Resourceful Utilization of Tannery Wastewater

Leather industry is an important light industry in China.Leather making requires a series of chemical treatment.Degreasing,unhairing and chrome tanning wastewaters are the main portions of tannery wastewater.Reclaiming and reusing these wastewaters can eliminate 80% of COD,75% of BOD,95% of chromium and 93% of sulfuret,furthermore reduce environment impact,decrease treatment costs,save chemicals and water.Some application methods of wastewater reclamation and reuse for different operations were reported.The suitable reclamation and reuse technologies can enable leather making processes more rational,and realize the recovery and recycle of several chemicals in the tannery.Resourceful utilization of tannery wastewater should mate with renovating production technology,updating equipment,and must be guaranteed sufficiently by environmental protection measures.     

Israeli Water Achievements Today and Enlightenment to China

Abstract

Despite the endemic drought, arid climate and associated limited freshwater resources, as well as difficult geopolitical realities, Israel can provide a reliable supply of high quality water to a rapidly growing population. The achievements of water supply in Israel can be summarized as water technologies (like water transportation and purification, desalination, wastewater treatment, effluent reuse, storm water catchment, control systems, rain enhancement and drip irrigation, etc.), water management and legislation as well as water industry. In view of the national concern regarding the quality and quantity of the water, the skills, technologies and know-how that Israel has accumulated in water supply and irrigation can give us enlightenment that is also presented in this paper.     

Occurrence,fate and ecological risk of five typical azole fungicides as therapeutic and personal care products in the environment: A review

Azole fungicides are widely used to treat fungal infection in human. After application, these chemicals may reach to the receiving environment via direct or indirect discharge of wastewaters, thus posing potential risks to non-target organisms. We aimed to review the occurrence, fate and toxicological effects of some representative household azole fungicides in the environment. Azole fungicides were widely detected in surface water and sediment of the aquatic environment due to their incomplete removal in wastewater treatment plants. These chemicals are found resistant to microbial degradation, but can undergo photolysis under UV irradiation. Due to different physiochemical properties, azole fungicides showed different environmental behaviors. The residues of azole fungicides could cause toxic effects on aquatic organisms such as algae and fish. The reported effects include regulation changes in expression of cytochrome P450-related genes and alteration in CYP450-regulated steroidogenesis causing endocrine disruption in fish. Further studies are essential to investigate the removal of azole fungicides by advanced treatment technologies, environmental fate such as natural photolysis, and toxic pathways in aquatic organisms.     

An overview of sustainability of common effluent treatment plant for clusters of tanneries

This paper presents an overview of sustainability of implementation of Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) in Southern India. Implementation of a CETP for the treatment of combined wastewater from small-scale tannery has proved to be a techno-economic option and offered environmentally and economically sustainable method of treatment. Various aspects such as adequacy assessment and upgradation of CETP based on the treatability studies, energy audit, cost-benefit analysis, effect of implementation of CETP on surrounding groundwater and organizational management set-up were studied over a period of 4 years to analyse the sustainability of the CETP. The concept of CETP makes effective use of human, technical, and financial and natural resources and financially sustainable, i.e. being a collective responsibility, it does not fail due to financial constraints. The implementation of CETP is a true example of a step towards sustainable development and suggests that this concept can be effectively used for treatment of various industrial wastewaters emanating from small-scale clusters.     

Risk management of viral infectious diseases in wastewater reclamation and reuse: Review

Inappropriate usage of reclaimed wastewater has caused outbreaks of viral infectious diseases worldwide. International and domestic guidelines for wastewater reuse stipulate that virus infection risks are to be regulated by the multiple-barrier system, in which a wastewater treatment process composed of sequential treatment units is designed based on the pre-determined virus removal efficiency of each unit. The objectives of this review were to calculate representative values of virus removal efficiency in wastewater treatment units based on published datasets, and to identify research topics that should be further addressed for improving implementation of the multiple-barrier system. The removal efficiencies of human noroviruses, rotaviruses and enteroviruses in membrane bioreactor (MBR) and conventional activated sludge (CAS) processes were obtained by a systematic review protocol and a meta-analysis approach. The log₁₀ reduction (LR) of norovirus GII and enterovirus in MBR were 3.35 (95% confidence interval: 2.39, 4.30) and 2.71 (1.52, 3.89), respectively. The LR values of rotavirus, norovirus GI and GII in CAS processes were 0.87 (0.20, 1.53), 1.48 (0.96, 2.00) and 1.35 (0.52, 2.18), respectively. The systematic review process eliminated a substantial number of articles about virus removal in wastewater treatment because of the lack of information required for the meta-analysis. It is recommended that future publications should explicitly describe their treatment of left-censored datasets. Indicators, surrogates and methodologies appropriate for validating virus removal performance during daily operation of wastewater reclamation systems also need to be identified.     

