Sam Azimi

Trace metal determination in total atmospheric deposition in rural and urban areas

The wet, dry and total atmospheric depositions of some metals (Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Na, Pb and Zn) were sampled at two sites and atmospheric fallout fluxes were determined for these locations. This work, led by two different research groups, allowed to reach two main goals: to define a simple analytical procedure to secure accurate shipboard sampling and analysis of atmospheric deposition, and to assess anthropogenic impacts of heavy metals to the environment. The first step about the validation step showed that the prevalent deposition type was dry deposition which represents 40, 60 and 80% for Cd, Cu and Pb, respectively. This prevalence of dry deposition in total atmospheric fallout supported the necessity of funnel wall rinsing which contains 30, 50 and 40% of collected Cd, Cu and Pb, respectively. Moreover, the reproducibility of atmospheric deposition collection was determined. The second step was performed by comparing two sampling sites. A rural sampling site, situated in Morvans regional park (250 km south-east of Paris), was chosen for its isolation from any local and regional contamination sources. Fluxes obtained in this area were compared with those obtained at an urban site (Créteil, suburb of Paris) allowing comparison between urban and rural areas and demonstrating the impact of anthropogenic activities on atmospheric deposition of Cr, Cu and Pb.

Hydrocarbons and Metals in Atmospheric Deposition and Roof Runoff in Central Paris

Hydrocarbons (aliphatic and aromatic) and metals (heavy metals and major elements) were measured in both atmospheric deposition and roof runoff in central Paris (France). Atmospheric deposition (wet and dry) was collected from December 2001 to October 2002 and roof runoff was sampled on three buildings with different covering materials, i.e., slate tiles and zinc sheets. This paper gives an overview of the results on the flux and distribution points of view for both atmospheric deposition and roof runoff. Results show that atmospheric fluxes of hydrocarbons and major elements increase during cold seasons, due to residential heating occurrence, while heavy metals, whose major sources have constant emission fluxes, exhibit steady atmospheric loads throughout the year. Moreover, hydrocarbon fingerprints reveal mainly biogenic and pyrolytic origins for aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, respectively. The results about roof runoff contamination suggest that the scavenging processes for hydrocarbons and metals are dependent on rainfall amount rather than on the rain event characteristics (number, intensity, duration), and dry deposition weakly contributes to the pollutant loads in roof runoff. Results also highlight that both metallic and slate roofs do not act as a source of hydrocarbons and major elements—exclusively originating from atmospheric deposition—while they act as a source of some heavy metals. Zinc-covered roofs largely release Zn and Ti, while slate roofs mainly release Pb, Ti and Cu. Whatever the material used for roof covering, roof runoff presents high Ni and V loads due to the vicinity of the chimney stacks of heating boilers.

Occurrence and removal of priority pollutants by lamella clarification and biofiltration

This study investigates the occurrence of all priority substances (n = 41) listed in the Water Framework Directive and additional substances (n = 47) in raw sewage, as well as the removal performance of lamella clarification and biofiltration techniques. Once the efficiency of both types of techniques has been assessed for typical wastewater parameters, the differences in each techniques ability to remove pollutants becomes obvious; nevertheless, pollutant removal in quantitative terms still depends on the physico-chemical properties of the compounds used and operating conditions within the selected facility. For lamella clarification, the removal of organic chemicals was found to be primarily correlated with their sorption potential and, hence, strongly dependent upon log K(ow) of the compound under study. Compounds with a strong hydrophobic character (log K(ow) > 4.5) are removed to a significant extent (approx. 85%), while hydrophilic compounds (log K(ow) < 3.5) are poorly removed (<20%). For biofiltration, the removal of chemicals appears to be compound-dependent, although this outcome involves several mechanisms, namely: i) physical filtration of total suspended solids, ii) volatilisation, iii) sorption, and iv) biotransformation of substances. Even if the complex processes within a biofilter system do not yield an accurate prediction of pollutant removal, two groups of chemicals can still be clearly identified: i) hydrophobic or volatile compounds, for which moderate to high removal rates are observed (from 50% to over 80%); and ii) hydrophilic, non-volatile and refractory compounds for which a low removal rate would be expected (<20%).

Municipal wastewater treatment by biofiltration: comparisons of various treatment layouts. Part 1: assessment of carbon and nitrogen removal.

One of the largest wastewater treatment plants in the Paris conurbation (240,000 m(3)/d) has been studied over several years in order to provide technical and economical information about biological treatment by biofiltration. Biofiltration systems are processes in which carbon and nitrogen pollution of wastewater are treated by ascendant flow through immersed fixed cultures. This paper, focused on technical information, aims: (1) to compare performances of the three biological treatment layouts currently used in biofiltration systems: upstream denitrification (UD), downstream denitrification (DD) and combined upstream-downstream denitrification (U-DD) layouts; and (2) to describe in detail each treatment step. Our study has shown that more than 90% of the carbon and ammoniacal pollution is removed during biological treatment, whatever the layout used. Nitrate, produced during nitrification, is then reduced to atmospheric nitrogen. This reduction is more extensive when the denitrification stage occurs downstream from the treatment (DD layout with methanol addition), whereas it is only partial when it is inserted upstream from the treatment (UD layout - use of endogenous carbonaceous substrate). So, the UD layout leads to a nitrate concentration that exceeds the regulatory threshold in the effluent, and the treatment must be supplemented with a post-denitrification step (U-DD layout). Our work has also shown that the optimal ammonium-loading rate is about 1.1-1.2 kg N-NH(4)(+) per m(3) media (polystyrene) and day. For denitrification, the optimal nitrate-loading rate is about 2.5 kg N per m(3) media (expanded clay) and day in the case of DD with methanol, and is about 0.25 kg N-NO(3)(-) per m(3) media and day in the case of UD with exogenous carbonaceous substrate.

