Photocatalytic degradation of organic wastes by electrochemically assisted TiO2 photocatalytic system

Photocatalytic degradation of organic wastes with nanosized titanium dioxide particles has been studied for a long time in order to offer an appropriate method for wastewater treatment, but its practical application is greatly limited by the slow process. In this work, an electrochemically assisted TiO2 photocatalytic system was set-up by combining a TiO2 photocatalytic cell with a three-electrode potentiostatic unit. The composite system revealed high photocatalytic activity towards organic wastes mineralization. After continuous treatment for 0.5 h, the maximum absorption of rhodamine 6G (R-6G) was reduced by more than 90%; chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) of textile dye wastewater (TDW) were decreased by 93.9 and 88.7%, respectively. The biodegradability of TDW was also improved because the COD/BOD5 ratio decreased from 2.1 to 1.2. All these results indicated that the composite system could be used for effective organic wastes mineralization or as a feasible detoxification and color removal pretreatment stage for biological post treatment.     

Comparative Evaluation of Three River Water Quality Models1

Abstract: Selection of a biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) reaction model to incorporate into dissolved oxygen (DO) water quality models is an overlooked choice available to river water quality modelers. Data from rivers can serve in screening methods to discriminate between competing water quality models. In this study, 15 published BOD and DO datasets based on a 7 year long study of the Bormida River in Italy are used to calibrate three‐multiorder BOD models: first‐order, three‐halves order, and second‐order, which are then included in three corresponding DO models which incorporate these BOD models. The adequacy of the first‐order, three‐halves order and second‐order BOD models was evaluated by calculating the root mean square error between a model and data. A similar procedure was followed to evaluate three DO models, each of which incorporated one of the three BOD models. The first‐order BOD model most frequently fit the river data best, followed by the three‐halves order and the second‐order BOD models. The DO model incorporating a first‐order BOD model most frequently fit the data best, followed by the DO order incorporating second‐order BOD and the DO model incorporating three‐halves order BOD.     

DEOXYGENATION IN NATURAL STREAMS1

ABSTRACT: Deoxygenation process in which carbonaceous BOD is biochemically oxidized to reduced inorganic compounds is of great significance in the oxygen demand of stream waters. The BOD decay rate traditionally determined in a laboratory might not necessarily be the same as estimated for a natural stream. The variation in biochemical activity could occur due to differences in adsorption, dispersion, and biophysical processes taking place in the two environments. The first stage biochemical oxygen demand and benthal oxygen demand that occur simultaneously in a stream, have been considered together to calculate the gross rate of deoxygenation in polluted waters. The available data on deoxygenation measurements has been analyzed in this study to calculate the carbonaceous BOD rate constants in natural streams. The analysis indicates that the dimensionless deoxygenation parameter is a function of the ratio of the Reynolds number and Froude number of flow. The functional relationship between these two parameters essentially follows a straight line on a log-log plot. The applicability of the relationship does not depend upon the volume of the organic load, size, or location of the stream.     

An innovative modeling approach using Qual2K and HEC-RAS integration to assess the impact of tidal effect on River Water quality simulation

Water quality modeling has been shown to be a useful tool in strategic water quality management. The present study combines the Qual2K model with the HEC-RAS model to assess the water quality of a tidal river in northern Taiwan. The contaminant loadings of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N), total phosphorus (TP), and sediment oxygen demand (SOD) are utilized in the Qual2K simulation. The HEC-RAS model is used to: (i) estimate the hydraulic constants for atmospheric re-aeration constant calculation; and (ii) calculate the water level profile variation to account for concentration changes as a result of tidal effect. The results show that HEC-RAS-assisted Qual2K simulations taking tidal effect into consideration produce water quality indices that, in general, agree with the monitoring data of the river. Comparisons of simulations with different combinations of contaminant loadings demonstrate that BOD is the most import contaminant. Streeter-Phelps simulation (in combination with HEC-RAS) is also performed for comparison, and the results show excellent agreement with the observed data. This paper is the first report of the innovative use of a combination of the HEC-RAS model and the Qual2K model (or Streeter-Phelps equation) to simulate water quality in a tidal river. The combination is shown to provide an alternative for water quality simulation of a tidal river when available dynamic-monitoring data are insufficient to assess the tidal effect of the river.     