Treatment of sugar industry wastewater using a combination of thermal and electrocoagulation processes

Sugar industries require a large amount of water for processing, and also generate large amounts of high-degree polluted wastewater. To maintain the water balance in the industry, it is imperative that effective treatment methods need to be devised to treat the wastewaters. The main aim of the present work is to treat the sugar industry wastewater by combined thermal and electro-oxidation methods with a metal and a catalyst based on ferrous material. Results showed a reduction of 75.6% of COD and 79.2% of colour content with thermal treatment, and 97.8% of COD and 99.7% of colour with combined thermal and electrocoagulation treatments under optimum conditions. These reduction levels are adequate for recycling limits.     

Human health effects of residual carbon nanotubes and traditional water treatment chemicals in drinking water

The volume of industrial and domestic wastewater is increasing significantly year by year with the change in the lifestyle based on mass consumption and mass disposal brought about by the dramatic development of economies and industries. Therefore, effective advanced wastewater treatment is required because wastewater contains a variety of constituents such as particles, organic materials, and emulsion depending on the resource. However, residual chemicals that remain during the treatment of wastewaters form a variety of known and unknown by-products through reactions between the chemicals and some pollutants. Chronic exposure to these by-products or residual chemicals through the ingestion of drinking water, inhalation and dermal contact during regular indoor activities (e.g., showering, bathing, cooking) may pose cancer and non-cancer risks to human health. For example, residual aluminium salts in treated water may cause Alzheimer's disease (AD). As for carbon nanotubes (CNTs), despite their potential impacts on human health and the environment having been receiving more and more attention in the recent past, existing information on the toxicity of CNTs in drinking water is limited with many open questions. Furthermore, though general topics on the human health impacts of traditional water treatment chemicals have been studied, no comparative analysis has been done. Therefore, a qualitative comparison of the human health effects of both residual CNTs and traditional water treatment chemicals is given in this paper. In addition, it is also important to cover and compare the human health effects of CNTs to those of traditional water treatment chemicals together in one review because they are both used for water treatment and purification.     

Identifying implementation gaps in water recycling policy of Beijing municipality

ABSTRACT

Due to its dry climate, growing population, and overexploited groundwater, China’s capital is plagued by water scarcity. Since the late 1980s, Beijing has adopted water reuse solutions to bring relief; today, however, the intentions of these reuse policies are often not reflected in practice. Three significant implementation gaps exist: lack of use of installed decentralized reuse systems, limited understanding of the operation of decentralized treatment plants by operators, and inadequate service of centralized reuse treatment systems. By understanding the cause, impact, and severity of these gaps, Beijing’s policymakers can work to meet existing needs via a range of municipal and national policy-driven actions.

AbbrevationBWA Beijing Water AuthorityCECEPChina Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection GroupCNY Chinese yuanIPEInstitute of Public and Environmental AffairsENGOEnvironmental non-governmental organizationMACMunicipal Action CommitteeMEEMinistry of Ecological Environment MEP Ministry of Environmental ProtectionMEPBMunicipal Bureau of Environmental ProtectionMNRMinistry of Natural ResourcesOECDOrganization for Economic Cooperation and DevelopmentO&MOperation and maintenanceSNWTPSouth-North Water Transfer ProjectSOEState-Owned Enterprise     

Wastewater reuse in irrigation: A microbiological perspective on implications in soil fertility and human and environmental health

The reuse of treated wastewater, in particular for irrigation, is an increasingly common practice, encouraged by governments and official entities worldwide. Irrigation with wastewater may have implications at two different levels: alter the physicochemical and microbiological properties of the soil and/or introduce and contribute to the accumulation of chemical and biological contaminants in soil. The first may affect soil productivity and fertility; the second may pose serious risks to the human and environmental health. The sustainable wastewater reuse in agriculture should prevent both types of effects, requiring a holistic and integrated risk assessment. In this article we critically review possible effects of irrigation with treated wastewater, with special emphasis on soil microbiota. The maintenance of a rich and diversified autochthonous soil microbiota and the use of treated wastewater with minimal levels of potential soil contaminants are proposed as sine qua non conditions to achieve a sustainable wastewater reuse for irrigation.     

