Search results for "sewage"
showing 10 items of 480 documents
Distribution and fate of perfluoroalkyl substances in Mediterranean Spanish sewage treatment plants.
2014
The concentrations of 21 perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs: C4-C14, C16, C18 carboxylates, C4, C6-C8 and C10 sulfonates and C8 sulfonamide) were determined in influent, effluent and sludge from 16 different sewage treatment plants (STPs) located in the Ebro (6), Guadalquivir (5), Jucar (2) and Llobregat (3) Rivers, in two consecutive years (2010 and 2011). The analytes were extracted by solid phase extraction (SPE) and determined by Liquid Chromatography triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (LC-QqQ-MS). All samples, except two sludges from Guadalquivir River STPs, were contaminated with at least one PFAS. Perfluorobutanoate (PFBA), perfluoropentanoate (PFPeA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (L-…
A new plant wide modelling approach for the reduction of greenhouse Gas emission from wastewater treatment plants
2017
Recent studies about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions show that sewer collection systems and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are anthropogenic GHG potential sources. Therefore, they contribute to the climate change and air pollution. This increasing interest towards climate change has led to the development of new tools for WWTP design and management. This paper presents the first results of a research project aiming at setting-up an innovative mathematical model platform for the design and management of WWTPs. More specifically, the study presents the project’s strategy aimed at setting-up a plant-wide mathematical model which can be used as a tool for reducing/controlling GHG from WWTP.…
Assessment of two extraction methods to determine pesticides in soils, sediments and sludges. Application to the Túria River Basin.
2014
Pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) extraction methods were optimized for the simultaneous determination of 50 pesticides in sediment, soils and sewage sludge. For QuEChERS development, several buffers and dispersive solid-phase extraction clean-up (dSPE) sorbents were tested. In the PLE method, several parameters affecting the extraction efficiency, such as organic solvent, amount of sample, cell size, temperature, pressure, static time, number of cycles and % of flush, as well as sorbent used for the on-line clean up, were also evaluated. PLE and QuEChERS were assessed and compared in obtained recoveries (33-89% versus 25-120%)…
Pharmaceuticals in settleable particulate material in urban and non-urban waters
2011
Abstract Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are important sources of settleable particulate material (SPM), heading to sediments with natural suspended solids. To date, there is little information about the fate of pharmaceuticals in sediment systems. In this study, the objective was to determine if pharmaceuticals are detected in SPM at locations near WWTPs or even in rural areas, thus being susceptible for sedimentation. SPM samples were collected from 10 sites in Finland, grouped as reference, rural and wastewater effluent sites. SPM collectors were placed about 35 cm above bottom for about 2 months during summer. After extraction, a set of 17 pharmaceuticals was analyzed. Several pharma…
Anaerobic central metabolic pathways active during polyhydroxyalkanoate production in uncultured cluster 1Defluviicoccusenriched in activated sludge …
2009
A glycogen nonpolyphosphate-accumulating organism (GAO) enrichment culture dominated by the Alphaproteobacteria cluster 1 Defluviicoccus was investigated to determine the metabolic pathways involved in the anaerobic formation of polyhydroxyalkanoates, carbon storage polymers important for the proliferation of microorganisms in enhanced biological phosphorus removal processes. FISH-microautoradiography and post-FISH fluorescent chemical staining confirmed acetate assimilation as polyhydroxyalkanoates in cluster 1 Defluviicoccus under anaerobic conditions. Chemical inhibition of glycolysis using iodoacetate, and of isocitrate lyase by 3-nitropropionate and itaconate, indicated that carbon is …
Greenhouse gases from wastewater treatment — A review of modelling tools
2016
Nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and methane are greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted from wastewater treatment that contribute to its carbon footprint. As a result of the increasing awareness of GHG emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), new modelling, design, and operational tools have been developed to address and reduce GHG emissions at the plant-wide scale and beyond. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art and the recently developed tools used to understand and manage GHG emissions from WWTPs, and discusses open problems and research gaps. The literature review reveals that knowledge on the processes related to N2O formation, especially due to autotrophic biomass, is still incompl…
Economic feasibility study for intensive and extensive wastewater treatment considering greenhouse gases emissions
2013
Economic feasibility assessments represent a key issue for selecting which wastewater treatment processes should be implemented. The few applications that exist focus on the positive economic value of externalities, overlooking the existence of negative externalities. However, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) consume a significant amount of energy, contributing to climate change. In this context, as a pioneering approach, greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) have been incorporated as a negative externality of wastewater treatment. Within this framework, this study aims to compare the economic feasibility of five technologies, both intensive and extensive, for small communities. The results sho…
Start-Up of Chitosan-Assisted Anaerobic Sludge Bed Reactors Treating Light Oxygenated Solvents under Intermittent Operation
2021
Quality of the granular sludge developed during the start-up of anaerobic up-flow sludge bed reactors is of crucial importance to ensure the process feasibility of treating industrial wastewater such as those containing solvents. In this study, the microbial granule formation from suspended-growth biomass was investigated in two chitosan-assisted reactors. These reactors operated mimicking industrial sites working with night closures treating a mixture of ethanol, ethyl acetate, and 1-ethoxy-2-propanol. Each reactor operated under different hydrodynamic regimes typical from UASB (R1: <
Application of Toxkit microbiotests for toxicity assessment in soil and compost
2004
The potential of Toxkit microbiotests to detect and analyze pollution in agricultural soil and the quality of compost was studied. The toxicity tests used included seed germination biotests using cress salad (Lepidum sativum L.), tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum L.), and cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), and the Toxkit microbiotests included those with microalgae (Selenastrum capricornutum), protozoa (Tetrahymena thermophila), crustaceans (Daphnia magna, Thamnocephalus platyurus, and Heterocypris incongruens), and rotifers (Brachionus calyciflorus). Experiments on compost were undertaken in a modified solid-state fermentation system (SSF) and under field conditions (in a windrow). To promote th…
Machine learning for energy cost modelling in wastewater treatment plants.
2018
Understanding the energy cost structure of wastewater treatment plants is a relevant topic for plant managers due to the high energy costs and significant saving potentials. Currently, energy cost models are generally generated using logarithmic, exponential or linear functions that could produce not accurate results when the relationship between variables is highly complex and non-linear. In order to overcome this issue, this paper proposes a new methodology based on machine-learning algorithms that perform better with complex datasets. In this paper, machine learning was used to generate high-performing energy cost models for wastewater treatment plants, using a database of 317 wastewater…