Cumulative impact of marinas on estuarine water quality

The purpose of this work is to present a modeling approach for assessing and managing the cumulative impact of marinas on estuarine systems. In doing so, both a water-quality model and a planning and management model are developed. The water-quality model predicts biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and fecal coliform (FC) loadings from marina sources in a hypothetical North Carolina estuary. By running the water-quality model repeatedly with varied loading input, impact coefficients are determined. These impact coefficients are used in the planning and management model, the output of which gives the sizes and locations of marinas in the estuarine system such that dissolved oxygen (DO) and FC water-quality standards are maintained.Five different estuarine development scenarios are considered. Each scenario is evaluated with respect to both maximum and uniform land development constraints. In addition, two alternative fecal coliform standards are used with each of the development options.     

VIRGINIA USA WATER QUALITY, 1978 TO 1995: REGIONAL INTERPRETATION1

ABSTRACT: Nine surface water‐quality variables were analyzed for trend at 180 Virginia locations over the 1978 to 1995 period. Median values and seasonal Kendall's tau, a trend indicator statistic, were generated for dissolved oxygen saturation (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), pH (PH), total residue (TR), nonfilterable residue (NFR), nitrate‐nitrite nitrogen (NN), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), total phosphorus (TP), and fecal coliform (FC) at each location. Each location was assigned to one of four physiographic regions, and mean state and regional medians and taus were calculated. Widespread BOD and NFR improvements were detected and FC improvements occurred in the state's western regions. TR and TKN exhibited predominantly increasing trends at locations throughout the state. BOD, TKN, NFR, and TR medians were higher at coastal locations than in other regions. NN, TKN, and TR exhibited predominantly increasing trends in regions with high median concentrations, while declining trends predominated in regions with relatively high BOD, FC, and NFR medians. Appalachian locations exhibited the greatest regional water‐quality improvements for BOD, FC, NFR, and TKN. Factors responsible for regional differences appear to include geology, land use, and landscape features; these factors vary regionally.     

High Sediment Oxygen Demand Within an Instream Swamp in Southern Georgia: Implications for Low Dissolved Oxygen Levels in Coastal Blackwater Streams1

Todd, M. Jason, George Vellidis, R. Richard Lowrance, and Catherine M. Pringle, 2009. High Sediment Oxygen Demand Within an Instream Swamp in Southern Georgia: Implications for Low Dissolved Oxygen Levels in Coastal Blackwater Streams. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 45(6):1493‐1507. Abstract: Sediment oxygen demand (SOD) is considered a critical and dominant sink for dissolved oxygen (DO) in many river systems including blackwater streams and is often poorly investigated or roughly estimated in oxygen budgets. The purposes of this study are to (1) characterize and document the magnitude and variability of SOD in representative instream swamps found on the Georgia Coastal Plain; (2) predict SOD from more readily measured parameters such as soil, sediment, and litter organic carbon; and (3) obtain an accurate representation of SOD values within this understudied habitat to help improve water quality models and the continued development of DO as an appropriate water quality standard. Results show SOD rates ranging from 0.491 to 14.189 g O₂/m²/day, up to 18 times higher than values reported for southeastern sandy‐bottomed streams and suggest that instream swamps are repositories of large amounts of organic matter and are thus areas of intense oxygen demand and a major factor in determining the oxygen balance of the watershed as a whole. These areas of intense oxygen demand in relatively unimpacted areas indicate that low DO concentrations may be a natural phenomenon. SOD rates were significantly correlated (alpha = 0.05) with a number of sediment parameters, with organic carbon and total organic carbon being the best predictors of SOD rate. When developing water quality models, managers should pay closer attention to the influence of SOD as it plays a critical role in determining DO levels within instream swamps and the river system.     

