Onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTSs) are a commonly used means of wastewater treatment in the Dickinson Bayou watershed which is located between Houston and Galveston. The Dickinson Bayou is classified as "impaired" by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality due to high levels of bacteria, specifically E. coli. Failing OWTSs within the bayou's watershed are possible sources for the impairment of the bayou. Conventional OWTSs, comprised of a septic tank and a soil absorption field, rely heavily on soil treatment of effluent. The type of soils is a significant factor in treatment capabilities. In the Dickinson Bayou watershed, soils are primarily composed of clays, which are known to be problematic for conventional systems as they restrict water flow and create perched water tables. These perched water tables may contribute to surface runoff during rainfall events. The HYDRUS modeling software for water and solute flow through variably saturated media was used to simulate OWTSs in the Dickinson Bayou watershed. HYDRUS was used to simulate conventional septic systems with soil absorption fields, aerobic treatment units (ATUs) with spray dispersal systems, and mound systems. Results found that the simulated conventional systems fail due to high water tables and clay soils. However, system failure in the watershed remains uncertain due to lack of field data for validation. The alternative systems mitigate these issues, but ATUs can lead to higher contamination levels without proper maintenance. Therefore, mound systems are the suggested alternative for OWTSs in the watershed.

The use of on-site wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) for the treatment and dispersal of domestic effluent is common in urban fringe areas which are not serviced by centralised wastewater collection systems. However, due to inappropriate siting and soil characteristics, the failure of these systems has become a common scenario. The current standards and guidelines adopted by many local authorities for assessing suitable site and soil conditions for OWTS are increasingly coming under scrutiny due to the public health and environmental impacts caused by poorly performing systems, in particular septic tank-soil adsorption systems. In order to achieve sustainable on-site wastewater treatment with minimal impacts on the environment and public health, more appropriate means of assessment are required. The research described in the thesis details the processes adopted for the development and implementation of an integrated risk based approach to OWTS siting, design and management. This involved detailed investigations into resolution of some of the inherent deficiencies identified in the existing OWTS codes and guidelines, including more thorough site and soil assessment and data analysis, integration of the key risk facets of OWTS siting and design, environmental and public health, and the incorporation of scientific knowledge into the assessment processes. The research undertaken focused on four key research areas; (i) assessment of soil suitability for providing adequate treatment and dispersal of domestic wastewater; (ii) contamination of ground and surface waters as a result of OWTS failure and the major factors influencing contaminant fate and transport; (iii) assessment of environmental and public health risks due to poor OWTS performance; and (iv) the development of an integrated risk assessment framework for OWTS siting, design and management. The research conducted was multidisciplinary in nature, with detailed investigations of the physical, chemical and biological processes involved in on-site wastewater treatment and dispersal. This involved extensive field investigations, sampling, laboratory testing and detailed data analysis across the fields of soil science, groundwater and surface water quality, chemical and microbiological contamination, and contaminant fate and transport processes. The interactions between these different disciplines can be complex, resulting in large amounts of data being generated from the numerous field investigations and sampling processes undertaken. In order to understand the complex relationships that can occur, multivariate statistical techniques were utilised. The use of these techniques were extremely beneficial, as not only were the respective relationships between investigated parameters identified, but adequate decisions based on the respective correlations were formulated. This allowed a more appropriate assessment of the influential factors, and subsequently the inherent hazards related to OWTS, to be conducted. The primary research objectives for this research were investigated through a series of scientific papers centred on these key research disciplines. The assessment of soil suitability was achieved through extensive soil sampling throughout the study area and detailed laboratory testing and data analysis. The studies undertaken are described in Chapters 3, 4 and 5. Paper 1 (Framework for soil suitability evaluation for sewage effluent renovation) outlines a framework for assessing the renovation ability of the major soil groups located throughout Southeast Queensland. This framework formed the basis for the assessment of OWTS siting and design risks employed in the developed risk framework. Paper 2 (Use of Chemometric Methods and Multicriteria Decision-Making for Site Selection for Sustainable On-site Sewage Effluent Disposal) details and justifies the multivariate data analysis