scholarly journals Rapid Characterisation of Suspensions for Waste Treatment and Resource Recovery

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Wardrop ◽  
Sara J. Baldock ◽  
ian coote ◽  
Rachael Demaine ◽  
Peter R. Fielden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Filter Cake ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Data Interpretation ◽  
Aluminium Sulphate ◽  
Solids Concentration ◽  
Pressure Experiment ◽  
Statistical Justification ◽  
Time And Energy ◽  
Interpretation Method

A simple device for the conduct of stepped pressure filtration measurements is described together with methods for making the empirical measurements and interpreting the data obtained. The data interpretation method applies a multi-step systematic approach, with each step supported by statistical justification, to characterise: filter cake particle stress, filtration diffusivity and cake hydraulic resistivity from a single stepped pressure experiment. The methods enable different flocculant materials to be more rapidly and more appropriately screened than conventional jar tests and large scale filtration trials. The methods are applied to the characterisation of a paint residue treated with aluminium sulphate and “PolyClay”.<br>The work shows that the addition of “PolyClay” as a filter aide reduces the hydraulic resistivity at lower solids concentrations but increases it at higher concentrations whilst simultaneously increasing the particle stress. Together these have a combined deleterious effect on the time and energy required to dewater the residues to high solids concentration by filtration. The results also show that a significant change in suspension behaviour occurs between the “PolyClay” doses of 140 mg l<sup>-1</sup> and 660 mg l<sup>-1</sup> and that further changes up to “PolyClay” doses of 1600 mg l<sup>-1</sup> are more modest. The results indicate the existence an opportunity to reduce “PolyClay” dose into a range between 10% and 50% of current practice. In addition the results provide evidence that alternative, centrifuge based, technology is worthy of investigation.

scholarly journals Rapid Characterisation of Suspensions for Waste Treatment and Resource Recovery

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Wardrop ◽  
Sara J. Baldock ◽  
ian coote ◽  
Rachael Demaine ◽  
Peter R. Fielden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Filter Cake ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Data Interpretation ◽  
Aluminium Sulphate ◽  
Solids Concentration ◽  
Pressure Experiment ◽  
Statistical Justification ◽  
Time And Energy ◽  
Interpretation Method

A simple device for the conduct of stepped pressure filtration measurements is described together with methods for making the empirical measurements and interpreting the data obtained. The data interpretation method applies a multi-step systematic approach, with each step supported by statistical justification, to characterise: filter cake particle stress, filtration diffusivity and cake hydraulic resistivity from a single stepped pressure experiment. The methods enable different flocculant materials to be more rapidly and more appropriately screened than conventional jar tests and large scale filtration trials. The methods are applied to the characterisation of a paint residue treated with aluminium sulphate and “PolyClay”.<br>The work shows that the addition of “PolyClay” as a filter aide reduces the hydraulic resistivity at lower solids concentrations but increases it at higher concentrations whilst simultaneously increasing the particle stress. Together these have a combined deleterious effect on the time and energy required to dewater the residues to high solids concentration by filtration. The results also show that a significant change in suspension behaviour occurs between the “PolyClay” doses of 140 mg l<sup>-1</sup> and 660 mg l<sup>-1</sup> and that further changes up to “PolyClay” doses of 1600 mg l<sup>-1</sup> are more modest. The results indicate the existence an opportunity to reduce “PolyClay” dose into a range between 10% and 50% of current practice. In addition the results provide evidence that alternative, centrifuge based, technology is worthy of investigation.

scholarly journals Anaerobic Digestion Process for the Treatment of Sisdole Landfill Leachate in Nepal

2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bikash Adhikari ◽  
Shilpa Koirala
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Removal Efficiency ◽  
Landfill Leachate ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Batch Reactor ◽  
Batch Reactors ◽  
Leachate Treatment ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion Process ◽  
Digestion Process ◽  
Solids Concentration

Along with the population, organic waste has been rising significantly in recent years. The resulting uncontrollable waste loads and conventional methods of waste treatment have begun to cause chaos at the landfill sites. This study evaluates the performance of an anaerobic digestion process using batch reactors for the treatment of landfill leachate collected from the Sisdole landfill site in Nuwakot, Nepal. A lab-scale anaerobic batch reactor was set up in Kathmandu University, Nepal. Using an anaerobic digestion process, COD values of the leachate decreased from 2230 mg/l to 1125 mg/l (removal efficiency of ~50%), whereas total solids concentration decreased from 1925 to 925 mg/L under a retention time of 10 days. In addition, Monod’s model was established to design an Anaerobic Sequential Batch Reactor to achieve better performance, resulting in 85% removal efficiency for the leachate treatment. Overall, this study analyzed the anaerobic digestion process on the landfill leachate of Sisdole, and modeled the process to identify the conditions required for increasing the efficiency of treatment of Sisdole landfill leachate.

