Publications

Journal Articles

Check out our group’s most recent publications by ORCID and Northwestern Scholars

  1. Straka, L. L., Farmer, M. M., Impastato, C. J., Kadich, J. F., Wells, G. F., and Kozak, J.A. (2024) “Improving enhanced biological phosphorus removal with RAS fermentation (S2EBPR) and carbon addition in a benchtop sequencing batch reactor treating real wastewater.” In Press, ACS ES&T Water. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00396
  2. Tayler, S., Jaliff, L., Wells, G. F., and Josephson, C. (2024) “Is it time to start moving soil microbial fuel cell research out of the lab and into the field?” Science of the Total Environment 949: 175229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175229
  3. Wu, S., Wells, G. F., and Gray, K. A. (2024) “Engineered nanomaterials exert sublethal bacterial stress at very low doses: Effects of concentration, light, and media on cell membrane permiability.” Science of the Total Environment 948: 174861. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174861
  4. Bachmann, M., Parsons, M., Klaus, S., Kurt, H., Chandran, K., Stockard, D., Wells, G. F., De Clippeleir, H., and Bott, C. (2024) “Comparing Methanol and glycerol as carbon sources for mainstream partial denitrification/ anammox.” Water Environment Research 96(4): e11017. https://doi.org/10.1002/wer.11017
  5. Dieppa, E., Schmitz, H., Wang, Z., Sabba, F., Wells, G. F., and Balogun, O. (2024) “Quantifying elastic properties of environmental biofilms using optical coherence elastography.” Journal of Visualized Experiments 205: e66118. DOI: 3791/66118
  6. Yen, B., Jaliff, L., Gutierrez, L., Sahinidis, P., Bernstein, S., Madden, J., Taylor, S., Jospehson, C., Pannuto, P., Shuai, W., Wells, G. F., Arora, N., and Hester, J. (2024) “Soil-Powered Computing: The Engineer’s Guide to Practical Soil Microbial Fuel Cell Design.” Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable, and Ubiquitous Technologies 7(4): 1-40. https://doi.org/10.1145/3631410
  7. Farmer, M., Rajasabhai, R., Tarpeh, W., Tyo, K. E., and Wells, G. F. (2023) “Meta-omic profiling reveals ubiquity of genes encoding for the nitrogen-rich biopolymer cyanophycin in activated sludge microbiomes.” Frontiers in Microbiology 14 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1287491
  8. Yuan, Q., Jia, Z., Roots, P., Sabbba, F., and Wells, G. F. (2023) “Functional Guild Dynamics in a single-sludge shortcut nitrogen and phosphorus removal reactor: a modeling study.” Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology 9(12):3344-3354. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ew00562c
  9. Farmer, M. Sabba, F., Jia, Z., Dunlap, P., Barnard, J., Dongqi Qin, C., Straka, S., Kozak, J. A., Downing, L., and Wells, G. F.  (2023) “Confronting Assumptions of Phosphorus-Accumulating Organisms and Glycogen-Accumulating Organisms: Peaceful Coexistence in a Carbon-Limited Sidestream EBPR Demonstration.” ACS ES&T Water 3(8): 2384-2394. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.3c00083
  10. Cao, S., Koch, K., Duan, H., Wells, G. F., Le, Y., Zhao, Y. and Du, R. (2023) “In a quest for high-efficiency mainstream partial nitritation-anammox (PN/A) implementation: One-stage or two-stage?” Science of the Total Environment 883: 163540. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163540
  11. Klaus, S., Campolong, C., Rosenthal, A., Sabba, F. Baideme, M. Wells, G.F., De Clippeleir, H., Chandran, K., Bott, C. (2023) “Comparison of carbon sources in a partial denitrification/anammox MBBR using glycerol, acetate, and methanol.” Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology 9(4):1041-1052. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2EW00332E
  12. Jia, Z., Yuan, Q., Roots, P., Sabba, F., Rosenthal, A. F., Kozak, J. A., and Wells, G. F. (2023) “Partial Nitritation/Anammox and Biological Phosphorus Removal in a Single Bioreactor under Mainstream Conditions.” Bioresource Technology 373: 128714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128714
  13. Yuan, Q., Jia, Z., Roots, P, and Wells, G. F. (2023) “A strategy for fast anammox biofilm formation under mainstream conditions.” Chemosphere 318: 137955. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.137955
