Jiayu Tian

Electro-coagulation-flotation process for algae removal.

Algae in surface water have been a long-term issue all over the world, due to their adverse influence on drinking water treatment process as well as drinking water quality. The algae removal by electro-coagulation-flotation (ECF) technology was investigated in this paper. The results indicated that aluminum was an excellent electrode material for algae removal as compared with iron. The optimal parameters determined were: current density=1 mA/cm(2), pH=4-7, water temperature=18-36 degrees C, algae density=0.55 x 10(9)-1.55 x 10(9) cells/L. Under the optimal conditions, 100% of algae removal was achieved with the energy consumption as low as 0.4 kWh/m(3). The ECF performed well in acid and neutral conditions. At low initial pH of 4-7, the cell density of algae was effectively removed in the ECF, mainly through the charge neutralization mechanism; while the algae removal worsened when the pH increased (7-10), and the main mechanism shifted to sweeping flocculation and enmeshment. The mechanisms for algae removal at different pH were also confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis. Furthermore, initial cell density and water temperature could also influence the algae removal. Overall, the results indicated that the ECF technology was effective for algae removal, from both the technical and economical points of view.

Correlations of relevant membrane foulants with UF membrane fouling in different waters

Correlations between potential fouling-relevant substances and membrane fouling during ultrafiltration (UF) of different waters were investigated, including water samples from Lake Tegel, from a Berlin canal (Landwehrkanal) and from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) secondary effluent. The biopolymers quantified with liquid chromatography-organic carbon detection (LC-OCD) showed a remarkable correlation with UF membrane fouling for all the three water sources at different seasons. This finding suggests that the biopolymer content in water can be employed as a universal indicator for predicting membrane fouling potential in UF processes. The particulate matter in the two surface waters Lake Tegel and Berlin canal, as characterized by suspended solids and turbidity, also exhibited a distinct correlation with UF membrane fouling, although its correlation was slightly weaker than that of biopolymers. However, the humic substances, which are generally believed to be major membrane foulants, did not show any reliable correlation with the UF membrane fouling of the different waters. This work may provide useful information for the development of optimized fouling control strategies for sustainable UF operation.

Effects of chloride ions on electro-coagulation-flotation process with aluminum electrodes for algae removal

Electro-coagulation-flotation (ECF) is one of the most promising technologies that offers an attractive alternative to conventional coagulation and flotation. In this study, the effectiveness and mechanisms of algae removal by ECF process using aluminum electrodes was investigated in the presence of Cl(-) ions. The results showed that the addition of Cl(-) ions (1.0, 3.0, 5.0 and 8.0 mM) had a promoting effect on the algae removal in terms of both the cell density and chlorophyll-a, which could be attributed to the following two reasons. Firstly, active chlorine could be generated in the ECF when Cl(-) ions were present. The electrochemically generated active chlorine was demonstrated to be effective for the inactivation of algae cells with the aid of the electric field in the ECF. Secondly, the Cl(-) ions in the algae solution could enhance the release of Al(3+) from the aluminum electrodes in the ECF. Through SEM-EDX analysis, pitting corrosion and alleviated formation of oxide film by Cl(-) ions were observed on the anode surface. When considering that Cl(-) ions are universally present in natural waters, the effects of Cl(-) on ECF process for algae removal are of great significance.

Oxidation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) by chlorine, ozone and permanganate--a comparative study.

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX), a typical sulfonamide antibiotic, has been widely detected in secondary wastewater effluents and surface waters. In this work we investigated the oxidative degradation of SMX by commonly used oxidants of chlorine, ozone and permanganate. Chlorine and ozone were shown to be more effective for the removal of SMX (0.05-5.0mg/L), as compared with permanganate. Higher pH enhanced the oxidation of SMX by ozone and permanganate, but decreased the removal by chlorine. Moreover, the ozonation of SMX was significantly influenced by the presence of humic acid (HA), which exhibited negligible influence on the oxidation by chlorine and permanganate. Fairly lower mineralization of SMX occurred during the oxidation reactions, with the highest dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal of 13% (for ozone). By using LC-MS/MS, 7, 5 and 5 oxidation products were identified for chlorine, ozone and permanganate and possible transformation pathways were proposed. It was shown that different oxidants shared some common pathways, such as the cleavage of SN bond, the hydroxylation of the benzene ring, etc. On the other hand, each of the oxidants also exhibited exclusive degradation mechanisms, leading to the formation of different transformation products (TPs). This work may provide useful information for the selection of oxidants in water treatment processes.

