Tässä diplomityössä selvitettiin kiinteistökohtaisten etäluettavien vesimittareiden vaikutuksia vesihuoltolaitoksen toimintaan. Muutamat Suomen vesihuoltolaitoksista ovat aloittaneet mittareiden etäluentaan siirtymisen ja tällä hetkellä laitokset lukevat asennetut etäluettavat vesimittarinsa henkilöautosta mittarin ohi ajaen. Yksittäisen poikkeuksen tekee Forssan vesihuoltoliikelaitos, jolla on radiolinkkiverkon rakentaminen käynnissä ja sen tulisi olla valmis vuoden 2015 aikana. Radiolinkkiverkon kautta vedenkulutustietoa saadaan suoraan mittareilta vesihuoltolaitokselle. Diplomityön päätavoitteena oli laskea ja arvioida, onko vesihuoltolaitoksella kokonaistaloudellisesti perusteltua siirtyä perinteisistä mekaanisista mittareista ja perinteisestä luentatavasta ultraääniperiaatteella toimiviin etäluettaviin mittareihin ja täysin erilaiseen luentatapaan, jossa mittarit luetaan niiden ohi ajamalla. Ensimmäisenä osatavoitteena oli selvittää kiinteistökohtaisten etäluettavien vesimittareiden vaikutukset vesijohtoverkoston hydrauliseen hallintaan esimerkkikohteessa. Muita osatavoitteita olivat etäluettavien vesimittareiden aiheuttamien muiden hyötyjen ja mahdollisuuksien selvittäminen vesihuoltolaitoksen toimintoihin sekä Suomen markkinoilla toimivien mittareiden ja luentajärjestelmien toimittajien selvittäminen. Lisäksi osatavoitteena oli kartoittaa vesihuoltolaitoksen yhteistyömahdollisuuksia esimerkiksi sähkö- ja energiayhtiöiden kanssa etäluennan toteuttamiseksi. Suomessa etäluettaviin vesimittareihin ja niiden mahdollistamiin hyötyihin liittyviä julkisia selvityksiä ja tutkimuksia on toistaiseksi tehty vielä vähän. Osaksi juuri tämän takia työhön sisällytettiin runsaasti puhelin- ja sähköpostikeskusteluissa läpikäytyjä asioita, joiden pohjalta voitiin arvioida kokonaistaloudellista kannattavuutta sekä mittareiden aiheuttamia hyötyjä. Tietoa etsittiin myös kirjallisuudesta sekä kasvotusten suoritetuilla haastatteluilla. Vesijohtoverkoston hydraulisen hallinnan tutkimusalueena toimi Ylivieskan Vesiosuuskunnan toiminta-alueella sijaitseva vedenmittausalue, jonne paineenkorotuspumpulla pumpattu vesimäärä voitiin nähdä litran tarkkuudella tunneittain Ylivieskassa sijaitsevassa kaukovalvontapisteessä. Kun alueelle pumpattu vesimäärä tunnettiin ja kiinteistökohtaista vedenkulutusta seurattiin litran tarkkuudella kahden eri vuorokauden ajan tuntitasolla sekä kahden kuukauden ajan vuorokausitasolla, voitiin laskea vesijohtoverkoston alueellinen vedenkulutus eri pituisille aikajaksoille vesitaseyhtälön avulla. Tehtyjen laskelmien perusteella voitiin todeta, että siirtyminen ultraääniperiaatteella toimivien etäluettavien vesimittareiden luentaan mittareiden ohi ajamalla voidaan perustella taloudellisesti, jos vesihuoltolaitoksella on ollut tapanaan lukea mekaaninen vesimittarikantansa itse esimerkiksi neljän vuoden välein. Kokonaistaloudellisen kannattavuuden laskemiseen sekä arviointiin vaikuttavat kuitenkin useat eri tekijät ja sitä tulisi arvioida aina laitoskohtaisesti. Suurimmat erot mittareiden välillä aiheutuvat eri pituisista laskennallisista käyttövuosista ja sitä kautta muodostuvista vuosittaisista mittarinvaihtovolyymeistä, kokonaishankintahinnoista sekä mittareiden luennasta aiheutuvista kustannuksista. Alueellisella kiinteistöjen vuorokausikohtaisella vedenkulutuksen seurannalla voidaan parantaa verkostonhallintaa, jos tunnetaan myös alueelle pumpattu vesimäärä. Tehdyn tutkimuksen mukaan Ylivieskan Vesiosuuskunnan Säilynperän vesijohtoverkosto on tällä hetkellä hyväkuntoinen, sillä vuotovettä muodostuu keskimäärin vain noin 0,1 m³/verkosto-km vuorokaudessa. Jos halutaan minimoida kiinteistön sisäpuolisia vuotovahinkoja, vuorokausitasoinen data ei ole tällöin riittävää. Sen sijaan tuntitasoisella vedenkulutuksen seurannalla voidaan seurata tarkemmin kiinteistökohtaista vedenkulutusta, jolloin vuotoja voidaan ehkäistä ja niiden aiheuttamia vuotovahinkoja minimoida. Myös vuodon alkamisajankohta voidaan osoittaa huomattavan tarkasti. Tutkimuksessa tämä voitiin konkreettisesti huomata, kun tutkimusalueen erään kiinteistön vedenkulutus oli ensimmäisenä mittauspäivänä jatkuvasti vähintään 12 l/h. Syyksi paljastui vuotava WC-istuin. Etäluettavien vesimittareiden luentayhteistyömahdollisuuksia aloitettiin kartoittamaan tarkemmin sähkö- ja energiayhtiö Herrforsin kanssa ja sähkömittareihin asennettavia moduuleja on tarkoitus asentaa kokeille useampia. Sähkömittarin kautta ei ole kuitenkaan mahdollista lukea nykyisistä etäluettavista vesimittareista kuin vuorokausikohtaisia