Polycyclic Hydrocarbons Vol. 1. Pp. xxvi + 487. 126S. (With a chapter on carcinogenesis by Regina Schoental.) Vol. 2. Pp. lvii + 487. 140s. By E. Clar. (London and New York: Academic Press; Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1964.)

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Nanosized aluminium oxides (NAOs) are an important class of minerals widely found in soil, sediment, aquifer, and aquatic environments. Over the decades, these minerals have been explored as sorbents for the removal of wastewater contaminated with metal ions, anions, organic dyes, humic substances, phenolic compounds, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals from contaminated wastewater. This review summarizes the reported research of NAOs as sorbents and provides details on their sorption capacities including maximum removal capacity under various experimental conditions. Information on the composition, synthesis, characterization and experimental parameters together with sorption mechanisms is provided. A compilation of such information is not currently available and so this review should enable workers in the area to make more informed choices on suitable sorbents for large-scale environmental samples and be able to develop more efficient processes for environmental pollutant clean-up.

Metal ion and contaminant sorption onto aluminium oxide-based materials: A review and future research

Pharmaceutical products have become a necessary part of life. Several studies have demonstrated that indirect exposure of humans to pharmaceuticals through the water could cause negative effects. Raw sewage and wastewater effluents are the major sources of pharmaceuticals found in surface waters and drinking water. Therefore, it is important to consider and characterize the efficiency of pharmaceutical removal during wastewater and drinking-water treatment processes. Various treatment options have been investigated for the removal/reduction of drugs (e.g., antibiotics, NSAIDs, analgesics) using conventional or biological treatments, such as activated sludge processes or bio-filtration, respectively. The efficiency of these processes ranges from 20-90%. Comparatively, advanced wastewater treatment processes, such as reverse osmosis, ozonation and advanced oxidation technologies, can achieve higher removal rates for drugs. Pharmaceuticals and their metabolites undergo natural attenuation by adsorption and solar oxidation. Therefore, pharmaceuticals in water sources even at trace concentrations would have undergone removal through biological processes and, if applicable, combined adsorption and photocatalytic degradation wastewater treatment processes. This review provides an overview of the conventional and advanced technologies for the removal of pharmaceutical compounds from water sources. It also sheds light on the key points behind adsorption and photocatalysis.

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Removal of Pharmaceuticals from Water by Adsorption and Advanced Oxidation Processes: State of the Art and Trends

Application of magnetic fields to wastewater treatment and its mechanisms: A review.

Biotechnologia w ochronie srodowiska

The emission of carbon compounds (in the form of soot) to the atmosphere has a significant impact on the environment and human health. Air pollution with combustion products, having a unique combination of physical and chemical properties, is an important component of very fine suspended dust, which is emitted from various sources related to combustion processes. The carbon compounds in aerosol form and deposited in the substrate are found all over the Earth. The paper presents results of comparative research on the content of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in soot samples obtained as a result of combustion of solid fuels such as hard coal with granulation above 60 mm, coal with a grain size of 25–80 mm, coal with a grain size of 8–25 mm, pellets and dry wood. On the basis of the conducted tests, it was found that the soot obtained in the combustion of coal in different granulation contains more cytotoxic PAH in comparison to the combustion of wood pellets or dry firewood.

Evaluation of the PAH Content in Soot from Solid Fuels Combustion in Low Power Boilers

The objective of this work was to verify the granular activated alumina (AA) sorption properties, during the process of removing copper, lead and cadmium from water, and to monitor the impact of magnetic field (MF) on the effectiveness of removing copper, lead and cadmium from water. Activated alumina adsorption is known to be an effective and inexpensive technology for the removal of selenium and arsenic from water, and was suggested by EPA as a BAT for point-of-use applications. The removal of copper, lead and cadmium from water using AA and impact of magnetic field was reported to a lesser extent. Pilot tests showed that the use of AA sorption materials with MF impact could possibly decrease the copper, lead and cadmium content in the model water. The MF also had a positive effect on the efficiency of removal copper, lead and cadmium on AA. Increasing the efficiency of heavy metals removal in the samples exposed to magnetic field varied from 1.9% to 8.2% compared to the control samples.

http://www.jeeng.net/pdf-85373-24655?filename=The Use of Activated.pdf

The Use of Activated Alumina and Magnetic Field for the Removal Heavy Metals from Water

