenmark, M., Karlberg, L., Hoff, H., Rost, S., & Gerten, D. (2009). Future water availability for global food production: The potential of green water for increasing resilience to global change. Water Resources Research, 45(7).
[7] Rost, S., Gerten, D., Bondeau, A., Lucht, W., Rohwer, J., & Schaphoff, S. (2008). Agricultural green and blue water consumption and its influence on the global water system. Water Resources Research, 44(9).
[8] Casani, S., Rouhany, M., & Knøchel, S. (2005). A discussion paper on challenges and limitations to water reuse and hygiene in the food industry. Water Research, 39(6), 1134–1146.
[9] Manzocco, L., Ignat, A., Anese, M., Bot, F., Calligaris, S., Valoppi, F., & Nicoli, M. C. (2015). Efficient management of the water resource in the fresh-cut industry: Current status and perspectives. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 2 Part B (46), 286–294.
[10] Pérez-Rodríguez, F., Skandamis, P., & Valdramidis, V. (2018). Quantitative Methods for Food Safety and Quality in the Vegetable Industry. In F. Pérez-Rodríguez, P. Skandamis, & V. Valdramidis (Eds.), Quantitative Methods for Food Safety and Quality in the Vegetable Industry (pp. 1–9). Springer International Publishing.
[11] Yildiz, F., & Wiley, R. C. (Eds.). (2017). Minimally Processed Refrigerated Fruits and Vegetables (2nd ed.). Springer US.
[12] Lehto, M., Sipilä, I., Alakukku, L., & Kymäläinen, H.-R. (2014). Water consumption and wastewaters in fresh-cut vegetable production. Agricultural and Food Science, 23(4), 246–256.
[13] Alsaffar, A. A. (2016). Sustainable diets: The interaction between food industry, nutrition, health, and the environment. Food Science and Technology International = Ciencia Y Tecnologia De Los Alimentos Internacional, 22(2), 102–111.
[14] Gross, A., Azulai, N., Oron, G., Ronen, Z., Arnold, M., & Nejidat, A. (2005). Environmental impact and health risks associated with greywater irrigation: A case study. Water Science and Technology, 52(8), 161–169.
[15] Holvoet, K., Jacxsens, L., Sampers, I., & Uyttendaele, M. (2012). Insight into the prevalence and distribution of microbial contamination to evaluate water management in the fresh produce processing industry. Journal of Food Protection, 75(4), 671–681.
[16] O’Connor, G. A., Elliott, H. A., & Bastian, R. K. (2008). Degraded water reuse: An overview. Journal of Environmental Quality, 37(5 Suppl), S157-168.
[17] Wiel-Shafran, A., Ronen, Z., Weisbrod, N., Adar, E., & Gross, A. (2006). Potential changes in soil properties following irrigation with surfactant-rich greywater. Ecological Engineering, 26, 348–354.
[18] Pecson, B. M., Triolo, S. C., Olivieri, S., Chen, E. C., Pisarenko, A. N., Yang, C.-C., Olivieri, A., Haas, C. N., Trussell, R. S., & Trussell, R. R. (2017). Reliability of pathogen control in direct potable reuse: Performance evaluation and QMRA of a full-scale 1 MGD advanced treatment train. Water Research, 122, 258–268.
[19] Mead, P. S., Slutsker, L., Dietz, V., McCaig, L. F., Bresee, J. S., Shapiro, C., Griffin, P. M., & Tauxe, R. V. (1999). Food-related illness and death in the United States. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 5(5), 607–625.
[20] Report of the forty-eighth session of the codex committee on food hygiene. (2016). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
[21] Thuan, V. (2016). Strengthening Public Health Surveillance and Response to Foodborne Outbreaks in Southern Vietnam.
[22] Mi, B., Eaton, C. L., Kim, J.-H., Colvin, C. K., Lozier, J. C., & Mariñas, B. J. (2004). Removal of biological and non-biological viral surrogates by spiral-wound reverse osmosis membrane elements with intact and compromised integrity. Water Research, 38(18), 3821–3832.
