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Facing the pressure of population growth and global warming, this dissertation provided an array of innovative carbon-efficient wastewater treatment technologies for resource recovery, process intensification, and anammox featured next generation biological nutrient removal (BNR) technologies. These technologies aim to supplant traditional carbon-intensive treatment processes with more sustainable alternatives. To this end, the dissertation first comprehensively reviewed what resources can be recovered from wastewater, and how these valuable resources can contribute to the carbon neutrality in water resource reclamation facilities (WRRFs) and help achieve sustainable society development. Then, the effect of mixed liquor recycle (MLR) configurations on the process intensification through continuous-flow aerobic granulation was explored in plug flow reactors. The results demonstrated that MLR configuration could hinder the sludge granulation, but the hindrance could be alleviated to some extent by its location change. In order to eliminate the energy consuming MLR, endogenous denitrification was taken advantage through a synergistic integration with partial nitrification, partial denitrification anammox (PdNA), and enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). This idea was tested in a pilot setup treating real primary effluent under highly variable influent conditions and low temperatures. The results showcased substantial carbon savings while meeting the stringent effluent requirements. To take a deeper dive into the PdNA performance and the underlying mechanisms, two parallel pilot-scale moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) treatment trains fed with methanol and glycerol, respectively, were operated in a local WRRF. Their efficacies in achieving stringent nutrient removal targets and carbon savings were compared. The impacts of operational conditions on the mechanisms and performance were elucidated. In the culmination of this dissertation, a sidestream process intensification and resource recovery technique, namely thermal hydrolysis pretreatment (THP) enhanced anaerobic digestion (AD), was experimented to compare the efficiencies between thermophilic and mesophilic AD when integrated with THP. To sum up, this dissertation not only advanced our understanding of carbon-efficient wastewater treatment processes but also laid the groundwork for their practical implementation, contributing to the global effort towards sustainability. / Doctor of Philosophy / Wastewater treatment consumes 3-4% of the energy produced in the U.S. and contributes to approximately 1.6% global greenhouse gas emissions. This dissertation aims to advance a series of carbon-efficient technologies specifically tailored for sustainable wastewater treatment. To this end, a variety of valuable resources that can be recovered or reused in wastewater treatment plants was firstly reviewed. Then, an advanced technology that can turn dispersed bacteria into bacteria aggregates was tested with real wastewater in a local wastewater treatment plant. Although these bacteria aggregates allow more wastewater to be treated with less small footprint, which was great, it was realized from this study that the formation of these bacteria aggregates was hindered by the nitrate water recycle which has been commonly practiced for using influent carbon for nitrogen removal. This nitrate water recycle consumed excessive energy for its high flow rate. To save this energy, a novel bioprocessing design was developed to eliminate the need for this nitrate water recycle by using carbon stored in bacterial cells. This new design also incorporated phosphorus recovery capacity and a low carbon nitrogen removal technique into one consolidated system to create an all-in-one solution to meet the stringent wastewater treatment requirement. This low carbon nitrogen removal technique harnessed a special group of bacteria that can use ammonia to reduce nitrite to nitrogen gas. Hence, only minor carbon source needs to be provided to reduce nitrate to nitrite for these bacteria to utilize. Two types of carbon sources, namely methanol and glycerol, were compared in a pilot-scale study to understand their efficiencies in generating nitrite. Results indicated that although both types of carbon sources can work, methanol is better suited for low strength wastewater treatment. These results provided an engineering basis for the full-scale application of the technology in the same wastewater treatment plant where the pilot study was performed. Besides liquid treatment, a carbon efficient solid treatment technology was also studied. The bottleneck constraining the rate of sewage sludge conversion to flammable menthane gas was identified, which provided engineering guidance for the design of the solid treatment process that can destroy more sewage sludge within smaller reactor spaces. In essence, this dissertation offers promising solutions for modern wastewater treatment plants to achieve low carbon wastewater treatment without compromising the treatment performance.