Alguns estudos do emprego de compostos de ferro como material adsorvedor não- convencional são citados em literatura. Foram feitos alguns testes da utilização de hematita (Fe2O3), o lodo galvânico e a lama de alto forno como adsorvedores para a remoção de metais pesados de efluentes industriais. A utilização de resíduo siderúrgico abundante, composto predominantemente por magnetita (Fe3O4), como adsorvedor não - convencional em processos de remoção de metais representa uma alternativa, de baixo custo, para o tratamento e adequação do efluente aos padrões de descarte de efluentes industriais exigidos pela legislação. Neste trabalho estudou-se a utilização de resíduo siderúrgico composto basicamente por magnetita como material adsorvedor para remoção de metais pesados em solução. O trabalho se concentrou no estudo da adsorção de quatro metais: cobre (Cu2+) , níquel (Ni2+) , chumbo (Pb2+) e o cádmio (Cd2+). Estes metais foram escolhidos devido a sua alta toxicidade e por estarem freqüentemente relacionados com efluentes de atividades industriais poluidoras. Os resultados obtidos permitiram concluir que, nas melhores condições de adsorção, o resíduo apresenta características adsorvedoras favoráveis a sua utilização industrial, com 97,84 % de remoção dos íons de cobre, 96,20 % de íons de chumbo, 61,70 % de íons de níquel e 87,22 % de íons de cádmio em solução. A velocidade de adsorção é proporcional a aquelas obtidas para outros adsorvedores não convencionais, e para a remoção dos íons de chumbo varia entre (92 e 115) 10-3mg g1 min-1 , e o sistema de adsorção possui características espontâneas e endotérmicas em adsorção ativada com característica parcial de adsorção química e está de acordo com os modelos propostos por Langmuir e por Freundlich, característico de processo de adsorção em monocamada, com sítios de adsorção de mesma energia e calor de adsorção equivalente. / Various references on the use of ferrous compounds as non - conventional adsorption materials can be found in literature. According to the literature, such materials as hematite, galvanic slag and blast furnace slag were successfully used in liquid waste treatment for heavy metals removal. Thus, the use of abundant ferrous metallurgy slag may prove to be efficient for low cost treatment of liquid industrial waste. The main goal of the present work is the study of converter slag application as adsorber material for heavy metals removal from liquid waste. The present research was aimed at soluble copper ( Cu2+), nickel ( Ni2+ ) , cadmium ( Cd2+ ) , and lead (Pb2+) removal. These metals were chosen because of their high toxicity, and because they are considered as the most common pollutants present in liquid industrial waste. The obtained results on converter slag adsorption properties under optimized adsorption conditions show that 97,84 % of copper, 61,70 % of nickel, 87,22 % of cadmium and 96,20 % of lead can be removed from the liquid waste. The achieved adsorption rates are comparable to those of conventional adsorbers, and for soluble lead removal rates in the range of ( 92 - 115). 10 -3 mg g -1 min -1 were established. Additionally, if was shown that the investigated adsorption system presented spontaneous and endothermic behavior under conditions of activated adsorption with partial chemical adsorption characteristics. Such pattern is in good agreement with the models proposed by Langmuir and Freundlich for monolayer adsorption processes with adsorption centers having equal energy and specific heat of adsorption. Overall, the obtained results indicate the viability of the investigated material for commercial application.

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The transesterification of lipids extracted from algae makes up the third generation of biodiesel production. The city of Logan, Utah, proposes that the algae used from the 460-acre wastewater pond could potentially be used for the production of biofuel that could serve as transportation fuel for the City solid waste vehicles. Separating the algae from the Logan Lagoon wastewater is the most expensive portion of the biodiesel process and the application of chemical flocculation can significantly increase costs and potentially interfere with biodiesel production. Cross flow filtration has been identified for algae harvesting, and experiments were conducted to evaluate materials and operating conditions for separating and harvesting algae from the Logan Lagoon system. Two cross flow filtrations units were used to conduct experiments. A pilot-scale cross flow filtration unit provided by WesTech, Inc., Engineering (Salt Lake City) with a 0.2-micron nylon membrane mesh was used for mixed-culture algae harvesting. In addition, a bench scale cross flow filtration unit was provided, and tests were conducted to further examine the effectiveness of cross flow filtration on pure-culture algae harvesting. A 1-micron nylon, 5-micron nylon and 5-micron polyester mesh were used with this system. The WesTech, Inc., Pilot Scale System demonstrated that the type of membrane used was critical for effective algae harvesting. Test results showed that the algal cake that developed on the membrane and that the amount of algae harvested decreased with flux. The bench scale unit demonstrated that more algal cells were collected when a membrane of a larger pore size was used. The 1-micron nylon mesh proved to be the most effective at concentration algae. The 5-micron polyester mesh was shown to be more effective than the 5-micron nylon mesh. The results in this thesis show that cross flow filtration is a feasible option for the City of Logan Environmental Department and is a technical option for algal harvesting for biofuel production.

With the ever increasing demand for potable water due to the continued increase in population coupled with the threat of California’s current drought, water will remain a limited resource that must be managed responsibly. In order to strategically plan and manage water use in the most beneficial manner, water providers must take into account all sources of water, including recycled water and their applications. Recycled water as a source for supplementing high quality potable water is a sustainable strategy that will prove to be an essential tactic in any water management plan. The purpose of this project is to emphasize the importance of supplementing potable water in the City of Banning by discussing the characteristics of California’s current water drought; evaluating the City of Banning’s available water supplies and current water demand; discussing the Soil Aquifer Treatment process; summarizing California’s regulations related to recycled water; and discussing the quality of recycled water available at NP-1, an unequipped City owned water well, by examining water quality testing on water samples taken from NP-1. Analysis of water available at NP-1 showed that with additional disinfection, the water pumped from NP-1 could meet the recycled water requirements in order to be used on a local golf course. The local golf course is currently being irrigated with potable water, which would be supplemented with the recycled water from NP-1.

Investigates several hypotheses regarding the use of bioflocculation as a harvesting method for wastewater pond microalgae. Research performed on pilot-scale high rate ponds (HRPs) on the California Central Coast.

A general systematic framework with several sub-frameworks was developed to help managers make informed decisions related to the reuse of treated wastewater in agricultural irrigation. The framework involves the identification and evaluation of the short- and long-term effects of using treated wastewater with some common constituents of concern ( e.g. salts and some specific ions, nutrients, heavy metals, organic compounds, and microorganisms) on the environmental elements ( crop , soils, surface water, and groundwater), and on the public health. Local and/ or international standards, criteria, and guidelines related to agricultural reuse are applied to the evaluation of the effects. Based on the evaluation results, decisions are made and management alternatives are proposed. The management alternatives include improving the wastewater treatment level , blending treated wastewater with good-quality water, using an appropriate irrigation method, using different reuse schemes, and zero discharging from specific industries. The framework demonstration includes the data input, information processing, output, evaluation, and decision-making phases. Data related to the plant-soil system (crop, soil, and any other assimilation pathway), and the behavior and fate of treated wastewater constituents are necessary for the identification of the effect on the environmental elements. Jordan was selected as a case study for the demonstration of the general systematic framework. Due to the lack of data related to the different constituents, some of the hazardous heavy metals were considered in the demonstration with the worst condition of accumulating the whole quantity of metals in the soil. The demonstration results showed that, at least for the coming 40 years Jordan can practice the reuse of the treated wastewater for agricultural irrigation without exceeding the maximum allowable limits in the agricultural soils based on the USEPA for biosolid application. With regard to blending and system efficiency, the demo result s also showed that they do not have an effect on the long-term accumulation of the hazardous metals in the soil. The general systematic framework is a decision tool, which is able to answer questions related to water treatment level and type , when to blend with freshwater, the recommended blending ratio, the recommended irrigation method, selection of the optimum reuse scheme, as well as providing answers to questions related to industrial wastewater constituents.

This study was carried out on algal biofilms grown using rotating algal biofilm reactors (RABRs) with the aim of: i) characterizing their growth in terms of photosynthetic activity and morphology ii) evaluating their performance as a wastewater treatment option and a feedstock for biofuels production, and iii) examining the algal-bacteria interactions. A review of algal biofilm technologies currently employed in wastewater treatment processes was made to compare nutrient removal efficiencies, factors that influenced algal biofilm growth, and the different bioproducts generated from algal biomass. Consequently, research efforts were directed towards addressing pertinent issues identified in literature in order to optimize these systems for wastewater treatment and bioproducts production. Successful growth of algal biofilms in municipal wastewater and subsequent removal of nutrients from the wastewater was demonstrated. Photosynthetic and respiration rates observed with depth of the biofilm were influenced by the biofilm composition (single vs. mixed species), culturing conditions (laboratory vs. outdoor), orientation to the light, nitrogen availability (N-replete vs. N-deplete), and dissolved inorganic carbon availability (presence or absence of bicarbonate). Slight enhancement in lipid production was also observed as a result of nitrogen stress and bicarbonate addition. However, the accumulated lipids were not as much as expected or as reported in suspended cultures. Presence of bacteria positively influenced microalgae growth in the mixed cultures but the reverse was not true. In conclusion, photosynthetic activity and biofilm structure were characterized with methods developed for the algal biofilms in this study. For now, productivity of the algal biofilms needs to be maximized in order to fully utilize its potential as a biofuel feedstock and nutrient removal option. Further research on algae-bacteria interactions using species native to the wastewater grown algal biofilms is recommended.

With world crude oil reserves decreasing and energy prices continually increasing, interest in developing renewable alternatives to petroleum-based liquid fuels has increased. An alternative that has received consideration is the growth and harvest of microalgae for the production of biodiesel via extraction of the microalgal oil or lipids. However, costs related to the growth, harvesting and dewatering, and processing of algal biomass have limited commercial scale production of algal biodiesel. Coupling wastewater remediation to microalgal growth can lower costs associated with large scale growth of microalgae. Microalgae are capable of assimilating inorganic nitrogen and phosphorous from wastewater into the biomass. By harvesting the microalgal biomass these nutrients can be removed, thus remediating the wastewater. Standard methods of oil extraction require drying the harvested biomass, adding significant energetic cost to processing the algal biomass. Extracting algal lipids from wet microalgal biomass using traditional methods leads to drastic reductions in extraction efficiency, driving up processing costs. A wet lipid extraction procedure was developed that was capable of extracting 79% of the transesterifiable lipids from wet algal biomass (16% solids) without the use of organic solvents while using relatively mild conditions (90 °C and ambient pressures). Ultimately 77% of the extracted lipids were collected for biodiesel production. Furthermore, the procedure was capable of precipitating chlorophyll, allowing for the collection of algal lipids independently of chlorophyll. The capability of this procedure to extract lipids from wet algal biomass, to reduce chlorophyll contamination of the algal oil, and to generate feedstock material for the production of additional bio-products provides the basis for reducing scale-up costs associated with the production of algal biofuels and bioproducts.

Due to population expiation and the increased awareness of the impact on the environment by wastewater treatment, improved wastewater treatment systems are needed to treat municipal and agricultural wastewater. Treating wastewater with oxygen decreases carbon compounds at the expense of energy to move carbon and oxygen to be in contact with each other. Anaerobic digestion of wastewater can reduce the cost by utilizing microbes to treat high amounts of carbon in wastewater without the need for extensive oxygen requirement. With a proper balance of nutrients, microbes also produce methane, a renewable energy source. It has been suggested that microalgae be utilized to help balance the nitrogen content of wastewater for treatment by microbes. One challenge with the use of algae is the initial breakdown of algae cells. Using a digester with microorganism that can produce methane and decompose algae could enhance production of methane from the digestion of algae. The combination of wastewater, which is high in carbon content relative to nitrogen, with algae, which is high in nitrogen, could provide the balance needed for the microbes to treat wastewater and provide methane. A biomethane potential test was used to compare the ability of two microbe communities, facultative lagoon sediment and anaerobic digester sludge to digest algae. Each microbe community treated dairy, swine, municipal, and petrochemical wastewater augmented with algae and acetate. The ability to degrade augmented wastewater and produce methane was determined by measuring the volume and composition of biogas produced over time. Both treatments were successful in production of methane. Facultative lagoon sediment showed more methane produced per carbon dioxide than anaerobic digester sludge.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are required to remove ammonium (NH4+) from wastewater due to its oxygen demand and toxicity to the aquatic organisms. Ammonium is removed in the activated sludge treatment system by nitrification and denitrification processes. Nitrification is the oxidation of NH4+ to nitrate (NO3-) by autotrophic nitrifying bacteria which use carbon dioxide (CO2) as a carbon source for growth. These bacteria grow slowly with low nitrification rates limiting WWTPs capacity. In this research it was hypothesized that supplying higher concentrations of CO2 during aeration increases nitrification rates, resulting in a reduction of the solids retention time (SRT). This hypothesis was tested with two lab-scale sequencing batch reactors seeded with sludge from a full-scale activated sludge WWTP and fed synthetic wastewater. The control reactor was aerated with regular air (0.03% CO2) and the experimental reactor was aerated with air containing 1% CO2. Ammonium and NO3- were measured online to determine the nitrification rates. Samples for solids and chemical oxygen demand (COD) determination were collected to evaluate the system performance. Supplying CO2 to the experimental reactor throughout the entire react cycle resulted in proliferation of filamentous bacteria, poor settling, and washout of the biomass. However, nitrate formation rates in the experimental reactor were 3 times higher than the control before washout occurred. In a subsequent experiment, CO2 was supplied to the experimental reactor only during the last 5 hours of the cycle, resulting in excellent settling and nitrification rates 6 times higher than in the control. A confirmatory experiment was conducted that lowered the SRT from 8 days to 6, 4, and 2 days. Nitrate formation rates were up to 12 times higher in the experimental reactor compared to the control, with an average of 4 times higher. Additionally, the sludge volume index (SVI) suggested a positive impact of CO2 on settling performance. No impact of CO2 on COD removal was observed. The results obtained suggest a positive effect of CO2 on the nitrate formation and settling performance in the activated sludge system, indicating that nitrification can be achieved at low SRTs which might optimize WWTPs capacity.