scholarly journals Foraging theory upscaled: the behavioural ecology of herbivore movement

2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1550) ◽  
pp. 2267-2278 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Owen-Smith ◽  
J. M. Fryxell ◽  
E. H. Merrill
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Cycle ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Diel Activity ◽  
Patch Selection ◽  
Temporal Scales ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Gps Collars ◽  
Activity Schedule ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Time And Energy

We outline how principles of optimal foraging developed for diet and food patch selection might be applied to movement behaviour expressed over larger spatial and temporal scales. Our focus is on large mammalian herbivores, capable of carrying global positioning system (GPS) collars operating through the seasonal cycle and dependent on vegetation resources that are fixed in space but seasonally variable in availability and nutritional value. The concept of intermittent movement leads to the recognition of distinct movement modes over a hierarchy of spatio-temporal scales. Over larger scales, periods with relatively low displacement may indicate settlement within foraging areas, habitat units or seasonal ranges. Directed movements connect these patches or places used for other activities. Selection is expressed by switches in movement mode and the intensity of utilization by the settlement period relative to the area covered. The type of benefit obtained during settlement periods may be inferred from movement patterns, local environmental features, or the diel activity schedule. Rates of movement indicate changing costs in time and energy over the seasonal cycle, between years and among regions. GPS telemetry potentially enables large-scale movement responses to changing environmental conditions to be linked to population performance.

BIOACTIVE DEVICES AS SELF-SUFFICIENT SYSTEMS FOR ENERGY PRODUCTION IN ARCHITECTURE

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 3-22
Author(s):  
Yomna K. Abdallah ◽  
Alberto T. Estevez
Keyword(s):  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Renewable Energy Resources ◽  
Efficiency Cost

ABSTRACT Using bioenergy systems in architecture provides energy by means of negative emissions technologies (NETs). It plays an important role in stabilizing CO2 emissions at low levels. This depends on options of low life cycle emissions (for instance, a sustainable use of biomass residues), and on outcomes that are site-specific and rely on efficient integrated systems that convert biomass into bioenergy. The objective of this study is to develop self-sufficient systems that generate bioelectricity and offer safety, electricity generation efficiency, cost-effectiveness, waste treatment, integration in domestic use, ease of use, reproducibility and availability. The study also intends to elaborate a general design method of embedding and utilizing microorganisms into architectural elements to achieve design ecology, introducing a multidisciplinary research application through a design theory aspect. The study is based on previous experimental work conducted by the authors. Microbial fuel cell technology was applied to exploit the natural potential of a fungal strain that was identified and optimized to be implemented in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to generate electricity. The outcomes were included in the self-sufficient cluster design that meets the aforementioned conditions. The novelty of this study is the direct use of a bioreactor of MFCs in a design application for bioelectricity production. It aims to reduce the currently high global CO2 emissions that come from the energy supply sector (47%) and from the building sector (3%), as well as to eliminate the need for large-scale infrastructure intervention. This self-sufficient bio-electricity cluster therefore outweighs other abiotic renewable energy resources such as solar energy or wind power.

Abstract 64: An Integrated Model for Titin Truncation Mutation Interpretation

2016 ◽  
Vol 119 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Zou ◽  
Diana Tran ◽  
Angelo Pelonero ◽  
Rahul C Deo
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Characteristic Curve ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Predictive Performance ◽  
Transcript Level ◽  
Data Interpretation ◽  
Integrated Model ◽  
Integrative Model ◽  
Nonsense Mediated Decay ◽  
Cardiac Phenotype

