Wastewater

About: Wastewater is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 92512 publications have been published within this topic receiving 1256590 citations. The topic is also known as: waste water.

The COVID-19 pandemic: considerations for the waste and wastewater services sector

Abstract: This article discusses the potential ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on waste and wastewater services, focusing on critical points where alternative operating procedures or additional mitigation measures may be advisable. Key concerns are (i) the long half-life of the virus on materials such as waste containers, bags, and in wastewater, and (ii) possible transmission via contaminated waste surfaces and aerosols from wastewater systems. There are opportunities to further the science of wastewater-based epidemiology by monitoring viral RNA in wastewater to assess disease prevalence and spread in defined populations, which may prove beneficial for informing COVID-19 related public health policy.

Laundry wastewater treatment using coagulation and membrane filtration

Abstract: This paper presents the results obtained from laundry wastewater treatment using conventional methods namely precipitation/coagulation and the flocculation process with adsorption on granular-activated carbon (GAC) and an alternative method, membrane filtrations, namely ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO). Chemical analyses showed that parameter values of untreated wastewater like temperature, pH, sediment substances, total nitrogen and phosphorous, COD, BOD5, and the amount of anion surfactants had been exceeded in regard to Slovenian regulation. These regulations can be used as requirements for wastewater reuse and make treated wastewater an available source for the existing water supply. The study of conventional treatment was based on a flocculation with Al2(SO4)3·18H2O and adsorption on GAC. Membrane filtrations were studied on a pilot wastewater treatment plant: ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) units. The membranes used in this experiment were ceramic UF membrane and spiral wounded – polyethersulfone – RO membranes. The quality of the wastewater was improved by both methods and the specifications of a concentration limit for emission into water were confirmed. The disadvantage of GAC is that there is no possibility of any kind of selection, which is essential for recycling and re-use, while permeate coming from RO met the required regulation as well as requirements for reusing in washing process. However, the economical analyses showed that the membrane filtrations are more expensive compared to the GAC treatment process.

Long-term performance of a 200 liter modularized microbial fuel cell system treating municipal wastewater: treatment, energy, and cost

Abstract: Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have been intensively studied at a bench scale and the further development of this technology requires system scaling up and understanding of their performance under non-laboratory conditions. In this study, a 200 L modularized MFC system consisting of 96 MFC modules was developed and operated in a local wastewater treatment plant for treating primary effluent. During more than 300 days' operation, the MFC system removed more than 75% of the total chemical oxygen demand and 90% of the suspended solids, despite significant fluctuations in treatment performance affected by wastewater quality and operational factors. It achieved 68% removal of ammonia nitrogen, but phosphorous and the nitrate accumulated due to nitrification needs further disposal. The frequency of the catholyte recirculation exerted a strong effect on the energy consumption of the MFC system. Through both parallel and serial electric connections, the MFC system generated power of ∼200 mW that was extracted by a power management system to drive a 60 W DC pump for catholyte recirculation. Over 60% of the material cost of the MFCs was due to the cation exchange membrane, and the capital cost of the MFC system could be comparable to that of small wastewater treatment facilities. The results of this study encourage the further development of MFC technology with reduced costs and improved performance towards sustainable wastewater treatment.