iBB

The use of engineered nanoparticles (NPs) in the textile and other industrial sectors has been rapidly increasing and their occurrence in wastewater is expected to rise accordingly. However, the fate of NPs during biological wastewater treatment is largely unknown. A recent study led by Nídia Lourenço from BERG-iBB highlighted the potential application of nuclear microscopy to characterize the interaction of silver-NPs (AgNPs) with biological wastewater treatment systems based on aerobic granular sludge (AGS). Elemental maps of AGS samples revealed that the AgNPs were preferentially associated to extracellular polymeric substances, which represents an important step forward regarding their effective removal from textile wastewater.