Finding an alternative to fishmeal and fish oil in animal feeds has been a topic of increasing interest due to the pressures being put on the ocean’s fisheries and the increasing world demand for animal protein. An often-overlooked source of nutrients is in the form of food waste. One third of all food produced globally ends up in landfills, wasting a huge amount of nutrients and embodied energy that could otherwise be redirected towards productive use. This study investigated the feasibility of feeding Hermetia illucens, the black soldier fly larvae (BSFL), grown on urban food waste, and Lemna minor, a species of duckweed, to tilapia in a recirculating aquaponic system as a compound feed. The study compared the growth of two groups of 58 tilapia over 44 days; one group was fed commercial pellets and the other a compound feed composed of BSFL and duckweed. The group fed the commercial pellets achieved heavier weight gain than the group fed the experimental feed but both groups resulted in steady weight gain and had similar mortality rates. Feeding the experimental feed composed of BSFL and duckweed to tilapia in an aquaponics system is an effective method of diverting food waste from the landfill and further research should be done to optimize this process.

Floating macrophyte pond systems, with the ability to produce nutrient enriched plants simultaneously with wastewater treatment, are a sustainable solution to contribute to environmental protection and safe nutrient recovery from domestic wastewater. However, to meet the requirements for reuse with high strength wastewater containing high levels of metal pollution generated in developing countries, an adequate combination of water hyacinth and duckweed ponds is proposed in order to take advantage of the best characteristics of each of these macrophyte ponds. This research focused on the advancing of the understanding of the effectiveness of treatment and resource recovery under the effect of changing operational parameters such as pH, light intensity, influent metal content and fluctuating pollutants loading rate on pond performance and recycling ability in order to fill the noticed gap of knowledge. Experiments conducted in water hyacinth ponds (WHP), under batch and tropical natural weather conditions, revealed that pH between 6.4 and 7.1, full sunlight and seven days hydraulic retention time were optimum for plant biomass production and pollutant removal in WHP. WHP was able to regulate pH when the initial pH values moved outside this interval with a drop in biomass production as a side effect. These ponds showed a first order kinetic for the removal of iron, zinc and copper from aqueous solution and their accumulation in plants biomass with a preferential sequence Fe > Zn > Cu. However the presence of metals in water hyacinth biomass led to the reduction in ponds performances and a risk of re-pollution of the effluent through the release of metals into water. A comparative study carried out over sixty-two weeks in a pilot scale combined water hyacinth and duckweed ponds (DWP) channel and waste stabilization ponds channel working under fluctuating loading rates showed different environmental conditions occurred these ponds. The fluctuating loading rate was also found to have a reduced effect on the combined WHP/DWP channel performance and effluent quality stability with the effluents meeting the entire reuse requirement at high hydraulic flow rate (retention time greater than 20 days). Fish was able to grow in the WHP/DWP channel. Results suggested some guidelines on WHP/DWP system design, operation and maintenance. The overall outcome of this research is a significant contribution to the development of integrated combined WHP/DWP technology for treatment of wastewater and resource recovery on site.

Boron is an essential nutrient for plants and the potential exists for efficient removal of this element by wetland treatment systems due to accumulation by plants. To evaluate the efficacy of using Spirodella polyrrhiza to treat boron-contaminated wastewater or to be a suitable species for removing other nutrients from boron-containing wastewater the toxicity of this micronutrient was determined using standard methods. Frond production is apparently a more sensitive endpoint than either growth rate or the presence of abnormal fronds. Frond production in S. polyrrhiza was significantly reduced at 3.55 mg B/l. Significant reductions in growth rate and the percentage of abnormal (chlorotic, necrotic, and dead) fronds were observed at 18.9 and 22.4 mg B/l, respectively. The EC50 for frond production, frond growth rate, and abnormal fronds were 14.3, 11.7, and 17.7 mg B/l, respectively. S. polyrrhiza did not remove significant amounts of boron from the treatment solutions under the conditions and concentrations existing in this study. The inability of S. polyrrhiza to remove even small amounts of boron from the test solutions indicates this species is not suitable for treating boron-containing wastewater, even those with low boron concentrations.