  14. Feng, S., Owens, S. M., Shrestha, A., Poretsky, R., Erica M. Hartmann, E. M., and Wells, G. F. (2023) “Intensity of sample processing methods impacts wastewater SARS-CoV-2 whole genome amplicon sequencing outcomes.”  Science of the Total Environment 876: 162572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162572
  15. Obrzut, N., Carnelli, P. F. F., Brauer, S., Notestein, J. M., Wells, G. F., and Gray, K. A. (2023) “The valorization of lignin under mild conditions: biorefining flavenoids and lignin nanoparticles.” (Front Cover Feature) ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 11(2): 491-501. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c03667
  16. Loria, M. H., Griffin, J., S., Wells, G. F., and Rhoads, K. R. (2023) “Effects of feast-famine nutrient regimes on wastewater algal biofuel communities.” PLoS One 18(1): e0279943. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279943
  17. Sabba, F., Farmer, M., Jia, Z., Di Capua, F., Dunlap, P., Barnard, J., Qin, C. D., Kozak, J. A., Wells, G. F., and Downing, L. (2023) “Impact of operational strategies on a sidestream enhanced biological phosphorus removal (S2EBPR) reactor in a carbon limited wastewater plant.” Science of the Total Environment 857: 159280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159280
  18. Candry, P., Godfrey, B. J., Wang, Z., Sabba, F., Dieppa, E., Fudge, J., Balogun, S., Wells, G. F., and Winkler, M. (2022) “Tailoring polyvinyl alcohol-sodium alginate (PVA-SA) hydrogel beads by controlling crosslinking pH and time.” Scientific Reports 12(1): 20822. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-25111-7
  19. Kajunen, J. U., Uzkurt, J., Al-Juboori, J., Khunjar, W., Mikola, A., and Wells, G. F. (2022) “Phosphorus recovery alternatives for sludge from chemical phosphorus removal processes- technology comparison and system limitations.” Sustainable Materials and Technologies, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susmat.2022.e00514
  20. Josephson, C., Shuai, W., Marcano, G., Pannuto, P., Hester, J., and Wells, G. F. (2022) “The future of computing may be dirty.” GetMobile: Mobile Computing and Communications, 26(3): 9-15. https://doi.org/10.1145/3568113.3568117
  21. Cao, S., Koch, K., Du, R., Wells, G. F., Ye, L., and Drewes, J. E. (2022) “Toward mainstream anammox by integrating sidestream treatment.” Environmental Science & Technology, 56: 10553-10556. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c03256
  22. Emaminejad, S. A., Morgan, V., Kumar, K., Kavethekar, A., Ragush, C., Shuai, W., Jia, Z., Wells, G. F., Huffaker, R., and Cusick, R. (2022) “Statistical and microbial analysis of real time carbon monitoring at water resource recovery facilities using bio-electrochemical sensors.” Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology 8: 2052-2064. https://doi.org/10.1039/D1EW00653C
  23. Owen, C., Wright-Foulkes, D., Alvarez, P., Delgado, H., Durance, E., Wells, G. F., Poretksy, R., Shrestha, A. (2022) “Reduction and Discharge of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Chicago-Area Water Reclamation Plants.” FEMS Microbes 3: 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1093/femsmc/xtac015
  24. Duan, H., Zhao, Y., Koch, K., Wells, G. F., Zhen, M., Yuan, Z., and Ye, L. (2021) “Insights into nitrous oxide mitigation strategies in wastewater treatment and challenges for wider implementation.” Environmental Science & Technology 55: 7208-7224. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c00840
  25. Liou, H.-C., Sabba, F., Wang, Z., Wells, G. F., and Balogun, O. (2021) “Layered viscoelastic properties of granular biofilms.” Water Research 202: 117394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2021.117394
  26. Lin, S., Hatzell, M., Liu, R., Wells, G. F., and Xie. X. (2021) “Mining resources from water.” Resources, Conservation, and Recycling, 175:105853. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105853
  27. Yuan, Q., He, B., Qian, L., Littleton, H., Daigger, G.T., van Loosdrecht, M., Wells, G. F. and Wang, K. (2021) “Minor air scouring in anaerobic/anoxic tanks plays a major role in nitrogen removal by a mainstream PN/A process in a full-scale WWTP in China.” Water Environment Research 93: 2198-2209. https://doi.org/10.1002/wer.1592