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1496638 bytes, checksum: 2893b44019ce769fa24631dd3c1b7168 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Based on Stakeholder Theory, this dissertation sought verifying whether there is a relation of superiority regarding financial performance of companies that are member of Carbon Efficient Index (ICO2) against the ones that are only member of the marketing indices from BM&FBovespa: IBOV, IBrX-50, and IBrX-100. Initially, we have compared the members of ICO2 with the exclusive members from market indices, characterizing their portfolios and analyzing their market sectors. At a second moment, an analysis of liquidity and companies’ market stock return was conducted. Thereafter, a performance evaluation about these companies was carried out considering financial indicators from Sharpe, Treynor, and Jensen. The data analysis was limited to the period from September 2010 to December 2014 and the sample data comprised four indices from BM&Bovespa – ICO2, IBOV, IBrX-50, and IBrX-100. We have used Economatica system to extract market stock data from the companies selected. In this study we have decided to exclude shares that participated, simultaneously, in the stock market indices and ICO2 index. This dismemberment elucidated the large quantity of companies that were both member of ICO2 and stock market indices at the same time. We inferred that there is concern with sustainability investment between the companies member of the market indices which provide a satisfactory market perspective. We have observed distinct compositions on the indices analysed considering companies' portfolio characterization regarding the actuation sector. It's relevant to highlight that Finance and Insurance sector was the most representative sector at ICO2 portfolio. We analysed the liquidity using Board Liquidity and Average Volume. After the analysis, it has been noted that IBrX-50 companies got the best results followed by the sustainable companies. The companies' market stock return was evaluated by nonparametric tests such as Kruskal-Wallis, Wilcoxon, and Mann-Whitney. Despite the fact that ICO2 have gotten the best result, overcoming the selected indices, there was no statistically significant connection among the historical series about the return of the indices. We have applied Engle-Granger (1987) cointegration test in order to infer any relevance on the long-term. The results take to an existence of a linear combination between the series of returns indices based on average returns. We had also inspected the performance of the indices considering Sharpe, Treynor, and Jensen indicators. This result imply that the ICO2 had the best performance according to Sharpe and Jensen indices still it was not very significative. Regarding the Treynor index, the ICO2 overcome the results of the marketing indices in the period analyzed. Thus, the relationship of superiority between the financial performance of sustainable business to their companies that are not classified as could not be confirmed. / Com base na Teoria dos Stakeholders, esta dissertação buscou verificar com se dá a relação entre o desempenho financeiro das empresas sustentáveis que participam do Índice do Carbono Eficiente (ICO2) frente às empresas que participam apenas dos índices Amplos da BM&FBovespa (IBOV, IBrX-50 e IBrX-100). Primeiro, comparou-se as ações das empresas participantes do ICO2 com as que participam apenas dos índices Amplos, caracterizando suas carteiras e analisando os seus setores de atuação no mercado. Em seguida, foi realizada uma análise da liquidez e do retorno das ações. Após esta análise, avaliou-se o desempenho delas por meio dos indicadores financeiros de Sharpe, Treynor e Jensen. A amostra consistiu em quatro índices que atuam na BM&FBovespa - ICO2, IBOV, IBrX-50 e IBrX-100 – que foram analisados considerando o período entre setembro de 2010 e dezembro de 2014. Todos os dados referentes ao mercado de ações foram coletados na base de dados Economática. Para o desenvolvimento do estudo, optou-se por excluir dos índices de mercado as ações que participavam simultaneamente do ICO2. Depois do desmembramento das carteiras, pode-se observar o alto percentual de empresas que participam do ICO2 e dos índices Amplos concomitantemente. Inferiu-se, portanto, que dentro do universo das empresas que compõem os índices que fornecem um panorama amplo do mercado existe a preocupação de investir em sustentabilidade. Na caracterização das carteiras das empresas com base no setor de atuação, observou-se que os índices possuem composições distintas. O setor Finanças e Seguros foi o mais representativo na carteira do ICO2. Para a análise da liquidez, utilizou-se os índices Liquidez em Bolsa e Volume Médio. Assim, constatou-se que, em termos de liquidez, as empresas sustentáveis ficaram atrás apenas das que compõem o IBrX-50. Em seguida, para análise dos retornos, utilizou-se os testes não paramétricos de Kruskal-Wallis, Wilcoxon e Mann-Whitney. Apesar de o ICO2 ter obtido o maior resultado, superando os índices Amplos, não houve variação estatística significante entre a série histórica dos retornos dos índices. Para viabilizar inferências sobre a existência dessa relação em longo prazo, aplicou-se o teste de cointegração Engle e Granger (1987), com base no qual se verificou a existência de semelhança entre as séries de retornos médios dos índices. Finalmente, analisou-se o desempenho dos índices por meio dos indicadores financeiros de Sharpe, Treynor e Jensen. Verificou-se que, com relação aos resultados do Sharpe e Jensen, o ICO2 não obteve desempenho relevante, apesar de ter alcançado resultados superiores aos dos índices Amplos. Já em relação ao resultado do índice de Treynor, o ICO2 superou os índices Amplos no período analisado. Dessa maneira, a relação de superioridade entre o desempenho financeiro das empresas sustentáveis e as empresas que não são assim classificadas não pôde ser confirmada.