The use of duckweed as a nutrient removal option for municipal wastewaters can only be realized through regular plant harvesting. As a result, the nutrient-rich biomass generated needs to be effectively managed and disposed of. This study looked at three alternative options for biomass management that would make duckweed-based nutrient removal systems sustainable and attractive to small communities like Wellsville City, Utah. The options included: the use of harvested duckweed biomass as an animal feed, anaerobic digestion of duckweed for methane production, and fermentation of biomass for ethanol production. Duckweed feed quality was determined using feed analysis reports and results from digestibility studies (in vitro fermentation). The performance of the anaerobic digestion process was determined by monitoring pH, VS, TS, NH4-N, VFAs, and alkalinity. The ethanol production yields were obtained from starch content values and ethanol concentrations observed from batch fermentation experiments. Duckweed was composed of 21 - 38% crude protein, 94 - 96% water, 78.5% organic matter, < 10% starch and an average of 19% starch after accumulation by nutrient starvation. Relative feed values (RFVs) of 230 - 241, crude protein content of 21-38%, and neutral and acid detergent fiber values of 30.2% and 13.7%, respectively, showed duckweed as a potential feed for ruminants comparable to alfalfa and corn silage (RFVs of 100). Digester performance showed an average methane yield of 6.3 and 5.8 ft3/lb VS destroyed with methane composition values of 67.1% and 62.5% for fresh DW fed reactor (R1) and air dried DW fed reactor (R2), respectively. The ethanol production yield observed was less than 100 mg ethanol/g DW for both fresh and oven dried DW samples. The recommended duckweed biomass management option for a small community like Wellsville is anaerobic digestion because it is a source of energy and at the same time the digestate can be used as a low-quality feed.

No description available.

Waste Stabilisation Ponds (WSPs) are a relatively simplistic and non-intensive wastewater treatment technology; with various WSP configurations widely employed to treat a range of different wastewaters the world over. Whilst the advantages of WSP treatment are both numerous and well recognized, performance problems relating to the presence of occasionally large and unpredictable quantities of plankton (both algal and zooplankton) biomass in the final pond effluents have posed significant operational problems for WSP operators; with this suspended biomass representing the single biggest drawback associated with the technology. Research conducted during this project was concerned with assessing a selection of so-called ‘advanced’ in-pond treatment processes for the upgrading or polishing of a final WSP effluent. The particular research emphasis was on the removal of problematic algal and zooplankton biomass from WSP effluent prior to Dissolved Air Flotation/Filtration (DAF/F) treatment and wastewater reuse at the Bolivar Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) north of Adelaide. The in situ WSP upgrade systems assessed in this thesis were: the native floating plant ‘Duckweed’ (DW); ‘Rock Filters’ (RFs); and an artificial ‘Attached-Growth Media’ (AGM); all of which were assessed for their relative treatment efficacies parallel to a non-interventional ‘Open Pond’ (OP) system which served as an effective control. These performance comparisons were assessed on a pilot-scale using a custom made pilot treatment plant which was located at the Bolivar WWTP. Performance monitoring was periodically carried out over a 12 month period from July 2005–August 2006, with algal and zooplankton populations monitored in addition to the more conventional wastewater quality parameters. Results from pilot plant investigations demonstrated that of the four pilot upgrade series, the RF and AGM systems displayed the greatest treatment potential in terms of both the magnitude and reliability of suspended solids, algal and zooplankton biomass removals. The DW system was also shown to be at least as effective and in some instances significantly more advanced than the uncovered OP system in terms of its ability to significantly improve the final effluent quality of the Bolivar WSPs. Both the RF and AGM upgrades (and to a lesser degree also the DW system) were found to offer considerable potential for producing a higher quality WSP effluent for more efficient processing by the Bolivar DAF/F plant; although there were various operational advantages and disadvantages as well as varying capital establishment costs associated with each of the candidate technologies. This part of the research represented the first direct performance comparison between two popular pond upgrade technologies (i.e. RFs and DW) and also constituted the first assessment of a novel AGM for the upgrading of tertiary-level WSP effluent. In addition to this, results from ecological performance monitoring also provided the first detailed insights into algal and zooplankton population dynamics within these WSP upgrade environments. In addition to these pilot-scale WSP upgrade performance investigations, another branch of the research project investigated additional research questions regarding the survival of algal cells within these pond upgrade environments. A series of laboratory experiments attempted to recreate the in situ conditions (in terms of light and oxygen availability) that might exist within the adopted upgrade environments. Using two common WSP algal species, long-term monitoring of the physiological status of phytoplankton cells during prolonged dark-exposure under conditions of reduced oxygen availability was performed in order to assess the likely effects of these particular environmental conditions on their survival potential in situ. Results from these laboratory-based experiments showed that both algal species were capable of quickly adjusting their cellular metabolism in response to dark incubation. Results also showed that a reduced environmental oxygen concentration (25% of saturation) had no bearing on the ability of either Chlorella or Chlamydomonas species to withstand long-term dark-exposure; with both species retaining what was essentially full biological viability following up to two months of continuous dark-exposure. In an applied context, these results suggested that subjecting algal cells to conditions of simultaneous darkness and reduced oxygen availability would be expected to have no significant adverse effects on algal survivorship within an advanced in-pond upgrade system such as a duckweed-covered WSP, a rock filter or an AGM system.

