The aim of the study was to analyze the results of surface water quality tests carried out in the Bystrzyca river basin. The study was conducted over four years in four seasons. The following chemometric techniques were used for the purposes of statistical analyses: the principal component analysis with factor analysis (PCA/FA), the hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and the discriminant analysis (DA). The analyses allowed for determining the temporal variability in water quality between the seasons. The best water quality was recorded in summer and the worst in autumn. The analyses did not provide a clear assessment of the spatial variability of water quality in the river basin. Pollution from wastewater treatment plants and soil tillage had a similar effect on water quality. The tested samples were characterized by very high electrolytic conductivity, suspended solids and P-PO4 concentrations and the water quality did not meet the standards of good ecological status.

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/1/190/pdf

Spatial and Temporal Variability of Water Quality in the Bystrzyca River Basin, Poland

The performance of the benzene microbial biofilter conducted under both continuous and transient operations. Mixed culture retrieved from the cow dung compost and inoculated within the biofilter. After the acclimatization period, it was studied continuously for 35 days at different empty bed residence times (EBRT) and up to the benzene concentration of 1.72 g m−3. Elimination capacity (EC) evaluated at different inlet loading rates (ILR) of benzene. The removal efficiency attained ranging from 37 to 84 %. Besides, the pressure drop increased during the biofiltration due to the accumulation of biomass on the packing. The restoration of biological activity observed within a few days of transient operation. The production of carbon dioxide (CO2) increased with the increasing elimination capacity during the degradation in the biofilter. However, the kinetics of biofilter was investigated using the macrokinetic method and application of the Michaelis-Menten model. Theoretical biofilm thickness in the biofilter was calculated to be 1.89 mm. ECmax and ks was found to be 0.2777 g m3 sec-1 and 0.008 g m−3 with R2 of 0.865.

Steady State, transient behavior and kinetic modeling of benzene removal in an aerobic biofilter

Removal of certain organic pollutants from the environment may be difficult due to their poor water solubility and high vapour pressure. Particularly, these are factors limiting the use of biological remediation methods because they affect the bioavailability of xenobiotics. Therefore, an important issue in the biofiltration of gasses is the removal of hydrophobic compounds. This paper presents the results of research showing relation the application of a chosen surfactant (betaine) to the efficiency of toluene biofiltration. The research was conducted on a laboratory-scale biofilter. Elimination capacity and removal efficiency at different biofilter loads have been researched. The maximum elimination capacity was 21.2 and 32.3 g/m3h for the control bed and for the bed to which the betaine solution was applied, respectively. For the results of the experiment, statistical analyses and model calculations were performed. The results were compared with the reference literature.

/pdf/the-effect-of-betaine-on-the-removal-of-toluene-by-3q7a8itrnl.pdf

The effect of betaine on the removal of toluene by biofiltration

The Vistula is the longest river in Poland. It stretches from the Silesian Beskids to the Gulf of Gdansk. Water from the Vistula is the source of drinking water for many cities and is used in industry, and therefore its quality and microbiological purity is an important issue. The quality of water in the Vistula depends, among others, on the quality of water in its basin. The aim of this study is to assess microbiological hazard to the Vistula waters from its tributaries in the vicinity of Krakow. The analyses were carried out on 10 tributaries of the Vistula: Prądnik, Dlubnia, Drwina Dluga, Drwinka, Raba, Uszewka, Szreniawa, Uszwica, Kisielina, and Dunajec. The examinations were carried out in four series, from May 2012 to March 2013. The numbers of coliforms, faecal coliforms, Enterococcus faecalis , and sulphate reducing Clostridium were determined using the membrane filtration method, while the serial dilutions method was used to determine the numbers of mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria, Staphylococcus and Salmonella . There was a large variation in the number of microorganisms in the examined watercourses, however in most cases the water could be classified as clean, whereas waters of the Vistula in the vicinity of Krakow are microbiologically contaminated. Thus, the examined watercourses do not pose a serious threat to the quality of the Vistula. Among the analyzed tributaries, the waters of the Prądnik were characterized by the worst sanitary condition, while the best microbiological quality was observed in the Dunajec.

/pdf/potential-microbiological-threat-to-the-vistula-waters-by-mblh1cqpla.pdf

J. Szymborska

Papers

Biofiltration of benzene and toluene vapours. Influence of quality of filtration bed on process results