Effluent

About: Effluent is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 32668 publications have been published within this topic receiving 533991 citations.

Assessment of water systems for contaminants from domestic and industrial sewages.

Abstract: The State of Minas Gerais represents one of Brazil's most outstanding mining resources. The contamination of river water from kaolin processing activities may be harmful to people in the way of slow but chronic poisoning. On the other hand, the discharge of untreated or inadequately treated domestic sewage into aquatic environments can also cause deleterious effects to the health. However, no reliable figures are available for pollutant occurrences in river water. This draws atten- tion to the very precarious situation that exists with respect to pollution by organic and inorganic toxic wastes, especially with respect to humans and fauna in all its expressions. Thus, with the purpose of establishing a preliminary report to trace out industrialisation outcomes, samples of river water, ve- getation and fish were collected and analysed to detect pollutant inputs. The concentration of metals was determined in suspended particle, vegetation and fish, while those of nitrite, nitrate, phosphate and chloride were determined in river water samples. The concentration of dissolved oxygen (DO) was measured in river water at the time of collection. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochem- ical oxygen demand (BOD) were also determined. Metal inputs in the samples analysed appeared to be related to effluent discharges into the rivers. The suspended particles showed high concentrations (in mg kg −1 ) of zinc (62 600) and aluminium (559 000), while vegetation samples collected near rivers were heavily contaminated with iron (7680). The fishes examined were contaminated with chromium (1.5 mg kg −1 ). In general, the concentrations of nitrite, nitrate, chloride, phosphate and BOD in river water were lower than the maximum values established by the Brazilian Environmental Standards.

Environmental and public health implications of wastewater quality

Abstract: The reuse of treated effluent (for agriculture and as supplement for drinking water needs) is currently receiving attention as a reliable water source. This paper is aimed at reviewing the environmental and health impacts of untreated or inadequately treated wastewater effluents. The quality of wastewater effluents is responsible for the degradation of the receiving water bodies. This is because untreated or inadequately treated wastewater effluent may lead to eutrophication in receiving water bodies and also create environmental conditions that favour proliferation of waterborne pathogens of toxin-producing cyanobacteria. In extension, recreational water users and anyone else coming into contact with the infected water is at risk. Although various microorganisms play many beneficial roles in wastewater systems, a great number of them are considered to be critical factors in contributing to numerous waterborne outbreaks. Also, wastewater effluents have been shown to contain a variety of anthropogenic compounds, many of which have endocrine-disrupting properties. Since large amounts of wastewater effluents are passed through sewage treatment systems on a daily basis, there is a need to remedy and diminish the overall impacts of these effluents in receiving water bodies. In order to comply with wastewater legislations and guidelines, there is a need for adequate treatment before discharge. This can be achieved through the application of appropriate treatment processes, which will help to minimize the risks to public health and the environment. To achieve unpolluted wastewater discharge into receiving water bodies, careful planning, adequate and suitable treatment, regular monitoring and appropriate legislations are necessary. Key words: Wastewater, discharge, treatment, health, environment, impacts, effluents

Treatment of High-Strength Pharmaceutical Wastewater and Removal of Antibiotics in Anaerobic and Aerobic Biological Treatment Processes

Abstract: Anaerobic and aerobic treatment of high-strength pharmaceutical wastewater was evaluated in this study A batch test was performed to study the biodegradability of the wastewater, and the result indicated that a combination anaerobic-aerobic treatment system was effective in removing organic matter from the high-strength pharmaceutical wastewater Based on the batch test, a pilot-scale system composed of an anaerobic baffled reactor followed by a biofilm airlift suspension reactor was designed At a stable operational period, effluent chemical oxygen demand (COD) from the anaerobic baffled reactor ranged from 1,432 to 2,397 mg/L at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 125 day, and 979 to 1,749 mg/L at an HRT of 25 day, respectively, when influent COD ranged from 9,736 to 19,862 mg/L As a result, effluent COD of the biofilm airlift suspension reactor varied between 256 and 355 mg/L at HRTs of from 50 to 125 h The antibiotics ampicillin and aureomycin, with influent concentrations of 32 and 10 mg/L, respectively, could be partially degraded in the anaerobic baffled reactor: ampicillin and aureomycin removal efficiencies were 164 and 259% with an HRT of 125 day, and 421 and 313% with HRT of 25 day, respectively Although effective in COD removal, the biofilm airlift suspension reactor did not display significant antibiotic removal, and the removal efficiencies of the two antibiotics were less than 10%