techniques used in establishing the soil framework. Paper 3 (Assessment of soil suitability for effluent renovation using undisturbed soil columns) describes investigations of the use of undisturbed soil cores for the assessment of long term soil renovation ability. This study was undertaken to validate the research outcomes achieved through the established framework developed in Paper 1. Papers 4, 5 and 6 (Chapters 6 - 8) focus on contamination issues of ground and surface waters resulting from poor OWTS treatment performance, and the different factors that influence pollutant fate and transport. The investigation of ground and surface water contamination, detailed in Paper 4 (Assessment of High Density of Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems on a Shallow Groundwater Coastal Aquifer using PCA) and Paper 5 (Environmental and anthropogenic factors affecting fecal coliforms and E. coli in ground and surface waters in a coastal environment) was achieved through extensive ground and surface water sampling and testing from several monitored study sites. Analysis of the resulting data indicated that several key factors, including rainfall, site and soil conditions and on-site system density can significantly influence the fate and transportation of pollutants emitted from OWTS. An additional issue found during this research in assessing faecal contamination of water resources was the necessity to ensure that the respective sources of contamination were actually OWTS. The inherent difficulty in identifying the actual source of contamination was resolved by employing a source tracking method, namely antibiotic resistance analysis of faecal coliforms (Paper 6; Sourcing fecal pollution from onsite wastewater treatment systems in surface waters using antibiotic resistance analysis). Finally, Paper 7 (Integrated Risk Framework for On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems) describes the development of the final generic integrated risk assessment framework and how the outcomes, as discussed through the previous 6 papers, were combined to assess the environmental and public health risks inherent in OWTS siting and design. The outcomes of this research have significantly contributed to knowledge of best practice in OWTS siting, design and management. The developed soil suitability framework allows more appropriate assessment of soil characteristics for providing effluent renovation. This is generally not done in the current assessment techniques for OWTS. Additionally, the use of this framework incorporates scientific knowledge into the assessment of OWTS, allowing a more rigorous and scientifically robust assessment process. The processes and techniques used in the soil suitability framework, although based on the common soil types typical of South East Queensland, can be implemented in other regions, provided appropriate soil information is collected for the area of interest. The integrated risk framework has also been developed on a generic level, allowing easy implementation into most assessment processes. This gives the framework the flexibility to be developed for other areas specifically targeting the most influential OWTS siting and design factors, and the potential environmental and public health hazards within those regions. The resulting research outcomes achieved through the studies undertaken were subsequently applied to a case study for the development of the integrated risk framework for the Gold Coast region. The developed framework, based on scientific research, has allowed a more appropriate means of assessing site suitability for OWTS and appropriate management and mitigation of the environmental and public health risks inherent with poor OWTS performance

The research project was formulated to solve serious environmental and possible public health problems in rural and regional areas caused by the common failure of soil disposal systems used for application of effluent from on-site domestic sewage treatment systems. On-site sewage treatment systems adopt a treatment train approach with the associated soil disposal area playing a crucial role. The most common on-site sewage treatment system that is used is the conventional septic tank and subsurface effluent disposal system. The subsurface effluent disposal area is given high priority by regulatory authorities due to the significant environmental and public health impacts that can result from their failure. There is generally very poor householder maintenance of the treatment system and this is compounded by the failure of the effluent disposal area resulting in unacceptable surface and groundwater contamination. This underlies the vital importance of employing reliable science-based site suitability assessment techniques for effluent disposal. The research undertaken investigated the role of soil physico-chemical characteristics influencing the behaviour of effluent disposal areas. The study was conducted within the Logan City Council area, Queensland State, Australia. About 50% of the Logan region is unsewered and the common type of on-site sewage treatment used is a septic tank with subsurface effluent disposal area. The work undertaken consisted of extensive field investigations, soil sampling and testing, laboratory studies and extensive data analysis. In the field study, forty-eight sites were investigated for their effluent application suitability. The sites were evaluated based on the soil physico-chemical characteristics. The field investigation indicated that there