Consecutive chemical cleaning of fouled PVC membrane using NaOH and ethanol during ultrafiltration of river water

Chemical cleaning of fouled hollow-fiber polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membrane with the consecutive use of NaOH and ethanol during ultrafiltration of river water was investigated in the study. Results showed that through the chemical cleaning with 1% NaOH for 30min, a negative cleaning efficiency of -14.6% was observed for the PVC membrane. This might be due to the increase of membrane hydrophobicity, which was reflected by the increase of contact angle from 69.7 degrees to 87.6 degrees . On the other hand, the cleaning efficiency of 85.1% was obtained by the consecutive cleaning with 30min of 1% NaOH and 30min of ethanol. Individual ethanol cleaning could remove 48.5% of the irreversible resistance, indicating that NaOH cleaning also made its contribution (36.6%) to the removal of membrane foulants. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analyses demonstrated that both NaOH and ethanol were not only able to eliminate the foulants on membrane surface, but also able to remove the in-pore fouling of the PVC membrane. The synergetic effects for removing membrane foulants were observed between the NaOH and ethanol. Furthermore, ethanol could also restore the hydrophilicity of the membrane by decreasing the contact angle from 87.6 degrees to 71.4 degrees . Considering that ethanol is easy to be used and reclaimed, the consecutive chemical cleaning by alkali and ethanol is recommended for PVC membrane in filtration of surface water.

Effect of PAC addition on immersed ultrafiltration for the treatment of algal-rich water

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of powdered activated carbon (PAC) addition on the treatment of algal-rich water by immersed ultrafiltration (UF), in terms of permeate quality and membrane fouling. Experiments were performed with a hollow-fiber polyvinyl chloride ultrafiltration membrane at a laboratory scale, 20-25°C and 10 L/(m(2) h) constant permeate flux. UF could achieve an absolute removal of Microcystis aeruginosa cells, but a poor removal of algogenic organic matter (AOM) released into water, contaminants responsible for severe membrane fouling. The addition of 4 g/L PAC to the immersed UF reactor significantly alleviated the development of trans-membrane pressure and enhanced the removal of dissovled organic carbon (by 10.9±1.7%), UV(254) (by 27.1±1.7%), and microcystins (expressed as MC-LR(eq), by 40.8±4.2%). However, PAC had little effect on the rejection of hydrophilic high molecular weight AOM such as carbohydrates and proteins. It was also identified that PAC reduced the concentrations of carbohydrates and proteins in the reactor due to decreased light intensity, as well as the MC-LR(eq) concentration by PAC adsorption.

Membrane coagulation bioreactor (MCBR) for drinking water treatment

In this paper, a novel submerged ultrafiltration (UF) membrane coagulation bioreactor (MCBR) process was evaluated for drinking water treatment at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) as short as 0.5h. The MCBR performed well not only in the elimination of particulates and microorganisms, but also in almost complete nitrification and phosphate removal. As compared to membrane bioreactor (MBR), MCBR achieved much higher removal efficiencies of organic matter in terms of total organic carbon (TOC), permanganate index (COD(Mn)), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and UV absorbance at 254nm (UV(254)), as well as corresponding trihalomethanes formation potential (THMFP) and haloacetic acids formation potential (HAAFP), due to polyaluminium chloride (PACl) coagulation in the bioreactor. However, the reduction of biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) and assimilable organic carbon (AOC) by MCBR was only 8.2% and 10.1% higher than that by MBR, indicating that biodegradable organic matter (BOM) was mainly removed through biodegradation. On the other hand, the trans-membrane pressure (TMP) of MCBR developed much lower than that of MBR, which implies that coagulation in the bioreactor could mitigate membrane fouling. It was also identified that the removal of organic matter was accomplished through the combination of three unit effects: rejection by UF, biodegradation by microorganism and coagulation by PACl. During filtration operation, a fouling layer was formed on the membranes surface of both MCBR and MBR, which functioned as a second membrane for further separating organic matter.

