M.Sc. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

ABSTRACT Continuous flow column studies were conducted to characterize suspended sol ids and heavy metal reduct ions through sedimentation with varying overflow rates. The heavy metals tested were cadmium, zinc, copper, iron, lead, nickel and chromium. Stormwater derived samples spiked with street sweepings categorized into particle size ranges less than 500 microns in diameter were utilized in the research. Overflow rates investigated ranged from 28 to 3600 gallons per day per square foot. Theoretical predictions of suspended solids reductions with the application of Stoke's Law exceeded observed reductions for the continuous flow system. Performance curves for all reductions over the observed range of overflow rates are described by a parabolic relationship with the general equation as follows: Reduced fraction= a+ b(Overflow Rate - c) 2 where a, b and c are constants specific to each parameter. Similarities in performance curves for all metals indicate a dependence on suspended solids for reductions. Cadmium and chromium reductions were a function of overflow rate, but did not show a statistically significant dependence on initial total suspended solids concentration. Lead, copper, zinc and iron reductions were a function of initial total suspended solids concentration as well as overflow rate. Iron and nickel exhibited dependence on initial concentration of the specific metal for reductions, as well as dependence on overflow rate and initial total suspended solids concentration. The steady-state models selected from the results of this research for total suspended sol ids and each of the heavy metals are limited to the mixture, specific experimental conditions, and range of overflow rates observed in this research. Observed reductions of total suspended solids and heavy metals are considered to be 1 imited to physical sedimentation processes, in that processes that may effect reductions of these elements in a natural system are not factors in the results of this research.

The effects of a continuous dose of 0.5 mg/l nickel on activated sludge performance at varying COD:TKN ratios were investigated. Continuous flow, complete mix, bench-scale reactors were operated over a range of mean cell residence times, and COD removal efficiency, biokinetic coefficients, extent of nitrification, and nickel removal evaluated at each. Data from two earlier studies, in which 0.5 and 1 mg/l nickel doses were applied to similar units, were included for comparison. Organic removal efficiency was not impaired for the nickel doses considered. Biokinetic coefficients and nitrate production were also unaffected by 0.5 mg/l nickel. In contrast, one mg/l nickel sharply inhibited nitrification, caused an apparent decrease in reactor solids concentration, and related biokinetic changes in coefficients. Nickel removal was erratic. / Master of Science

An investigation was conducted using in situ lysimeters (1.5 m x 2.3 m) to determine Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn availabilities for barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) grown on four sludge-amended soils. These lysimeters were constructed in Acredale silt loam (Typic Ochraqualf), Bojac loamy sand (Typic Hapludult), Davidson clay loam (Rhodie Paleudult), and Groseclose silt loam (Typic Hapludult) soils. An aerobically digested sewage sludge from a sewage system with major industrial inputs was applied at rates of 0, 42, and 84 dry Mg ha-t to the lysimeters in the poorly-drained Acredale soil. Rates of 0, 42, 84, 126, 168, and 210 dry Mg ha-1 were applied to the lysimeters in the well-drained Bojac, Davidson, and Groseclose soils. Tissue metal concentrations were determined in 1984 and 1985 for a three crop rotation, which consisted of corn, barley, and corn on the Acredale soil. Increases in sludge-borne Ni and Zn led to increases in Ni and Zn concentrations in corn earleaf, corn grain, and barley silage. Copper concentration was increased in barley silage but not in corn grain and stover. On this poorly-drained soil, metal movement did not occur below the Ap horizon even when Cu was applied in excess of USEPA guidelines. Although there were increases in metal levels, all four metals were within the range considered normal for corn and barley growth. Soil, corn, and barley plants were sampled in 1984 and 1985 to determine Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn availabilities for crops grown on the sludge-amended Bojac, Davidson, and Groseclose soils. Levels of DTPA-extractable Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn in the Ap horizon of these soils increased linearly with sludge rate. Corn grain and stover yields were not decreased on the Bojac, Davidson, and Groseclose soils when 4.5, 5105, 760, 43.0, 135, and 620 kg ha-1 of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn were added as a sludge-amendment. Copper and Zn applied in excess of 480 and 60 kg ha- 1 of USEPA guidelines, respectively on the Bojac, Davidson, and Groseclose soils were not phytotoxic to corn plants in 1984. Corn and barley tissue sampled for three consecutive seasons had Cr concentrations <2.8 mg kg-1. / Ph. D.

