Upflow Sludge Blanket Filtration

MABR membrane aeration biofilm reactor process was adopted for the reconstruction of a sewage treatment station in North China. MABR membrane components were added to the original CAST process and a new secondary sedimentation tank was built to reconstruct the original biochemical system. In the meanwhile, an advanced treatment system with new high-density tanks and V-shaped filters were built to ensure the quality of the final effluent. In the establishment of the MABR membrane aeration biofilm reactor process, only new aeration membrane components were added and no new equipment and civil works were needed in the original biochemical tank. No new blowers were needed due to the high aeration efficiency and low energy consumption of the biofilm system. The one-off investment is about 850 yuan·m−3 and the reconstruction period was about 15 days, indicating its advantages of short reconstruction period and low operational cost. For the new membrane aeration biofilm reactor process, the mean value of ammonia nitrogen in the inflow was 39 mg·L−1 and its mean value in the effluent was 3 mg·L−1, i.e. the average removal rate was 92%. The mean value of total nitrogen (TN) in the inflow was 63 mg·L−1 and the mean value in the effluent was 11 mg·L−1, making an average removal rate of 83%. The mean value of total phosphorus (TP) in the inflow was 7.5 mg·L−1 and the mean value in the effluent was 0.9 mg·L−1, thus the average removal rate was 88%. The TP concentration in the effluent could be kept below 0.4 mg·L−1 by chemical phosphorus removal by the follow-up advanced treatment section. The mean value of COD in the inflow was 367 mg·L−1 and the mean value of effluent was 35 mg·L−1, i.e. the average removal rate was 90%. After the reconstruction of the treatment process, the effluent quality of the sewage treatment station stably reached the Class 1A level of tHe Discharge Standard of Pollutants for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant (GB 18918-2002).

Wastewater treatment allows for the safe disposal of municipal and industrial wastewater to protect public health and the ecosystem[...]

One approach to reduce nutrient losses from livestock farms is to apply biological waste treatment systems such as biological nitrogen (N) removal or enhanced biological phosphorus (P) removal (EBPR) to reduce the nutrient content of land-applied waste. The EBPR process takes advantage of the ability of P-accumulating organisms (PAOs) to sequester excess P as polyphosphate granules in their cytoplasms, yielding a P-depleted liquid effluent and a P-enriched biomass. Biological N removal systems result in the conversion of organic or ammonia-N to innocuous N-2 gas. Understanding the variation in parameters such as chemical oxygen demand (COD), total and volatile suspended solids (TSS and VSS), and ammonia-N (NH3-N) is necessary to design these systems. Our objectives were to evaluate the effects of diet and manure separation on parameters important to reactor design. Waste was collected from nine cows fed a high P diet (0.47% P), a low P diet (0.32 % P), or low P with exogenous phytase plus cellulase (0.32 % P), in a replicated Latin square design (three 3 X 3 squares). Total collection of milk, urine, and feces was conducted on days 19 to 21 of each period, a mixed slurry (urine, feces, and water) was created, and slurry was separated mechanically to generate liquid effluent. Slurry contained more COD, solids, N, and P than liquid effluent, but the COD:P ratio was similar in the two wastes. The ratio of COD:N was higher in slurry than in separator effluent, but the ratio in both wastes was sufficient to support biological N removal. The P content of slurry, liquid effluent, and manure solids from cows fed low P was lower than from cows fed high P, and the COD content of effluent was higher with the low P diet. The COD:P ratio of all wastes was sufficient to support EBPR and biological N removal, but variation was observed with diet. Waste from cows fed low P had a higher COD:P ratio than that of cows fed high P, and waste from cows fed the enzyme-supplemented diet had a lower COD:N ration than that of cows fed the control diet. Dairy manure slurry and effluent will support EBPR and biological N removal. Dietary effects on parameters important to the design of advanced waste treatment systems were observed, but were not of a magnitude that would affect reactor design.

Carbon balance of anaerobic granulation process: Carbon credit

Water treatment plants have to provide good water quality and at the same time low operational costs. Owing to various physical, chemical and biological interactions water treatment processes are often difficult to handle and reliable predictions for the course of processes are difficult to obtain. Developing monitoring in Automation Control System is a major industrial concern since those systems are more and more complex and involved in many safety critical application fields. The Automation system is being widely used in Power, Steel manufacturing, Oil and Gas, and Petrochemicals for monitoring, advance process control, regulatory and sequential control and various other functions. Automation system is operated either in single mode and or it is interfaced with other systems such as PLC, SCADA, and Etc for enhanced functionality. This paper focuses on an innovative and intelligent monitoring system for Water Treatment Plant that has been successfully designed, implemented and commissioned for large Gas Refinery after case study in international standards.