[23] Luo, Y., Zhou, B., Van Haute, S., Nou, X., Zhang, B., Teng, Z., Turner, E. R., Wang, Q., & Millner, P. D. (2018). Association between bacterial survival and free chlorine concentration during commercial fresh-cut produce wash operation. Food Microbiology, 70, 120–128.
[24] Gil, M. I., Selma, M. V., López-Gálvez, F., & Allende, A. (2009). Fresh-cut product sanitation and wash water disinfection: Problems and solutions. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 134(1–2), 37–45.
[25] Murray, K., Wu, F., Shi, J., Jun Xue, S., & Warriner, K. (2017). Challenges in the microbiological food safety of fresh produce: Limitations of post-harvest washing and the need for alternative interventions. Food Quality and Safety, 1(4), 289–301.
[26] Weng, S.-C., Jacangelo, J. G., & Schwab, K. J. (2019). Sustainable practice for the food industry: Assessment of selected treatment options for reclamation of washwater from vegetable processing. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 16(3), 1369–1378.
[27] Yang, H.-L., Lin, J. C.-T., & Huang, C. (2009). Application of nanosilver surface modification to RO membrane and spacer for mitigating biofouling in seawater desalination. Water Research, 43(15), 3777–3786.
[28] Anis, S. F., Hashaikeh, R., & Hilal, N. (2019). Reverse osmosis pretreatment technologies and future trends: A comprehensive review. Desalination, 452, 159–195.
[29] Banach, J. L., Sampers, I., Van Haute, S., & van der Fels-Klerx, H. J. (Ine). (2015). Effect of Disinfectants on Preventing the Cross-Contamination of Pathogens in Fresh Produce Washing Water. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(8), 8658–8677.
[30] Teng, Z., Haute, S. van, Zhou, B., Hapeman, C. J., Millner, P. D., Wang, Q., & Luo, Y. (2018). Impacts and interactions of organic compounds with chlorine sanitizer in recirculated and reused produce processing water. PLOS ONE, 13(12), e0208945.
[31] Gupta, V., & Goel, R. (2019). Managing dissolved methane gas in anaerobic effluents using microbial resource management-based strategies. Bioresource technology, 289, 121601.
[32] Gupta, V., Hlavacek, N., Razavi, A., & Shirazi, F. Simultaneous Aerobic Co-metabolism of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons using Novel Biocatalysts. Water Environment Federation, 2020.
[33] Razavi, A., & Shirazi, F. (2017). Microvi: MicroNiche Engineering™ for Biocatalysis in the Water and Chemical Industries. In Biocatalysis (pp. 431-458)
[34] Ardley, S., Arnold, P., Younker, J., & Rand, J. (2019). Wastewater characterization and treatment at a blueberry and carrot processing plant. Water Resources and Industry, 21, 100107.
[35] Why, G. A. O. "Supply Concerns Continue, and Uncertainties Complicate Planning." (2014).
[1] Voosen, P. (2020). The hunger forecast. Science (New York, N.Y.), 368(6488), 226–229.
[2] Mosley, L. M. (2015). Drought impacts on the water quality of freshwater systems; review and integration. Earth-Science Reviews, 140, 203–214.
[3] Mullin, M. (2020). The effects of drinking water service fragmentation on drought-related water security. Science, 368(6488), 274–277.
[4] Freshwater: Supply Concerns Continue, and Uncertainties Complicate Planning (Report to Congressional Requesters GAO-14-430). (2014). United States Goverment Accountability Office.
[5] US EPA, O. (2019, September 6). Draft National Water Reuse Action Plan (Reports and Assessments). US EPA.
[6] Rockström, J., Falkenmark, M., Karlberg, L., Hoff, H., Rost, S., & Gerten, D. (2009). Future water availability for global food production: The potential of green water for increasing resilience to global change. Water Resources Research, 45(7).
[7] Rost, S., Gerten, D., Bondeau, A., Lucht, W., Rohwer, J., & Schaphoff, S. (2008). Agricultural green and blue water consumption and its influence on the global water system. Water Resources Research, 44(9).