were nine soil orders in the study area. These soil orders were Dermosols, Chromosols, Kandosols, Kurosols, Vertosols, Sodosols, Tenosols, Rudosols and Anthrosols. The soils in all the investigated sites were acidic soils in the pH range between 5 and 6.5. The complexity of the large data matrix obtained from the analysis was overcome by multivariate analytical methods to assist in evaluating the soils' ability to treat effluent and to understand the importance of various parameters. The analytical methods selected to serve this purpose were PROMETHEE and GAIA. The analysis indicated that the most suitable soils for effluent renovation are the Kandosols whilst the most unsatisfactory soil order was found to be Podosol. The GAIA analysis was in agreement with quantitative analysis conducted earlier. An extensive laboratory column study lasting almost one year was undertaken to validate the results of the data analysis from the field investigation. The main objectives of this experiment were to examine the soil behaviour under practical effluent application and to investigate the long-term acceptance rate for these soils. Twelve representative soils were selected for the column experiment from the previously investigated sites and undisturbed soil cores were collected for this purpose. The results from the column study matched closely with the evaluation conducted at the earlier stages of the research. Soil physico-chemical analysis before and after effluent application indicated that the soils' acidity was improved toward neutrality after effluent application. The results indicated that soils have a greater ability to handle phosphorus than nitrogen. The most favorable cation exchange capacity for soils to treat and transmit effluent was between 15 and 40 meq/100g. Based on the results of the column study, the long-term acceptance rate (LTAR) was determined for the investigated twelve soil types. Eleven out of twelve soils reported specific LTAR values between 0.18-0.22 cm/day. For the duration of the laboratory study, the Podosol order did not reach its LTAR value due to the extremely sandy nature of the soil. The time required to achieve LTAR varied between different soils from 40 to 330 days. The outcomes of this research was integrated into a soil suitability map for on-site sewage treatment systems for Logan City Council. This will assist the authorities in providing sustainable solutions for on-site systems failure.

The use of on-site wastewater treatment systems for the treatment and dispersal of domestic effluent is common in urban fringe areas which are not serviced by centralised wastewater collection systems. However, due to inappropriate siting and inadequate evaluation of soil characteristics, the failure of these systems has become a common scenario. The current standards and guidelines adopted by many local authorities for assessing suitable site and soil conditions for on-site dispersal areas are coming under increasing scrutiny due to the public health and environmental impacts caused by poorly performing systems, in particular septic tank-soil adsorption systems. In order to achieve sustainable on-site wastewater treatment with minimal impacts on the environment and public health, more appropriate means of assessment of long term performance of on-site dispersal areas are required. The research described in the thesis details the investigations undertaken for the development of robust assessment criteria for on-site dispersal area siting and design and assessment of the long term performance of soil dispersal areas. The research undertaken focused on three key research areas; (i) assessment of site and soil suitability for providing adequate treatment and dispersal of domestic wastewater; (ii) understanding sorption, purification and transport processes influencing retention and release of pollutants and the natural controls governing these processes and (iii) the development of assessment criteria for long term behaviour of soils under effluent dispersal. The research conducted was multidisciplinary in nature, with detailed investigations of the physical and chemical processes involved in on-site wastewater treatment and dispersal. This involved extensive field investigations, sampling and monitoring, laboratory and soil column testing and detailed data analysis across the fields of soil science, groundwater quality, subsurface hydrology, chemical contamination, and contaminant fate and transport processes. The interactions between these different disciplines can be complex which resulted in substantial amounts of data being generated from the numerous field and laboratory investigations and sampling undertaken. In order to understand the complex relationships that can occur, multivariate statistical techniques were utilised. The use of these techniques was extremely beneficial. These techniques not only allowed not only the respective relationships between investigated parameters to be identified, but also adequate decisions based on the correlations were able to be formulated. This allowed a more appropriate assessment of the influential factors, and the prediction of ongoing changes to soil properties due to effluent disposal. The primary outcomes for this research were disseminated through a series of peer reviewed scientific papers centred on these key disciplines. The assessment of site and soil suitability was achieved through extensive soil sampling throughout the study areas and detailed laboratory testing and data analysis. The study