Magnetic field (MF), among others, influences more intense decomposition of many compounds, increases adsorption on the surface of the phase separation, as well as accelerates oxidation and reduction reactions. Therefore, they are used in the research as an aid for filtration process, which is one of the most popular stopping and separating processes for different components in different reservoirs. Beds usually function as an adsorbent, thus both filtration and adsorption processes are often. One of the inorganic sorbents that is used to remove metals and anions present in water is Al2O3. As part of this work, we investigated the use of a constant external MF as an elementary additional process to improve the filtration efficiency on activated alumina. The purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of the removal of elements (Fe, Mn, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, and Ni) from model aqueous solutions during the process of filtration assisted and not assisted by an MF on activated alumina. In addition, the purpose of the work was also to determine the influence of MF on the removal of these elements, as well as their affinity to physical properties of the adsorbate under the influence of MF. As a result of the experiment, it was proved that the MF support of the filtration on activated alumina for the removal of selected elements is more effective than the filtration without MF. Studies have shown that removal of individual metals occurs according to the following series of affinity toward alumina in magnetized samples: Pb > Mn > Ni > Zn > Cu > Fe > Cd > Cr.

Removal of heavy metal ions by filtration on activated alumina-assisted magnetic field

One of inorganic sorbents used in water treatment technology is activated alumina. It is recommended by the European Commission to remove inorganic impurities, such as arsenic, fluoride, selenium and silicates. The adsorbent is usually applied in a granular form, under flow conditions. It can become absorbent material, increasingly used due to the presence of arsenic beside iron and manganese in groundwater intakes. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of groundwater treatment in the technological system containing adsorption on activated alumina. The experiment was performed on test model CE 581 manufactured by G.U.N.T. Hamburg, in which four treatment stages can be extracted. The first stage is used in a gravel filter of grain size 1–2 mm, in the second sand filter of grain size 0.4–0.8 mm. The third and fourth phase includes two adsorbers. The first adsorber comprises activated alumina (Al2O3) and the other comprises a granular activated carbon. The study was conducted at different speeds of filtration: 5, 10 and 15 m/h. In the raw water samples and the purified water samples after each treatment step the following parameters were determined: pH, O2 concentration, electrolytic conductivity, SO4 2-, concentration, NO3 concentration, PO4 3concentration, Clconcentration, color, turbidity, iron and manganese concentration, CODMn, total hardness, calcium hardness, magnesium hardness, content of dissolved substances. The conducted research indicates that optimum filtration rate for most pollution is 15 m/h. Moreover, the presence of activated alumina has contributed to increasing the efficiency of nitrate (V) and phosphate (V) ions removal.

http://www.jeeng.net/pdf-74272-12274?filename=STUDIES ON THE EFFICIENCY.pdf

Studies on the efficiency of grundwater treatment process with adsorption on activated alumina

Biological membrane reactors or membrane bioreactors (MBRs) based on pressure separation techniques are placed among the latest and most modern methods of wastewater treatment. Currently, this method is becoming more and more popular and is being implemented in smaller and larger wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, technologists, operators, and managers of small WWTPs often do not understand the MBR technology installed in their sites and need extensive professional and technological information. The aim of this study was to analyze the modernized WWTP in a small town of Wydminy, located in northeastern Poland in the Great Masurian Lakes region, where the traditional secondary settling tank was replaced by an MBR. The effectiveness of wastewater treatment before modernization and after installation of the membrane module was compared. On the basis of the conducted research, it was noted that the operation of the plant after modernization is more cost-intensive. There were additional electricity costs due to ensuring adequate pressure on the membrane. Nevertheless, the obtained results of the removal of contaminants place the plant in Wydminy in the group of the most effective Polish sewage treatment plants, as compared to the results obtained in other facilities. The MBR operation also places high demands on the exploiters, prompting them to observe even the smallest changes. The conducted research is a type of a case study, which could give the readers an understanding of the necessity of traditional WWTP modernization with MBR.

Ewa Szatyłowicz

Papers

Evaluation of the PAH Content in Soot from Solid Fuels Combustion in Low Power Boilers

The Use of Activated Alumina and Magnetic Field for the Removal Heavy Metals from Water

Removal of heavy metal ions by filtration on activated alumina-assisted magnetic field

Studies on the efficiency of grundwater treatment process with adsorption on activated alumina

Experience from the Implementation and Operation of the Biological Membrane Reactor (MBR) at the Modernized Wastewater Treatment Plant in Wydminy