Water treatment using a nanofiltration (NF) membrane is an effective advanced water treatment process for achieving high organics removal. This presentation will cover our recent studies examining the feasibility of direct (i.e., no pre-treatment) NF treatment of surface water and wastewater using a submerged flat-sheet NF membrane module. When a direct NF system was employed for surface water treatment, we observed only slight membrane fouling over three months. The separation performance of the NF system remained high: total organic carbon (TOC) removal remained at 80-90% in most sampling occasions. Membrane surface characterization revealed that many substances covered the membrane surface. It was speculated that these substances deposited on the membrane surface provide a small contribution to the hydraulic resistance. Further, the membrane foulant was readily removed by physical cleaning, and the permeability fully recovered. This indicates that the membrane foulant did not penetrate the pores of the NF membrane. The results attained through the on-site test suggest the viability of direct NF treatment of surface water for achieving high water quality and stable system operation. In addition to the drinking water treatment, the presentation will provide the results of applying the direct NF system for wastewater treatment.

Bioenergy from Coastal bermudagrass receiving subsurface drip irrigation with advance-treated swine wastewater

In this paper, we describe the method and implementation of a real-time tumor tracking system for a pencil beam scanning (PBS) proton therapy system. PBS is an advanced cancer treatment system that can benefit from precise localization of the tumors through motion. We utilize techniques such as cross-correlation matching, correlation filters and small object saliency, creating an array of methods that can detect and track fiducial markers implanted in the cancer tumors. The final aim is to control the proton beam using real-time image guidance. Our technique works robustly on various types of markers such as ceramic/metallic fiducials, visicoil markers and surgical clips. Left and right views of an X-ray fluoroscopy system were utilized to also triangulate the marker positions in full 3D as they are tracked through normal breathing movement and organ motion. We have tested our detection system on data from several patients with different tumor locations both offline and in real-time and wish to implement it within a full treatment system soon. To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first real time tracking system for PBS therapy that is applicable for various types of fiducials and tumor locations.

Recycling produced water for re-use in gas and oil fields for hydraulic fracturing and re-injection to maintain reservoir pressure is becoming increasingly important due to the scarcity of this natural resource. This is especially the case when these activities are not near a readily available source of ‘free water’ such as seawater or an aquifer. We explore ways to use water management to lower Operational Expenditure OPEX overall by eliminating fresh water sourcing, transportation, storage and its treatment as well as the storage, transportation, treatment and disposal of produced or flow-back water. The water management approach enables operators to re-use produced waters in hydraulic fracturing fluids. Pre-treatment testing and analysis characterizes the chemistry of the water to ensure an effective fracturing fluid design and to determine the appropriate water treatment solution for every application. By using a comprehensive water treatment suite of technologies, we demonstrate that virtually any oilfield water can be treated. Post-treatment testing confirms the water meets the customer's specific requirements. Integrating water management service technical expertise with water chemistry and chemical treatments maximizes hydrocarbon production, minimizes reservoir damage, and reduces the costs of fresh water sourcing by as much as 90%. The techniques also offer real routes for oil operators to meet regulatory requirements, mitigating environmental impact.

The occurrence of toxic cyanobacteria in surface waters and their impact on drinking water treatment plants (WTPs) is a growing, global concern. The main objective of this paper was to assess the presence of cyanobacteria in surface water sources and associated cell removal efficiency in full-scale WTPs across the world. Previously unpublished data was collected from WTPs experiencing cyanobacterial blooms in either their managed surface waters or recreational waters. In total, data were collected from 31 surface water sources and 21 WTPs in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The most commonly detected species were identified in both the surface waters, including Microcystis, Anabaena, Nostoc, Oscillatoria, and Planktolyngbya, and water treatment plant intakes, including Microcystis, Cylindrospermopsis, Anabaena, Pseudanabaena, and Aphanizomenon. In the intakes, cyanotoxins and taste and odor (T&O) compounds frequently co-occurred (80%) as did multiple cyanotoxins (39%). Conventional treatment saw a wide range of removal depending on the density of cells, species, and metabolites. Although more than 28% of sampling events displayed negligible or even negative removals of metabolites or cells due to accumulation within the clarifier, filtration, or water recycling, the presence of multiple treatment barriers, particularly advanced treatments like granular activated carbon and nanofiltration, allowed for the cells and their metabolites of concern to be removed to below guideline values. During treatment, total microcystins were often removed without releasing their intracellular fraction, whereas cylindrospermopsin, geosmin, and 2-MIB were commonly detected as entirely extracellular at the plant's intake. The maximum tolerable cell (MTC) counts for cyanotoxin- or T&O-producing cells were calculated using guideline values, average removal efficiency, and the average cell quota derived from data. The 21 WTPs in this work were found to be able to tolerate approximately 74,000 cells/mL for microcystins, 8,000 cells/mL for cylindrospermopsin, and 1,200 cells/mL for geosmin and 2-MIB before exceeding guideline values. These levels provide guidance for water treatment plant operators to assess the potential risk associated with cells capable of producing cyanotoxins or T&O compounds.