A quantitative water resource planning and management model for an industrial park level

This paper introduces an integrated water management model at the industrial park level. It suggests four approaches to water management: first, direct water reuse among users; second, water reuse among users by blending with freshwater; third, water reuse between users and a wastewater treatment plant; and fourth, groundwater recharge by reclaimed wastewater or other feasible applications in order to optimize the overall water efficiency. The model results in a comprehensive management methodology for optimizing water resources within an industrial park, seeking potential water reuse among industries, and incorporating the size and cost of reclaimed wastewater delivery systems. A case study is employed to test the model’s feasibility. An economic analysis of the optimized water use network is also carried out, showing the potential water and cost savings.     

Applying network analysis and Nebula (neighbor-edges based and unbiased leverage algorithm) to ToxCast data

BackgroundToxCast data have been used to develop models for predicting in vivo toxicity. To predict the in vivo toxicity of a new chemical using a ToxCast data based model, its ToxCast bioactivity data are needed but not normally available. The capability of predicting ToxCast bioactivity data is necessary to fully utilize ToxCast data in the risk assessment of chemicals.ObjectivesWe aimed to understand and elucidate the relationships between the chemicals and bioactivity data of the assays in ToxCast and to develop a network analysis based method for predicting ToxCast bioactivity data.MethodsWe conducted modularity analysis on a quantitative network constructed from ToxCast data to explore the relationships between the assays and chemicals. We further developed Nebula (neighbor-edges based and unbiased leverage algorithm) for predicting ToxCast bioactivity data.ResultsModularity analysis on the network constructed from ToxCast data yielded seven modules. Assays and chemicals in the seven modules were distinct. Leave-one-out cross-validation yielded a Q² of 0.5416, indicating ToxCast bioactivity data can be predicted by Nebula. Prediction domain analysis showed some types of ToxCast assay data could be more reliably predicted by Nebula than others.ConclusionsNetwork analysis is a promising approach to understand ToxCast data. Nebula is an effective algorithm for predicting ToxCast bioactivity data, helping fully utilize ToxCast data in the risk assessment of chemicals.     

Enhanced oil recovery: Environmental issues and state regulatory programs

During 1977–1978, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) prepared environmental impact assessments for nine U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored enhanced oil recovery (EOR) field demonstration projects located in six states and reviewed the oil regulations for all oil-producing states. These evaluations revealed some potentially important environmental impacts associated with EOR including (1) pollution of land and surface waters from spills or leaks of oil and brine or other chemicals, (2) loss of biota, (3) excessive erosion and sedimentation (mostly in hilly terrain) and subsequent deterioration of surface-water quality, (4) contamination of groundwater, and (5) excessive air emissions from thermal operations. Potential groundwater impacts include (1) production of toxic and carcinogenic substances from synergistic interactions among chemicals used primarily in the micellar-polymer flooding technique, (2) formation of acid waters with small amounts of oil and metal residues and oxides from in situ combustion, and (3) corrosion of well casings and potential leaks of hydrogen sulfide primarily from injection of miscible carbon dioxide. For use of EOR techniques to expand in an environmentally acceptable manner, environmental planning (including monitoring, protection measures, and reclamation strategies) must be an integral part of the initial project development. Acceptable monitoring, prevention, mitigation, and reclamation procedures are available for most of the identified environmental problems, but the best techniques may not be known by operators or required by law. Most states have stringent controls for plugging abandoned wells and disposal of waste material, but these may not be enforced because of limited staff and funds. However, other environmental considerations, e.g., reclamation plans, water quality and other monitoring programs, and abandonment plans, are often lacking. The need for additional environmental planning and monitoring requirements specific to the oil-production industry is emphasized. States are encouraged to continue strengthening and upgrading their oil-regulatory programs to safeguard the environment. More studies are needed on (1) toxicity and carcinogenicity of chemicals used in injection processes, (2) evaluation of groundwater monitoring methods, and (3) reclamation procedures for soils contaminated by oil and brine.     

New energy policy and low-carbon society in Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake

The Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 devastated the eastern region of Japan.Due to the resulting nuclear accident,Japanese Cabinet decided to revise its energy policies.The Energy and Environment Council in National Policy Unit published options on the nation’s scenarios for energy and economy in 2030.We estimated the economic impacts of the options to national economy and households in 2030.Finally,we clarified significant factors to establish a secure,affluent and low-carbon society based on the energy scenarios.     

