kylie bodle
Aerobic Granular Sludge: a Novel Approach to Pharmaceutical Removal from Wastewater
Pharmaceutical compounds are increasingly detected in environmental matrices around the globe. The presence of these compounds can be traced, in large part, to their release from wastewater treatment plants and septic systems. Both systems are not designed to treat non-biodegradable compounds such as pharmaceuticals—therefore, after human excretion, pharmaceuticals travel to treatment facilities, undergo minimal removal, and eventually are released to the environment. Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) is an emerging biotechnology that may be capable of removing pharmaceuticals while simultaneously treating wastewater. AGS consists of diverse communities of wastewater-treating bacteria aggregated into dense, spherical biofilms several millimeters in diameter. This research is investigating the extent to which AGS can perform conventional wastewater treatment while removing pharmaceuticals commonly found across the Montana landscape. The effects of select pharmaceuticals on bacterial communities and extracellular polymeric substances within AGS are also assessed, as this information is critical for both understanding and improving this promising biotechnology.
Kylie Bodle is a PhD student at Montana State University studying environmental engineering. She is interested in the many ways that biofilms can be used to treat emerging contaminants and protect water sources.