kulutuslukemia, sillä vesimittarit tallentavat vain vuorokausikohtaista dataa ja sähkömittarit luetaan vain kerran vuorokaudessa. / The aim of this Master Thesis was to determine the effects of residential smart water meters to the operation of water utilities. At present in Finland a few water utilities have started to move in on smart metering and these utilities read the smart meters from a car with drive-by meter reading solutions. A single exception is a water utility in Forssa, which has started to build a radio-link network and it should be ready within this year 2015. Via the radio-link network the data of residential water consumption will move straight to the water utility. The primary aim of this study was to calculate and estimate if it is economically justified to change conventional mechanical water meters and conventional reading methods for the meters, which measure water volume by ultrasonic technique and are read in a different way by a remote reading device installed in a vehicle. The first part aimed to determine the effects of residential water meters to the hydraulic management of a water supply network. Additionally, other goals of the thesis were to determine if there were more benefits and potentials of smart water meters to the operation of water utilities and to determine the suppliers of meters and intelligent networks in Finland’s market. Also the thesis aimed to determine cooperation possibilities for example with electric and energy companies in the reading of smart meters. At the present moment public studies and reports about smart water meters and their potential are scarce in Finland. Partly because of that many phone and email interviews were included in this study. These interviews were the basis in the estimation of cost-effectiveness and benefits of ultrasonic smart water meters. Information was also searched from literature and gathered from face to face interviews. The water-gauging area of Ylivieskan Vesiosuuskunta operated as a study area for the hydraulic management of a water supply network. The volume of pumped domestic water by a booster pump could be seen hourly from a telemonitoring office situated in Ylivieska with an accuracy of a liter. The volume of pumped domestic water was known for every hour and the residential water consumption was followed hourly for two days and during another two months on a daily basis. From this data the consumption of domestic water in a distribution system could be calculated for different time periods in the water consumption area. Based on calculations it could be noted, that the reading of ultrasonic smart water meters by a remote reading device installed in a vehicle can be justified economically, if the water utility has before read the mechanical water meters in person for example at intervals of four years. Various factors affect to the calculations and estimations of smart meter cost-effectiveness and because of that, it should be estimated always individually for different water utilities. The largest differences between the meter types are caused by different computational life expectancies which affect the total amount of meters to be changed every year, the total purchase price of meters and the costs of meter readings. The hydraulic management of a water supply network can be improved by following the daily regional residential water consumption, if the volume of pumped water is also known. Based on this study, the water distribution system of Säilynperä is in a good condition at the moment, because the amount of leaking water is on average only 0,1 m³/km/d. If the leaks are aimed to be minimized inside properties, daily data is not accurate enough. By acquiring hourly water consumption data more accurate water consumption in properties can be seen. Hourly data would help to reveal leakages to minimize damages. Also the starting time of a leakage can be indicated accurately. This was noticed in the Ylivieska case study, where water consumption of a property was in the first hourly gauging-day continuously at least 12 l/h. A leakage was found that was caused by a toilet-seat. The possible collaboration in the reading of smart meters was determined together with a local electric and energy company Herrfors and modules which are installed inside an electricity meter will be put in place to test them. Via an electricity meter it is only possible to read the daily water consumption, because current smart water meters save only daily data and electricity meters are read only once per day.