identified and investigated the role of influential site and soil characteristics in the treatment performance of subsurface effluent dispersal areas. The extent of effluent travel and the ability of the soil to remove pollutants contained in the effluent by adsorption and/or nutrient uptake were investigated. A framework for assessing the renovation ability of the major soil groups located throughout Southeast Queensland was also developed. The outcomes provide a more rigorous scientific basis for assessing the ability of soil and evaluating site factors to develop more reliable methods for siting effluent dispersal areas. The resulting assessment criteria developed was compared with soil column studies to determine the robustness and validity of the outcomes. This allowed refinement of the assessment criteria in developing a more reliable approach to predicting long term behaviour of soils under sewage effluent dispersal. Multivariate techniques assisted in characterising appropriate soils and to determine their long-term suitability for effluent treatment and dispersal. The assessment criteria developed included physical, chemical and sub-surface hydrological properties of a site and soil which can be used to predict suitability for long term effluent treatment and dispersal. These include:  Moderate to slow drainage (permeability) to assist the movement of effluent (percolation) through the soil profile and allow adequate time for treatment and dispersal to occur. With longer percolation times, the opportunity for exchange and transport processes increase.  Significant soil cation exchange capacity and dominance of exchangeable Ca2+ or exchangeable Mg2+ over exchangeable Na+. Although a soil dominated by Mg2+ is found to promote dispersion of soil particles to some extent, its impact is far less than that of Na+. A stable soil would have a Ca: Mg ratio > 0.5.  Low exchangeable Na+ content to maintain soil stability.  Minimum depth of 400mm of potentially unsaturated soil before encountering a restrictive horizon, to permit adequate purification to take place.  Clay type with Illite and mixed mineralogy soils being the most sensitive to Na+. In general, significant increases in ESP occur in soils with 30 to 40% clay and in the presence of illite clay. Small amounts of smectite clays enhance treatment potential of a soil. The research outcomes have significantly contributed to the knowledge base on best practice in on-site dispersal area siting and design. The developed predictive site and soil suitability assessment criteria allows more appropriate evaluation of site and soil characteristics for providing long term effluent renovation. This is generally not done in the current assessment techniques for on-site dispersal areas. The processes and techniques used in the site and soil suitability assessment, although based on the common soil types typical of South East Queensland, can be implemented in other regions, provided appropriate soil information is collected or available. The predictive assessment criteria have been developed at a generic level, allowing easy implementation into most assessment processes. This gives the framework the flexibility to be developed for other areas specifically targeting the most influential on-site dispersal area siting and design factors, and assessment of long term performance under wastewater application.

Thesis (M.Eng.) -- University of Western Sydney, 2004. / A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering at the University of Western Sydney. Includes bibliography.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The oil industry is one of the largest industrial enterprises in the world. The competitiveness of the market and strict environmental laws has motivated these companies to invest heavily in a high level of automation in their processes. As these investments will certainly continue, oil companies and industry in general, are focusing their investments to lead failures and abnormal situations. The goal of this work is to propose the implementation of an intelligent system to assist the operation of an oil primary treatment process. The development of the system is driven in the design of a fault diagnostic scheme based on the Discrete Event Systems Theory. The simulation results with the process operating with stable feed flow and slugging flow, show a good performance of the proposed system to detect and isolate faults in control valves, providing an alternative for future implementations in real systems. / A indústria do petróleo é um dos maiores empreendimentos industriais do mundo. A competitividade do mercado e as rigorosas leis ambientais têm motivado estas empresas a investir fortemente em um alto nível de automação nos seus processos. Como estes investimentos certamente irão continuar, as empresas de petróleo e a indústria em geral, estão direcionando seus investimentos ao combate de falhas e situações anormais. O presente propõe a implementação de um sistema inteligente que sirva de suporte na operação de um processo de tratamento primário de petróleo. O desenvolvimento do sistema tem como foco principal o projeto de um diagnosticador de falhas baseado na teoria de Sistemas a Eventos Discretos. Os resultados das simulações realizadas, com o processo operando com fluxo de alimentação estável e em padrão de golfadas, mostram um bom desempenho do sistema proposto em detectar e isolar falhas nas válvulas de controle, proporcionando uma alternativa para futuras implementações em sistemas reais.

