S.W.H. Van Hulle

Comparison of ozone and HO· induced conversion of effluent organic matter (EfOM) using ozonation and UV/H2O2 treatment.

This study experimentally examined the impact of oxidation on the properties of effluent organic matter (EfOM) using two different oxidation techniques: ozonation and UV/H2O2 treatment. Multiple surrogates for EfOM related to its spectral properties, molecular size, concentration, polarity and biodegradability were used to study the oxidant induced conversions. Spectral calculations as differential absorbance spectra (DAS) and absorbance slope index (ASI) were applied for the first time to describe EfOM oxidation and proved to be useful to unravel differences in working mechanism between ozone and hydroxyl radical (HO) induced transformation of EfOM. Effluent ozonation inherently led to significant HO production as a result of electron transfers between ozone and electron rich moieties of EfOM. HO production increased as function of ozone dose and was strongly correlated to UV absorption at 254 nm (UV254). During the UV moderated process, pseudo steady-state behaviour of the HO concentration was observed. Ozone decomposition was extremely sensitive to EfOM reactivity. Most likely, the degree of dissociation of EfOM controlled its reactivity towards ozone. The pH effect was quantified by calculating the pseudo-first order decay constant for ozone as function of reaction time and pH. Treatment with both processes led to more oxygen rich, less hydrophobic and more biodegradable EfOM.

Towards a benchmarking tool for minimizing wastewater utility greenhouse gas footprints

A benchmark simulation model, which includes a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP)-wide model and a rising main sewer model, is proposed for testing mitigation strategies to reduce the systems greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The sewer model was run to predict methane emissions, and its output was used as the WWTP model input. An activated sludge model for GHG (ASMG) was used to describe nitrous oxide (N(2)O) generation and release in activated sludge process. N(2)O production through both heterotrophic and autotrophic pathways was included. Other GHG emissions were estimated using empirical relationships. Different scenarios were evaluated comparing GHG emissions, effluent quality and energy consumption. Aeration control played a clear role in N(2)O emissions, through concentrations and distributions of dissolved oxygen (DO) along the length of the bioreactor. The average value of N(2)O emission under dynamic influent cannot be simulated by a steady-state model subjected to a similar influent quality, stressing the importance of dynamic simulation and control. As the GHG models have yet to be validated, these results carry a degree of uncertainty; however, they fulfilled the objective of this study, i.e. to demonstrate the potential of a dynamic system-wide modelling and benchmarking approach for balancing water quality, operational costs and GHG emissions.

N2O and NO emissions during autotrophic nitrogen removal in a granular sludge reactor: a simulation study

This contribution deals with NO and N2O emissions during autotrophic nitrogen removal in a granular sludge reactor. Two possible model scenarios describing this emission by ammonium- oxidizing biomass have been compared in a simulation study of a granular sludge reactor for one-stage partial nitritation–Anammox. No significant difference between these two scenarios was noticed. The influence of the bulk oxygen concentration, granule size, reactor temperature and ammonium load on the NO and N2O emissions has been assessed. The simulation results indicate that emission maxima of NO and N2O coincide with the region for optimal Anammox conversion. Also, most of the NO and N2O are present in the off-gas, owing to the limited solubility of both gases. The size of granules needs to be large enough not to limit optimal Anammox activity, but not too large as this implies an elevated production of N2O. Temperature has a significant influence on N2O emission, as a higher temperature results in a better N-removal efficiency and a lowered N2O production. Statistical analysis of the results showed that there is a strong correlation between nitrite accumulation and N2O production. Further, three regions of operation can be distinguished: a region with high N2O, NO and nitrite concentration; a region with high N2 concentrations and, as such, high removal percentages; and a region with high oxygen and nitrate concentrations. There is some overlap between the first two regions, which is in line with the fact that maximum emission of NO and N2O coincides with the region for optimal Anammox conversion.

Sensor validation and reconciliation for a partial nitrification process

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are notorious for poor data quality and sensor reliability due to the hostile environment in which the measurement equipment has to function. In this paper, a structured residual approach with maximum sensitivity (SRAMS) based on the redundancy of the measurements is used to detect, identify and reconstruct single and multiple sensor faults in a single reactor for high activity ammonia removal over nitrite (SHARON) process. SRAMS is based on inferences, which are insensitive to the faults in the sensor of interest and sensitive to faults in the other sensors. It is used for four types of sensor failure detection: bias, drift, complete failure and precision degradation. The application of sensor validation shows that single and multiple sensor faults can be detected and that the fault magnitude and fault type can be estimated by the reconstruction scheme. This sensor validation method is not limited by the type or application of the considered sensors. The methodology can thus easily be applied for sensor surveillance of other continuously measuring sensors and analysers.