  28. Wang, Y., Gao, H., & Wells, G. F. (2021) “Integrated omics analyses reveal differential gene expression and potential for cooperation between denitrifying polyphosphate and glycogen accumulating organisms.” Environmental Microbiology 23: 3274-3293. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.15486
  29. Kogler, A., Farmer, M., Simon, J., Tilmans, S., Wells, G. F., and Tarpeh, W. (2021) “Systematic evaluation of emerging wastewater nutrient removal and recovery technologies to inform practice and advance resource efficiency.” ACS ES&T Engineering 1: 662-684. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestengg.0c00253
  30. Loria, M. H., Wells, G. F., & Rhoads, K. R. (2021) “Influence of algal strain on microalgal bacterial bioflocculation rate and floc characteristics.” Journal of Applied Phycology 33: 777-784. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-021-02378-3
  31. Agrawal, S., Weissbrodt, D.G., Annavajhala, M., Jensen, M.M., Arroyo, J.M.C., Wells, G. F., Chandran, K., Vlaeminck, S.E., Terada, A., Smets, B.F. and Lackner, S. (2021) “Time to act–assessing variations in qPCR analyses in biological nitrogen removal with examples from partial nitritation/anammox systems.” Water Research190: 116604. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2020.116604
  32. Duan, H., Zhao, Y., Koch, K., Wells, G. F., Weißbach, M., Yuan Z., and Ye, L. (2020) “Recovery of Nitrous Oxide from Wastewater Treatment: Current Status and Perspectives.” ACS ES&T Water 1: 240-250. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.0c00140
  33. Wang, J., Xia, L., Chen, J., Wang, X., Wu, H., Li, D., Wells, G. F., Yang, J., Hou, J., and He, X. (2021) “Synergistic simultaneous nitrification-endogenous denitrification and EBPR for advanced nitrogen and phosphorus removal in constructed wetlands.” Chemical Engineering Journal 420: 127605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2020.127605
  34. Roots, P., Rosenthal, A., Yuan, Q., Wang, Y., Yang, F., Kozak, J., Zhang, H. and Wells, G. F. (2020) “Optimization of the carbon to nitrogen ratio for mainstream deammonification and the resulting shift in nitrification from biofilm to suspension.” Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology 6: 3415-3427. DOI: 1039/D0EW00652A
  35. Bogler, A., Packman, A., Fuhrman, A., Gross, A., Kushmaro, A., Ronen, A., Dogato, C., Hill, C., Vaizel-Ohayon, D., Morgenroth, E., Bertuzzo, E., Wells, G. F., Kiperwas, H., Horn, H., Negev, I., Zucker, I., Bar-Or, I., Moran-Gilad, J., Balcazar, J. L., Bibby, K., Elimelech, M., Weisbrod, N., Nir, O., Sued, O., Gillor, O., Alvarez, P. J. J., Crameri, S., Arnon, S., Walker, S., Yaron, S., Nguyen, T. H., Berchenko, Y., Hu, Y., Ronen, Z. & Bar-Zeev, E. (2020) “Rethinking wastewater risks and monitoring in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Nature Sustainability 3: 981-990. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-00605-2
  36. Roots, P., Rosenthal, A., Wang, Y., Sabba, F., Jia, Z., Yang, F., Zhang, H., Kozak, J. and Wells, G. F. (2020) “Pushing the limits of solids retention time for enhanced biological phosphorus removal: Process characteristics and Accumulibacter population structure.” Water Science and Technology 82(8): 1614-1627. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2020.437
  37. Weissbrodt, D. G., Winkler, M. K H., & Wells, G. F. (2020) “Responsible science, engineering and education for water resource recovery and circularity.” Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology 6:1952-1966. DOI: 1039/D0EW00402B
  38. Petrovich, M. L., Zilberman, A., Kaplan, A., Eliraz, G. R., Wang, Y., Langenfeld, K., Duhaime, M., Wigginton, K., Poretsky, R., Avisar, D., & Wells, G. F. (2020) “Microbial and viral communities and their antibiotic resistance genes throughout a hospital wastewater treatment system.” Frontiers in Microbiology 11: 153. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00153
  39. Gao, G., Zhao, X., Zhou, L., Sabba, F., & Wells, G. F. (2020) “Differential kinetics of nitrogen oxides reduction leads to elevated nitrous oxide production by a nitrite fed granular denitrifying EBPR bioreactor.” Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology 6:1028-1043. DOI: 1039/C9EW00881K
