Integrated modelling of the influence of urbanization and climate change on river water quality

Climate change is one of the most important drivers modifying the hydrologic and environmental characteristics of natural catchments. When dealing with the quality of natural waters, these factors should be weighed up against anthropogenic factors that may increase or decrease the effect of climatic modifications. However, a detailed and more generalised analysis of such environmental impacts at a relatively small scale is currently lack. This paper aims to fill this gap. The use of a holistic approach is also required by the EU Water Framework Directive, which prescribes integrated analysis for river basin management in order to meet environmental and ecological objectives. In order to qua…

Valutazione dell’incertezza connessa con i modelli di qualità dei deflussi meteorici in ambiente urbano

Uncertainty of a biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal model

In the last few years, the use of mathematical models in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) processes has become a common way to predict WWTP behaviour. However, mathematical models generally demand advanced input for their implementation that must be evaluated by an extensive data gathering campaign, which cannot always be carried out. This fact, together with the intrinsic complexity of the model structure, leads to model results that may be very uncertain. Quantification of the uncertainty is imperative. However, despite the importance of uncertainty quantification, only a few studies have been carried out in the wastewater treatment field, and those studies only included a few of the sou…

Integrated urban drainage uncertainty assessment : the influence of the likelihood efficiency measures

Integrated urban drainage uncertainty assessment : the influence of the likelihood efficiency measures

Urban runoff quality modelling uncertainty assessment

Assessment of urban drainage environmental impact on receiving water bodies: Comparison between a detailed and a simplified integrated model.

Point and non-point pollution assessment for a receiving water body quality management

The effect of acceptability threshold over an integrated urban drainage model uncertainty.

Diffuse and concentrated pollution control at watershed-scale: an Italian case study

Occurrence and transformation of illicit drugs in wastewater treatment plants.

Illicit drugs (IDs) and their metabolites have been recently recognized as a new group of water emerging contaminants (ECs) with potent psychoactive properties and unknown effects to the aquatic environment (Pal et al., 2013). IDs are excreted via urine and feces and arrive at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) where can reach ppb levels (Castiglioni et al., 2006). Over the past few years, it has been demonstrated that conventional biological processes in WWTPs are not or scarcely able to remove IDs. Thus, they are discharged into water bodies through the treated effluent (Postigo et al., 2011). Therefore, monitoring the IDs concentration in WWTPs can have a twofold advantage: i. increase …

Valutazione dell’incertezza di un modello integrato di drenaggio urbano.

Valutazione dell’impatto sui corpi idrici delle acque di pioggia: confronto tra un modello integrato fisicamente basato e uno semplificato

Nella nota viene presentato il confronto tra un modello complesso e uno semplificato, entrambi utilizzabili per la simulazione di un sistema integrato di drenaggio urbano

A moving bed membrane bioreactor pilot plant for carbon and nutrient removal

The paper reports the main results of an experimental gathering campaign carried out on a moving bed membrane bioreactor pilot plant conceived for carbon and nutrients removal according to a University of Cape Town scheme. Organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus removal, biokinetic/stoichiometric constants, membrane fouling tendency and sludge dewaterability have been assessed during experiments. The achieved results showed that pilot plant was able to guarantee very high carbon removal, with average efficiency of 98%. In terms of nitrification, the system showed an excellent performance, with efficiencies higher than 98% for most of the experiments. This result might be related to the pres…

Materials recovery from WEEE: current situation in Sicily.

The potential recovery of materials and energy in one year in Italy and in Sicily was estimated assuming that all WEEEs were gathered through the collection – treatment – disposal system implemented according to the rules in force. The embodied energy (EE) recovery associated to material recovery was also estimated, starting from standard values of EE and from yields declared for each component. Mass fractions composition for some categories of WEEE given by a facility in Catania agree with the national averages. Starting from data given by another facility - located in Siracusa - which processes all the five R categories (R1 to R5), potential mass and energy recovery was estimated for this…

The beneficial effect of local rain water reuse in urban areas: a long term modelling approach

A new integrated MBR model for wastewater treatment: sensitivity and uncertainty analysis

In this study a new integrated membrane bioreactor (MBR) model is proposed. The model is able to describe the main biological processes aimed at the carbon and the nutrients (nitrogen, N and phosphorus, P) removal coupled with the soluble microbial products (SMP) formation/degradation. Furthermore, the model describes the key physical processes and the interconnection between SMP and membrane fouling. The model was calibrated by adopting data measured during the monitoring of a University Cape Town (UCT) MBR pilot plant. A sensitivity analysis allowed the reduction of the number of model FACTORs to be calibrated from 122 to 45. A good correlation between measured and simulated data was obta…