Submitted by Edineia Teixeira (edineia.teixeira@unioeste.br) on 2018-09-26T18:16:31Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Patrici_Kostaneski_2018.pdf: 3370138 bytes, checksum: 59c3e8b05899808ae4e2b12fe08667ad (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-26T18:16:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Patrici_Kostaneski_2018.pdf: 3370138 bytes, checksum: 59c3e8b05899808ae4e2b12fe08667ad (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-07 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / As the expansion of the swine sector occurs, the amount of residues generated increases, in the same way or even more, mainly in the animal production area. In this way, appears the challenge for society, which consists in increasing the swine production without losing the environmental quality. This work aims to make a comparative analysis of data obtained through the management and treatment of manure in swine enterprises that use stabilization ponds and biodigesters located in the city of Toledo – PR. The enterprises to be studied have a production system determined as Growth and Termination Unit with animal stock ranging from 800 to 1200 swines. Twelve enterprises of the swine industry will be analyzed, six of which use stabilization ponds and six that have biodigestors in operation. The removal efficiencies of TS, FS and VS were analyzed, the estimation of the state of the biodigestion process, the mass variability, the biogas gas content of biodigesters and estimated biogas production by VS removed from biodigesters and stabilization ponds. Greater efficiencies of solids removal were observed in biodigesters. The state of the anaerobic biodigestion process presented satisfactory values mainly in the biodigesters, but both treatments indicated disturbances in the processes. There was greater mass variability in the inlet and outlet of biodigesters. The highest levels of CH4 and CO2 found were 63.10 and 38.60%, respectively. The estimated biogas production by VS removed had a mean yield of 63.23 m³ day-1 for the biodigesters and 26.44 m³ day-1 for the stabilization ponds. With the study, it was verified that greater efficiencies occurred in the handling and treatment of swine manure through the biodigesters. / Na medida que ocorre a expansão do setor suinícola, cresce da mesma maneira ou até mais a quantidade de resíduos gerados, principalmente na área da produção de animais. Desta maneira, surge então o desafio para a sociedade, que consiste no aumento da produção de suínos sem perder a qualidade ambiental. Este trabalho teve como objetivo fazer uma análise comparativa de dados obtidos através do manejo e tratamento de dejetos em empreendimentos da suinocultura que utilizam lagoas de estabilização e biodigestores localizados no município de Toledo - PR. Os empreendimentos estudados foram de Unidades de Crescimento e Terminação com plantel animal variando entre 800 a 1200 suínos. Foram analisados doze empreendimentos, sendo seis com lagoas de estabilização e seis com biodigestores em operação. Foram analisadas as eficiências de remoção de ST, SF e SV, a estimativa do estado do processo de biodigestão, a variabilidade de massa, o teor de gases do biogás dos biodigestores e a produção estimada de biogás por SV removidos nos biodigestores e lagoas de estabilização. Observou-se maiores eficiências de remoção de sólidos nos biodigestores. O estado do processo de biodigestão anaeróbia apresentaram valores satisfatórios principalmente nos biodigestores, mas ambos os tratamentos indicaram distúrbios nos processos. Houve maior variabilidade de massa nas entradas e saída de biodigestores. Os maiores teores de CH4 e CO2 encontrados foram de 63,10 e 38,60%, respectivamente. A produção estimada de biogás por SV removidos apresentou rendimento médio de 63,23 m³ dia-1 para os biodigestores e 26,44 m³ dia-1 para as lagoas de estabilização. Com o estudo realizado verificou-se que ocorreram maiores eficiências no manejo e tratamento de dejetos da suinocultura por meio dos biodigestores.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of Master's Degree in Technology: Biotechnology, Durban Institute of Technology, 2004. / M