  40. Roots, P., Sabba, F., Rosenthal, A. F., Wang, Y., Yuan, Q., Yang, F., Kozak, J. A., Zhang, H., Reiger, L., & Wells, G. F. (2020) “Integrated shortcut N removal and biological phosphorus removal from mainstream wastewater: process operation and modeling.” Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology 6: 566-580. DOI: 1039/C9EW00550A
  41. Griffin, J. S., Haug, L. A., Rivera, V. A., Gonzalez Hernandez, L. M., Kelly, J. J., Miller, W. M., Wells, G. F., & Packman, A. I. (2020) “Soil hydrology drives ecological niche differentiation in a native prairie microbiome.” (Editor’s Choice Award) FEMS Microbiology Ecology 96(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiz163
  42. Petrovich, M. L., Maamar, B. S., Hartmann, E. M., Murphy, B. T., Poretsky, R. S., & Wells, G. F. (2019) “Viral composition and context in metagenomes from biofilm and suspended growth municipal wastewater treatment plants.” Microbial Biotechnology 12(6): 1324-1336. https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.13464
  43. Gao, H., Mao, Y., Zhao, X., Liu, W.-T., Zhang, T., & Wells, G. F. (2019) “Genome-centric metagenomics resolves microbial diversity and prevalent truncated denitrification pathways in a denitrifying PAO-enriched bioprocess.” Water Research 155: 275-287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2019.02.020
  44. Roots, P., Wang, Y., Rosenthal, A., Griffin, J., Sabba, F., Petrovich, M., Yang, F., Kozak, J., Zhang, H., & Wells, G. F. (2019) “Comammox Nitrospira are the dominant ammonia oxidizers in a mainstream low dissolved oxygen nitrification reactor.” Water Research 157: 396-405. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2019.03.060
  45. Liou, H.-C., Sabba, F., Packman, A. I., Rosenthal, A., Wells, G. F., & Balogun, O. (2019) “Towards mechanical property characterization of granular biofilms by optical coherence elastography measurements of circumferential elastic waves.” Soft Matter 15: 5562-5573. DOI: 1039/C9SM00739C
  46. Park, J.-H., Kang, H.-J., Kim, H.-S., Wells, G. F., & Park, H.-D. (2019) “Effects of alkali-treated sludge supplementation for enhanced biological phosphorus removal in a membrane bioreactor.” Fuel 254: 115588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2019.05.171
  47. Park, J.-H., Kim, D.-H., Kim, H.-S., Wells, G. F., & Park, H.-D. (2019) “Granular activated carbon supplementation alters the metabolic flux of Clostridium butyricum for enhanced biohydrogen production.” Bioresource Technology 281: 318-325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2019.02.090
  48. Gao, H., LaVergne, J.M., Carpenter, C. M. G., Desai, R., Zhang, X., Gray, K., Helbling, D. E., & Wells, G. F. (2019) “Exploring co-occurrence patterns between organic micropollutants and bacterial community structure in a mixed-use watershed.” Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts. 21: 867-880. DOI: 1039/C8EM00588E
  49. Wu, L., Ning, D., Zhang, B., Li, Y., Zhang, P., Shan, X., Zhang, Q., Brown, M., Li, Z., Van Nostrand, J. D., Ling, F., Xiao, N., Vierheilig, J., Wells, G. F., Yang, Y., Deng, Y., Tu, Q., Wang, A., Global Water Microbiome Consortium, Zhang, T., He, Z., Keller, J., Nielsen, P., Alvarez, P. J. J., Criddle, C. S., Wagner, M., Tiedje, J. M., He, Q., Curtis, T. P., Stahl, D. A., Alvarez-Cohen, L., Rittmann, B. E., Wen, X., & Zhou, J. (2019)  “Global diversity and biogeography of bacterial communities in wastewater treatment plants.” Nature Microbiology 4(7):1183-1195.  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-019-0426-5
  50. Cai, M., Wang, Q., Wells, G. F., Lian, G., Song, Z., Jin, M., Hu, J., & Wei, Z. (2019) “Improving dewaterability and filterability of activated sludge by three-dimensional electrochemical fenton treatment.” Chemical Engineering Journal 362: 525-536. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2019.01.047
  51. Petrovich, M., Rosenthal, A., Griffin, J., & Wells, G. F. (2019) “Spatially resolved abundances of antibiotic resistance genes and intI1 in wastewater treatment biofilms.” Biotechnology & Bioengineering 116: 543-554. https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.26887