The Circular Economy Package, the National Waste Plan and Oulu Waste Management’s own strategy applies pressure to seek ways to improve waste management practices in order to promote sustainability and a more circular approach to waste. This thesis aims to assess the possibilities and to map the different alternatives for increasing municipal solid waste recycling in the operational area of Oulu Waste Management Ltd. The evaluation was based on cost, implementation time and effectiveness estimates. The research question for this thesis is: What are the options for Oulu Waste Management Ltd. to increase MSW recycling rates in its area of operations and what are the estimated costs? Investment calculations were done using the Net Present Value method. Values and information for the calculations as well as other evaluations were acquired from public sources, scientific articles, legislation and interviews. The first part of the thesis focuses on waste legislature and methods for affecting the amount of recoverable waste collected. The second part presents the current situation in the Oulu region and in the Oulu Waste Management operational area as well as the composition of mixed waste in Oulu and Finland. In the third part are presented the source separation methods and factors affecting it. The fourth part is the evaluation of the presented alternatives of the decentralized, centralized and hybrid solutions. The results for this thesis were that the most effective option would be to implement a Mixed Waste Processing Facility in combination especially with biowaste separate collection expansion to include all inhabitants in the Oulu Waste Management area of operations — or in short, a hybrid solution. Other recycling boosting options that would be good to implement with the aforementioned is to encourage detached house neighbourhoods to utilize small scale bring points. Information and public education campaigns would also have to be utilized to ensure proper consumer behaviour. The evaluated cost for the implementation of a Mixed Waste Processing Facility with the required capacity (100 000t/a) in tandem with supporting actions is circa 20M€. These results are to be used as a starting point by Oulu Waste Management to assess possible methods for increasing recycling rate in the Oulu Waste Management operational area in the future. In the process of this thesis, many questions rose regarding the use of recovered waste materials, the practical implementation of alternatives in addition to engaging consumers in source separation activities. As such, this thesis is a good starting point for future research. The results of this thesis are applicable and generalizable to other countries with modern waste management practices.

The main goals of this research are to investigate the anaerobic digestibility of algae and to investigate the effects of growth media on the growth rates, nutrient removal kinetics, and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) characteristics of wild type green algae. Anaerobic co-digestion of algae with sewage sludge is proposed to improve the digestibility of algae. It is hypothesized that the addition of sewage sludge improves the hydrolysis rate of algae, which is often the rate-limiting step for anaerobic digestion. It is also hypothesized that the composition and concentration of nutrients in growth media will affect the kinetics of nutrient removal and the content of EPS, which will influence algae flocculation and subsequent anaerobic digestion. In this research, algae collected from a local wastewater treatment plant were cultivated in synthetic medium, primary wastewater effluent and pure or diluted anaerobic sludge centrate. Light cycles and the level of CO 2 addition were varied at different stages of cultivation for nutrient removal and physiochemical properties of algae. Harvested algae were then anaerobically co-digested with varying proportions of sewage sludge under mesophilic condition. Results showed that when algae were digested alone (i.e. no sludge addition) with a small amount of seed sludge, algae were poorly digested. When algae were co-digested with sewage sludge, the gas yield was improved and the gas phase (CH4 generation) was reached faster. The biogas yield of algae increased to a comparable level to that of digestion of waste sludge when 44% (by VS) of seed sludge was inoculated for digestion. The addition of sewage sludge improved the hydrolysis rate and the overall digestibility of algae. Algae grown in primary effluent, which had a balanced N/P ratio showed a higher nutrient removal efficiency. The P-limitation in sludge centrate led to lower nutrient removal efficiency and higher EPS production compared to algae grown in primary effluent, indicating that sludge centrate was a harsher medium for algae growth. In conclusion, microalgae can grow in primary effluent and anaerobic sludge centrate for nutrient removal. Anaerobic co-digestion of algae withwaste sludge was strongly recommended to enhance the biogas generation.

