E c o M i c r o . i t

DEVELOPMENT OF THE WASTEWATER REHABILITATION SYSTEMS AND EVALUATION OF THE CHEMICAL/BIOLOGICAL CONTAMINANT ABATEMENT

The rehabilitation of washing machine wastewater is based on the complementary metabolic activities of the microbial partners of the consortium: the cyanobacteria provide oxygen to the catalytic activities of the heterotrophic bacteria through photosynthesis, while the heterotrophic partners consume the organic matter, mineralising the nutrients. The combined activity of the different microorganisms allows the recovery of nutrients (for example N and P) which the microorganisms use and accumulate in the biomass, rehabilitating the wastewater that can be used in the cultivation of edible or ornamental plants. Furthermore, the biomass of the microbial consortia can also be used as a biofertilizer, increasing the sustainability of the system.

In this framework, once defined the composition of the microbial consortium, its functionality and efficiency over time will be evaluated, by carrying out survival and growth tests of the consortium in the wastewater. Both the concentration of in vivo chlorophyll a (OD λ = 665 nm), proxy of the cyanobacterium growth, and the turbidity of the culture (OD λ = 730 nm), proxy of the growth of the entire microbial community will be evaluated. The increase in biomass will also be measured, together with the composition and structure of the consortium via DNA Metabarcoding (in Next Generation Sequencing). Furthermore, these analyses will be performed in parallel with other tests, evaluating the consortium's ability to reduce the concentration of nutrients present in the wastewater (total nitrogen and phosphorus) and of detergents (surfactants, enzymes, etc.) used in the washing process. For these tests, specific dedicated methods will be applied, using colorimetric methods, but also HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) and GC (gas chromatography) procedures.

 

	IL GRUPPO DI RICERCA
Luciana Migliore
	Associate Professor of Ecology and Ecotoxicology at the Tor Vergata Rome University, Department of Biology. Her scientific activity focuses on both fundamental and applied ecology, by using biotechnological techniques and approaches for both the rehabilitation of contaminated matrices and for the study of biodeterioration processes. In the project she deals with both the processes for the rehabilitation of the wastewater and the management part, being the PI of the project.
Roberto Braglia
Coordinator of the Botanical Garden of the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, he carries out teaching and research activities in Botany, including phytoremediation of wastewater with macrophytes. In the Zero Mile© system project, he developed the evaluation of the reuse of treated waste water from dishwashers. In this project he deals with the evaluation of the effectiveness and healthiness of the reuse of treated and untreated washing machine wastewater.
Annamaria Alabiso
	Research fellow of the project. PhD in Biology and Evolutionary Ecology from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, she defendeda thesis focused on the development and implementation of the biofilter for the Zero Mile© system, an ad hoc engineered microbial consortium for the recycling of dishwasher wastewater.