This research describes aquatic macroinvertebrate community responses to heavy metals (copper, zinc) in experimental streams and at metal-impacted sites in the field. Experiments employed substrate-filled trays which were colonized in the field and then transferred to laboratory or outdoor streams. Laboratory experiments conducted over three seasons showed that acute (96 h) exposure to copper (Cu) at 15-32 μg Cu/L significantly reduced macroinvertebrate abundance and number of taxa during each season. Owing to differences in sensitivity among taxa, the percent composition of dominant groups varied between control and dosed streams. Mayflies were quite sensitive to Cu, particularly during the summer when water temperatures were higher. Community responses to Cu and Zn in outdoor experimental streams were similar to those observed at metal-impacted sites in the field. Control streams and field reference Stations were dominated by mayflies and Tanytarsini chironomids. In contrast, treated Streams and impacted field sites were dominated by net-Spinning caddisflies (Hydropsychidae) and Orthocladiini chironomids. The similarity of these experimental results to those observed in the field suggest that macroinvertebrate community responses to heavy metals are highly predictable. Responses of these communities to Cu were greatly influenced by water quality. Effects were more severe in New River Streams, where water hardness and alkalinity were low, compared to Clinch River Streams, where hardness and alkalinity were higher. In soft water Streams, abundance was reduced by 84% after 10 d exposure to Cu (measured concentration = 13 μg/L). In contrast, abundance was reduced by only 45% in hard water Streams after 10 d at Similar Cu levels. These results demonstrate the importance of accounting for water quality characteristics of receiving systems when establishing site-specific criteria for metals. Chronic exposure (14 d) to sublethal levels of Cu (< 6 μg/L) increased Vulnerability of caddisflies (Hydropsyche morosa and Chimarra sp.) to predation by the Stonefly, Paragnetina fumosa. Caddisflies were also the major component of stonefly diets and were consumed Significantly more frequently in dosed Streams than controls. These results demonstrate that single Species bioassays were inadequate for predicting effects of toxicants on community level processes. / Ph. D.

