Innovative biological treatment for sustainable development in the chemical industries

1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 111-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Wesley Eckenfelder ◽  
A. J. Englande

This paper presents a perspective of wastewater management in the chemical industries as related to sustainable development. The scope of wastewater management must therefore further be expanded to include the concept of ecological integrity of receiving waters. Ecological integrity of receiving waters is compromised by contaminants which are not effectively removed by Best Conventional Technology (BCT). Biological treatment typically offers the most cost-effective conversion and/or stabilization of wastewaters; however, modifications must be employed in the design and operation to provide satisfactory effluent quality. Enhanced treatment techniques for wastewaters containing high organic concentrations, VOCs, elevated TDS levels, toxics and priority pollutants are discussed. The importance of design and operational procedures including pretreatment technologies, two stage vs. single stage activated sludge, selector design and maximum specific oxygen uptake rate determinations are also presented.

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 75-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Andreadakis ◽  
G. H. Kristensen ◽  
A. Papadopoulos ◽  
C. Oikonomopoulos

The wastewater from the city of Thessaloniki is discharged without treatment to the nearby inner part of the Thessaloniki Gulf. The existing, since 1989, treatment plant offers only primary treatment and did not operate since the expected effluent quality is not suitable for safe disposal to the available recipients. Upgrading of the plant for advanced biological treatment, including seasonal nitrogen removal, is due from 1995. In the mean time, after minor modifications completed in February 1992, the existing plant was put into operation as a two-stage chemical-biological treatment plant for 40 000 m3 d−1, which corresponds to about 35% of the total sewage flow. The operational results obtained during the two years operation period are presented and evaluated. All sewage and sludge treatment units of the plant perform better than expected, with the exception of the poor sludge settling characteristics, due to severe and persistent bulking caused by excessive growth of filamentous microorganisms, particularly M. Parvicella. Effective control of the bulking problem could lead to more cost-effective operation and increased influent flows.


1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 33-41
Author(s):  
Jes la Cour Jansen ◽  
Bodil Mose Pedersen ◽  
Erik Moldt

Influent and effluent data from about 120 small wastewater treatment plants (100 - 2000 PE) have been collected and processed. Seven different types of plants are represented. The effluent quality and the treatment efficiency have been evaluated. The most common type of plant is mechanical/biological treatment plants. Some of them are nitrifying and some are also extended for chemical precipitation of phosphorus. Constructed wetlands and biological sandfilters are also represented among the small wastewater treatment plants.


1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 23-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Dor ◽  
N. Ben-Yosef

About one hundred and fifty wastewater reservoirs store effluents for irrigation in Israel. Effluent qualities differ according to the inflowing wastewater quality, the degree of pretreatment and the operational parameters. Certain aspects of water quality like concentration of organic matter, suspended solids and chlorophyll are significantly correlated with the water column transparency and colour. Accordingly optical images of the reservoirs obtained from the SPOT satellite demonstrate pronounced differences correlated with the water quality. The analysis of satellite multispectral images is based on a theoretical model. The model calculates, using the radiation transfer equation, the volume reflectance of the water body. Satellite images of 99 reservoirs were analyzed in the chromacity space in order to classify them according to water quality. Principal Component Analysis backed by the theoretical model increases the method sensitivity. Further elaboration of this approach will lead to the establishment of a time and cost effective method for the routine monitoring of these hypertrophic wastewater reservoirs.