Background: We recently discovered a conserved internal promoter in the Titin gene, which explains why truncating mutations in the C-terminal two thirds of the zebrafish ttna protein result in more severe disease, recapitulating a puzzling observation in human dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) patients. Here we focus on the contribution of alternative splicing to the DCM phenotype, both in zebrafish Titin truncation mutants and in the context of an integrative model for Titin mutation interpretation. Methods and Results: Using CRISPR/Cas9, we disrupted an alternatively spliced exon in the I-band of Titin , normally present in zebrafish heart but absent in skeletal muscle. The resulting mutants had, on average, a milder cardiac phenotype than those with mutations in constitutive exons but also showed striking inter-sibling variability in disease expression, ranging from intact cardiac blood flow to severe early demise. The mutant exon demonstrated nonsense-altered splicing and disease severity paralleled selective deficiency in Titin transcript level, implying that variability in mutated exon inclusion coupled with nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) modulated phenotype. We next amassed Titin mutation information from 1785 human DCM cases and >68,000 controls to model mutation distribution and found three variance components 1) splicing; 2) internal isoform disruption; and 3) targeting of the C-terminal 2000 amino acids. An integrated model demonstrated strong predictive performance with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.79 and correctly identified the highest risk individuals. Conclusions: We conclude that genetically targeted models and large-scale human data can be complementary in overcoming the challenges of genetic data interpretation.

Community Replacement Pathways: What Do Fossil Sequences Reveal About Marine Ecosystem Transitions?

1990 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 262-272
Author(s):  
William Miller
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Ultimate Cause ◽  
Long Time ◽  
History Of ◽  
Time And Energy

Paleontologists have lavished much time and energy on description and explanation of large-scale patterns in the fossil record (e.g., mass extinctions, histories of monophyletic taxa, deployment of major biogeographic units), while paying comparatively little attention to biologic patterns preserved only in local stratigraphic sequences. Interpretation of the large-scale patterns will always be seen as the chief justification for the science of paleontology, but solving problems framed by long time spans and large areas is rife with tenuous inference and patterns are prone to varied interpretation by different investigators using virtually the same data sets (as in the controversy over ultimate cause of the terminal Cretaceous extinctions). In other words, the large-scale patterns in the history of life are the true philosophical property of paleontology, but there will always be serious problems in attempting to resolve processes that transpired over millions to hundreds-of-millions of years and encompassed vast areas of seafloor or landscape. By contrast, less spectacular and more commonplace changes in local habitats (often related to larger-scale events and cycles) and attendant biologic responses are closer to our direct experience of the living world and should be easier to interpret unequivocally. These small-scale responses are reflected in the fossil record at the scale of local outcrops.

scholarly journals Towards Best Practice in Hair Metabolomic Studies: Systematic Investigation on the Impact of Hair Length and Color

Metabolites ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 381
Author(s):  
Lisa Eisenbeiss ◽  
Tina M. Binz ◽  
Markus R. Baumgartner ◽  
Thomas Kraemer ◽  
Andrea E. Steuer
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Data Interpretation ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Hair Color ◽  
Large Scale Analysis ◽  
Retrospective Monitoring ◽  
Hair Samples ◽  
Endogenous Metabolites ◽  
The Impact

Untargeted metabolomic studies are used for large-scale analysis of endogenous compounds. Due to exceptional long detection windows of incorporated substances in hair, analysis of hair samples for retrospective monitoring of metabolome changes has recently been introduced. However, information on the general behavior of metabolites in hair samples is scarce, hampering correct data interpretation so far. The presented study aimed to investigate endogenous metabolites depending on hair color and along the hair strand and to propose recommendations for best practice in hair metabolomic studies. A metabolite selection was analyzed using untargeted data acquisition in genuine hair samples from different hair colors and after segmentation in 3 cm segments. Significant differences in metabolites among hair colors and segments were found. In conclusion, consideration of hair color and hair segments is necessary for hair metabolomic studies and, subsequently, recommendations for best practice in hair metabolomic studies were proposed.

scholarly journals GTX.Digest.VCF: an online NGS data interpretation system based on intelligent gene ranking and large-scale text mining

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (S8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanhuang Jiang ◽  
Chengkun Wu ◽  
Yanghui Zhang ◽  
Shaowei Zhang ◽  
Shuojun Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Text Mining ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Research Evaluation ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Data Interpretation ◽  
Biological Data ◽  
Sequencing Data ◽  
Web Portal ◽  
Interpretation System

Abstract Background An important task in the interpretation of sequencing data is to highlight pathogenic genes (or detrimental variants) in the field of Mendelian diseases. It is still challenging despite the recent rapid development of genomics and bioinformatics. A typical interpretation workflow includes annotation, filtration, manual inspection and literature review. Those steps are time-consuming and error-prone in the absence of systematic support. Therefore, we developed GTX.Digest.VCF, an online DNA sequencing interpretation system, which prioritizes genes and variants for novel disease-gene relation discovery and integrates text mining results to provide literature evidence for the discovery. Its phenotype-driven ranking and biological data mining approach significantly speed up the whole interpretation process. Results The GTX.Digest.VCF system is freely available as a web portal at http://vcf.gtxlab.com for academic research. Evaluation on the DDD project dataset demonstrates an accuracy of 77% (235 out of 305 cases) for top-50 genes and an accuracy of 41.6% (127 out of 305 cases) for top-5 genes. Conclusions GTX.Digest.VCF provides an intelligent web portal for genomics data interpretation via the integration of bioinformatics tools, distributed parallel computing, biomedical text mining. It can facilitate the application of genomic analytics in clinical research and practices.