Submitted by MARIO EDUARDO PARDINI AFFONSECA null (maffonseca@sabesp.com.br) on 2016-09-01T12:36:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 AVALIAÇÃO DA VIABILIDADE E APLICABILIDADE DE MACRÓFITAS AQUÁTICAS PARA POLIMENTO DE EFLUENTES DE ESTAÇÕES DE TRATAMENTO DE ESGOTO DOMÉSTICO – ESTUDO EM ESCALA REAL.pdf: 3194598 bytes, checksum: e3edf2274f08875920b89c8124a090df (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Juliano Benedito Ferreira (julianoferreira@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-09-02T13:31:08Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 affonseca_mep_me_bot.pdf: 3194598 bytes, checksum: e3edf2274f08875920b89c8124a090df (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-02T13:31:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 affonseca_mep_me_bot.pdf: 3194598 bytes, checksum: e3edf2274f08875920b89c8124a090df (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-07-04 / Vários estudos já foram realizados no Brasil, a grande maioria em escala de bancada, para avaliação da eficiência de remoção de nutrientes através do uso de macrófitas, atestando a sua viabilidade técnica. Os sistemas de tratamento de esgoto doméstico por lagoas não removem fósforo e nem a amônia, o que tem gerado uma série de problemas para atendimento às exigências legais brasileiras para a qualidade de corpos d’água que recebem esses efluentes. Além disso, o excesso de nutrientes ocasiona problemas ambientais que podem inviabilizar outros usos para esses recursos naturais. A ampla disseminação da tecnologia de tratamento por lagoas de estabilização se deu pelo baixo custo de implantação e operação, e pelos bons resultados para a remoção de parâmetros até o nível secundário. Portanto, o país possui um passivo ambiental significativo, o qual requer melhorias para que se ajuste à realidade que se busca alcançar com as restrições pelos órgãos ambientais e pelo arcabouço legal atualmente existente. Neste trabalho foram realizadas duas baterias de testes em escala real na Lagoa da Estação de Tratamento de Recreio, no Município de Charqueada, SP. Os testes foram feitos em dois períodos sazonais completamente distintos, e demonstraram que as variáveis ambientais como radiação solar, ventos e chuvas exercem influencia direta na capacidade de desenvolvimento e remoção de nitrogênio e fósforo para o grupo de macrófitas Lemnaceae, que se encontrava naturalmente instalado nesse sistema. Apesar disso, os resultados obtidos foram muito promissores, chegando a remoções médias de 75% para ambos os parâmetros, sendo os melhores resultados pontuais obtidos para a amônia. Outras constatações evidenciam a necessidade de aprofundamento quanto a melhor forma e periodicidade de manejo, considerando que não pode ser realizada retirada única com o risco de diminuir a capacidade de competitividade dessa macrófita com as algas, que também geraram impacto negativo nas remoções. Após essas constatações, foi realizado um estudo de viabilidade econômica, onde a alternativa de remoção de fósforo total por macrófitas considerou a mão-de-obra, periodicidade e destinação, com o diferencial de que a Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo adquiriu em 2013 um equipamento de baixo custo que permite compostar a massa retirada com o lodo do esgoto e dar uma destinação agrícola ao material final. O Valor Presente Líquido (VPL) foi positivo quando comparado à alternativa de implantar um sistema anexo à lagoa instalada, apenas para polimento; e comparado à implantação de um sistema compacto com remoção físico-química. Ambos os estudos foram analisados apenas para sistemas para remoção de fósforo total (PT), e não considerou a remoção de amônia. / Several studies have been conducted in Brazil, the vast majority in bench scale to evaluate the nutrient removal efficiency through the use of macrophytes, attesting to their technical feasibility. Domestic wastewater treatment systems for ponds do not remove phosphorus neither ammonia, which has generated a number of problems to meet the Brazilian legal requirements for the quality of water bodies receiving these effluents. Furthermore, the excess of nutrients causes environmental problems that may prevent other uses for these resources. The wide spread treatment technology by stabilization ponds was due to the low cost of deployment and operation, and the good results for the removal of parameters to the secondary level. Therefore, the country has a significant environmental liability, which requires improvements to fit the reality that seeks to achieve with the restrictions by environmental agencies and the currently existing legal framework. In this work were two full-scale test batteries in the Lagoon Recreational Treatment Plant in the Municipality of Recreio, SP. The tests were done in two completely different seasonal periods, and demonstrated that environmental variables such as solar radiation, wind and rain have a direct influence on the development capacity and nutrient removal for macrophyte group Lemnaceae which found itself naturally installed on this system . Nevertheless, the results were very promising, reaching mean removal of 75% for both parameters, with the best results obtained for specific ammonia. Other findings highlight the need for further development as the best way and management basis, considering that can not be performed only withdrawal at the risk of reducing the competitiveness capacity of water lettuce with algae, which also generated a negative impact on removals. Following these findings, a study was conducted of economic viability, where the alternative removal by macrophytes considered the hand labor, timing and allocation, with the difference that the Basic Sanitation Company of the State of São Paulo acquired in 2013 one low cost equipment that allows the compost mass withdrawal with sewage sludge and to an agricultural destination to the final material. The NPV was positive when compared to the alternative of deploying an attachment system the installed pond, only for polishing; and compared to the deployment of a compact system with physico-chemical removal. Both studies were analyzed only for systems for removal of PT and did not consider the removal of ammonia.