The sustainability of water resources is an international and national concern. With increased human activity, water distribution on a global, regional, and local scale has been negatively impacted. Managing water resources also includes managing wastewater. A promising solution to the issues of water scarcity and distribution in the environment is the reuse of wastewater. Wastewater is produced from various sources (domestic, industrial, and commercial); however, if this water is able to be reused closer to the source of generation it could positively impact water distribution. In the United States, approximately 25% of domestic wastewater is treated in onsite wastewater treatment systems OWTS (mainly septic tanks and drainfields). However, septic systems are not efficient at removing nitrogen and pathogens, making them a risk to public health and the environment. In recent years, advanced onsite wastewater treatment systems have been developed to reduce contaminants into the environment. These systems are effective at removing contaminants but often require many mechanical parts and have high energy requirements. These additional components require homeowners to perform more maintenance on advanced OWTS than conventional systems or pay for maintenance to be performed. Passive Nitrogen Reduction Systems (PNRS) are being developed that provide high levels of nutrient removal while keeping maintenance requirements and costs low for the homeowner. (PNRS) use two-stage packed bed bioreactors to remove nitrogen from wastewater via nitrification (Stage I) and denitrification (Stage II). Our laboratory has developed a two-stage bench scale PNRS that uses ion exchange (IX) materials, clinoptilolite and scrap tire chips, to enhance the removal of nitrogen from wastewater by buffering transient loads to the biological processes. Pathogens can be present in domestic wastewater and if untreated can be released to groundwater and open water bodies endangering the health of the public. PNRS have the potential to reduce pathogenic microorganism released into the environment, however; the reduction of pathogens in PNRS that include IX media had not previously been studied. In this research, E. coli was used as a fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) because of its simplicity and national and worldwide acceptance. In our study, the performance of a PNRS with and without IX media was evaluated. Hourly studies were performed to determine the removal efficiency of E. coli from the system under varying hydraulic loading rates. Biofilm detachment experiments were conducted to measure E. coli adsorption and growth patterns within the column reactors. Batch adsorption experiments were completed to determine the effect of different types of media with and without IX material on E. coli growth over extended time periods. E. coli enumeration data from the hourly experiments demonstrated that there was a 0.84 log reduction of E. coli throughout the PNRS from the septic tank effluent to the final effluent released from the system. The evening and afternoon periods showed a higher reduction of E. coli compared with the morning period. Removal efficiencies were greater in the first stage of treatment (nitrification) as compared to the second stage treatment (denitrification). However, these variances did not result in significant differences in overall E. coli removal efficiency. Adsorbed E. coli were evenly distributed in the column containing IX media, while a decrease in adsorbed E. coli with depth was observed in the column without IX media. Batch adsorption studies revealed that when E. coli are present in wastewater solution with media, E. coli are initially adsorbed but can grow in the system after 6-12 hours. This growth indicates that other FIB should also be used to determine the fate of pathogens in PNRS. Based on all E. coli enumeration experiments, the PNRS developed reduce E. coli by almost 85%; however, this reduction is not adequate to meet onsite water reclamation regulations. Further studies are needed to develop tertiary treatment for pathogen reduction and wastewater reuse.