The removal of lignin and phenol from paper mill effluents by electrocoagulation

This study aims to investigate the treatment of paper mill effluents using electrocoagulation. Removal of lignin, phenol, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) from paper mill effluents was investigated at various current intensities by using different electrodes (Al and Fe) and at various electrolysis times (1.0, 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5min). It was observed that the experiments carried out at 12V, an electrolysis time of 2min and a current intensity of 77.13mA were sufficient for the removal of these pollutants with each electrode. The removal capacities of the process using an Al electrode were 80% of lignin, 98% of phenol, 70% of BOD, and 75% of COD after 7.5min. Using an Fe electrode the removal capacities were 92%, 93%, 80% and 55%, respectively. In addition, it was found that removal of lignin, phenol, BOD and COD increased with increasing current intensity. In the experiments carried out at different current intensities, higher removal can be explained through a decrease in intra-resistance of solution and consequently an increase at the transfer speed of organic species to electrodes. It was also found that Al electrode performs higher efficiency than Fe electrode except for COD removal. However, the time required for removal of BOD was more than that of COD. The results suggest that electrocoagulation could be considered as an effective alternative to paper mill effluents treatment.     

Wastewater management in a cane molasses distillery involving bioresource recovery

Waste management involving bioresource recovery in a cane molasses-based distillery engaged in the manufacture of rectified spirit (alcohol) is described. The spentwash generated from the distillation of fermenter wash is highly acidic (pH 4.0-4.3) with high rates of biochemical and chemical oxygen demand (BOD: 52-58, COD: 92-100 kg/m3) and suspended solids (2.0-2.5 kg/m3). Biogas is recovered from high strength raw spentwash through the full-scale application of a biomethanation system as pretreatment option, comprising anaerobic fixed film reactors. This, combined with subsequent concentration through multiple effect evaporators (MEE), and utilization of concentrated effluent for biocomposting of pressmud (another by-product of the industry) for production of biomanure contributes to the elimination of effluent discharges.     

Factors Affecting Sediment Oxygen Demand Dynamics in Blackwater Streams of Georgia’s Coastal Plain1

Abstract: Sediment oxygen demand (SOD) is believed to be an important process affecting dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in blackwater streams of the southeastern coastal plain. Because very few data on SOD are available, it is common for modelers to take SOD values from the literature for use with DO models. In this study, SOD was measured in seven blackwater streams of the Suwannee River Basin within the Georgia coastal plain for between August 2004 and April 2005. SOD was measured using four in situ chambers and was found to vary on average between 0.1 and 2.3 g O₂/m/day across the seven study sites throughout the study period. SOD was found to vary significantly between the watersheds within the Suwannee River Basin. However, land use was not found to be the driving force behind SOD values. Statistical analyses did find significant interaction between land use and watersheds suggesting that an intrinsically different factor in each of the watersheds may be affecting SOD and the low DO concentrations. Further research is needed to identify the factors driving SOD dynamics in the blackwater streams of Georgia’s coastal plain. Results from this study will be used by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources – Environmental Protection Division as model input data for the development and evaluation of DO total maximum daily loads in the Georgia coastal plain.     

Modeling biological oxygen demand of the Melen River in Turkey using an artificial neural network technique

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are being used increasingly to predict and forecast water resources' variables. The feed-forward neural network modeling technique is the most widely used ANN type in water resources applications. The main purpose of the study is to investigate the abilities of an artificial neural networks' (ANNs) model to improve the accuracy of the biological oxygen demand (BOD) estimation. Many of the water quality variables (chemical oxygen demand, temperature, dissolved oxygen, water flow, chlorophyll a and nutrients, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) that affect biological oxygen demand concentrations were collected at 11 sampling sites in the Melen River Basin during 2001-2002. To develop an ANN model for estimating BOD, the available data set was partitioned into a training set and a test set according to station. In order to reach an optimum amount of hidden layer nodes, nodes 2, 3, 5, 10 were tested. Within this range, the ANN architecture having 8 inputs and 1 hidden layer with 3 nodes gives the best choice. Comparison of results reveals that the ANN model gives reasonable estimates for the BOD prediction.     

Analysis of pollution status of River Illo,Ota, Nigeria

An assessment of the pollution status of River Illo, located within River Owo catchments area in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria, was carried out. The River’s response to deoxygenation due to BOD loading from an abattoir and its dissolved oxygen (DO) level was predicted using the modified Streeter-Phelps model. The average concentrations of measured parameters at the sampling stations include: 2.24 mg/l of DO, 312.85 mg/l of BOD, 782.86 mg/l of chemical oxygen demand, and 620.76 g/l of total solids. The DO model for River Illo showed a positive correlation between measured and calculated DO, while the dissolved oxygen curve gave a double spoon shape of two major segments with distinct zones of degradation, decomposition, and recovery. The self-purification factor (f) for both segments ranged between 0.8 and 1.1 depicting River Illo as a slow moving or sluggish river. The above results revealed slow reaeration of the water body while full recovery from pollution was difficult. The treatment of River Illo before usage is very essential to ensure public health safety of users from waterborne diseases.     