Duckweed species L. turionifera and W. borealis grow on Wellsville Municipal Sewage Lagoons in northern Utah and, when harvested, contribute to the removal of phosphorus and pharmaceuticals from wastewater. Microcosm studies showed that duckweed contains an average of 1% phosphorus (dry weight) and removes 113 mg-P/m2day under 200 μmol/m2sec light. Duckweed in laboratory experiments reduced influent phosphorus ranging from 3.88 to 5.2 mg-TP/L to effluent concentrations of 0.88 mg-P/L in 3 days to 0.16 mg-P/L (0.32 mg-TP/L) with continual harvesting and a liquid retention time of 46 days. Duckweed removal of pharmaceuticals was comparable to removal by membrane bio-reactors. Duckweed removed 99% acetaminophen mainly by plant uptake; 98% progesterone primarily by absorption to plant tissue; 90% fluoxetine by adsorption with some biological removal attributed to plants; and sulfamethoxazole removal varied between 25 to 90% depending on polarity. Carbamazepine did not react with duckweed. Typical influent wastewater concentrations of the five pharmaceuticals in this study were not toxic to duckweed with an EC50 value of 614 μg/L per compound. HPLC/MS detection of pharmaceuticals in liquid samples using solid phase extraction at a neutral pH and silanized glassware produced 92-102% recoveries. Analysis of extracted solids produced lower recoveries. Solid extraction efficiencies ranged from 56-70% for samples stored for 24 hours and decreased with increasing storage time. Field growth studies showed higher than expected duckweed growth rates in the spring compared to three models due to turion germination after the ice melts. The growth rates decreased in the fall due to turion formation in preparation for winter. Harvesting duckweed from the Wellsville Municipal Sewage Lagoons should begin after full surface coverage around June 17th and end when temperatures fall below 15 °C around September 15th. Bi-weekly harvests with a starting plant density of 75 g-dry duckweed/m2 for the lagoons operating at 0.547 MGD and 5 mg-TP/L are required to physically remove enough phosphorus in order to meet the city’s 432 kg-P/yr discharge permit. A duckweed phosphorus harvesting system in Wellsville was estimated to produce enough biomass to meet the P-discharge limit until the flow increases above 0.656 MGD around the Year 2017.

