Krzysztof Pulikowski

ALGAE PROLIFERATION ON SUBSTRATES IMMERSED IN BIOLOGICALLY TREATED SEWAGE

Due fast biomass production, high affinity for N and P and possibilities to CO2 sequestration microalgae are currently in the spotlight, especially in renewable energy technologies sector. The majority of studies focus their attention on microalgae cultivation with respect to biomass production. Fuel produced from algal biomass can contribute to reducing consumption of conventional fossil fuels and be a remedy for a rising energy crisis and global warming induced by air pollution. Some authors opt for possibilities of using sewage as a nutrient medium in algae cultivation. Other scientists go one step further and present concepts to introduce microalgal systems as an integral part of wastewater treatment plants. High costs of different microalgal harvesting methods caused introduction of the idea of algae immobilization in a form of periphyton on artificial substrates. In the present study the attention has focused on possibilities of using waste materials as substrates to proliferation of periphyton in biologically treated sewage that contained certain amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus.

Wastewater treatment in submerged aerated biofilter under condition of high ammonium concentration

Abstract Treatment of wastewater produced in Service Areas (SA) located on expressways and highways is a worldwide problem because of increasing amount of roads and specific composition of those kinds of sewage. Insufficient removal of pollutants from wastewater discharged into surface water may cause serious environmental problems. In the present study efficiency of treatment of wastewater with high ammonium concentration in biological membrane system used on SA was investigated. Concentrations of ammonia nitrogen in wastewater flowing into bioreactor in none of the tested objects did not fall below 99.0 mg of N-NH4·dm−3. Because of high ammonium content in sewage and high pH reaching value about 9, it is almost impossible to create favorable conditions for microorganisms that run purification processes resulting in low efficiency of phosphorus and nitrogen removal (reduction of biogenic compounds did not exceed 15%). Treatment of wastewater consisting mainly of urine with commonly used biological membrane technology has to be widely tested to perform suitable quality of discharged wastewater, to provide safety of surface water environment.

SEASONAL CHANGES IN THE REDUCTION OF BIOGENIC COMPOUNDS IN WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS BASED ON HYDROPONIC TECHNOLOGY

The study presents the results of the treatment of domestic and industrial wastewater with respect to the reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds. The analysis encompasses the results of physical and chemical tests of effluents from two facilities based on hydroponic technology: wastewater treatment plants with hydroponic lagoons using the BIOPAX technology – Paczkow, Poland and the Organica technology – Szarvas, Hungary. Monthly treatment effectiveness was determined basing on these analyses. The composition of wastewater flowing into the lagoon (after mechanical treatment) and wastewater discharged to the collector in 2009–2011 was subject to physical and chemical analysis in both facilities. The effluent quality was determined basing on the concentration of total phosphorus, total nitrogen and ammonium nitrogen. Mean annual results of the operation of both objects were high. For the wastewater treatment plant in Paczkow, operating in the BIOPAX technology, the effectiveness of treatment with respect to total nitrogen throughout the analysed period ranged from 76.9–84.4%. Total phosphorus was eliminated from wastewater with an effectiveness of 96.4–98.0%. Such high reduction level was caused by the application of additional precipitation process in the chambers of activated sludge reactor. The hydroponic plant in Szarvas (Organica technology) was characterised by a high effectiveness of reduction with respect to ammonium nitrogen: 92.0–93.0%, while the reduction of total phosphorus fell into the range 49.3–55.3%.

