Search results for " Ingegneri"
showing 10 items of 809 documents
Effect of chemical and biological surfactants on activated sludge of MBR system: Microscopic analysis and foam test
2015
Abstract A bench-scale MBR unit was operated, under stressing condition, with the aim of stimulating the onset of foaming in the activated sludge. Possible synergies between synthetic surfactants in the wastewater and biological surfactants (Extra-Cellular Polymeric Substances, EPSs) were investigated by changing C/N ratio. The growth of filamentous bacteria was also discussed. The MBR unit provided satisfactory overall carbon removal overall efficiencies: in particular, synthetic surfactants were removed with efficiency higher than 90% and 95% for non-ionic and ionic surfactants, respectively. Lab investigation suggested also the importance to reduce synthetic surfactants presence entering…
Biological Nutrient Removal and Fouling Phenomena in a University of Cape Town Membrane Bioreactor Treating High Nitrogen Loads
2013
The behavior of a University of Cape Town (UCT) membrane bioreactor (MBR) system was investigated for use in biological nutrient removal from real wastewater. The pilot plant was in operation for a period of 165 days, during which an extensive data gathering campaign was conducted. The pilot plant was started up by inoculating it with activated sludge from a nearby wastewater treatment plant, and it was fed by real municipal wastewater characterized by high organic nitrogen concentrations attributable to discharges from industrial wastewater and sporadic landfill leachate. Carbon and biological nutrient removal processes, a sludge production process, and a membrane fouling mechanism were an…
Nutrient recovery from wastewater treatment by ultrafiltration membrane for water reuse in view of a circular economy perspective
2022
The study aims to recover nitrogen from wastewater by employing ultrafiltration membrane in water reuse for agriculture purpose. To such aim, a new reclaimed water quality index (RWQI) is proposed and applied including an innovative protocol for its assessment. Specifically, the influence of filtration and backwashing times for an ultrafiltration system aimed to nutrient recovery has been analyzed. The final goal was to pin down the trade-off between operation costs and effluent quality. Results show that backwashing time play a crucial role in reducing the operation costs; indeed, low values (i.e., 0.5 min) lead to an increase in the number of required chemical cleanings and consequently o…
Respirometry for the Characterization of Heterotrophic Biomass Activity: Application to a MBR Pilot Plant Operated with Two Different Start-Up Strate…
2016
A membrane bioreactor (MBR) pilot plant was operated in two subsequent experimental periods (namely, Periods I and II) with different start-up and sludge withdrawal strategies to study its peculiar biokinetic behavior by using respirometric techniques. Two extreme operational conditions were chosen to investigate the different biomass activity under dynamic or pseudostationary conditions during and after the start-up phases. Particularly, the MBR pilot plant was operated with the same volumetric loading rate (VLR) and permeate flux but differently managed during the start-up phase. In Period I, the MBR pilot plant was started up without sludge inoculum and operated without sludge withdrawal…
Insights on mechanisms of excess sludge minimization in an oxic-settling-anaerobic process under different operating conditions and plant configurati…
2022
In the present research, insights about the mechanisms of excess sludge minimization occurring in an oxic-settling-anaerobic (OSA) were provided. The investigation involved two systems operating in parallel. In particular, a conventional activated sludge (CAS) system as control and a system implementing the OSA process both having a pre-denitrification scheme were considered. Five periods (P1-P5) were studied, during which several operating conditions and configurations were tested. Specifically, the hydraulic retention time (HRT) in the anaerobic reactor of the OSA system (P1 8 h, P2-P3 12 h, P4 8 h, P5 12 h) and the return sludge from the anaerobic to the anoxic (scheme A) (P1-P2) or aero…
Comparison between ozonation and the OSA process: analysis of excess sludge reduction and biomass activity in two different pilot plants
2012
The excess biomass produced during biological treatment of municipal wastewater represents a major issue worldwide, as its disposal implies environmental, economic and social impacts. Therefore, there has been a growing interest in developing technologies to reduce sludge production. The main proposed strategies can be categorized according to the place inside the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) where the reduction takes place. In particular, sludge minimization can be achieved in the wastewater line as well as in the sludge line. This paper presents the results of two pilot scale systems, to evaluate their feasibility for sludge reduction and to understand their effect on biomass activit…
Stormwater infiltration trenches: a conceptual modelling approach.
2009
In recent years, limitations linked to traditional urban drainage schemes have been pointed out and new approaches are developing introducing more natural methods for retaining and/or disposing of stormwater. These mitigation measures are generally called Best Management Practices or Sustainable Urban Drainage System and they include practices such as infiltration and storage tanks in order to reduce the peak flow and retain part of the polluting components. The introduction of such practices in urban drainage systems entails an upgrade of existing modelling frameworks in order to evaluate their efficiency in mitigating the impact of urban drainage systems on receiving water bodies. While s…
Toward a New Plant-Wide Experimental and Modeling Approach for Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emission from Wastewater Treatment Plants
2019
Mechanisms causing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in wastewater treatment plants are of great interest among researchers, encouraging the development of new methods for wastewater management. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) emit three major greenhouse gases during the treatment processes: CO2, CH4, and N2O. Additional amounts of CO2 and CH4 are produced during energy consumption, which can be considered an indirect source of GHGs. Recently, several efforts have been undertaken to assess GHGs from WWTPs, with particular attention paid to the N2O assessment due to its high warming potential (300 times stronger than CO2). This study proposes an integrated model platform for WWTP simulation,…
The role of EPS in fouling and foaming phenomena for a membrane bioreactor
2013
In contraposition to conventional activated sludge processes, the foaming phenomenon in membrane bioreactor (MBR) is still in its infancy. On the other hand, although several studies have been carried out for better understanding the fouling phenomenon in MBR there are still some gaps in the up-to-date knowledge. The extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) may have a primary role in fouling and foaming phenomena which in turn can be crucial for MBRs. The aim of this study is to detect a possible relationship that EPSs may have with fouling and foaming in an MBR for wastewater treatment. Foaming phenomenon is monitored by performing specific foam-tests: Foam Power, Scum Index, Foam Rating …
Editorial: Sustainable wastewater treatment and resource recovery
2020
Water