This study evaluated the efficacy of bioremediation as a treatment option for a hydrocarbon and heavy metal contaminated soil. Microbial degradation of hydrocarbons under aerobic, nitrate-reducing and sulphate-reducing conditions was examined. Nutrient supplementation with nitrogen and phosphate as well as aeration seemed to be the most important factors for enhancing biodegradation. From initial batch studies, a carbon: nitrogen ratio of 50: 1 was found to be optimal for biodegradation. However, very low carbon to nitrogen ratios were undesirable since these inhibited microbial activity. Manipulation of the pH did not seem to be beneficial with regard to hydrocarbon biodegradation. However, low pH values induced elevated concentrations of leachate heavy metals. Aerobic conditions provided optimal conditions for hydrocarbon catabolism with up to 54% of the original contaminant degraded after 2 months of treatment. Further treatment for up to 20 months did not significantly increase hydrocarbon biodegradation. Under nitrate- and sulphatereducing conditions, 6% and 31 % respectively of the initial contaminant was degraded after 2 months while after a further 20 months, 50% and 42%, respectively were degraded. The addition of soil bulking agents and the use of sparging did not significantly increase biodegradation. Similarly, the addition of inoculum did not influence biodegradation rates to any great degree. The presence of heavy metals up to concentrations of 400 mgt1 Mn, 176 mgt1 Zn and 94 mgt1 Ni did not reduce microbial activity within the soil. During the treatment phase, heavy metal and hydrocarbon migration were limited even under water saturation and low pH conditions. A Biodegradation Index was developed and evaluated and may, potentially, find use as an in situ assessment technique for microbial hydrocarbon catabolism. The iodonitrophenyltetrazolium salt assay was also found to be an effective and rapid alternative assay for monitoring bioremediation progress. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1996.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:07:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RobertaPS_TESE.pdf: 725752 bytes, checksum: 89aae53381c4b2b5a17db2ed25050531 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-17 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / Heavy metals are used in many industrial processestheirs discard can harm fel effects to the environment, becoming a serious problem. Many methods used for wastewater treatment have been reported in the literature, but many of them have high cost and low efficiency. The adsorption process has been used as effective for the metal remoal ions. This paper presents studies to evaluate the adsorption capacity of vermiculite as adsorbent for the heavy metals removal in a synthetic solution. The mineral vermiculite was characterized by differents techniques: specific surface area analysis by BET method, X-ray diffraction, raiosX fluorescence, spectroscopy in the infraredd region of, laser particle size analysis and specific gravity. The physical characteristics of the material presented was appropriate for the study of adsorption. The adsorption experiments weredriveal finite bath metod in synthetic solutions of copper, nickel, cadmium, lead and zinc. The results showed that the vermiculite has a high potential for adsorption, removing about 100% of ions and with removal capacity values about 85 ppm of metal in solution, 8.09 mg / g for cadmium, 8.39 mg/g for copper, 8.40 mg/g for lead, 8.26 mg/g for zinc and 8.38 mg/g of nickel. The experimental data fit in the Langmuir and Freundlich models. The kinetic datas showed a good correlation with the pseudo-second order model. It was conducteas a competition study among the metals using vermiculiti a adsorbent. Results showed that the presence of various metals in solution does not influence their removal at low concentrations, removing approximat wasely 100 % of all metals present in solutions / Os metais pesados s?o utilizados em muitos processos industriais e, quando descartados ao meio ambiente, podem ocasionar efeitos prejudiciais aos seres vivos, tornando-se um s?rio problema ambiental. Muitos m?todos usados para o tratamento de efluentes t?m sido apresentados na literatura, mas muitos deles possuem alto custo e baixa efici?ncia. O processo de adsor??o vem sendo utilizado como eficaz para a remo??o de ?ons met?licos. Neste trabalho s?o apresentados estudos para avaliar a capacidade de adsor??o da vermiculita, como adsorvente para a remo??o de metais pesados em solu??o sint?tica. Realizou-se, inicialmente,a caracteriza??o do mineral vermiculita natural por diferentes t?cnicas: an?lise da ?rea espec?fica superficial pelo m?todo de BET, difra??o de raios-X, Fluoresc?ncia de raiosX, Espectroscopia na regi?o de infravermelho, an?lise granulom?trica a laser e densidade espec?fica. As caracter?sticas f?sicas apresentadas pelo material foram adequadas para o estudo de adsor??o. De posse das an?lises de caracteriza??o foram executados ensaios de adsor??o, pelo m?todo de banho finito para solu??es sint?ticas dos metais cobre, n?quel, c?dmio, chumbo e zinco. Os resultados demonstraram que a vermiculita possui elevado potencial de adsor??o, removendo praticamente 100% dos ?ons e apresentando valores para a capacidade de remo??o, com cerca de 85 ppm de metal em solu??o, de 8,09 mg/g para o c?dmio, 8,39 mg/g para o cobre, 8,40 mg/g para o chumbo, 8,26 mg/g para o Zinco e 8,38 mg/g de n?quel. Os pontos experimentais se ajustam aos modelos de Langmuir e Freundlich. Os dados cin?ticos mostraram melhor correla??o com a equa??o de velocidade de pseudosegunda ordem. Paralelamente ao estudo da capacidade de adsor??o do mineral vermiculita, foi realizado o estudo da competi??o dos metais entre si, onde os resultados demonstraram que a presen?a de v?rios metais em solu??o n?o influenciam na sua remo??o em baixas concentra??es, removendo aproximadamente 100% de todos os metais presentes nas solu??es