Algae in drinking water supplies can cause problems with coagulation and production of disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Stringent regulations imposed by the Disinfectants/Disinfection Byproduct Rule have prompted many water utilities to consider using ozone as an alternative disinfectant to chlorine. The effects of ozone and chlorine on the coagulation of algae and the production of disinfection byproducts from algae were investigated. Two species of algae were cultivated: Scenedesmus quadricauda and Cyclotella sp. Initial experiments examined oxidant effects on algae cells and extracellular organic matter (EOM). Scanning electron micrographs indicated substantial alterations to the cell wall of Scenedesmus after oxidation, which was accompanied by a decrease in the particle charge. Particle size distributions of Scenedesmus showed a reduction in cell numbers after ozonation alone (no settling) when the cell concentration was low (20,000 cells/mL). In addition, the EOM was shifted to lower apparent molecular weights after oxidation. Cyclotella was less affected by oxidation: cells experienced little alteration. The effects of ozone on DBP production were determined. For both algae, preozonation increased the rate of formation and the formation potential (FP) of both trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). THM yields were increased by up to 50% following 1 mg/L ozone, while HAA concentrations were up to 20% greater than samples that did not receive preozonation. For Cyclotella, it was additionally found that the cells accounted for about 70% of the total yield, while the EOM accounted for the remaining 30%. Comparing the algae species, DBP yields from Cyclotella were double those from Scenedesmus when normalized to the total organic carbon concentration. Comparing DBP species, it was found that HAAFPs were approximately twice as high as THMFPs for both algae. Bench scale jar tests were performed to evaluate the effects of ozone and chlorine on coagulation of algae cells and EOM. Coagulation experiments with a polyaluminum. chloride showed that oxidation with either ozone or chlorine improved the coagulation and settling of Scenedesmus. This was evidenced by lowered settled water particle counts and turbidity. However, dissolved organic carbon concentrations were increased by oxidation, and this additional material was difficult to remove by coagulation. Under the same conditions, removals of Cyclotella without pretreatment were superior to removals of Scenedesmus. Coagulation of Cyclotella did not benefit from preoxidation with ozone or chlorine. Additional coagulation experiments examined the coagulation of algae-clay and EOM-clay suspensions. In both cases, increased calcium concentrations improved coagulation; however, preoxidation did not significantly impact the settled water quality.

Water suppliers that practice chlorine disinfection face conflicting objectives in providing adequate microbial protection while minimizing the formation of harmful chlorinated organic by-products such as trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). As a result of chemical and hydraulic dynamics, the chemical composition of water can vary substantially in time and space in distribution systems. Models that can capture these dynamics would be powerful tools for optimizing water quality. The goal of this research was to develop a mechanism-based model for chlorine/natural organic matter (NOM) reaction kinetics and incorporate it in a computer program for predicting distribution system chlorine, THM and HAA concentrations. Laboratory experiments were performed to characterize the kinetics of chlorine decay and chlorination by-product formation in treated drinking waters. In these experiments, treated waters were chlorinated under various conditions and chlorine, THM, and HAA levels were monitored as the reactions proceeded. The data from these experiments were used to develop and calibrate a kinetic model. The kinetic model is based on a simplified conceptual reaction mechanism. The form of the model is a system of differential equations that is solved numerically. Good fits (coefficients of determination > 0.90) to data sets that included as many as five different waters chlorinated under a variety of conditions were achieved. The kinetic model was incorporated into a computer program for predicting distribution system chlorine, THM, and HAA levels. The computer program tracks chlorine, by-product, and reactive NOM site concentrations. Local reaction rates may be computed as functions of one or more substance concentrations. The model was field-tested in the New Haven, Connecticut distribution system. In order to test the model, samples were collected in the distribution system and chlorine, THM, and HAA levels were measured. Computer simulations of the sampling days were created and model predictions were compared to the field measurements. Good agreement (most predictions within ±20% of observations) between field measurements and model predictions was observed, particularly for THMs. There was no apparent bias in the model predictions for chlorine, THMs, or for the di-halogenated HAA species.

