INVESTIGATION OF THE PROCESS OF PROCESSING LIQUID WASTE OF UREA PRODUCTION USING A BIOFILTER

The kinetic regularities of the recycling process of liquid waste of urea on the combined filter which contains the immobilized layer of enzymes at the process of their purification from the suspended substances, dissolved nitrate anions; the effect of pH on the filtration process are investigated and established in our research. A stable positive result was obtained on the filters with layers of: – oak and birch, the concentration of nitrate anions decreased from 12 to 0,06 — 0,05 mg/dm3 after 80 minutes of filtration. The content of suspended solids decreased from 37 g/dm3 to 6 — 7 g/dm3. At the same time, the increased content of tannins and the natural structure of oak and birch leaves contributes to the resistance of the leaf layer to fermentation processes, helps to use such kind of filter repeatedly. – linden and maple leaves, the concentration of nitrate anions decreased from 12 mg/dm3 to 0,08 mg/dm3 after 80 minutes of filtration. The content of suspended solids decreased from 37 g/dm3 to 15 g/dm3 after the third use of the filter, due to increased activity of microorganisms. At the same time, the natural structure of linden and maple leaves is thin, has a biofilm that is easily destroyed and accelerates the process of natural aerobic fermentation. The scientific substantiation of the direction of improvement of technology of processing of liquid waste with the increased content of nitrogen is executed. A bio filtration unit on a combined filter with a layer of oak and birch leaves with the use of an immobilized layer of enzymes is proposed. The combined filter consists of a layer of gravel, sand and dry oak and/or birch leaves. The enzyme Chymotrypsin at a concentration of 0,005 g/dm3 is fed into the formed bio filter from above. After 30 minutes, liquid waste with a temperature of 10 25 °С is gradually fed into the filter over 60 — 80 minutes. The initial concentration of suspended particles in liquid waste should not exceed a concentration of 37 — 40 g/dm3. It is determined that the optimal rate of processing of liquid waste of urea production is achieved in solutions with active reaction of hydrogen ions in the range of 6,5—7,3.

GlomSpheres as a 3D co-culture spheroid model of the kidney glomerulus for rapid drug-screening

The glomerulus is the filtration unit of the kidney. Injury to any component of this specialised structure leads to impaired filtration and eventually fibrosis and chronic kidney disease. Current two and three dimensional (2D and 3D) models that attempt to recreate structure and interplay between glomerular cells are imperfect. Most 2D models are simplistic and unrepresentative, and 3D organoid approaches are currently difficult to reproduce at scale and do not fit well with current industrial drug-screening approaches. Here we report a rapidly generated and highly reproducible 3D co-culture spheroid model (GlomSpheres), better demonstrating the specialised physical and molecular structure of a glomerulus. Co-cultured using a magnetic spheroid formation approach, conditionally immortalised (CI) human podocytes and glomerular endothelial cells (GEnCs) deposited mature, organized isoforms of collagen IV and Laminin. We demonstrate a dramatic upregulation of key podocyte (podocin, nephrin and podocalyxin) and GEnC (pecam-1) markers. Electron microscopy revealed podocyte foot process interdigitation and endothelial vessel formation. Incubation with pro-fibrotic agents (TGF-β1, Adriamycin) induced extracellular matrix (ECM) dysregulation and podocyte loss, which were attenuated by the anti-fibrotic agent Nintedanib. Incubation with plasma from patients with kidney disease induced acute podocyte loss and ECM dysregulation relative to patient matched remission plasma, and Nintedanib reduced podocyte loss. Finally, we developed a rapid imaging approach to demonstrate the model’s usefulness in higher throughput pharmaceutical screening. GlomSpheres therefore represent a robust, scalable, replacement for 2D in vitro glomerular disease models.

Performance Evaluation of Low-Cost Filter in Field Condition

The parameters require for maintaining the crop's health and the integrity of the irrigation system has a relation with quality of irrigation water. In Micro irrigation appropriate filtration is very much important to prevent clogging. Filtration unit is one of the main components in micro irrigation system that too, Primary filter is more important to be installed along with the unit, when the water source is from open reservoir and other water sources. Though it is essential, the primary filter is not being installed by the farmers due to its high cost. Hence this study is an attempt to fabricate low-cost filter and to evaluate its performance with different filter media layer. A low-cost primary filter for drip irrigation system is fabricated. Different filter media layer like silex sand (fine silex, coarse silex), pebbles with different sizes are selected. The results revealed that the removal efficiency of filter using silex sand and pebbles were 71% in terms of turbidity, 78% in terms of total suspended solids removal at flow rate of 12 m3 /hr. This fabricated low-cost filter will be cost effective for small farm applications.

Zero-Valent Iron Filtration Reduces Microbial Contaminants in Irrigation Water and Transfer to Raw Agricultural Commodities

Groundwater depletion is a critical agricultural irrigation issue, which can be mitigated by supplementation with water of higher microbiological risk, including surface and reclaimed waters, to support irrigation needs in the United States. Zero-valent iron (ZVI) filtration may be an affordable and effective treatment for reducing pathogen contamination during crop irrigation. This study was performed to determine the effects of ZVI filtration on the removal and persistence of Escherichia coli, and pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) in irrigation water. Water was inoculated with E. coli TVS 353, filtered through a ZVI filtration unit, and used to irrigate cucurbit and cruciferous crops. Water (n = 168), leaf (n = 40), and soil (n = 24) samples were collected, the E. coli were enumerated, and die-off intervals were calculated for bacteria in irrigation water. Variable reduction of PMMoV was observed, however E. coli levels were consistently and significantly (p < 0.05) reduced in the filtered (9.59 lnMPN/mL), compared to unfiltered (13.13 lnMPN/mL) water. The die-off intervals of the remaining bacteria were significantly shorter in the filtered (−1.50 lnMPN/day), as compared to the unfiltered (−0.48 lnMPN/day) water. E. coli transfer to crop leaves and soils was significantly reduced (p < 0.05), as expected. The reduction of E. coli in irrigation water and its transfer to crops, by ZVI filtration is indicative of its potential to reduce pathogens in produce pre-harvest environments.