Characteristics of adsorbents made from biological, chemical and hybrid sludges and their effect on organics removal in wastewater treatment

Meso-macropore adsorbents were prepared from biological sludge, chemical sludge and hybrid sludge of biological and chemical sludges, by chemically activating with 18.0 M H(2)SO(4) in the mass ratio of 1:3, and then pyrolyzing at 550 °C for 1 h in anoxic atmosphere. The physical and chemical characteristics of the sludge-based adsorbents were examined in terms of surface physical morphology, specific surface area and pore size distribution, aluminum and iron contents, surface functional groups and crystal structure. Furthermore, the adsorption effect of these adsorbents on the organic substances in wastewater was also investigated. The results indicated that the adsorption capacities of the sludge-based adsorbents for UV(254) were lower than that of commercial activated carbon (AC), whereas the adsorption capacities of the adsorbents prepared from hybrid sludge (HA) and chemical sludge (CA) for soluble COD(Cr) (SCOD(Cr)) were comparable or even higher than that of the commercial AC. The reasons might be that the HA and CA possessed well-developed mesopore and macropore structure, as well as abundant acidic surface functional groups. However, the lowest adsorption efficiency was observed for the biological sludge-based adsorbent, which might be due to the lowest metal content and overabundance of surface acidic functional groups in this adsorbent.

Chemical cleaning of fouled PVC membrane during ultrafiltration of algal-rich water.

Cleaning of hollow-fibre polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membrane with different chemical reagents after ultrafiltration of algal-rich water was investigated. Among the tested cleaning reagents (NaOH, HCl, EDTA, and NaClO), 100 mg/L NaClO exhibited the best performance (88.4% +/- 1.1%) in removing the irreversible fouling resistance. This might be attributed to the fact that NaClO could eliminate almost all the major foulants such as carbohydrate-like and protein-like materials on the membrane surface, as confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. However, negligible irreversible resistance (1.5% +/- 1.0%) was obtained when the membrane was cleaning by 500 mg/L NaOH for 1.0 hr, although the NaOH solution could also desorb a portion of the major foulants from the fouled PVC membrane. Scanning electronic microscopy and atomic force microscopy analyses demonstrated that 500 mg/L NaOH could change the structure of the residual foulants on the membrane, making them more tightly attached to the membrane surface. This phenomenon might be responsible for the negligible membrane permeability restoration after NaOH cleaning. On the other hand, the microscopic analyses reflected that NaClO could effectively remove the foulants accumulated on the membrane surface.

Eco-friendly one-pot synthesis of ultradispersed TiO2 nanocrystals/graphene nanocomposites with high photocatalytic activity for dye degradation

We report an eco-friendly one-pot hydrothermal synthesis of ultrafine TiO2 nanocrystals (∼4.01 nm) homogeneously dispersed on the entire surface of graphene. Two specific contributions of glycerol, as the inhibitor to confine the growth and aggregation of primary TiO2 nanoparticles and as the spacer to hinder the restacking of graphene nanosheets, for building the unique TiO2/graphene nanoarchitectures have been clarified based on the systematic investigations. Compared with TiO2/graphene hybrids synthesized without glycerol and commercial P25, the ultradispersed TiO2 nanocrystals/graphene nanocomposites synthesized with the addition of glycerol have exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity for degradation of rhodamine B and methylene blue under visible light irradiation. The excellent recyclability and physicochemical stability of the as-synthesized nanocomposites have also been verified by the cycling photodegradation tests. The high photocatalytic activity and excellent stability of the as-synthesized nanocomposites are mainly attributed to the very high surface area (∼452 m2 g−1), efficient charge separation, and improved visible light absorbance, which originate from the advantageous nanoarchitectures such as ultradispersed and ultrasmall nature of TiO2 nanocrystals as well as the intimate and maximum contact interfaces between TiO2 and graphene.