[8] Casani, S., Rouhany, M., & Knøchel, S. (2005). A discussion paper on challenges and limitations to water reuse and hygiene in the food industry. Water Research, 39(6), 1134–1146.
[9] Manzocco, L., Ignat, A., Anese, M., Bot, F., Calligaris, S., Valoppi, F., & Nicoli, M. C. (2015). Efficient management of the water resource in the fresh-cut industry: Current status and perspectives. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 2 Part B (46), 286–294.
[10] Pérez-Rodríguez, F., Skandamis, P., & Valdramidis, V. (2018). Quantitative Methods for Food Safety and Quality in the Vegetable Industry. In F. Pérez-Rodríguez, P. Skandamis, & V. Valdramidis (Eds.), Quantitative Methods for Food Safety and Quality in the Vegetable Industry (pp. 1–9). Springer International Publishing.
[11] Yildiz, F., & Wiley, R. C. (Eds.). (2017). Minimally Processed Refrigerated Fruits and Vegetables (2nd ed.). Springer US.
[12] Lehto, M., Sipilä, I., Alakukku, L., & Kymäläinen, H.-R. (2014). Water consumption and wastewaters in fresh-cut vegetable production. Agricultural and Food Science, 23(4), 246–256.
[13] Alsaffar, A. A. (2016). Sustainable diets: The interaction between food industry, nutrition, health, and the environment. Food Science and Technology International = Ciencia Y Tecnologia De Los Alimentos Internacional, 22(2), 102–111.
[14] Gross, A., Azulai, N., Oron, G., Ronen, Z., Arnold, M., & Nejidat, A. (2005). Environmental impact and health risks associated with greywater irrigation: A case study. Water Science and Technology, 52(8), 161–169.
[15] Holvoet, K., Jacxsens, L., Sampers, I., & Uyttendaele, M. (2012). Insight into the prevalence and distribution of microbial contamination to evaluate water management in the fresh produce processing industry. Journal of Food Protection, 75(4), 671–681.
[16] O’Connor, G. A., Elliott, H. A., & Bastian, R. K. (2008). Degraded water reuse: An overview. Journal of Environmental Quality, 37(5 Suppl), S157-168.
[17] Wiel-Shafran, A., Ronen, Z., Weisbrod, N., Adar, E., & Gross, A. (2006). Potential changes in soil properties following irrigation with surfactant-rich greywater. Ecological Engineering, 26, 348–354.
[18] Pecson, B. M., Triolo, S. C., Olivieri, S., Chen, E. C., Pisarenko, A. N., Yang, C.-C., Olivieri, A., Haas, C. N., Trussell, R. S., & Trussell, R. R. (2017). Reliability of pathogen control in direct potable reuse: Performance evaluation and QMRA of a full-scale 1 MGD advanced treatment train. Water Research, 122, 258–268.
[19] Mead, P. S., Slutsker, L., Dietz, V., McCaig, L. F., Bresee, J. S., Shapiro, C., Griffin, P. M., & Tauxe, R. V. (1999). Food-related illness and death in the United States. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 5(5), 607–625.
[20] Report of the forty-eighth session of the codex committee on food hygiene. (2016). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
[21] Thuan, V. (2016). Strengthening Public Health Surveillance and Response to Foodborne Outbreaks in Southern Vietnam.
[22] Mi, B., Eaton, C. L., Kim, J.-H., Colvin, C. K., Lozier, J. C., & Mariñas, B. J. (2004). Removal of biological and non-biological viral surrogates by spiral-wound reverse osmosis membrane elements with intact and compromised integrity. Water Research, 38(18), 3821–3832.
[23] Luo, Y., Zhou, B., Van Haute, S., Nou, X., Zhang, B., Teng, Z., Turner, E. R., Wang, Q., & Millner, P. D. (2018). Association between bacterial survival and free chlorine concentration during commercial fresh-cut produce wash operation. Food Microbiology, 70, 120–128.
[24] Gil, M. I., Selma, M. V., López-Gálvez, F., & Allende, A. (2009). Fresh-cut product sanitation and wash water disinfection: Problems and solutions. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 134(1–2), 37–45.