Occurrence, fate, and risk assessment of antibiotics in conventional and advanced drinking water treatment systems: From source to tap

During the last few years, environmental sector has shown a largely growing interest in the treatment of different types of wastewater by electrocoagulation (EC). It has recently attracted attention as a potential technique for treating industrial effluent due to its versatility, treatment efficiency, low cost, and environmental compatibility. This technique uses direct current source between metal electrodes immersed in the effluent, which causes the dissolution of electrode plates into the effluent. The metal ions, at an appropriate pH, can form wide range of coagulated species and metal hydroxides that destabilize and aggregate particles or precipitate and adsorb the dissolved contaminants. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to review the mechanism, factors responsible, and application of the EC technology for the treatment of industrial wastewater and removal of pollutants from surface and potable waters. Study found that performance and treatment efficiency of EC depend on various factors, i.e., choice of electrode materials, electrode distance, arrangement of electrode, operating current density, electrolysis time, pH of the solution, temperature, and the design of reactor. It is also evident from the study that recently, EC technology has been successfully employed for the treatment and removing pollutants from municipal wastewater, industrial wastewater, i.e., textiles, tanneries, pulp and paper, food processing industry, and oily wastewater. This technology also used for the heavy metal and inorganic ions removal and potable and surface water treatment. In addition, this paper presents an overview of the optimum process conditions, i.e., current densities, treatment time, pH and removal efficiencies, its advantages, challenges, and future prospects of EC technology.

An ideal combination of process control and operation planning can reduce system cost and maximize economic and environmental benefits. This research proposed an integrated simulation-based process control and operation planning (IS-PCOP) system by using neural networks, genetic algorithm, multistage principle, and Monte Carlo simulation. It could well link process control and operation planning by simultaneously adopting different time-scales in computation. The hourly process control strategy forwarded the results to the operation planning module where long-term arrangements could be further evaluated. The use of ANN modeling also played a key role in predicting the nonlinear behavior of complex processes. In addition, Monte Carlo simulation yielded a better insight on uncertainties, which may arise from a number of different sources. A case study on marine wastewater management was carried out to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach. Six different treatment standards (i.e., 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 μg L?1) were examined over a 20-day period and the 20 μg L?1 standard appeared to be the most economic option with a mean net cost of $18 per day. As compared to the traditional operation planning without process control, the integrated approach achieved more economically competitive results. By addressing the uncertainties and expressing the results in probability distributions, the decision makers would have more confidence in making decisions on both short- and long-term operations. It was concluded that the combination of process control and operation planning could help meet the economic objectives and ensure timely completion of the tasks.

Micropollutants or contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) are released into the environment from a wide variety of sources. Due to the adverse effect on human health, micropollutant-containing wastewater needs to be treated before its discharge. A number of conventional physicochemical methods have been extensively studied for micropollutant degradation. However, owing to their one or more disadvantages, biological treatment using suitable microorganisms is of recent interest. Numerous bacteria and fungi are capable of degrading these micropollutants even at high concentrations. However, in order for the biological treatment to be commercially viable and industrially scalable, bioprocess development with efficient bioreactor systems is highly essential. This paper reviews state-of-the-art techniques for the removal of micropollutants by conventional biological systems such as activated sludge process, biofilm-based reactor, and trickling bed bioreactor. However, compared with conventional systems, advanced biological systems, namely two-phase partitioning bioreactor, membrane-based reactor, and cell-immobilized bioreactor systems, have not been examined and, hence, need detailed exploration. Such advanced treatment systems are capable of tolerating high pollutant load and are also able to treat highly water insoluble pollutants. Furthermore, hybrid systems comprising of a combination of different physicochemical and biological processes are discussed in this paper, which are not only capable of improving the treatment efficiency but also eliminate any accumulation of the toxic by-product produced during the treatment. Among the different hybrid systems, a combination of different biological systems is found to be highly efficient in treating micropollutant-containing wastewater. Finally, scope for future research prospects in the field are derived and addressed in details.

Enhanced treatment of pretreated sour whey by PAC adsorption/membrane process