Iffat Naz

Assessment of biological trickling filter systems with various packing materials for improved wastewater treatment

Attached growth processes for wastewater treatment have significantly been improved during recent years. Their application can be extended to sustainable municipal wastewater treatment in remote locations and in developing countries for the purpose of organic matter (biochemical oxygen demand, BOD) removal and pathogenic decontamination. The aim of this study is to assess selected packing media for biological trickling filters (BTFs) and to develop a simplified model for describing the capacity of BOD removal in BTFs. In this work, BTFs with four different media viz., rubber, polystyrene, plastic and stone have been investigated at two temperature ranges of 5–15°C and 25–35°C. The average removal of both chemical oxygen demand and BOD was higher than 80 and 90% at temperature ranges of 5–15 and 25–35°C, respectively. The geometric mean of faecal coliforms in BTF using polystyrene, plastic, rubber and stone as filter media was reduced by 4.3, 4.0, 5.8 and 5.4 log10, respectively, at a low temperature range of 5–15°C. At a higher temperature range of 25–35°C, the faecal coliform count was reduced by 3.97, 5.34, 5.36 and 4.37 log10 from polystyrene, plastic, rubber and stone media BTF, respectively. Simplified model was developed and used to estimate the optimal BOD loading rates (Bvd) for designing robust BTF systems, with appropriate filter media. It has been concluded that highly efficient BTFs can be designed using various filter media, which may be capable of treating organic loading rates of more than 3 kg BOD/m3 day. These types of BTFs can be applied for the BOD and microbial contaminants removal of wastewater for potential reuse in developing countries.

Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) and methicillin resistant coagulase negative staphylococci (MRCoNS) are the important nosocomial infectious agents. There is a growing concern about the rapid rise in the resistance of Staphylococcus aureusto presently available antimicrobial agents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence rate of MRSA and MRCoNS and their rate of resistance to different antistaphylococcal antibiotics used broadly for treatment. Out of the total 350 staphylococcal isolates from different clinical specimens 148 isolates (60.40%) were identified as MRSA by oxacillin screen agar method, and 46 isolates (43.80%) were screened as MRCoNS. All the MRSA and MRCoNS isolates were tested for antibiotic resistance pattern by disc diffusion method for 16 different antibiotics. All the isolates of

Performance efficiency of an integrated stone media fixed biofilm reactor and sand filter for sewage treatment

AbstractIn this study, the efficiency of stone media fixed biofilm reactor (FBR) and sand column filter (SCF) was checked for domestic sewage treatment of university area. Sewage was continuously recirculated through FBR during different time intervals of 12, 24, 36, and 48 h followed by a SCF. There was reduction in odor, alkalinity, pH, turbidity, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, electrical conductivity, phosphates (PO4), sulfates , nitrate , nitrite , and bacterial count, while dissolved oxygen concentration significantly increased after FBR and SFC treatments. Results revealed that the efficiency of FBR was improved by increasing the treatment time. The removal of BOD5, COD, and turbidity (89.67, 89.62, 99.84%), respectively, was achieved in FBR treatment. While 97.12, 97.15, and 100% reduction in BOD5, COD, and turbidity was attained in SCF treatment. Moreover, over 80% removal of coli forms and Enterococcus faecalis was m...

Bacterial succession and degradative changes by biofilm on plastic medium for wastewater treatment

Biofilms contain a diverse range of microorganisms and their varying extracellular polysaccharides. The present study has revealed biofilm succession associated with degradative effects on plastic (polypropylene) and contaminants in sludge. The wet weight of biofilm significantly (p < 0.05) increased; from 0.23 ± 0.01 to 0.44 ± 0.01 g. Similarly, the dry weight of the biofilm increased from 0.02 to 0.05 g. Significant reduction in pathogens (E. coli and feacal coliforms) by MPN technique (>80%) and in chemical parameters (decrease in COD, BOD5 of 73.32 and 69.94%) representing diminution of organic pollutants. Energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS) of plastic revealed carbon and oxygen contents, further surface analysis of plastic by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed emergence of profound bacterial growth on the surface. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy conforms its biotransformation under aerobic conditions after 8 weeks. New peaks developed at the region 1050 and 969 cm−1 indicating CO and CC bond formation. Thus plastic with 6 weeks old aerobic biofilm (free of pathogens, max. weight, and OD, efficient COD & BOD removal ability) is suggested to be maintained in fixed biofilm reactors for wastewater treatment.

Sequential Application of Plastic Media- Trickling Filter and Sand Filter for Domestic Wastewater Treatment at Low Temperature Condition

Present research was aimed towards designing and construction of efficient plastic media-trickling filter (TF) for the treatment of domestic wastewater. The hydraulic flow rate through the TF was maintained at80±2 ml/min at a temperature range of 5 -15∫C by selecting treatmenttime of 12, 24, 36 and 48 hrs. Parameters like COD, BOD 5, TSS, turbidity, NO 3, NO2, SO4, PO4 and pathogenic indicator microbes were monitored after treatment of 12, 24, 36 and 48 hrs. The efficiency of the TF was improved with increase of time from 12 to 48 hrs. Maximum efficiency of TF was observed after 48 hrs treatment viz. 93.45, 93, 86.25, 57.8, 63.15, 25, 32.43, 99.95 and 86.3% reduction from the zero time value forBOD 5, COD, TSS, PO 4, SO4, NO3, NO2, turbidityand fecal coliforms respectively.Finally 48 hrs treated sample was passed through sand filter (SF) for further final polishing and a pproximately, 95.72, 95, 100, 73.5, 65.8, 58.3, 37.83, 100 and 91.5% reduction in BOD5, COD, TSS, PO 4, SO4, NO3, NO2, turbidity and fecal coliforms was observed. This study showed that plastic media -trickling filter along with sand filter is a