[25] Murray, K., Wu, F., Shi, J., Jun Xue, S., & Warriner, K. (2017). Challenges in the microbiological food safety of fresh produce: Limitations of post-harvest washing and the need for alternative interventions. Food Quality and Safety, 1(4), 289–301.
[26] Weng, S.-C., Jacangelo, J. G., & Schwab, K. J. (2019). Sustainable practice for the food industry: Assessment of selected treatment options for reclamation of washwater from vegetable processing. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 16(3), 1369–1378.
[27] Yang, H.-L., Lin, J. C.-T., & Huang, C. (2009). Application of nanosilver surface modification to RO membrane and spacer for mitigating biofouling in seawater desalination. Water Research, 43(15), 3777–3786.
[28] Anis, S. F., Hashaikeh, R., & Hilal, N. (2019). Reverse osmosis pretreatment technologies and future trends: A comprehensive review. Desalination, 452, 159–195.
[29] Banach, J. L., Sampers, I., Van Haute, S., & van der Fels-Klerx, H. J. (Ine). (2015). Effect of Disinfectants on Preventing the Cross-Contamination of Pathogens in Fresh Produce Washing Water. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(8), 8658–8677.
[30] Teng, Z., Haute, S. van, Zhou, B., Hapeman, C. J., Millner, P. D., Wang, Q., & Luo, Y. (2018). Impacts and interactions of organic compounds with chlorine sanitizer in recirculated and reused produce processing water. PLOS ONE, 13(12), e0208945.
[31] Gupta, V., & Goel, R. (2019). Managing dissolved methane gas in anaerobic effluents using microbial resource management-based strategies. Bioresource technology, 289, 121601.
[32] Gupta, V., Hlavacek, N., Razavi, A., & Shirazi, F. Simultaneous Aerobic Co-metabolism of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons using Novel Biocatalysts. Water Environment Federation, 2020.
[33] Razavi, A., & Shirazi, F. (2017). Microvi: MicroNiche Engineering™ for Biocatalysis in the Water and Chemical Industries. In Biocatalysis (pp. 431-458)
[34] Ardley, S., Arnold, P., Younker, J., & Rand, J. (2019). Wastewater characterization and treatment at a blueberry and carrot processing plant. Water Resources and Industry, 21, 100107.
[35] Why, G. A. O. "Supply Concerns Continue, and Uncertainties Complicate Planning." (2014).
@article{"International Journal of Biological, Life and Agricultural Sciences:80285", author = "Vedansh Gupta and Allyson Lutz and Ameen Razavi and Fatemeh Shirazi", title = "Low Temperature Biological Treatment of Chemical Oxygen Demand for Agricultural Water Reuse Application Using Robust Biocatalysts", abstract = "The agriculture industry is especially vulnerable to forecasted water shortages. In the fresh and fresh-cut produce sector, conventional flume-based washing with recirculation exhibits high water demand. This leads to a large water footprint and possible cross-contamination of pathogens. These can be alleviated through advanced water reuse processes, such as membrane technologies including reverse osmosis (RO). Water reuse technologies effectively remove dissolved constituents but can easily foul without pre-treatment. Biological treatment is effective for the removal of organic compounds responsible for fouling, but not at the low temperatures encountered at most produce processing facilities. This study showed that the Microvi MicroNiche Engineering (MNE) technology effectively removes organic compounds (> 80%) at low temperatures (6-8 °C) from wash water. The MNE technology uses synthetic microorganism-material composites with negligible solids production, making it advantageously situated as an effective bio-pretreatment for RO. A preliminary technoeconomic analysis showed 60-80% savings in operation and maintenance costs (OPEX) when using the Microvi MNE technology for organics removal. This study and the accompanying economic analysis indicated that the proposed technology process will substantially reduce the cost barrier for adopting water reuse practices, thereby contributing to increased food safety and furthering sustainable water reuse processes across the agricultural industry.
", keywords = "Biological pre-treatment, innovative technology, vegetable processing, water reuse, agriculture, reverse osmosis, MNE biocatalysts.", volume = "15", number = "5", pages = "38-6", }