  52. Laureni, M., Weissbrodt, D. G., Villez, K., Robin, O., de Jonge, N., Rosenthal, A., Wells, G. F., Nielsen, J. L., Morgenroth, E., & Joss, A. (2019) “Biomass segregation between biofilm and flocs improves the control of nitrite oxidizing bacteria in mainstream partial nitritation and anammox.” Water Research 154: 104-116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2018.12.051
  53. Liou, H.-C., Sabba, F., Packman, A., Wells, G. F., & Balogun, O. (2019) “Nondestructive characterization of soft materials and biofilms by measurement of guided elastic wave propagation using optical coherence elastography.” Soft Matter 15(4): 575-586. DOI: 1039/C8SM01902A
  54. Frigon, D. & Wells, G. F. (2019) “Microbial immigration in wastewater treatment systems: analytical considerations and process implications.” Current Opinion in Biotechnology 57: 151-159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2019.02.021
  55. Sabba, F., Terada, A., Wells, G. F., Smets, B., & Nerenberg, R. (2018) “Nitrous oxide emissions from biofilm processes.” Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 102(22):9815-9829. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-018-9332-7
  56. Rosenthal, A., Griffin, J., Wagner, M., Packman, A., Balogun, O., and Wells, G. F. (2018) “Morphological analysis of pore size and connectivity in a thick mixed-culture biofilm.” Biotechnology & Bioengineering 115(9): 2268-2279. https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.26729
  57. Griffin, J., Taw, E., Gosavi, A., Thornburg, N., Pramanda, I., Lee, H.-S., Gray, K., Notestein, J., & Wells, G. F. (2018) “A hybrid approach for selective sulfoxidation via bioelectrochemically derived hydrogen peroxide over a niobium(V)-silica catalyst.” ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 6(6):7880-7889. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b04641
  58. Cai, M., Hu, J.-Q., Wells, G. F., Seo, Y., Spinney, R., Ho, S.-H., Dionysiou, D., Su, J. Xiao, R., & Wei, Z. (2018) “Understanding mechanisms of synergy between acidification and ultrasound treatments for activated sludge dewatering: from bench to pilot-scale investigation.” Environmental Science & Technology 52(7): 4313-4323. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b00310
  59. Petrovich, M., Chu, B., Wright, D., Griffin, J., Elfeki, M., Murphy, B., Poretsky, R., & Wells, G. F. (2018) “Antibiotic resistance genes show enhanced mobilization through suspended growth and biofilm-based wastewater treatment processes.” FEMS Microbiology Ecology 94(5) https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiy041
  60. Chu, B. T. T., Petrovich, M. L., Chaudhary, A., Wright, D., Murphy, B., Wells, G. F., & Poretksy, R. (2018) “Metagenomic analysis reveals the impact of wastewater treatment plants on the dispersal of microorganisms and genes in aquatic sediments.” Applied & Environmental Microbiology 84(5): e02168-17. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.02168-17
  61. Feng, J., Li, B., Jiang, X., Ying, Y., Wells, G. F., Zhang, T., & Li, X.-Y. (2018) “Antibiotic Resistome in a large-scale healthy human gut microbiota deciphered by metagenomic and network analyses.” Environmental Microbiology 20(1): 355-368.  https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.14009
  62. Griffin, J., Lu, N., Sangwan, N., Li, A., Dsouza, M., Sevilla, T., Culotti, A., Stumpf, A. J., Keefer, L. L., Kelly, J. J., Gilbert, J., Wells, G. F., & Packman, A. I. (2017) “Microbial diversity in an intensively managed landscape is structured by landscape connectivity.” FEMS Microbiology Ecology 93(10). https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fix120
  63. Fumasoli, A., Bürgmann, H., Weissbrodt, D. G., Wells, G. F., Beck, K., Mohn, J., Morgenroth, E., & Udert, K. M. (2017) “The growth of Nitrosococcus-related ammonia oxidizing bacteria causes strong acidification in high strength nitrogen wastewater.” Environmental Science & Technology 51(12): 6857-6866. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b00392
  64. Petrovich, M., Wu, D., Rosenthal, A., Chen, K.-F., Packman, A., & Wells, G. F. (2017) “Nitrosomonas europaea biofilm formation is enhanced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.” FEMS Microbiology Ecology 93(5). https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fix047