This study assessed the effect of an application of mycorrhizal fungi to stormwater filter media on urban bioswale soil and stormwater in an infiltration-based bioswale aged 20 years with established vegetation. The study tested the use of commercially available general purpose biotic soil blend PermaMatrix® BSP Foundation as a treatment to enhance Earthlite™ stormwater filter media amelioration of zinc, copper, and phosphorus in an ecologically engineered structure designed to collect and infiltrate urban stormwater runoff before it entered the nearby Willamette River. These results show that the application of PermaMatrix® BSP Foundation biotic soil amendment to Earthlite™ stormwater filter media contributed to the reduction of extractable zinc in bioswale soil (-24% and -26%), as compared to the control, which received a treatment of Earthlite™ stormwater filter media only, and experienced an increase in extractable zinc levels (23% and 39%). The results presented also show evidence that after establishment mycorrhizal treatment demonstrated lowered levels of phosphorus in bioswale soil (-41%) and stormwater (-100%), in contrast to the control, which had increased phosphorus levels. The treatment contributed to reductions between 67% and 100% in every metric detected in stormwater after an establishment period of 17 weeks, while the bioswale with no mycorrhizal treatment had increases between 50% and 117%. Treatment also appeared to enhance the reduction of ammonium and nitrates, while contributing to a greater increase in soil pH.

This study was carried out to evaluate the sorption capacity of Pb, As, Cd, Zn, and Mn by laterite from Tam Duong District (Vinh Phuc Province) and Thach That District (Hanoi City). Laterite samples were exposed to different initial concentrations of heavy metals in solutions (2.5, 5.0, 10, 20, and 50 mg/l) at pH = 5.5 during 24 hours. The results demonstrated that sorption capacity of heavy metals was in the following order: Pb> As> Cd> Zn>Mn. The highest sorption capacity of Pb, As, Cd, Zn, and Mn of laterite from Tam Duong was 1553, 756, 397, 281, and 143 mg/kg, respectively and the highest removal efficiency was 94, 76, 70, 56 and 37%. The results indicated that laterite from Tam Duong District showed lower sorption capacity than that from Thach That District. The disparity sorption capacity of Pb, As, Cd, Zn, Mn between laterite from Thach That and Tam Duong was 10.3–11.6, 11.9–17.9, 11.5–13.7, 9.5–17.6, and 11.1–14.3%, respectively. Laterites from Tam Duong and Thach That are a promising environmental material which can be used in the removal of heavy metals from wastewater. / Nghiên cứu này được thực hiện nhằm đánh giá khả năng hấp phụ Pb, As, Cd, Zn, và Mn bởi laterit đá ong khu vực huyện Tam Dương (Vĩnh Phúc) và huyện Thạch Thất (Hà Nội). Mẫu đá ong được tiến hành thí nghiệm trong các dung dịch có hàm lượng kim loại nặng ban đầu khác nhau (2,5; 5,0; 10; 20 và 50 mg/l) tại pH=5,5 trong 24 giờ. Kết quả nghiên cứu cho thấy mức độ hấp phụ kim loại nặng bởi laterit đá ong lần lượt là Pb> As> Cd> Zn>Mn. Dung lượng hấp phụ Pb, As, Cd, Zn và Mn cao nhất của laterit Tam Dương lần lượt là 1553, 756, 397, 281 và 143 mg/kg và hiệu suất hấp phụ cao nhất lần lượt là 94, 76, 70, 56 và 37%. Dung lượng hấp phụ kim loại nặng của laterit huyện Tam Dương thấp hơn khu vực huyện Thạch Thất. Sự chênh lệch về dung lượng hấp phụ Pb, As, Cd, Zn và Mn giữa laterit Thạch Thất và laterit Tam Dương lần lượt là 10,3–11,6; 11,9–17,9; 11,5– 13,7; 9,5–17,6 và 11,1–14,3%. Kết quả nghiên cứu bước đầu cho thấy đá ong khu vực huyện Tam Dương và Thạch Thất là vật liệu hấp phụ tiềm năng phục vụ ứng dụng trong xử lý nước thải bị nhiễm kim loại nặng.

M.Tech. Engineering: Chemical. / Aims at demonstrating the application of semi-continuous and continuous magnetic adsorption separation (MAS) techniques to extract Cr (VI) ions from wastewater streams using PPy-Fe3O4 nanocomposite. Specifically, the research aims to achieve the following objectives: to design, synthesize and characterize new generation PPy-Fe3O4 nanocomposite with varied magnetite composition for hexavalent chromium removal ; to generate batch adsorption kinetic data in a continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) and apply existing kinetic models to aid in water treatment system design.; to design and construct magnetic adsorption separation (MAS) device that can operate in a semi-continuous and continuous mode and explore their performances and to optimize the systems' performance.