Dissolved oxygen sag analysis for a settling fields overlapping type multi-wastewater-outfall

The classical Streeter–Phelps models for Dissolved oxygen (DO) sag do not account for a significantly settleable portion (about 10% in treated to about 60% in the untreated wastewater discharged) of the total biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) inputs into rivers through wastewater outfalls, and therefore, they can not be used to predict the DO sag to any accuracy and rationality. The author’s rationally composited model for an accurate prediction of stream BOD, accounting for near linear removal of settleable BOD as well as simultaneous exponential decay of the non-settleable BOD, is used to predict the DO sag resulting from a multi-wastewater-outfall system, wherein the settling fields of some of the outfalls interfere and overlap. An illustrative case example has been presented to demonstrate use of the models evolved under varying locations of the multi-wastewater-outfalls. A universal and integrated PC based computer program can also be evolved for the computation of the overall resultant DO sag to confirm the manually computed DO sag.     

POLLUTANT LOADING CAPACITY FOR THE BLACK RWER,CHEHALIS RWER SYSTEM,WASHINGTON1

ABSTRACT: The Black River, a tributary of the Chehalis River in western Washington State, has a history of widespread low dissolved oxygen (DO), anoxia in some locations, and fish kills. As part of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study, environmental data were collected during two summer dry seasons and simulations were conducted with the WASP5 model to assess the effect of biochemical oxygen demand ( BOD ), ammonia, and nutrient loads on DO in the Black River. DO levels were below the State water quality regulatory criterion of 8.0 mg/L in almost all locations during the study. The slow middle reach of the river showed stratified conditions, with anoxia in some of the deepest pools. Based on model simulations, DO was found to still fall below the 8.0 mg/L criterion in the entire mainstem under “natural” conditions, and eutrophication was identified as a potential problem in the middle reach. A TMDL was proposed for BOD and ammonia that would prevent significant degradation of DO in the Black River. To prevent eutrophic conditions in the Black River, a TMDL for total phosphorus was proposed that establishes a protective criterion of 0.05 mg/L for the middle river during the dry low-flow season.     

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF DAILY WATER QUALITY DATA1

ABSTRACT. The stochastic nature of some water quality time series were examined. These time series include nine years of daily observations in: (1) the stream flow (Q), (2) the water temperature (T), (3) the dissolved oxygen (DO), and (4) the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of the Passaic River at Little Falls, New Jersey. It was found that the random component contributes more than 60 per cent of the variance in the BOD series, but only 30 per cent or less in the DO series. Autocorrelation analysis suggest that DO and BOD residual series have a persistence of about 30 days. Significant crosscorrelation between DO and temperature T was found when DO lags T for up to 30 days, which indicates that the critical DO probably lags the critical temperature. Also, spectral anlaysis shows multiple peaks in the BOD series, reflecting effects of storm runoff and other non-point source pollution on river water quality.     

Source identification and characterization of the accumulating non-biodegradable organics in Korean reservoirs

An increase in the chemical oxygen demand (COD) has been noticed in most Korean reservoirs. Therefore, this research systematically investigated the causes of organic accumulation. Samples of soil affecting the quality of water of reservoirs were collected at various sources and analyzed for their organic characteristics. The COD to biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) ratio was used as the key parameter in the evaluation of non-biodegradable (NBD) organic accumulation in the reservoirs. Soil samples containing plant roots were agitated, with the supernatant showing COD/BOD ratios of less than 2.8, while those of the composted tree leaves were greater than 5.0, suggesting that humic substances produced in forest areas are a major cause of NBD organic accumulation in reservoirs. In addition, the organic fractionation of the leachate from leaching tests showed that of the various types of hydrophobic natural organic matter (NOM), the larger molecular weight humic acid makes a greater contribution than fulvic acid to the increase in the NBD COD in Korean reservoirs.     

