Shengjiong Yang

Current status of urban wastewater treatment plants in China.

The study reported and analyzed the current state of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in urban China from the perspective of treatment technologies, pollutant removals, operating load and effluent discharge standards. By the end of 2013, 3508 WWTPs have been built in 31 provinces and cities in China with a total treatment capacity of 1.48×10(8)m(3)/d. The uneven population distribution between Chinas east and west regions has resulted in notably different economic development outcomes. The technologies mostly used in WWTPs are AAO and oxidation ditch, which account for over 50% of the existing WWTPs. According to statistics, the efficiencies of COD and NH3-N removal are good in 656 WWTPs in 70 cities. The overall average COD removal is over 88% with few regional differences. The average removal efficiency of NH3-N is up to 80%. Large differences exist between the operating loads applied in different WWTPs. The average operating loading rate is approximately 83%, and 52% of WWTPs operate at loadings of <80%, treating up to 40% of the wastewater generated. The implementation of discharge standards has been low. Approximately 28% of WWTPs that achieved the Grade I-A Discharge Standard of Pollutants for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant (GB 18918-2002) were constructed after 2010. The sludge treatment and recycling rates are only 25%, and approximately 15% of wastewater is inefficiently treated. Approximately 60% of WWTPs have capacities of 1×10(4)m(3)/d-5×10(4)m(3)/d. Relatively high energy consumption is required for small-scale processing, and the utilization rate of recycled wastewater is low. The challenges of WWTPs are discussed with the aim of developing rational criteria and appropriate technologies for water recycling. Suggestions regarding potential technical and administrative measures are provided.

Phosphate adsorption performance of a novel filter substrate made from drinking water treatment residuals.

Phosphate is one of the most predominant pollutants in natural waters. Laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the phosphate adsorption performance of a (NFS) made from drinking water treatment residuals. The adsorption of phosphate on the NFS fitted well with the Freundlich isotherm and pseudo second-order kinetic models. At pH7.0, the maximum adsorption capacity of 1.03mg/g was achieved at 15°C corresponding to the wastewater temperature in cold months, and increased notably to 1.31mg/g at 35°C. Under both acidic conditions (part of the adsorption sites was consumed) and basic conditions (negative charges formed on the surface of NFS, which led to a static repulsion of PO4(3-) and HPO4(2-)), the adsorption of phosphate was slightly inhibited. Further study showed that part of the adsorption sites could be recovered by 0.25mol/L NaOH. The activation energy was calculated to be above 8.0kJ/mol, indicating that the adsorption of phosphate on NFS was probably a chemical process. Considering the strong phosphate adsorption capacity and recoverability, NFS showed great promise on enhancing phosphate removal from the secondary treated wastewater in the filtration process.

Phosphorus removal from aqueous solution using a novel granular material developed from building waste

In this study, a granular material (GM) developed from building waste was used for phosphate removal from phosphorus-containing wastewater. Batch experiments were executed to investigate the phosphate removal capacity of this material. The mechanism of removal proved to be a chemical precipitation process. The characteristics of the material and resulting precipitates, the kinetics of the precipitation and Ca2+ liberation processes, and the effects of dosage and pH were investigated. The phosphate precipitation and Ca2+ liberation processes were both well described by a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. A maximum precipitation capacity of 0.51 ± 0.06 mg g-1 and a liberation capacity of 6.79 ± 0.77 mg g-1 were measured under the experimental conditions. The processes reached equilibrium in 60 min. The initial solution pH strongly affected phosphate removal under extreme conditions (pH <4 and pH >10). The precipitates comprised hydroxyapatite and brushite. This novel GM can be considered a promising material for phosphate removal from wastewater.

Coagulation performance of cucurbit[8]uril for the removal of azo dyes: effect of solution chemistry and coagulant dose

Dye wastewater has attracted significant attention because of its wide pH range and high content of color. In this work, the coagulation performances of cucurbit[8]uril for the removal of color from acid red 1 (AR1), orange II (OII), and Congo red (CR) dye wastewaters were investigated. Experimental results showed that color removal rates of greater than 95% for AR1, OII and CR were achieved at pH 6.0, when the dosage of cucurbit[8]uril was 1.51, 3.01 and 0.38 mmol·L-1, respectively. Under identical conditions, the color removal efficiencies of AR1 and CR were higher than OII, due to the larger molecular weights and more active hydroxyl and amino groups. Moreover, steady increases in AR1, OII and CR removal rates were recorded with increasing ionic strength. Such increases may be related to the reduction in thickness of the surface solvent membrane surrounding the dye colloids at high ionic strengths. Furthermore, Fourier transform infrared spectra demonstrated that no new bonds or functional groups were formed during coagulation, which indicates that the removal of AR1, OII and CR was primarily a physical process. The hydrogen bonds and inclusion complexes formed between cucurbit[8]uril and AR1, OII and CR contributed to the removal of color in coagulation predominantly.

La(III) coagulated graphene oxide for phosphate binding: mechanism and behaviour

Abstract A phosphate locking material was developed by coagulating graphene oxide (GO) through La3+ (La-GO). La3+ activates the graphene oxide to enhance the phosphate binding capacity and to coagulate graphene oxide. This achieves better separability during the coagulation process. The resulting La-GO was used to remove phosphate from aqueous solutions. The phosphate removal process was well described by the Langmuir isotherm model, and the maximum binding capacity was estimated to be 141.38 mg g−1. Furthermore, the removal process could attain equilibrium within 20 min and followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The pH of the initial solution had a powerful effect on the phosphate removal capacity: La-GO worked efficiently in neutral and alkaline solutions, but not in extremely acidic solutions. Analysis of the binding mechanism showed that phosphate was trapped and transformed into LaPO4 during the removal process. Our empirical and theoretical findings indicated that phosphate could be effectively removed by La-GO. Consequently, La3+ coagulated GO holds great promise for the advanced treatment of phosphate from wastewater and warrants further research.