Municipal wastewater treatment by biofiltration: comparisons of various treatment layouts. Part 2: assessment of the operating costs in optimal conditions

This work aims to compare the operation costs (energy, reagents, waste management) for the three layouts usually used in wastewater treatment plants incorporating biofilters, using technical and economical data acquired during 10 years of operation of a Parisian plant (Seine Centre, 240,000 m(3) d(-1) -800,000 equivalent inhabitants). The final objective is to establish general economical data and tendencies that can be translated from our study to any biofiltration plant. Our results evidenced the savings achieved through the treatment process combining upstream and downstream denitrification. To use this layout reduced the operating costs by some 10% as compared with conventional processing only comprising downstream denitrification. Operating costs were respectively estimated at 37 and 34 €/1,000 m(3) for downstream denitrification and combining upstream and downstream denitrification layouts.

Contribution of domestic effluents to hydrocarbon levels of dry weather flow in combined sewers

The importance of hydrocarbon contamination of the sewer network has been reported by many authors recently. Most of the studies are focused on the introduction of such pollutants into combined sewers by street and roof stormwater, but few evaluate the contribution of domestic inputs to hydrocarbon pollution. As a consequence, this work—carried out on the framework of the OPUR (Observatory of Urban Pollutants) research program—assesses the resolved aliphatic (AH), unresolved complex mixture (UCM) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations of domestic effluents (DE) and evaluates the role played by such effluents on the hydrocarbon levels of dry weather flow (DWF) in combined sewers. Results show hydrocarbon concentrations in the 200 – 300 μg · l−1, 300 – 1 000 μg · l−1 and 0.9 – 1.4 μg · l−1 ranges for AHs, UCM and the 16 PAHs of the US-EPA, respectively. The assessment of hydrocarbon fluxes conveyed by domestic effluents on the scale of the ‘Le Marais’ experimental urban catchment (42 ha, centre of Paris) reveals the predominant contribution of domestic inputs to the DWF pollution and highlights the unsuspected role of households.

Influence of the water quality improvement on fish population in the Seine River (Paris, France) over the 1990-2013 period.

Over the past 20 years, rules concerning wastewater treatment and quality of water discharged into the environment have changed considerably. Huge investments have been made in Paris conurbation to improve waste water treatment processes in accordance with the European Water Framework Directive. The interdepartmental association for sewage disposal in Paris conurbation (SIAAP) carried out a monitoring of both fish assemblages and water quality in the Seine River around the Paris conurbation (France) since the early 90s. The main goal of this study was to estimate the influence of the water quality improvement on fish. On one hand, the study confirmed the improvement of the water quality (dissolved oxygen, ammonia nitrogen, organic matter) in the Seine River, mostly focused downstream of Paris conurbation. On the other hand, an increase of the number of species occurred from 1990 (14) to 2013 (21). Moreover, changes in the river Seine assemblages happened over that 23-year period with emergence of sensitive species (ruffe, scalpin and pike-perch). The improvement of the water quality was also reported with respect to the Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI). However, no variation of pollutant concentrations in roach, eel and chub muscles has been observed. An exceedance of the environmental quality standards have even been reported all over this period as regards mercury and organochlorine.

Anthropogenic particles in the stomach contents and liver of the freshwater fish Squalius cephalus

Anthropogenic particles (APs) are a very broad category of particles produced directly or indirectly by human activities. Their ingestion by biota is well studied in the marine environment. In contrast, studies on AP ingestion in wild freshwater organisms are scarce despite high contamination levels in some rivers and lakes. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the ingestion of APs and the possible occurrence of APs in the liver and muscle of a freshwater fish, Squalius cephalus, from the Parisian conurbation. After isolation, the particles were analyzed using Raman spectroscopy. In sixty stomachs, eighteen APs were found, half of which were plastics and the other half were dyed particles. Twenty-five percent of sampled individuals had ingested at least one AP. The mean length of the APs was 2.41 mm. No significant difference was found between the sites upstream and downstream of Paris. Additionally, 5% of sampled livers contained one or more APs, which were characterized as microplastics (MPs). No APs were found in the muscle tissue. The majority of APs isolated from stomach contents were fibers, which is similar to the findings of a previous river contamination study. This highlights that fish could be more exposed to fibers than previously thought and that more studies on the impacts of fiber ingestion are required. Despite their low occurrence, MPs are reported, for the first time, in the liver of a wild freshwater fish species. While the pathways and impacts are still unknown, MPs also occur in liver of marine mollusks and fish. Physiological in vitro studies are needed to better evaluate the impacts of such phenomena.

Early assessment of a rapid alternative method for the estimation of the biomethane potential of sewage sludge.

This short communication briefly presents a rapid method using a fluorescent redox indicator, similar to resazurin, in order to estimate the biodegradability of sewage sludge during anaerobic digestion (AD). The biodegradability and by extension the Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) of nineteen municipal sludge samples (primary, biological and tertiary) were investigated and estimated in only 48 h. Results showed the relevance to follow the metabolic activity of anaerobic sludge by the kinetic of probe reduction. The extended lag phase of inoculum indicated an impact of pre-treatments on enzyme activity. The comparison with Automatic Methane Potential Test System II (AMPTS) confirmed the estimated values of BMP according to an uncertainty limit of 25%. These first results highlight the interest of this rapid assay as a preliminary tool of the biodegradability of sewage sludge in anaerobic digestion.