Surface water pollution in three urban territories of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh

In South Asian countries such as Nepal, India, and Bangladesh, pollution of rivers is more severe and critical near urban stretches due to huge amounts of pollution load discharged by urban activities. The Bagmati River in the Kathmandu valley, the Yamuna River at Delhi, and peripheral rivers (mainly Buriganga River) of Dhaka suffer from severe pollution these days. The observed dry season average of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in all these rivers is in the range of 20–30 mg/liter and total coliform are as high as 10⁴–10⁵ MPN/100 ml. Per capita pollution load discharge of urban areas has been estimated to be about 31, 19, and 25 gBOD/capita/day in Bagmati, Yamuna, and the rivers of Dhaka, respectively. Regression analysis reveals pollution loads steadily increasing nearly in step with the trend in urbanization. The dissolved oxygen (DO) level of the Bagmati and Buriganga rivers is declining at an average annual rate of nearly 0.3 mg/liter/year. Unplanned urbanization and industrialization occurring in these cities may be largely responsible for this grave situation. Inadequate sewerage, on-site sanitation, and wastewater treatment facilities in one hand, and lack of effective pollution control measures and their strict enforcement on the other are the major causes of rampant discharge of pollutants in the aquatic systems.     

油田采油废水的可生化性研究

通过实验,采用BOD动力学方程原理对胜利油田王岗、桩西联采油废水的可生化性进行了研究。结果表明 :采油废水的生化氧化速度常数k值较小 ,生化氧化速度m值也不高 ,说明用生化法处理采油废水时生化处理速度慢 ,反应时间长 ;BOD5/COD大于0.3 ,CODnb/COD小于0.5,说明采油废水的可生化性尚好 ,氧化深度较大。     

Chemical industry wastewater treatment

Treatment of chemical industrial wastewater from building and construction chemicals factory and plastic shoes manufacturing factory was investigated. The two factories discharge their wastewater into the public sewerage network. The results showed the wastewater discharged from the building and construction chemicals factory was highly contaminated with organic compounds. The average values of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) were 2912 and 150 mgO₂/l. Phenol concentration up to 0.3 mg/l was detected. Chemical treatment using lime aided with ferric chloride proved to be effective and produced an effluent characteristics in compliance with Egyptian permissible limits. With respect to the other factory, industrial wastewater was mixed with domestic wastewater in order to lower the organic load. The COD, BOD values after mixing reached 5239 and 2615 mgO₂/l. The average concentration of phenol was 0.5 mg/l. Biological treatment using activated sludge or rotating biological contactor (RBC) proved to be an effective treatment system in terms of producing an effluent characteristic within the permissible limits set by the law. Therefore, the characteristics of chemical industrial wastewater determine which treatment system to utilize. Based on laboratory results engineering design of each treatment system was developed and cost estimate prepared.     

Mapping Three‐Dimensional Water‐Quality Data in the Chesapeake Bay Using Geostatistics1

Abstract:  Data interpretation and visualization software tools with geostatistical capabilities were adapted, customized, and tested to assist the Chesapeake Bay Program in improving its water‐quality modeling protocols. Tools were required to interpolate, map, and visualize three‐dimensional (3D) water‐quality data, with the capability to determine estimation errors. Components of the software, originally developed for ground‐water modeling, were customized for application in estuaries. Additional software components were developed for retrieval, and for pre‐ and post‐ processing of data. The Chesapeake Bay Program uses the 3D mapped data for input to the Bay water‐quality model that projects the future health of the Bay and its tidal tributary system. In determining water‐quality attainment criteria, 3D kriging estimation errors are needed as a statistical measure of uncertainty. Furthermore, given the high cost of installing and operating new monitoring stations, geostatistical techniques can assist the Chesapeake Bay Program in the identification of suitable data collection locations. Following the evaluation, selection, and development of the software components phase, 3D ordinary kriging techniques with directional semi‐variograms to account for anisotropy were successfully demonstrated for mapping 3D fixed station water‐quality data, such as dissolved oxygen and salinity. Additionally, an improved delineation tool was implemented to simulate the upper and lower pycnocline boundary surfaces allowing the segregation of the interpolated 3D data into three separate zones for a better characterization of the pycnocline layer.