abstract: Light-driven reactions can replace chemical and material consumption of advanced water treatment technologies. A barrier to light-driven water treatment is optical obstructions in aquafers (i.e. granular media) or built infrastructures (i.e. tubing) that limits light propagation from a single source such as the sun, or lamps. Side emitting optical fibers (SEOFs) can increase light distribution by > 1000 X from one-point source, but absorbance of UV light by conventional optical fibers limits their application to visible light only. This dissertation assessed how SEOFs can enable visible through ultraviolet light-driven processes to purify water. I first used an existing visible light polymer SEOF and phototrophic organisms to increase the dissolved oxygen level of a granular sand reactor to > 15 mg DO/L. The results indicated that SEOFs successfully guide light past optical obstructions for environmental remediation which encouraged the fabrication of UV-C SEOFs for microbial inactivation. I was the first to obtain consecutive UV-C side emission from optical fibers by placing nanoparticles on the surface of a UV transmitting glass core. The nanoparticles induced side-emission via Mie scattering and interactions with the evanescent wave. The side emission intensity was modulated by tuning the separation distance between the nanoparticle and fiber surface. Coating the fiber with a UV-C transparent polymer offered the optical fiber flexibility and prevented nanoparticle release into solution. One SEOF coupled to a 265 nm LED achieved 3-log inactivation of E. coli. Finally, a method was developed to quantify the zone of inhibition obtained by a low flux output source. By placing a SEOF connected to a UV-C LED over a nutrient-rich LB agar plate, I illustrated that one SEOF inhibited the growth of P. aeruginosa and E. coli within 2.8 cm along the fiber’s length. Ultimately this research informed that side-emitting optical fibers can enable light-driven water purification by guiding and distributing specific wavelengths of light directly to the microbial communities of interest. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Engineering 2020

In this study, the dynamic nature of oxidant/natural organic matter/particle interactions was investigated. For the purposes of this research, "dynamic" was defined as a significant variation in a measured parameter over a time scale of interest. The research objectives were to determine if oxidant-induced particle destabilization (OIPD) is a dynamic phenomenon and if this aspect of the phenomenon has an impact on subsequent treatment processes. Bench-scale experiments were conducted to study the effects of oxidant type and dose, coagulation pH, organic material and oxidant contact time on OIPD. The research was carried out in three phases. In Phase I, measurements of suspension properties were made following the addition of oxidants to model waters. In Phase II, the effect of oxidant contact time prior to coagulant addition on the treatment of model waters was evaluated. In Phase III, the effect of oxidant contact time prior to coagulation addition on the treatment of natural waters was investigated. The addition of ozone or PEROXONE induced time-dependent changes in the EPM of the suspension. No effects of oxidant addition on turbidity or DOC/TOC ratio were observed. When chlorine was used as the preoxidant, no effects on any measured properties were observed. When alum was used as a coagulant, removal of turbidity, TOC, and DOC decreased after the addition of preoxidants. The changes occurred rapidly following oxidant addition and achieved a steady state after 4 minutes of contact time. When a cationic polymer was used as a coagulant, removal of turbidity, TOC, and DOC increased following preozonation. These changes occurred rapidly following ozone addition and achieved a steady state after 4 minutes of contact time. Time-dependent changes in the suspension EPM did not occur when calcium was not present in the water matrix, and, the suspension EPM is significantly more negative without calcium present. It was concluded that calcium complexes NOM and acts as a charge neutralization species. It is likely that time-dependent changes in calcium-NOM complexation are responsible for the changes in EPM and this reduction in negative particle charge may be the cause of increased removals of turbidity and NOM by polymer coagulation.