Non-point sources (NPS) of pollution are non-discernable, diffuse sources of pollution that are often difficult to localize and in turn mitigate. NPS can include stormwater runoff, agricultural/aquaculture wastes and wastes from small decentralized wastewater treatment systems, such as conventional septic systems. The mitigation of these NPS is imperative to reduce their potential detrimental effects on the water environment. This dissertation addresses novel treatment technologies for the mitigation of nutrients, particularly nitrogen, in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) and onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS). The removal of trace organics limiting RAS production and water reuse were also investigated. The first question this dissertation addressed is: Can the application of a UV-TiO2 reactor reduce the concentration of off-flavor compounds in RAS? In the UV-TiO2 reactor, spray-coated TiO2 plates were placed in an aluminum reactor and exposed to UV light. The process was applied in both a full-scale sturgeon RAS and a bench-scale RAS for the degradation of Geosmin (GSM) and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB). Improved performance on the removal of GSM and MIB was observed when the UV-TiO2 was applied as a batch reactor since it allowed for a longer treatment time without the effect of constant production of the compounds in the biological treatment processes. Treatment performance of UV-TiO2 was affected by GSM and MIB concentrations and dissolved oxygen. No harmful effects were observed on other water quality parameters when the UV-TiO2 reactor was operated as a batch or side stream process. The second question this dissertation addressed is: Does the application of Tire-Sulfur Hybrid Adsorption Denitrification (T-SHAD) in RAS improve nutrient and off-flavor compound removal when compared to conventional heterotrophic denitrification? T-SHAD combines tire mulch as an adsorbent and sulfur oxidizing denitrification for the removal of NO3--N from the aquaculture waters. Adsorption studies showed the tire has significant adsorption capacity for the off-flavor compounds GSM and MIB but can be limited by contact time and, possibly, the presence of competing organic matter in RAS. The application of T-SHAD as an effluent polishing step in RAS with a high empty bed contact time (EBCT) of 720 min removed 96.6% of NO3--N and 69.6% of GSM. The application of T-SHAD within RAS as denitrification side treatment for NO3--N removal resulted in lower EBCT (185 min) that limited NO3--N removal to 21% and showed no significant removal of off-flavor compounds. The comparison between T-SHAD and a molasses fed heterotrophic upflow packed bed reactor (UPBR), showed no significant differences in N species concentrations as well as off-flavor compound removal. However, high production of SO42- resulted from sulfur oxidizing denitrification (SOD) processes was noted. Hybrid Adsorption and Biological Treatment Systems (HABiTS), is composed of two biofilters in series employing ion exchange (IX) and nitrification for removal of NH4+ and tire scrap coupled with sulfur chips and oyster shells for both adsorption and SOD of NO3-. The third question addressed in this dissertation is: What IX/adsorption media best balances both ammonium removal and cost effectiveness for application in OWTS? Adsorption isotherms performed with different media materials showed that the zeolite material, clinoptilolite, was the best medium for the nitrification stage of HABiTS due to its high IX capacity for NH4+and cost. An adsorption capacity of 11.69 mg g-1 NH4+-N when in competition with other cations present in septic tank effluents was determined by the IX model fit to the data. The cost of clinoptilolite is significantly higher than the other media materials tested. However, the high adsorption capacity would allow for low dosages that can be combined with non-adsorptive material reducing overall costs. The fourth question this dissertation addressed is: How is the BNR process within HABiTS affected by IX? Results from side-by-side biofilter studies with HABiTS and a conventional nitrification/denitrification biofilter showed that the combined IX and nitrification in HABiTS can allow for faster startup, sustain variable loading, and achieve over 80% removal of NH4+ at a hydraulic loading rate of 0.34 m3 m-2-d-1 when compared to the conventional biofilter with 73% removal. Under lower loading rates the biological treatment was enhanced and dominated the NH4+ removal processes in both columns. The addition of a denitrification stage decreased Total Inorganic Nitrogen (TIN) by 53.54% and 40.97%, for the HABiTS treatment and the control treatment, respectively, under loading rates of 0.21 m3 m-2-d-1. Further decrease of NH4+-N loading rates results in high desorption of exchanged NH4+ in the clinoptilolite, resulting in lower TIN removal efficiencies (28.7%) when compared to the conventional control treatment (62%). The final question addressed in this dissertation is: Does the proposed hybrid system enhance the removal of TIN in OWTS under transient loading conditions? Further studies with HABiTS and the conventional biofilter were performed to determine N removal performance on an hourly basis. It was found that the performance of HABiTS varies with daily and hourly loads, particularly when recovering from periods of very low loading to high loadings and vice versa. If recovering from low loading periods, IX is observed for HABiTS and the biofilter outperforms the conventional treatment in overall TIN removal. However, recovery from a high loading period results in release of NH4+-N stored in the clinoptilolite and increased production of NO3--N that could affect the performance of the denitrification stage.