Author(s):  
Allan Matthews ◽  
Adrian Leyland

Over the past twenty years or so, there have been major steps forward both in the understanding of tribological mechanisms and in the development of new coating and treatment techniques to better “engineer” surfaces to achieve reductions in wear and friction. Particularly in the coatings tribology field, improved techniques and theories which enable us to study and understand the mechanisms occurring at the “nano”, “micro” and “macro” scale have allowed considerable progress to be made in (for example) understanding contact mechanisms and the influence of “third bodies” [1–5]. Over the same period, we have seen the emergence of the discipline which we now call “Surface Engineering”, by which, ideally, a bulk material (the ‘substrate’) and a coating are combined in a way that provides a cost-effective performance enhancement of which neither would be capable without the presence of the other. It is probably fair to say that the emergence and recognition of Surface Engineering as a field in its own right has been driven largely by the availability of “plasma”-based coating and treatment processes, which can provide surface properties which were previously unachievable. In particular, plasma-assisted (PA) physical vapour deposition (PVD) techniques, allowing wear-resistant ceramic thin films such as titanium nitride (TiN) to be deposited on a wide range of industrial tooling, gave a step-change in industrial productivity and manufactured product quality, and caught the attention of engineers due to the remarkable cost savings and performance improvements obtained. Subsequently, so-called 2nd- and 3rd-generation ceramic coatings (with multilayered or nanocomposite structures) have recently been developed [6–9], to further extend tool performance — the objective typically being to increase coating hardness further, or extend hardness capabilities to higher temperatures.


AI and Ethics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aimee van Wynsberghe

AbstractWhile there is a growing effort towards AI for Sustainability (e.g. towards the sustainable development goals) it is time to move beyond that and to address the sustainability of developing and using AI systems. In this paper I propose a definition of Sustainable AI; Sustainable AI is a movement to foster change in the entire lifecycle of AI products (i.e. idea generation, training, re-tuning, implementation, governance) towards greater ecological integrity and social justice. As such, Sustainable AI is focused on more than AI applications; rather, it addresses the whole sociotechnical system of AI. I have suggested here that Sustainable AI is not about how to sustain the development of AI per say but it is about how to develop AI that is compatible with sustaining environmental resources for current and future generations; economic models for societies; and societal values that are fundamental to a given society. I have articulated that the phrase Sustainable AI be understood as having two branches; AI for sustainability and sustainability of AI (e.g. reduction of carbon emissions and computing power). I propose that Sustainable AI take sustainable development at the core of its definition with three accompanying tensions between AI innovation and equitable resource distribution; inter and intra-generational justice; and, between environment, society, and economy. This paper is not meant to engage with each of the three pillars of sustainability (i.e. social, economic, environment), and as such the pillars of sustainable AI. Rather, this paper is meant to inspire the reader, the policy maker, the AI ethicist, the AI developer to connect with the environment—to remember that there are environmental costs to AI. Further, to direct funding towards sustainable methods of AI.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4402
Author(s):  
Chun-Kai Wang ◽  
Chien-Ming Lee ◽  
Yue-Rong Hong ◽  
Kan Cheng

Energy transition has become a priority for adaptive policy and measures taken in response to climate change around the world. This is an opportunity and a challenge for the Taiwan government to establish a climate-resilient power generation mixed to ensure electricity security as well as climate change mitigation. This study adopted a sustainable development perspective and applied optimal control theory to establish a cost-effective model to evaluate a long-term (2050), climate-resilient power generation mix for Taiwan. Furthermore, this study applies the STIRPAT approach to predict the demand of electricity by 2050 for the demand side management. The results not only showed the share of various power generation mixed, but also recommended the trajectory of electricity saving by 2050.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elina Strade ◽  
Daina Kalnina

Abstract Pharmaceutical wastewater biological treatment plants are stressed with multi-component wastewater and unexpected variations in wastewater flow, composition and toxicity. To avoid operational problems and reduced wastewater treatment efficiency, accurate monitoring of influent toxicity on activated sludge microorganisms is essential. This paper outlines how to predict highly toxic streams, which should be avoided, using measurements of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), if they are made in a wide range of initial concentration. The results indicated that wastewater containing multivalent Al3+ cations showed a strong toxic effect on activated sludge biocenosis irrespectively of dilutions, while toxicity of phenol and formaldehyde containing wastewater decreased considerably with increasing dilution. Activated sludge microorganisms were not sensitive to wastewater containing halogenated sodium salts (NaCl, NaF) and showed high treatment capacity of saline wastewater. Our findings confirm that combined indicators of contamination, such as chemical oxygen demand (COD), alone do not allow evaluating potential toxic influence of wastewater. Obtained results allow identifying key inhibitory substances in pharmaceutical wastewater and evaluating potential impact of new wastewater streams or increased loading on biological treatment system. Proposed method is sensitive and cost effective and has potential for practical implementation in multiproduct pharmaceutical wastewater biological treatment plants.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document