Hydraulic Behaviour of Nuclear Waste Flows

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. R. Biggs ◽  
M. Fairweather ◽  
D. Harbottle ◽  
B. Lin ◽  
J. Peakall
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Doppler Velocity ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Pipe Flows ◽  
Solids Concentration ◽  
Solid Liquid

A great deal of existing nuclear waste is stored as a solid-liquid slurry, and the effective transportation of such systems is an essential element in the successful implementation of almost all waste treatment strategies involving particulate wastes within the nuclear industry. A detailed knowledge of turbulent, particle-laden liquid flow behaviour is therefore obviously important. However, systematic and detailed studies of solid-liquid flows by experimental investigation are still limited for pipe flows, contrary to the significant amount of work available for channel flows. Research is therefore required to understand the effects of physical parameters, such as particle shape, size and size distribution, and solids concentration, on the properties of solid-liquid systems, particularly in horizontal pipe flows where particles may settle out of the flow and form solid beds which can potentially lead to pipe blockages. The presence of particles in a turbulent pipe flow also modifies the characteristics of the flow, thereby changing its ability to maintain particles in suspension. The work described concerns pipe flows over a Reynolds number range of 1,000–10,000, with varying levels of solids concentration within the flow. Measurements of the flow and particle characteristics have been gathered using particle image velocimetry (PIV) and, for high solids concentrations, ultrasound Doppler velocity profiling (UDVP) techniques. This work has demonstrated that the intensity of turbulence within such flows can be significantly affected by the presence of solid particles, with small particles generally attenuating turbulence levels, while large particles often augment turbulence levels from the pipe centre-line to the near-wall region. In addition, the coagulation of particles into larger agglomerates is also of importance, with data demonstrating that whilst turbulence levels are influenced and augmented by such agglomerates at low Reynolds numbers, high turbulence levels at high Reynolds numbers can destroy the agglomerates and reduce their effect on the carrier fluid. Work has also been undertaken to examine the effect of particle size and Reynolds number on particle deposition within the flows, and also to establish the minimum transport velocity required to re-suspend particles from solid beds. All these findings are of importance in enhancing our understanding of flows of particles in pipes which in turn is of value in enabling the design of cost effective and efficient waste treatment processes.

scholarly journals Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Wastewater Sludge: A Review of Potential Co-Substrates and Operating Factors for Improved Methane Yield

Processes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Ling Chow ◽  
Siewhui Chong ◽  
Jun Wei Lim ◽  
Yi Jing Chan ◽  
Mei Fong Chong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Crude Glycerol ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Agricultural Waste ◽  
Wastewater Sludge ◽  
Methane Yield ◽  
Nutrient Level ◽  
Oil And Grease ◽  
Waste Food

Anaerobic digestion has been widely employed in waste treatment for its ability to capture methane gas released as a product during the digestion. Certain wastes, however, cannot be easily digested due to their low nutrient level insufficient for anaerobic digestion, thus co-digestion is a viable option. Numerous studies have shown that using co-substrates in anaerobic digestion systems improve methane yields as positive synergisms are established in the digestion medium, and the supply of missing nutrients are introduced by the co-substrates. Nevertheless, large-scale implementation of co-digestion technology is limited by inherent process limitations and operational concerns. This review summarizes the results from numerous laboratory, pilot, and full-scale anaerobic co-digestion (ACD) studies of wastewater sludge with the co-substrates of organic fraction of municipal solid waste, food waste, crude glycerol, agricultural waste, and fat, oil and grease. The critical factors that influence the ACD operation are also discussed. The ultimate aim of this review is to identify the best potential co-substrate for wastewater sludge anaerobic co-digestion and provide a recommendation for future reference. By adding co-substrates, a gain ranging from 13 to 176% in the methane yield was accomplished compared to the mono-digestions.

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