  65. Wells, G. F., Shi, Y.-J., Laureni, M., Rosenthal, R., Szivak, I., Weissbrodt, D., Joss, A., Bürgmann, H., Johnson, D. R., & Morgenroth, E. (2017) “Comparing resistance, resilience, and stability of replicate moving bed biofilm and suspended growth combined nitritation-anammox reactors.” Environmental Science & Technology 51(9): 5108-5117. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b05878
  66. Gao, H., Liu, M., Griffin, J., Xu, L., Xiang, D., Scherson, Y., Liu, W.-T., & Wells, G. F. (2017) “Complete nutrient removal coupled to nitrous oxide production as a bioenergy source by Denitrifying Polyphosphate Accumulating Organisms.” Environmental Science & Technology 51(8):4531-4540. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b04896
  67. Griffin, J. & Wells, G. F. (2017) “Regional synchrony in full-scale activated sludge bioreactors due to deterministic microbial community assembly.” The ISME Journal 11(2):500-511. https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2016.121
  68. Shi, Y., Wells, G. F., & Morgenroth, E. (2016) “Microbial activity balance in size fractionated suspended growth biomass from full-scale sidestream combined nitritation-anammox reactors.” Bioresource Technology 218: 38-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2016.06.041
  69. Vannecke, T. P., Wells, G. F., Hubaux, N., Morgenroth, E., & Volcke, E. I. P. (2015) “Considering Microbial and Aggregate Heterogeneity in Biofilm Reactor Models: How Far Do We Need To Go?” Water Science & Technology 72(10): 1692-1699. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2015.389
  70. Hubaux, N., Wells, G. F., & Morgenroth, E. (2015) “Impact of coexistence of flocs and biofilm on performance of combined nitritation-anammox granular sludge reactors.” Water Research 68: 127-139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2014.09.036
  71. Gao, H., Scherson, Y. D., & Wells, G. F. (2014) “Towards Energy Neutral Wastewater Treatment: Methodology and State of the Art.” Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts 16: 1223-1246. DOI: 1039/C4EM00069B
  72. Wells, G. F., Wu, C. H., Piceno, Y. M., Eggleston, B., Brodie, E. L., DeSantis, T. Z., Andersen, G. L., Hazen, T. C., Francis, C. A., & C. S. Criddle. (2014) “Microbial Biogeography Across a Full-Scale Wastewater Treatment Plant Transect: Evidence for Immigration Between Coupled Processes.” Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 98(10): 4723-4736. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-014-5564-3
  73. Kim, T.-S., Jeong, J.-Y., Wells, G. F., & Park, H.-D. (2013) “General and rare bacterial taxa demonstrating different temporal dynamic patterns in an activated sludge bioreactor.” Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 97(4): 1755-1765. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-4002-7
  74. Scherson, Y. D., Wells, G. F., Woo, S.-G., Lee, J., Park, J., Cantwell, B. J., & Criddle, C. S. (2013) “Nitrogen Removal and Energy Recovery Through N2O Decomposition.” Energy & Environmental Science 6:241-248. DOI: 1039/C2EE22487A
  75. Schreiber, F., Wunderlin, P., Udert, K. M., & Wells, G. F. (2012) “Nitric oxide and nitrous oxide turnover in natural and engineered microbial communities: biological pathways, chemical reactions, and novel technologies.” Frontiers in Microbiology 3:372. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2012.00372
  76. Biller, S. J., Mosier, A. C., Wells, G. F., & Francis, C. A. (2012) “Global Biodiversity of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea is Partitioned by Habitat.”  Frontiers in Microbiology 3:252. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2012.00252
  77. Wells, G. F., Park, H. D., Eggleston, B., Francis, C. A., & Criddle, C. S. (2011) “Fine-scale Bacterial Community Dynamics and the Taxa-Time Relationship in a Full-Scale Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Plant.”  Water Research 45: 5476-5488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2011.08.006
  78. Xie, X., Hu, L., Pasta, M., Wells, G. F., Criddle, C. S., & Cui, Y. (2011) “Three-Dimensional Carbon Nanotube-Textile Anode for High-Performance Microbial Fuel Cells.” Nano Letters 11: 291-296. https://doi.org/10.1021/nl103905t