Load of heavy metals in drainage waters in the Middle Sudety Mountains

Load of heavy metals in drainage waters in the Middle Sudety Mountains Research were carried out in study site located in Stare Bogaczowice near Wałbrzych. The daily drainage runoff measurements and periodical chemical analyses of water samples from selected drainage plots had been made. Concentrations of heavy metals: Cu, Zn, Zn, Pb, Cr i Cd had been measured. Drainage waters do not include significant amounts of heavy metals. Concentration of zinc, which is very common in nature, ranged from 0.018 to 0.675 mg Zn·dm-3, cadmium concentrations was somewhat larger then 0.001 mg Cd · dm-3. In spite of precipitations higher then in the other sites and because of low concentrations, the heavy metal loads had been very small. Regarding lead and nickel load did not exceed 70 g·ha-1·yr-1, and concerning copper, chromium and cadmium it was below 5.0 g·ha-1·yr-1. Heavy metals in drainage waters do not make serious threat on surface water body receivers. Ładunek metali ciężkich odpływający z wodami drenarskimi w Sudetach Środkowych W pracy przedstawiono wyniki badań dotyczących zawartości wybranych metali ciężkich w wodach drenarskich i jednostkowego ładunku poszczególnych metali wynoszonych do odbiornika wraz z wodą. Badania prowadzono na obiekcie położonym na pograniczu Pogórza Bolkowsko-Wałbrzyskiego i Gór Wałbrzyskich. Obejmowały one natężenie odpływu wód drenarskich i oznaczenie zawartości: cynku, miedzi, niklu, ołowiu, chromu i kadmu. Średni roczny wskaźnik odpływu dla poszczególnych działów jest zróżnicowany i wynosi od 68 mm do 306 mm. Z sześciu metali objętych badaniami w najwyższych stężeniach występował cynk. Jego średnie stężenie wynosiło od 0,018 do 0,675 mg Zn·dm-3, natomiast średnie obliczone dla 4 działów wyniosło 0,212 mg Zn·dm-3. Tak duże stężenie cynku wynika z jego powszechnego występowania w skorupie ziemskiej, jak również tworzenia przez ten metal związków łatwo rozpuszczalnych. Pozostałe mikroelementy (Cu, Ni, i Cr) występowały w znacznie mniejszych ilościach. Wielkość ładunku metali ciężkich, jak i innych składników wynoszonych wraz z wodami drenarskimi jest uzależniona głównie od ilości odpływającej wody. Obiekt, na którym prowadzono badania, charakteryzował się wysokim wskaźnikiem odpływu. Jedynie w przypadku cynku w dziale 11 zanotowano roczny ładunek przekraczający 1 kg Zn·ha-1·rok-1. W poszczególnych latach odpływało średnio od 86 do 820 g Zn·ha-1··rok-1. Ilość miedzi odpływająca z jednego hektara w ciągu roku nie przekroczyła 2,5 g Cu·ha-1··rok-1, a chromu 5,0 g Cr·ha-1·rok-1. Średnio w okresie badawczym odpływało z 1 ha zaledwie około 12 g Pb·ha-1·rok-1 i 18,5 g Ni·ha-1·rok-1. Ładunki kadmu były bardzo małe i w żadnym z analizowanych przypadków nie przekroczyły 1,0 g Cd·ha-1· rok-1. Ładunki metali ciężkich zawarte w wodach drenarskich nie stanowią zagrożenia dla wód powierzchniowych stanowiących ich odbiornik.

Assessment of Groundwater Quality in Areas Irrigated with Food Industry Wastewater: a Case of Wastewater Utilisation from Sugar and Yeast Factories

This work presents the outcomes from two independent studies evaluating the chemical quality of groundwater in agricultural areas irrigated with wastewater from sugar and yeast industries. The evaluation was determined using chemical parameters representing typical contaminants of sugar industry wastewater (SIWW) and yeast industry wastewater (YIWW), and characterising the content of organic matter (BOD5), nutrients (NH4-N, NO3-N, TN and TP) and salts (Cl, SO4, Na and K). The studies reveal that food industry wastewater constitutes a valuable water-nutrient-rich medium that can be reused in agricultural applications as an alternative water resource for irrigation and nutrients for fertilisation. Furthermore, the reuse facilitates the sustainable discharge of wastewater through a soil-aquifer zone to the natural environment. This does not affect chemical quality of groundwater, which was comparable in areas irrigated and non-irrigated with SIWW and YIWW. Although some parameters (NO3-N, NH4-N, SO4, Cl and Na) displayed higher concentrations in groundwater from the fields irrigated with wastewater, these contents were within recommended health-based guideline limits defined in either the groundwater quality standards or the drinking water quality norms. Only the contents of K revealed an exclusive groundwater impact from wastewater irrigation. This was confirmed in statistical tests employing the Ward’s hierarchical clustering method, which exposed excessive amounts of K introduced into groundwater through irrigation with both SIWW and YIWW. However, this parameter is not considered to pose any health risk to humans or the environment, and its content is not restricted by quality guideline values for either groundwater or drinking water.