Applicability of different textile materials in filtration process integrated with SBR for wastewater reuse in small settlements

In recent years, research activities on water reuse applications have rapidly increased to manage natural water sources efficiently. Although these applications in centralized treatment systems can be effectively, there are some drawbacks including the economic factors for small settlements. In this study, a textile filtration unit with the integration of a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was developed and different textile materials were used to enhance the treated effluent quality for reuse purpose. While the textile filtration unit alone could not effectively remove the pollutants, the removal efficiencies could not exceed 36% for COD and 50% for BOD5. However, SBR integration to the filtration system improved the treated wastewater quality and COD and BOD5 reductions were obtained higher than 93%. Activated carbon coated cotton textile materials and activated carbon cloth, which was first time used for wastewater treatment, increased the treatment performances. In the filtration system, although the suspended solids were high in the SBR effluent, no clogging problem was observed even higher operation times. This paper presents the research results on this textile filtration system and experimental findings are discussed on the applicability of the system for small communities.

Development of portable filtration unit with self-diagnostics for industrial use

It is well known that contamination of fluids shortens the life of hydraulic systems. Sometimes the necessary operating conditions (high pressures and high flow rates) make adequate filtration in the suction, working, or return lines through the filter difficult because it would interfere with the work process. A high cleanliness of the oil can be achieved with a so-called "bypass" filtration, which is part of the whole hydraulic device with its own circuit. Another way to ensure fluid cleanliness is to filter the hydraulic fluid with a portable filtration unit, which is the main topic of this paper. The fluid is pumped from the reservoir of the main hydraulic device, through the portable filtration unit and returned to the reservoir. In this way it is possible to clean the hydraulic oil without the need for costly and unnecessary "bypass" hydraulic components for filtration.

Water Sustainability: Current and Future Challenges at SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India

SRMIST has healthy approach to sustainability, incorporating social economic and environmental principles that have been in place for nearly a decade implementing short and long-term sustainable objectives. SRMIST developed, maintained the estate, and the surrounding landscape, with due environmental impact and social values and implemented effective, efficient utility management measures, policies and procedures. The 2018/2019 UI Green Metric ranked SRMIST as 9 th in India and 392nd in Global Ranking overall and 264th rank globally and 9th rank in India for water parameter and 3rd in the Nation and 243rd globally and 2nd rank nationally and 42nd rank globally for water. SRM IST improved implementation of the water conservation and recycling program from 75% in 2018 to 95 % in 2019. Water efficient appliances increased > 70% and has a long-term commitment for conservation of water by regularly monitoring the use of water with regular meters. SRMIST has 20 RO plants running 24x7 collecting 31,000L per day for all and installing Ultra Filtration unit. SRMIST’s goal is to reduce per capita water consumption varies from 3.7m3 to 3.3m. Among the 4600 M3 waste water generated an average 4140 M3 wastewater is treated and recycled. Rainwater harvesting pits have been constructed in 65% college buildings and hostels is used for the water recharge in the campus and the rainwater stored in the roof tanks are used for toilet flushing.

The efficiency of the sand filtration unit mixed with different packing materials in drain water treatment in Egypt

In an attempt to improve the quality of the agricultural drain in Egypt for its reuse again in the irrigation, low-cost solution such as sand filter along with/without other filtration media has been used in this research. As a result of that, pilot plant of sand filter mixed with other filtration media was tested for its ability to improve the sand performance in removing the suspended solids and organic matters from agricultural drain water of the Belbeis drain (in Sharkia governorate in Egypt). Sand only, sand mixed with sponge, sand mixed with activated carbon and sand mixed with ceramic cylinders have been tested to find the best media combination and optimum mixing sand/ medium ratio and optimum infiltration rate. The work has been done on four runs. It was found that sand mixed with ceramic cylinders gave the best removal efficiency with respect to total chemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand for solution which were 77, 74%, respectively, whereas sand mixed with sponge had the best removal efficiency with respect to total suspended solids which was 89%. Also, all tested media combination had effluent quality that complied with Egyptian law 48 for the year 1982 regarding the disposal of wastewater into agricultural drains (chemical oxygen demand ≤ 80 mg/l, total suspended solids ≤ 50 mg/l).

Filtration and Backwashing Studies: Obafemi Awolowo University Waterworks as A Case Study

This research centres on the study of the filtration and backwashing operations of the filtration unit of the Opa Waterworks and a detailed laboratory study of the filtration and backwashing characteristics of the filter medium being used at the treatment plant. A detailed study of the filtration unit of Opa Waterworks was undertaken with particular emphasis placed on the estimation of the volume of water used during backwashing, the backwashing procedure and the average backwashing time. Specific properties of the filter medium used in the gravity filter such as porosity, density, equivalent density, specific gravity and unhindered settling velocity were investigated in the laboratory. The backwashing properties of the filter medium was also studied using the DSF (Dynamic Shape Factor) and Sphericity models and the predicted results obtained were compared to the actual laboratory results. Based on works carried out, the volume of wash-water required for the gravity filters was estimated as 14,200 litres (14.2 m3) which is about 3.12% of the total volume of the clear water tank, with an outflow rate of 0.01 m3/s. The accuracy of the Blake – Kozeny equation in predicting head loss across a filter bed using clean water runs was investigated and found to be reasonably accurate, and the prediction errors