Treatment of rainwater runoff in recovery and recycling companies: Lab and pilot-scale testing

Wastewater released from the storage and/or processing of recycling and materials recovery can be characterised as rainwater runoff. Recuperation and recycling companies are confronted with wastewater that has a very fluctuating flow rate and composition. The flow rate mainly depends on the amount of rainfall while the composition additionally depends on what is currently stored on site. An analysis of possible physical-chemical treatment (coagulation/flocculation, sand filtration, activated carbon filtration and sedimentation) methods was performed at two different recycling companies in order to find a robust and economical feasible water treatment system that meets the discharge limits at all times. A violation of some measurement values (Cd, Cr, Ni and acenaphthene) after coagulation/flocculation occurred, which could be further reduced by using sand filtration. Good removal is achieved for common parameters as for mono- and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (MAH and PAH) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB). Applying a coupled sand- and activated carbon filtration on runoff resulted in a removal of over 80% of several measurement values (suspended solids, heavy metals). This clearly indicates the applicability of the physical-chemical treatment techniques.

Leaching behaviour of different scrap materials at recovery and recycling companies: full-, pilot- and lab-scale investigation.

Scrap material recovery and recycling companies are confronted with waste water that has a highly fluctuating flow rate and composition. Common pollutants, such as COD, nutrients and suspended solids, potentially toxic metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and poly chlorinated biphenyls can exceed the discharge limits. An analysis of the leaching behaviour of different scrap materials and scrap yard sweepings was performed at full-scale, pilot-scale and lab-scale in order to find possible preventive solutions for this waste water problem. The results of these leaching tests (with concentrations that frequently exceeded the Flemish discharge limits) showed the importance of regular sweeping campaigns at the company, leak proof or covered storage of specific scrap materials and oil/water separation on particular leachates. The particulate versus dissolved fraction was also studied for the pollutants. For example, up to 98% of the polyaromatic hydrocarbons, poly chlorinated biphenyls and some metals were in the particulate form. This confirms the (potential) applicability of sedimentation and filtration techniques for the treatment of the majority of the leachates, and as such the rainwater run-off as a whole.

Sustainable wastewater treatment of temporary events: the Dranouter Music Festival case study

Music festivals and other temporary events, such as bicycle races, lay a heavy burden on the surrounding environment. Treatment of the wastewater originating from such events is necessary if no municipal treatment plant is available. This study demonstrated that activated carbon is a performant technique for the treatment of wastewaters originating from these temporary events. Freundlich isotherms and maximum operational linear velocity (6 m/h) were determined on a lab-scale set-up. A pilot-scale set up was used to treat part (5%) of the total volume of the Dranouter Music Festival shower wastewater. On average 90% removal of COD and suspended solids concentration was obtained. Application of the activated carbon filter resulted in the fact that the local discharge limits were met without operational problems.

Structure changes and water filtration properties of electrospun polyamide nanofibre membranes

Nanofibre membranes are studied extensively in water treatment. Inappropriate storage, however, could alter their performance, e.g. regarding water filtration. This shows the need for investigating this effect in more detail so as to offer a solution for long-term behaviour and stability. In this study, polyamide nanofibre membranes were treated under different conditions, simulating the diverse storage conditions and to simulate their use in water filtration systems. Under all these different settings, nanofibre properties (scanning electron microscope pictures, dimensional changes, tensile strength) and water filtration performance (clean water permeability (CWP), bacterial removal) were investigated. The results demonstrate that, as soon as the dimensional change of a membrane is >2%, the CWP, tensile strength and bacterial removal significantly decrease. These dimensional changes occurred when the membrane became dry after it had been in contact with water. As such, it is important to keep the membrane either in dry or in wet conditions to store its unique properties. When heat-treated, the membrane had a higher tensile strength and kept its morphology and characteristics better during storage.

Impact of Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) on Parameter Sensitivity of a Kinetic Ozone Decomposition Model

Ozone decomposition in real water is often empirically modeled due to the system complexity. Mechanistic models, however, can be of great value in view of engineering applications. The high number of model parameters often restricts their applicability. In this study, sensitivity analyses were used to determine the most important elementary reactions from a kinetic model and to understand the reaction mechanism. Only seven of the 28 rate constants showed to impact ozone and hydroxyl radical concentrations. Mass-transfer related parameters were of major importance. Ozone decomposition was extremely sensitive to parameters involving dissolved organic matter (DOM) at very low scavenger levels implying that even in “ultrapure” water systems impurities should be considered. To increase the applicability of mechanistic ozonation models, simplification of the elementary radical scheme combined with a more detailed description of reactions involving DOM is needed.

Individual treatment of hotel and restaurant waste water in rural areas

About 25 hotels, restaurants and pubs in the rural community Heuvelland are situated in the area designated for individual water treatment. In order to meet the legislation by the end of 2015, each business needs to install an individual waste water treatment system (IWTS). To study this situation, three catering businesses were selected for further research. The aim of the study was to quantify the effluent quality and to assess IWTS performance for these catering businesses. First of all, the influence of discharging untreated waste water on the receiving surface water was examined. The results showed a decrease in water quality after the discharge point at every business. With the collected data, simulations with the software WEST® were performed. With this software two types of IWTSs with different (buffer) volumes were modelled and tested for each catering business. The first type is a completely mixed activated sludge reactor and the second type is a submerged aerobic fixed-bed reactor. The results of these simulations demonstrate that purification with an IWTS is possible if the capacity is large enough and if an adequate buffer volume is installed and if regular maintenance is performed.