Evidence of microscopic correlation between biofilm kinetics and divalent cations for enhanced wastewater treatment efficiency

Biofilm-bacterial communities have been exploited in various biological wastewater treatment processes. The present work is aimed at exploring the possible factors for tailoring biofilm mechanics by introducing divalent cations (Ca2+) in the constructed wetland soil. The in vitro investigation of soil samples collected at various retention times revealed that the addition of Ca2+ facilitates the formation of well organized patterns of biofilm compared to calcium depleted conditions. Afterwards, Ca2+ ions were intentionally introduced into the soil of lab-scale constructed wetland to examine its superior treatment efficiency towards the removal of various chemical and microbiological contaminants. The current work therefore may form a basis to implement theoretical predictions experimentally in a real time existing wastewater treatment technology. Hence, the same approach can effectively be adopted in pilot scale wetland systems as well as other biofilm mediated wastewater treatment technologies.

Role of the Biofilms in Wastewater Treatment

Biological wastewater treatment systems play an important role in improving water quality and human health. This chapter thus briefly discusses different biological methods, specially biofilm technologies, the development of biofilms on different filter media, factors affecting their development as well as their structure and function. It also tackles various conventional and modern molecular techniques for detailed explora‐ tion of the composition, diversity and dynamics of biofilms. These data are crucial to improve the performance, robustness and stability of biofilm-based wastewater treatment technologies.

Heavy metal contamination in water, soil, and milk of the industrial area adjacent to Swan River, Islamabad, Pakistan

ABSTRACT Trace heavy metals such as Cr(III), Ni(II), Cd(II), Zn(II), Pb(II), and Cu(II) are hazardous pollutants and are rich in areas with high anthropogenic activities. Their concentrations were analyzed using atomic absorption spectroscopy, and it was found that their concentrations were several fold higher in downstream Swan River water samples of the Kahuta Industrial Triangle as compared to upstream. Heavy metal soil concentrations taken from the downstream site were 149% for Cr, 131% for Ni, 176% for Cd, 139% for Zn, 224% for Pb, and 182% for Cu when compared to samples from the upstream site. Quantitative analysis concluded that these metals were higher in milk samples collected from downstream as compared to the samples from upstream water-irrigated sites. The order of metal in milk was as Zn > Cr > Cu > Cd > Pb = Ni. Heavy metal contaminations may affect the drinking water quality, food chain, and ecological environment. It was also suggested that the toxicity due to such polluted water, soil, and milk are seriously dangerous to human health in future.

Performance Evaluation of Integrated Constructed Wetland for Domestic Wastewater Treatment.

Simple, budget friendly, laboratory-scale integrated constructed wetland (ICW) was designed to assess domestic wastewater treatment performance at a loading rate of 75 mm/d, planted with native plant species: Veronica-angallis aquatica and compared with non-vegetative control system at various residence times of 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, and 28 days. Results revealed that the vegetated ICW demonstrated superior performance over non-vegetated control: 69.12 vs 17.12%, 67.77 vs 16.04%, 68 vs 16.48%, 71.19 vs 6.56%, 71.54 vs 14.80%, and 72.04 vs 11.41% for total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, phosphates (PO4(-)), sulfate (SO4(-)), nitrate (NO3(-)), and nitrite (NO2(-)), respectively, at 20 days residence times. Reduction in bacterial counts (2.79 × 10(4) CFU/mL) and fecal pathogens (345.5 MPN index/100 mL) was observed in V. aquatica at 20 days residence time. Therefore, the present study highlights not only the presence of vegetation but also appropriate residence time in constructed wetlands for better performances.

Physiological activities associated with biofilm growth in attached and suspended growth bioreactors under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

This research work evaluated the biofilm succession on stone media and compared the biochemical changes of sludge in attached and suspended biological reactors operated under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Stones incubated (30 ± 2°C) with activated sludge showed a constant increase in biofilm weight up to the fifth and seventh week time under anaerobic and aerobic conditions, respectively, where after reduction (>80%) the most probable number index of pathogen indicators on ninth week was recorded. Reduction in parameters such as biological oxygen demand (BOD) (47.7%), chemical oxygen demand (COD, 41%), nitrites (60.2%), nitrates (105.5%) and phosphates (58.9%) and increase in dissolved oxygen (176.5%) of sludge were higher in aerobic attached growth reactors as compared with other settings. While, considerable reductions in these values were also observed (BOD, 53.8%; COD, 2.8%; nitrites, 28.6%; nitrates, 31.7%; phosphates, 41.4%) in the suspended growth system under anaerobic conditions. However, higher sulphate removal was observed in suspended (40.9% and 54.9%) as compared with biofilm reactors (28.2% and 29.3%). Six weeks biofilm on the stone media showed maximum physiological activities; thus, the operational conditions should be controlled to keep the biofilm structure similar to six-week-old biofilm, and can be used in fixed biofilm reactors for wastewater treatment.