  79. Ofiteru, I. D., Lunn, M., Curtis, T. P., Wells, G. F., Criddle, C. S., Francis, C. A., & Sloan, W. T. (2010) “Combined Niche and Neutral Effects in a Microbial Wastewater Treatment Community.”  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 107: 15345-15350. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1000604107
  80. Wang, X., Wen, X., Criddle, C. S., Wells, G. F., Zhang, J., & Zhao, Y. (2010) “Community Analysis of Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria in Activated Sludge of Eight Wastewater Treatment Plants in Beijing.”  Journal of Environmental Sciences 22: 627-634. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-0742(09)60155-8
  81. Wells, G. F., Park, H. D., Yeung, C. H., Eggleston, B., Francis, C. A., & Criddle, C. S. (2009) “Ammonia-Oxidizing Communities in a Highly Aerated Full-Scale Activated Sludge Bioreactor: Betaproteobacterial Dynamics and Low Relative Abundance of Crenarchaea.” Environmental Microbiology 11: 2310-2328. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2009.01958.x
  82. Zhang, T., Jing, T., Yang, Q.-M., Shao, M.-F., Wells, G. F., Criddle, C. S., & Fang, H. (2009) “Occurrence of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea in Activated Sludges of a Laboratory Scale Reactor and Two Wastewater Treatment Plants.” Journal of Applied Microbiology 170: 970-977. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2672.2009.04283.x
  83. Park, H. D., Wells, G. F., Bae, H. B., Criddle, C. S. & Francis, C. A. (2006) “Occurrence of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea in Wastewater Treatment Plant Bioreactors.” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 72: 5643-5647. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00402-06
  84. Cortalezzi, M.M., Rose, J., Wells, G. F., Bottero, J. Y., Barron, A. R. & Wiesner, M. R. (2003) “Ceramic Membranes Derived from Ferroxane Nanoparticles: A New Route for the Fabrication of Iron Oxide Ultrafiltration Membranes.” Journal of Membrane Science 227: 207-217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2003.08.027

Patents

  1. Gelber, A., Jiang, Y., Park, K.-C., Petrovich, M. L., Wells, G. F., & Yao, Y. “Magnetically controlled particle abrasion method for biofouling removal.” US Patent 10,933,449 (Issued March 2, 2021).
  2. Cantwell, Brian J., Craig S. Criddle, Kevin Lohner, Yaniv D. Scherson, and George F. Wells. “Microbial production of nitrous oxide coupled with chemical reaction of gaseous nitrous oxide.” U.S. Patent 8,932,847, issued January 13, 2015.

Book Chapters and Reports

  1. Wells, G.F. and Gray, K. (2023) “Water” in Embassy 2050: Applications, Policies, & Aspirations. In press, report for the Overseas Bureau of Overseas Operations and US Department of State.
  2. De Clippeleir, H., Wells, G. F., Jia, Z., Riffat, R., Ladipo-Obasa, M., Klaus, S., Bott., C., Chandran, K., deBarbadillo, C., Al-Omari, A., and Fevig, S. (2023) “When a Detour Becomes a Shortcut: Going Full-Scale with PdNA Strategy for Mainstream Deammonification and Incorporating Biological Phosphorus Removal, Practitioner’s Blueprint/ Guidance Document.” The Water Research Foundation, Report No. 5095.
  3. Regmi, P., Johnson, M., Nguyen, C., Wells, G. F., and Al-Omari, A. (2023) “Demonstration of Progressive Carbon Efficient Nitrogen with Biological Phosphorus Removal in a Conventional BNR Facility.” The Water Research Foundation, Report No. 5071.
  4. Kogler, A., Farmer, M., Simon, J., Cheng, Z., Shao, A., Panayiotou, T., Katehis, D., Tilmans, S., Wells, G. F., and Tarpeh, W. (2021) “Characterizing, Categorizing, and Communicating Next-Generation Nutrient Removal Processes for Resource Efficiency.” The Water Research Foundation, Report No. 4976.
  5. Wells, G. F., Hoar, C., Chandran, K., and deBarbadillo, C. (2020) “Understanding the Impacts of Low-Energy and Low-Carbon Nitrogen Removal Technologies on Bio-P and Nutrient Recovery Processes.” The Water Research Foundation, Report No. NTRY13R16/4819.
  6. Scherson, Y., Erdal, Z., & Wells, G. F. (2015). “Future Issues and Considerations of Nutrient Management in Wastewater Treatment.” In Shortcut Nitrogen Removal—Nitrite Shunt and Deammonification. Alexandria, VA. WEF, pgs. 183-192.