Precipitation over coal fly ash surfaces raises concerns about potential downstream impacts of dissolved selenium (Se) on aquatic ecosystems. Detention ponds hold runoff until aqueous Se concentrations meet water quality regulations: within 10 days, 90% of runoff must be discharged and cannot exceed 11.8 μg Se L-1 (ppb). Constructed wetland (CW) phytoremediation is a potential treatment option to meet these regulations. This research was conducted to 1.) Assess the potential of native southeastern aquatic macrophytes for Se tolerance and removal efficiency compared to unplanted (UNP) detention ponds; 2.) Evaluate seasonal influence on Se removal in CWs over four, weekly flood-discharge cycles; and 3.) Determine the effect of temperature on aqueous Se removal. Monoculture CW microcosms (110 L) were flooded six days with 500 or 1000 ppb Se, as selenite (SeO32-) or selenate (SeO42-) evaluating five plant species for Se tolerance. Seasonal evaluations were conducted with cattail (Typha angustifolia L.; CAT) and duckweed (Lemna minor L.; DWD) over four weekly flood-discharge cycles at 16 or 32 ppb SeO42--Se. Cattail, DWD, or UNP volatilization chambers (VCs) flooded with a 3 L solution at 35 ppb SeO42--Se were evaluated under 12 h photoperiod at either 20 or 30°C. All experiments contained a zero Se control. Water, plant, and soil total Se concentrations were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and analyzed with PROC GLM (SAS EG 7.1) at α=0.05. Cattail and DWD were selected for further evaluation with SeO42--Se. The greatest aqueous Se removal was observed in the summer (73%), followed by the fall (42%) and spring (41%), compared to winter (18%). Temperature was strongly correlated with Se removal (0.65, P<0.0001). Except for summer, after two flood-discharge cycles, CAT and DWD improved aqueous Se removal compared to UNP controls. Volatilization chamber data indicated greater Se removal at 30 (69%) compared to 20°C (54%). At 30°C, DWD decreased aqueous Se concentrations below 11.8 ppb Se within 10 days. Given their efficacy and abundance, CAT and DWD are deemed suitable species for phytoremediation in CWs supplied with Se-impacted waters.

Orientador: Liliane Lazzari Albertin / Resumo: A situação de escassez de recursos financeiros destinados ao tratamento e coleta de esgotos municipais, no Brasil, torna essencial a busca por tecnologias de tratamento que priorizem baixos custos de instalação e operação. Além da negligência que existe no tratamento de esgotos, os métodos utilizados, muitas vezes, não são capazes de remover os micropoluentes que estão presentes nos esgotos domésticos. Os micropoluentes podem ser desde fármacos, que são expelidos na urina ou descartados de maneira inadequada, a hormônios naturais ou sintéticos. Esse trabalho consistiu em realizar um processo de polimento do esgoto sanitário da cidade de Ilha Solteira – SP. O sistema de polimento é constituído por dois tanques, onde foi cultivada a macrófita Landoltia punctata. Foi também avaliado e feito a recirculação do efluente, no tratamento de esgoto. Neste sistema de polimento, foram avaliadas as eficiências de tratamento para os parâmetros de DBO, DQO, NT, NO3-, PT e ST. As maiores eficiências de remoção para DBO, DQO, NT, NO3-, PT e ST foram de 66,35%, 59,08%, 26,76%, 28,38%, 6,85% e 40,08%. Outro aspecto avaliado foi a taxa de crescimento da macrófita cultivada em esgoto sanitário. As maiores taxas de crescimento relativo foram de 3,84 e 3,17 g.m-2.d-1 MS. Considerando a presença de desreguladores endócrinos (DEs) no efluente da Estação de Tratamento de Esgoto (ETE) de Ilha Solteira, foi analisado a absorção dos estrógenos 17α-etinilestradiol (EE2) e o estriol (E3) pela macrófita, av... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The scarcity of financial resources for the treatment and collection of municipal wastewater in Brazil makes search for treatment technologies essential with low installation and operation costs. In addition, the methods used are often not able to remove the micropollutants that are present in domestic sewage. Micropollutants can range from drugs that are expelled in the urine or inappropriately discarded to natural or synthetic hormones. This work consisted of a process to polishing the sanitary sewage of the city of Ilha Solteira - SP. The treatment system consists of two tanks, where the macrophyte Landoltia punctata was grown. In one of the tanks, a recirculation system was performed. In this polishing system, the treatment efficiencies for the BOD, COD, TN, NO3-, TP and ST parameters were evaluated. The highest removal efficiencies for BOD, COD, TN, NO3-, TP and ST were 66,35%, 59,08%, 26,76%, 28,38%, 6,85% and 40,08%. Another aspect evaluated was the growth rate of the macrophyte. The highest relative growth rates were 3.84 and 3.17 g.m-2.d-1 MS. Considering the presence of endocrine disrupters (DEs) in the effluent from the Sewage Treatment Plant (ETE) in Ilha Solteira - SP, 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2) and estriol (E3) were analyzed on the plant to evaluate possible risks on the reuse of the biomass. The maximum achieved efficiencies for removal of E3 and EE2 were 83.63% and 83.50%, respectively. The recirculation tank was more effective at removing E3, while the non-r... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre