Maintaining a constant supply of clean drinking water is among the most pressing global challenges in our time. About one-third of the population is affected by the water scarcity and it can only get worse with climate change, rapid industrialization, and the population growth. Even though nearly 70 percent of the planet is covered by water, the consumable freshwater content is only 2.5 percent of it. Unfortunately, the accessible portion of it is only 1 percent. Even so, most of the freshwater bodies are choked with pollution. Considering the vast availability of saline water on the planet and the increasing wastewater generation, seawater desalination, and wastewater treatment and recycling seem to have the potential to address current water-related issues. Therefore, it is necessary to find efficient techniques for seawater desalination and wastewater treatment. The use of nanostructured materials for these applications is becoming a popular approach due to the unique chemical and physical properties they possess compared to bulk materials Solar energy is the cleanest and most abundant renewable natural resource available. Materials for solar photothermal energy conversion are highly sought after for their cost savings, clean environment, and broad utility in providing water heating and/or steam for many applications including domestic water heating and solar-driven desalination. Extensive research efforts have been made to develop efficient solar absorbers with characteristics such as low weight, low thermal conductivity, broad solar absorption and porosity to be able to float on water to provide more efficient and cost-effective solar steam generation systems. Metal NPs have been proposed to take advantage of the high efficiency of the photothermal energy conversion associated with surface plasmon resonance absorption. Nanostructured carbon-based materials such as graphene oxide, carbon nanotubes, carbonized biomass are also in use due to their excellent photothermal energy conversion ability over the range of the visible and near infra-red region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In this dissertation, five projects based on the utility of nanostructured materials for desalination, photocatalysis and water treatment will be discussed. The first three projects involve the fabrication and design of plasmonic and carbon-based photothermal materials for applications in solar steam generation, water desalination, and wastewater treatment. In the fourth project, a unique shape of ZnO nanostructure was synthesized for photodegradation of organic dyes in industrial wastewater. The final project demonstrates the shape-controlled synthesis of iron carbide nanostructures and composite materials of aminated graphene oxide for the removal of Cr(VI) from wastewater.

Orientador: Edson Pereira Tangerino / Banca: Dib Gebara / Banca: Carlos Gomes da Nave Mendes / Resumo: Novas tecnologias para o tratamento de água vêem sendo desenvolvidas e suas combinações podem apresentar bons resultados principalmente quando submetidas a variações sazonais de origem natural e antropicas. A crescente poluição dos corpos d'água causa florescimentos de algas e cianobactérias nos mananciais, com aparecimento de sabor e odor na água bruta, podendo ocorrer também a liberação de toxinas pelas cianobactérias. Os processos de tratamento de água convencionais têm apresentado deficiências quanto à remoção de cianobactérias e cianotoxinas, principalmente quanto ao aspecto de remoção das células viáveis e na capacidade de remover as toxinas extracelulares. As cianobactérias retidas no lodo dos decantadores representam riscos à qualidade final da água tratada. O presente projeto de pesquisa consistiu em experiência com floco-decantador de manta de lodo acoplado a flotador por ar dissolvido, formando um conjunto composto pelos dois tipos de equipamentos ou tecnologias e ainda com dispositivo limitador de manta. O objetivo da pesquisa foi avaliar o desempenho da instalação proposta quando submetida a variações da qualidade da água bruta, principalmente quando submetido à sobrecarga de algas e cianobactérias, simulando possíveis florações nos mananciais. Os resultados dos ensaios no modulo experimental com água natural apresentaram remoção satisfatória de turbidez , com valores abaixo de 3,0 uT da água floco-floto-decantada e em torno de 0,1 uT da água filtrada. Os ensaios realizados com água natural com presença elevada de algas e cianobactérias, evidenciaram a importância da unidade de flotação, com remoção de clorofila_a de 82% na água decantada/flotada e próximo de 99% na água filtrada, em relação à água bruta, sendo que a turbidez manteve-se abaixo de 3 uT na saída do modulo floco-floto-decantador e a turbidez... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: New technologies for water treatment have been developed and their combinations can produce good results especially when subjected to seasonal variations of natural and anthropogenic. The increasing pollution of water bodies causes blooms of algae and cyanobacteria in water sources, with the appearance of taste and odor in raw water, but may also occur the release of toxins by cyanobacteria. The processes of conventional water treatment have shown deficiencies in the removal of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins, especially on the aspect of removal of viable cells and the ability to remove extracellular toxins. Cyanobacteria retained in the sludge of the sedimentation tanks pose to the final quality of treated water. This research project was to experiment with floc-settling sludge blanket coupled to dissolved air flotation, forming a group composed of two types of equipment or technology, and with relief device blanket. The research aimed to evaluate the performance of the proposed development when subjected to variations in raw water quality, especially when subjected to the overload of algae and cyanobacteria to simulate possible blooms in the springs. The results of tests on an experimental module with natural water showed satisfactory removal of turbidity, with values below 3 uT decanted and around 0,1 uT filtered water. Tests conducted with water with high presence of algae and cyanobacteria, have highlighted the importance of unity flotation Chlorophyll "a" with removal of 82% in the decanted water / rappel and around 99% in filtered water compared to raw water, and the turbidity remained below 3 uT the output of modulo-flake-floto sedimentation and turbidity of filtered water was below 0,6 uT. The limiting device of the ground and periodic removal of sludge, decreased the retention time of the cells retained in the sludge which may have prevented the release of toxins into the water... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

The crisis of freshwater has been a big concern worldwide. Water contamination that occurs through the discharge of toxic pollutants from different natural and anthropogenic sources have worsened the situation. Adsorption has emerged as a simple and economical water treatment procedure although the challenge is to find the right adsorbent that can efficiently remove the target contaminant followed by their easy recovery from the reaction vessel. In this dissertation, I have focused on the synthesis, characterizations and applications of environmentally compatible and magnetic humic acid coated magnetite nanoparticles (HA-MNP) as a potential adsorbent for water purification. Phosphate is an essential nutrient for many plants and organisms in the environment. However, it can also cause water pollution when present in excess amounts. The adsorption experiments showed that the laboratory synthesized nanoparticles (HA-MNP) can remove more than 90% of phosphate from water mainly through the mechanism of chemisorption. The overall removal process is spontaneous, endothermic and favorable. Water contamination by arsenic is considered one of the biggest natural disasters in human history. In the study, HA-MNP has been applied for the successful trapping and separation of two highly toxic inorganic As species, As(III) and As(V) from water. The removal of As(V) was faster than As(III) for the same initial arsenic concentration and HA-MNP loading. The binding of As species is mainly attributed to three different phases, rapid surface association, intraparticle diffusion and equilibrium adsorption. Selenium is a micronutrient for humans that can be toxic at modest concentrations. The remediation of toxic selenium species, Se(IV) and Se(VI) by using HA-MNP has been found effective under a variety of environmental conditions except at highly alkaline pH and the presence of sulfate and phosphate in aqueous solution. Selenite or Se(IV) forms strong inner sphere complexes while Se(VI) forms relatively weaker outer sphere complexes with the adsorbent sites. The oxidation and adsorption of As(III) is explored by using the photocatalytic and adsorptive behavior of HA-MNP. The higher removal efficiency is attained through the reactive oxygen species mediated photo-conversion As(III) to As(V). Combination of oxygen and 350 nm light provides the best results.

In the last two decades, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has shown great potential as a powerful and cost-efficient tool to troubleshoot existing disinfection contactors and improve future designs for the water and wastewater treatment utilities. In the first part of this dissertation two CFD simulation methodologies or strategies for computing turbulent flow are evaluated in terms of the predicted hydraulic performance of contactors. In the LES (large eddy simulation) methodology, the more energetic, larger scales of the turbulence are explicitly computed or resolved by the grid. In the less computationally intensive RANS (Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes) methodology, only the mean component of the flow is resolved and the effect of the unresolved turbulent scales is accounted for through a turbulence model. For baffled contactors, RANS performs on par with the LES in predicting hydraulic performance indices. In this type of contactors, hydraulic performance is primarily determined by quasi-steady recirculating (dead) zones within the contactor chambers which are well-resolved in both RANS and LES. Testing of the RANS methodology is also performed for a wastewater stabilization pond leading to prediction of hydraulic performance indices in good agreement with field measurements. However, for column contactors, LES performs better than RANS due to the ability of the LES to resolve unsteady or unstable flow structure associated with spatial transition to turbulence which is important in the determination of the hydraulic performance of the contactor. In the second part of this dissertation the RANS methodology is adapted in order to develop a novel modeling framework for ozone disinfection of drinking water. This framework is unique as it combines CFD with kinetics-based reaction modeling to predict disinfection performance and bromate formation for the first time. Bromate, a human health hazard, is an undesired by-product of the disinfection of drinking water via ozonation. The modeling framework is validated via application to a full-scale ozone contactor. Predictions of ozone and bromate concentrations are consistent with data from physical experiments.

Humic substances are macromolecules that naturally occur in all environments in which vegetation matter are present. In general, humic acid is part of humic substances which form the major fraction of the dissolved organic matters in surface water and represents 90% of dissolved organic carbon. Humic acid plays a fundamental role in many ecosystems since it interacts with toxic metal ions present in the system, resulting in a decrease in the bio-availability of such ions. Moreover, the availability of humic acid in water can react with other chemical compounds, such as chlorine to form trihalomethanes (including chloroform) and causes an increasing risk of cancer and may be linked to heart, lung, kidney, liver, and central nervous system damage. Therefore, humic acid removal in water treatment processes is very important in order to achieve the drinking water standards. Heavy metals are significant contaminants in aqueous system. All heavy metals can produce toxicity when ingested in sufficient quantities, but there are several important ones such as lead, mercury, copper, cadmium, arsenic, nickel and silver. These heavy metals are so pervasive and produce toxicity at low concentrations. Moreover, they may build up in biological systems and become a significant health hazard. / Adsorption is approved as an effective and simple method for water and wastewater treatment process. Many adsorbents then are developed for use in adsorption process such as montmorillonite, peat, activated carbon, etc. In this research, humic acid and heavy metals were mainly selected for adsorption study. In the sorption experiment, several adsorbents such as synthesised zeolite (SZ), natural zeolite (NZ), powdered activated carbon (PAC) and fly ash (FA), were selected to examine the application of HA and heavy metals both in individual and simultaneous adsorption, The characteristics and interactions of the adsorbents with HA and heavy metals were systematically studied by batch laboratory experiments. In the beginning, the adsorption of HA onto SZ, NZ, PAC and FA was investigated and their adsorption capacity was compared. The equilibrium adsorption of HA on SZ, NZ, PAC and FA was found to be 84.1, 67.8, 81.2 and 34.1 mg/g, respectively, at 30 oC and pH 5.0. Dynamic adsorption data show that these adsorbents could reach their adsorption equilibrium after 50 hours. From pH analysis, HA adsorption is favoured at low pH and an increase in pH will lead to the reduction of HA adsorption. SZ and NZ adsorption capacity were affected by the changing of solution temperature; however, in PAC and FA sorption study, there was no significant effect observed. Two heavy metal ions (Cu, Pb) removal by the adsorbents was then conducted. The results showed that the equilibrium sorption capacity of Cu and Pb ions on SZ, NZ, PAC and FA were 43.5, 24.2, 19.7, 28.6 and 190.7, 129.0, 76.8 mg/g, respectively at 30 oC and a pH value of 5. The appropriate pH for Cu and Pb removal was found to be 5 and 6. In most dynamic cases, these adsorbents needed at least 50 hours to reach the adsorption equilibrium. Only adsorption on FA required more than 150 hours to reach the equilibrium. / In simultaneous adsorption experiments, the influences of HA and heavy metal concentration (in the range of 10 to 50 mg/L for HA and 10 to 30 mg/l for heavy metals) on the HA-heavy metal complexation were investigated. The results demonstrated that increasing HA concentration mostly affected Cu adsorbed on SZ, FA and PAC and Pb adsorbed on SZ, NZ and PAC. For HA adsorption, the adsorption rate decreased rapidly with increased initial metal ion concentration. Moreover, the adsorption of heavy metals increased with increased heavy metals concentration in the presence of HA. In the presence of heavy metal ions, the order of HA adsorption followed PAC > FA > SZ > NZ. According to the results, the individual and simultaneous adsorption of HA and heavy metals on each adsorbent achieved a different trend. It mainly depended on the adsorption property of both adsorbates (HA and heavy metals) and adsorbents (SZ, NZ, PAC and FA) and also the operation factors such as pH, concentration, temperature and operation time. Even though this experiment could not obtain high adsorption performance, especially in coadsorption, as compared with other adsorbents, the adsorbents in this study represented a higher adsorption capacity and provide the potential for further development.

When Biosand filters cannot be constructed with crushed quarry rock due to resource limitations, a suitable alternative filter media is needed. In this research, two crushed quarry rock alternatives were examined. Three bench-scale Biosand filters with crushed rock, beach sand, and heat-treated beach sand media were simultaneously dosed with Willamette River water seeded with K-12 E. coli for 31 days. Influent and effluent filtrate was analyzed for E. coli using 3M Petrifilm E. coli/Coliform plate counts; influent and effluent pH, conductivity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and temperature were monitored. All three filters achieved stable E. coli removal efficiencies of 99% or greater after filter maturation, suggesting that it is possible to effectively use beach sand and heat-treated beach sand in Biosand filters for pathogenic bacteria removal. Mean effluent E. coli concentrations for crushed rock, beach sand, and heat-treated beach sand filters were 12, 29, and 30 CFU/mL respectively. Crushed rock filter effluent was significantly lower in mean effluent E. coli concentration than beach sand (P < 0.001) and heat-treated beach sand (P < 0.001) filter effluents, suggesting that beach sand and heat-treated beach sand media should only be used as a secondary option to crushed rock media due to potentially greater exposure risk to pathogenic bacteria. / Graduation date: 2013

Slow sand filtration is a proven and sustainable technology for drinking water treatment in small communities. The process, however, is sensitive to lower water temperatures that can lead to decreased biological treatment, and high raw water turbidity levels that can lead to premature clogging of the filter and frequent cleaning requirements, resulting in increased risk of pathogen breakthrough. Multistage filtration, consisting of roughing filtration followed by slow sand filtration, can overcome these treatment limitations and provide a robust treatment alternative for surface water sources of variable water quality in northern climates, which typically experience water temperatures ranging down to 2&deg;C. Prior to this study, however, multistage filtration had yet to be systematically challenged in colder climates, including testing of its performance under increased hydraulic loadings and elevated influent turbidity together with cold water conditions. The primary goal of this research was to demonstrate the reliability of multistage filtration for small communities in northern climates with reference to the Ontario Safe Drinking Water Act. In this research, testing was conducted on two different pilot multistage filtration systems and fed with water from the Grand River, a municipally and agriculturally impacted river in Southern Ontario. One system featured pre-ozonation and post-granular activated carbon (GAC) stages, and shallower bed depths in the roughing filter and slow sand filter. The other system featured deeper bed depths in the roughing filter and slow sand filter, two parallel roughing filters of different design for comparison, and a second stage of slow sand filtration for increased robustness. Removal of turbidity, total coliforms, and fecal coliforms under a range of influent turbidities (1 to >100 NTU), water temperatures (~2 to 20&deg;C), and hydraulic loading rates (0. 2 to 0. 8 m/h) were investigated. In addition, the slow sand filters in each pilot system were challenged with high concentrations (~10⁶ oocyst/L) of inactivated <i>Cryptosporidium parvum</i> oocysts. The performance of both pilot multistage filtration systems was highly dependent on the biological maturity of the system and its hydraulic loading rate. In a less mature system operating in cold water conditions (<5&deg;C), effluent turbidity was mostly below 0. 5 NTU during periods of stable influent turbidity (no runoff events) and a hydraulic loading of 0. 4 m/h, however, runoff events of high influent turbidity (>50 NTU), increased hydraulic loadings (0. 6 m/h), and filter cleaning occasionally resulted in effluent turbidity above 1 NTU. Furthermore, in a less mature system operating during runoff events of high turbidity, reducing the hydraulic loading rate to 0. 2 m/h was important for achieving effluent turbidity below 1 NTU. However, in a more mature system operating in warm water conditions (19-22&deg;C), effluent turbidity was consistently below 0. 3 NTU at a hydraulic loading rate of 0. 4 m/h, and below 0. 5 NTU at 0. 8 m/h, despite numerous events of high influent turbidity (>25 NTU). It remains to be seen whether this performance could be sustained in colder water temperatures with a fully mature filter. Removal of coliform bacteria was occasionally incomplete in a less mature multistage system, whereas, in a more mature system operating in warm water conditions (>9&deg;C), removal was complete in all measurements. Furthermore, the average removal of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> was greater than 2. 5 logs in both systems (with hydraulic loading rates ranging from 0. 4 to 0. 8 m/h) and improved with increased filter maturity. Each individual stage of the multistage system was an important treatment barrier in the overall process of turbidity and pathogen removal. The roughing filter was not only important for protecting the slow sand filter from solids loading and increasing its run length, but was also a significant contributor to coliform removal when the system was less mature. Removal of turbidity was significantly improved when the roughing filter was more mature, suggesting that biological treatment was an important treatment mechanism in the roughing filter. Although pre-ozonation was used mainly for the removal of organic carbon and colour, it achieved complete removal of coliform bacteria and was also suspected to be important for enhanced removal of turbidity. The second slow sand filter in series provided additional robustness to the process by reducing effluent turbidity to below 1 NTU during cold water runoff events of high turbidity and increased hydraulic loadings (0. 6 m/h), while achieving effluent below 0. 3 NTU during normal periods of operation. It also provided additional removals of coliforms under challenging operating conditions, and contributed an additional average removal of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> of 0. 8 logs, which resulted in cumulative removal of 3. 7 logs, approximately 1 log greater than all the other challenge tests. Collectively, the entire multistage system performed well with water temperatures ranging down to 2&deg;C, limited filter maturity, elevated raw water turbidities, and increased hydraulic loading rates. Its ability to meet the current Ontario turbidity regulations and greater than 2 log removal of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> over a range of operating conditions, with little or no process adjustment, is a testament to the robustness and minimal maintenance requirements of the process, which are desirable attributes for small water systems that are often located in rural areas. While this research demonstrated the performance of multistage filtration using pilot scale testing, it is important to note that full-scale plants tend to produce significantly better results than pilot facilities, due to long term biological maturation of the system. Overall, multistage filtration is a sustainable and cost-effective technology that, through this research, appears to be a safe, reliable, and robust treatment alternative for small and non-municipal water systems in North America and the developing world. Further, based on its performance with challenging influent water quality and cold water conditions, multistage filtration holds particular promise for small communities in northern climates that are required to meet safe drinking water regulations, but are dependent on surface water sources of variable water quality and temperatures.

In the pilot plant at Hammarby Sjöstad, Sjöstadsverket, several new methods are tested in order to achieve a good use of resources. When a new technique is considered it is often the performance of the technique itself, under given conditions, that is evaluated. However, in order to evaluate the overall function the whole picture is needed. With a system analysis it becomes possible to make a comparison where all the positive aspects are put up against the negative ones, for the technique itself as well as its requirements. In this way the influence that minor components have on an entire system can be considered. This report presents a system analysis of an anaerobic membrane reactor (MBR) with a VSEP-membrane (Vibratory Shear Enhanced Process). The MBR is tested at the research treatment plant at Hammarby Sjöstad. In the analysis presented two different treatment techniques treating two different types of wastewaters are compared. The considered techniques are conventional (represented by an active sludge process) and the MBRtechnique. The waters treated are a mixed wastewater and wastewater from a separating system where closet water is separated from greywater and mixed with food waste from waste disposers. The system analysis has been carried out with the URWARE (URban WAter REsearch) system analysis tool. A new URWARE-model that describes the anaerobic reactor and the VSEP membrane was created in order to generate the system structures needed for the analysis. The model consists of two submodels, which as the other URWARE-models are mass-flow, steady-state models based on yearly average-values. The model was tested and calibrated from the test-results at the Hammarby Sjöstad pilot plant. In the study the systems are compared considering energy, exergy and recirculation of nutrients. The VSEP-technique has some advantages compared to the conventional system as it ensures that a large part of the nutritional content in the wastewater can be retained. The advantage is more obvious with the separated system, where food waste is mixed with closet water. Also the global warming potential of the new technique is lower. However, conventional treatment is better from an exergy-perspective. This is mostly due to the high energy consumption as a result of the reversed osmosis (RO) required for post treatment. / I försöksanläggningen vid Hammarby Sjöstad, Sjöstadsverket undersöks flera olika metoder för att uppnå största möjliga resursutnyttjande. När en ny teknik utprovas är det i allmänhet funktionen hos den givna metoden under givna förutsättningar som undersöks. För att få ett helhetsperspektiv krävs emellertid att den sätts in i sitt sammanhang. En systemanalys gör det möjligt att få en bild av alla för- och nackdelar, såväl av tekniken i sig som av de förutsättningar den kräver. Även effekter som små delar har på ett helt system kan då belysas och dess betydelse för helheten fastställas. Föreliggande studie möjliggör en systemanalytisk utvärdering av en anaerob membranbioreaktor (MBR) kopplad till ett VSEP-membran (Vibratory Shear Enhanced Process) som är under utprovning vid Sjöstadsverket. Studien jämför två vattenreningstekniker för behandling av två olika typer av avloppsvatten. Dels rör det sig om konventionell teknik (aktiv slam-rening liknande den behandlingsmetod som används idag), dels den nya MBRtekniken. De vatten som behandlas är blandat avloppsvatten respektive sorterat klosettvatten blandat med matavfall från avfallskvarnar. Systemanalysen har utförts med hjälp av systemanalysverktyget URWARE (URban WAter REsearch). För att kunna bygga upp önskade systemstrukturer har en ny modell för att beskriva den anaeroba reaktorn och VSEP-membranet skapats inom ramen för detta examensarbete. Modellen består av två delmodeller, som liksom övriga modeller i URWARE är substansflödesmodeller där beräkningar är baserade på årsmedelvärden. Modellen har utprovats och kalibrerats mot mätresultat från pilotförsöken vid Sjöstadsverket. I studien jämförs systemen med avseende på energi, exergi och återföring av närsalter. Utifrån systemanalysen konstateras att MBR-tekniken ger vissa fördelar gentemot konventionell teknik då en stor del av näringsinnehållet från avloppsvattnet kan fångas upp. Detta gäller speciellt då tekniken används i kombination med ett separerat avloppssystem där matavfall blandas med klosettvatten. Även växthuspotential för den nya tekniken är lägre totalt sett. Ur exergisynpunkt är konventionell teknik emellertid mer fördelaktig. Till stor del beror detta på hög energiförbrukning pga. den efterbehandling med omvänd osmos (RO) som systemet i dess nuvarande utformning kräver.

Water is the most essential resource for life. In cases where drinking water is processed from surface water it is important to ensure the raw water is of good quality, and is suitable for processing through the water treatment plant. The drinking water for Västerås is sourced from Västeråsfjärden, in the western side of Lake Mälaren. The city itself is home to marinas, ports, a wastewater treatment plant, the Svartån outlet, sewage pumping stations and stormwater outlets. Because of the negative effects these activities have on surface water quality, Mälarenergi AB is interested in relocating the raw water intake point to Granfjärden, 10 km east of Västeråsfjärden. At Granfjärden the intake point would be less exposed to the activities in Västerås, and could be placed at a greater depth, resulting in better water quality. In this Master’s thesis the water quality and the pollution risks at Västeråsfjärden and Granfjärden sites are compared. Existing water quality data were compared, and pollution risks were investigated in two ways. Firstly potential risks in the catchment area were identified through compiling previously reported information and map analysis. Secondly, possible accident scenarios from shipping were identified. Following this, SMHI simulated the accident scenarios and their estimated effects on the two sites were then assessed.   This research shows that the water quality difference between sites is small but key differences exist in the levels of organic matter, color, transparency and temperature, making the Granfjärden location preferable. Potential problems associated with the low oxygen levels found during the end of summer at Granfjärden may be addressed by temporarily raising the intake point. It should be noted however that this temporary solution may increase the exposure to pollution. In conclusion, accident scenario simulations showed the potential concentration of pollutants at both sites is low, with effluents diluted at least 1000 times. Prevailing southwesterly and westerly winds occuring at both intake points generate a clockwise circulation in Västeråsfjärden.  This causes all effluents from urban activities to reach that intake point, which is the most notable risk associated with this site.  In contrast, the two largest risks for the Granfjärden site are shipping effluents and the microbiological load from individual sewage treatment systems and animal waste. / Vatten är vårt viktigaste livsmedel och en förutsättning för allt liv. I de fall där råvatten för beredning av dricksvatten tas från ytvatten är det ytterst viktigt att säkerställa en bra vattenkvalitet, lämpat för dricksvattenberedning. Västerås stad tar idag sitt råvatten från Västeråsfjärden, i Mälarens västra delar, 3 km från Västerås stad. I staden finns bl.a. småbåtshamnar, oljehamn, avloppsreningsverk, Svartåns utlopp, nödbräddavlopp, avloppspumpstationer och dagvattenutsläpp. Dessa aktiviteter påverkar vattenkvaliteten i fjärden negativt och därför har Mälarenergi AB valt att undersöka möjligheterna att flytta intaget till Granfjärden, 10 km öster om Västeråsfjärden. Där skulle råvattenintaget inte vara lika utsatt för samhällets direkt negativa vattenpåverkan. Intaget kan läggas på ett större djup och där kan vattenkvaliteten vara bättre och mindre riskutsatt. I detta examensarbete har vattenkvaliteten och föroreningsriskerna jämförts mellan fjärdarna. Analysresultat från provtagningar i Granfjärden jämfördes med prover från Västeråsfjärden. Riskerna behandlades i två delar. I den första delen identifierades föroreningsrisker genom att sammanställa material från tidigare projekt samt genom att studera kartor. I den andra delen togs olycksscenarion inom sjöfarten fram. SMHI simulerade dessa scenarion och en bedömning gjordes sedan över hur riskutsatta de båda råvattenintagen är. Trots det stora avståndet från Västerås stad till Granfjärden var skillnaden i vattenkvalitet mellan fjärdarna förvånansvärt liten, men skillnader påvisades för några av de analyserade parametrarna. Granfjärdens bottenvatten hade signifikant lägre halter organiskt material, lägre färgtal och lägre temperatur än det nuvarande råvattenintaget. Däremot förekom lägre syrgashalter i slutet av sommaren än vid råvattenintaget i Västeråsfjärden. Om problem skulle uppstå i dricksvattenberedningen till följd av låga syrgashalter finns möjlighet att byta till ett grundare intag vid samma punkt. Det grundare intaget är dock mer utsatt för risker än det djupare. Samtliga utsläpp från de simulerade olyckorna späddes ut minst 1000 gånger innan de spred sig till råvattenintagen. Båda råvattenintagen är som mest utsatta vid sydvästlig och västlig vind. I Västeråsfjärden ger dessa vindriktningar en medurs strömningsbild i fjärden, vilket innebär att föroreningsutsläpp från staden förs mot råvattenintaget. De största riskerna för råvattenintaget i Granfjärden är utsläpp i farleden och den mikrobiologiska belastningen från enskilda avlopp och djurhållning. I Västeråsfjärden är den största riskfaktorn utsläpp från stadens aktiviteter och verksamheter längs den östra stranden.

Under 90-talet uppdagades övergödningsproblematiken i Östersjön, varför omgivande länder enades gällande åtgärder för att minska problemen. De svenska reningsverk som genom sina utsläpp av kväve och fosfor påverkade Östersjön tvingades då införa gränsvärden för kväve- och fosforutsläppen. Vid Arboga reningsverk, vars recipient är Arbogaån som mynnar i Galten, Mälaren, har kvävereducering sedan en tid tillbaka varit i drift. Dock krävdes från och med år 2012 att totalkvävehalten i utgående avloppsvatten ej översteg 15 mg tot-N/l. Införandet av detta gränsvärde resulterade i åtgärder för att minska kväveutsläppen.Rejektvattenbehandling är en vanlig metod för att minska halterna totalkväve i utgående avloppsvatten. Normalt utgör rejektvattnet 0,5–1,0 % av totala inflödet till reningsverket men 10–20 % av inkommande totalkvävebelastningen. I Arboga resulterade det nya gränsvärdet för totalkväveutsläpp i en nybyggnation av en rejektvattenbehandling utformad med fördenitrifikation. Detta innebär att rejektvattnet pumpas genom fyra zoner, två anaeroba följt av två aeroba. Ammoniumkvävet i inkommande vatten omvandlas genom detta processupplägg via nitrat till kvävgas.Denna studie syftade till att kartlägga rejektvattenbehandlingens effekt på halterna av totalkväve i utgående avloppsvatten från Arboga reningsverk. Detta inkluderade både simuleringar i Benchmark Simulation Model no. 2 (BSM2) samt studier genom vattenprovtagning vid Arboga reningsverk. Vid simuleringarna genomförda i BSM2 påvisades en märkbart lägre halt totalkväve i utgående avloppsvatten efter rejektvattenbehandlingens införande. Även vid den provtagningscykel som genomfördes på Arboga reningsverk under april år 2012 påvisades att markanta förändringar skett i utgående halter totalkväve och ammoniumkväve. Halterna totalkväve och ammoniumkväve i utgående avloppsvatten sjönk med ca 40 % respektive 65 % relativt samma tidsperiod år 2008–2011. Detta är dock endast resultat från det initiala skedet av rejektvattenbehandlingen som togs i drift 16 februari år 2012. Studien visade sammanfattningsvis att denna typ av processlösning för rejektvattenbehandling ledde till lägre halter av totalkväve och ammoniumkväve i utgående vatten från Arboga reningsverk. Dock krävs vidare studier för att kartläggaden slutgiltiga effekten av rejektvattenbehandlingen, då den i nuläget ännu ej nått sin slutgiltiga kapacitet. / Eutrophication problems were discovered in the Baltic Sea during the 1990s, why thesurrounding countries came to an agreement regarding measures to reduce the problem. Swedish wastewater treatment plants that influence the Baltic Sea by their emissions ofnitrogen and phosphorus have since introduced limit values for nitrogen and phosphorusconcentrations in the effluent water.At Arboga wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) a nitrogen reduction process withactive sludge was implemented a few years back. The recipient Arbogaån leading intoGalten, Mälaren, has eutrophication issues, and from the year 2012 the concentration oftotal nitrogen in treated wastewater must not exceed 15 mg tot-N/l. This limit resulted inmeasures to reduce nitrogen emissions.Reject water treatment is a common method to reduce the levels of total nitrogen intreated wastewater. Normally, the reject water contributes to 0.5–1.0 % of the totalinflow to the treatment plant but 10–20 % of the incoming total nitrogen load. In Arboga, the new limit for total nitrogen emissions resulted in a reject water treatmentfacility with predenitrification. The reject water is routed through four zones, twoanaerobic followed by two aerobic. Ammonium is by this process converted in to nitrogen gas via nitrate. This study aimed at identifying the effect from what implementing a reject watertreatment on the levels of total nitrogen in treated wastewater from Arboga WWTP.This included simulations in the Benchmark Simulation Model no. 2 (BSM2) as well aswater sampling at Arboga WWTP. The simulations that were carried out in BSM2 showed a significantly lower content of total nitrogen in treated wastewater after thereject water treatment was implemented. The sampling cycle conducted at ArbogaWWTP in April 2012 revealed that changes occurred in the levels of total nitrogen andammonium in the effluent water. The concentrations of total nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen in treated wastewater decreased by about 40 % and 65 %, compared to thesame time period in 2008–2011. This is, however, only results from the initial stage ofthe reject water treatment, which began operating on February 16th 2012.In summary, this study showed that this type of process solution for reject watertreatment resulted in lower levels of total nitrogen and ammonia in the effluent water at  Arboga WWTP. Further studies are needed to determine the final efficiency of the rejectwater treatment, since it yet has to reach its full capacity.