abstract: Soil impacts from crude oil spills in the United States are regulated at the state level using the analytical group total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) as the primary regulatory metric. TPH concentration in soil is used to enforce and verify compliance with cleanup levels (CULs). While there are significant differences between states concerning TPH CULs based on land use, most states enforce an action level of 100 mg TPH kg⁻1. The most common standard method for quantification of TPH in soils is EPA Method 8015, which entails extraction of petroleum hydrocarbons by dichloromethane and analysis by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID). Using Method 8015 or similar methods, TPH is defined as the cumulative area of all peaks within a defined analytical range (typically C6-C36). A limitation of TPH standard methods is their lack of specificity for petroleum hydrocarbons (i.e., these methods can also detect and quantify compounds that are an inherent part of natural soil organic matter (SOM)). While the interference of SOM compounds with TPH quantification is known, documentation regarding the extent of this interference is almost absent in the peer-reviewed literature. In this thesis, 15 biogeochemically-diverse soils, uncontaminated by crude oil hydrocarbons, were sampled from geographically diverse locations and investigated in an effort to determine the concentration of SOM that registers as TPH. Solvent extractions using dichloromethane or n-pentane in conjunction with GC-FID analysis showed that all soils had detectable concentrations of TPH ranging from 160 to 2700 mg TPH kg–1. Based on the results from this study, it can be concluded that many soils have a higher apparent TPH concentration than most US state-level CULs. In addition, the data from this study show that soils with a lower pH and/or a higher organic carbon content also have higher concentrations of apparent TPH. Findings from this thesis show that uncontaminated soils have a significant apparent TPH concentration that would be considered part of the TPH originating from contamination and should be accounted for in the regulatory landscape. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering 2020

abstract: “Airborne dispersal of microorganisms influences their biogeography, gene flow, atmospheric processes, human health and transmission of pathogens that affect humans, plants and animals” (Alsved et al., 2018). Many airborne pathogens cause diseases, such as Legionnaires disease, which is a type of pneumonia caused due to Legionella. Since the first report of a Legionella outbreak in 1976, or reports of Non – tuberculous Mycobacterium (NTM) outbreaks in hospital and healthcare settings by the CDC, it is significant to understand the behavior, occurrence and persistence of opportunistic pathogenic aerosols in the atmosphere. This study comprises a literature review and experimental work on airborne dispersion of 4 microorganisms – E. coli, Legionella pneumophila, Mycobacterium phlei and bacteriophage P22. The literature review summarizes their characteristics, their potential sources, disease outbreaks, collection and detection methodologies, environmental conditions for their growth and survival and few recommendations for reducing potential outbreaks. Aerosolization of each of these microorganisms was carried out separately in a closed environment using a spray gun and a nebulizer. The spraying time consisted of 1 sec, 5secs or 10secs, from one end of a chamber, and collecting air sample from the other end of the chamber, using a microbial air sampler. The air sample collection was performed to understand their transport, dispersion and reduction in air. Legionella showed a log reduction of ~4 using spray gun and ≤0.6 using nebulizer, whereas Mycobacterium showed a log reduction of ~4.5 using spray gun and ≤0.7 using nebulizer, respectively. Bacteriophage P22 on the other hand showed a 4 log reduction using spray gun and ≤1.4 using the nebulizer. This shows that aerosolization of microorganisms depends on its cell structure, size and survivability. Legionella follows the air – to – water transmission route, and Mycobacterium is hydrophobic, due to which their aerosols are more stable and active, than E. coli. Other environmental properties such as relative humidity and temperature impact the transport and dispersion of microorganisms in air. The experiments in this study validated the aerosolization and transport of Legionella, Mycobacterium and bacteriophage P22 in a closed environment over time. In general, microbial concentration collected in air increased with aerosolization time of the test water. On the other hand, their concentration significantly decreased as elapsed time progressed after aerosolization, due to settling effect of larger particles and potential reduction due to inactivation of bacterial and viruses in the air. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Engineering 2020

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