The GSA-GLUE approach for uncertainty assessment of an integrated MBR model

In the recent literature, the uncertainty of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) modelling has had relevant interest both for designers and operators. Indeed, the frequent data lacking and the need to improve process knowledge, in case of innovative technologies, make the use of mathematical models more uncertain. Therefore, the need to make model uncertainty more explicit is warmly recommended. However, only few applications of uncertainty analysis in the wastewater field have been carried out. In this work, the combination of the global sensitivity analysis (GSA) and the Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) is applied for the uncertainty assessment of a WWTP model, in order …

Infiltration facilities design: comparison between simplified approaches and detailed physically based modelling

Modelling urban stormwater impact mitigation by using bmps and storage tanks

The continuous growth of urban areas and the increasing public awareness about environmental impact of stormwater raised high interest on quality impact on the receiving water bodies. Indeed, in the last decades, large efforts have been provided for improving urban drainage systems in order to mitigate environmental impacts. In the present paper, a simplified modelling approach has been developed in order to evaluate the mitigation efficiency of different BMP schemes including infiltration and storage facilities and both considering possible distributed controls and centralised structures. The main goals of the research are the simulation of BMP efficiency in different operational condition…

Integrated urban drainage modeling: Simplified versus detailed modeling approach for receiving water quality assessment

Parameter estimation and sensitivity analysis of a nitrogen and phosphorus biological removal model

Parameter uncertainty analysis of water quality model for small river

Évaluation du colmatage de tranchées d'infiltration selon le type de sol : analyse à long terme

In recent years, limitations linked to traditional urban drainage schemes have been pointed out and new approaches were developed introducing more natural methods for retaining and/or disposing of stormwater. Such practices include infiltration and storage tanks in order to reduce the peak flow and retain part of the polluting components. The impact of such practices on stormwater quantity and quality is not easily assessable because of the complexity of physical and chemical processes involved. In such cases, integrated urban drainage models may play a relevant role providing tools for long term analysis of infiltration structures efficiency. In this study, the effect of the clogging pheno…

Uncertainty propagation throughout an integrated water-quality model

In integrated urban drainage water quality models, due to the fact that integrated approaches are basically a cascade of sub-models (simulating sewer system, wastewater treatment plant and receiving water body), uncertainty produced in one sub-model propagates to the following ones depending on the model structure, the estimation of parameters and the availability and uncertainty of measurements in the different parts of the system. Uncertainty basically propagates throughout a chain of models in which simulation output from upstream models is transferred to the downstream ones as input. The overall uncertainty can differ from the simple sum of uncertainties generated in each sub-model, dep…

Modellazione dell’impatto dei deflussi urbani sui corpi idrici ricettori attraverso un approccio integrato

Integrated Urban Water Modeling with Uncertainty Analysis

In the last 20th years, the scientific world has got particular care towards the problems that involve the respect of the environment. According to this point, several researches were developed to describe the phenomena that take place during both wet and dry period and to increase the knowledge in this field. In particular, the attention was addressed towards the problems linked with the pollution of the water body because of the pollution carried by rainfall waters in the urban environment. In order to obtain a good description of the problem, it is important, of course, to analyze both quantity and quality aspects connected with all the transformation phases that characterize the urban w…

Water quality monitoring campaign design based on integrated modelling identifiability analysis.

SPATIAL DIVERSITY OF CHLORINE RESIDUAL IN A DRINKING WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM: A STUDY CASE

Modèles intégrés par drainage urbain : propagation d'incertitude et identifiabilité de paramètres

Colloque avec actes et comité de lecture. Internationale.; International audience

Tecniche di mitigazione dell'impatto delle acque di dilavamento da aree industriali

BioMAc 2016 Bioreattori a membrane (MBR) e trattamenti avanzati per la depurazione delle acque

Questo volume raccoglie i contributi presentati nella manifestazione BioMAc 2016: Bioreattori a Membrane (MBR) e trattamenti avanzati per la depurazione delle Acque, che ha avuto luogo presso il Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Ambientale, Aerospaziale, dei Materiali dell'Università degli Studi di Palermo, Aula G. Capitò, nei giorni 27 e 28 ottobre 2016.