The formal electronic recycling industry: Challenges and opportunities in occupational and environmental health research

BackgroundE-waste includes electrical and electronic equipment discarded as waste without intent of reuse. Informal e-waste recycling, typically done in smaller, unorganized businesses, can expose workers and communities to serious chemical health hazards. It is unclear if formalization into larger, better-controlled electronics recycling (e-recycling) facilities solves environmental and occupational health problems.ObjectivesTo systematically review the literature on occupational and environmental health hazards of formal e-recycling facilities and discuss challenges and opportunities to strengthen research in this area.MethodsWe identified 37 publications from 4 electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Environmental Index, NIOSHTIC-2) specific to chemical exposures in formal e-recycling facilities.DiscussionEnvironmental and occupational exposures depend on the degree of formalization of the facilities but further reduction is needed. Reported worker exposures to metals were often higher than recommended occupational guidelines. Levels of brominated flame-retardants in worker's inhaled air and biological samples were higher than those from reference groups. Air, dust, and soil concentrations of metals, brominated flame-retardants, dioxins, furans, polycyclic-aromatic hydrocarbons, or polychlorinated biphenyls found inside or near the facilities were generally higher than reference locations, suggesting transport into the environment. Children of a recycler had blood lead levels higher than public health recommended guidelines.ConclusionsWith mounting e-waste, more workers, their family members, and communities could experience unhealthful exposures to metals and other chemicals. We identified research needs to further assess exposures, health, and improve controls. The long-term solution is manufacturing of electronics without harmful substances and easy-to-disassemble components.     

Environmental aspects and health risks of leather tanning industry: a study in the Hazaribag area

The tannery industry in Hazaribag, which is one of the most polluted areas in Dhaka City, produces a huge quantity of wastes every day. Without treatment, these are discharged into the Buriganga River and pollute the surrounding environment. This article examines the impacts of tannery wastes on workers’ health and the environment in that particular area. As part of the methodology, a semi-structured interview was conducted in order to obtain quantitative data and 112 respondents were interviewed using purposive sampling. The findings of the study indicate that tannery wastes affect the environment severely, causing ecological imbalance and the spreading of different kinds of fatal and contagious disease among the tannery workers and other individuals. Moreover, the current waste management system of the Hazaribag tannery industries is very suspect due to outdated technology, defective drainage systems, lack of financial input, and the exploitative attitude of their owners. The findings also indicate that tannery workers are unaware of the effects of tannery waste as they choose not to wear personal protective equipment in the workplace. This empirical study helps policy makers implement appropriate measures to raise awareness, among both owners and workers, that can influence changes in the public’s attitude and reduce environmental pollution to a great extent. Although considerable research has been undertaken focusing on tannery waste impact assessment, less attention has been paid to the issue of workers’ health. Therefore, both governments and policy makers can benefit from the findings of this study.     

Israeli Water Achievements Today and Enlightenment to China

Despite the endemic drought, arid climate and associated limited freshwater resources, as well as difficult geopolitical realities, Israel can provide a reliable supply of high quality water to a rapidly growing population. The achievements of water supply in Israel can be summarized as water technologies （like water transportation and purification, desalination, wastewater treatment, effluent reuse, storm water catchment, control systems, rain enhancement and drip irrigation, etc.）, water management and legislation as well as water industry. In view of the national concern regarding the quality and quantity of the water, the skills, technologies and know-how that Israel has accumulated in water supply and irrigation can give us enlightenment that is also presented in this paper.     

Fuzzy synthetic evaluation of treated wastewater reuse for agriculture

Reuse of treated wastewater (TWW) for agriculture is in practice in many countries. TWW reuse requires wastewater collection, treatment and recycling, which is associated with cost as well as risk to human and ecological systems. In contrast, it can increase agricultural production and reduce environmental risks by reducing wastewater discharge into the natural environment. In Saudi Arabia, where available water resources are extremely limited, TWW reuse can save significant amount of non-renewable groundwater used in agricultural development, which is a strategic goal for the country. In this paper, a multicriteria decision-making approach was developed where cost, risk, benefits and social acceptance of TWW reuse were considered to be the main criteria. A multistage hierarchy risk management model was constructed for this evaluation. Fuzzy synthetic evaluation technique was incorporated where fuzzy triangular membership functions were developed to capture uncertainties of the basic criteria. The analytic hierarchy process was used to determine the relative importance of various criteria at different hierarchy levels. This study indicated that TWW reuse could have positive impact on agriculture, risk reduction and groundwater conservation.     

Wastewater re-use for peri-urban agriculture: a viable option for adaptive water management?

Urbanization is known to spur land modification in the form of conversion of common land to human settlements. This factor, combined with climate variability, can alter the duration, frequency and intensity of storm drain overflows in urban areas and lead to public health risks. In peri-urban regions where these risks are especially high it has been argued that, when domestic wastewater is managed, better prospects for freshwater water savings through swaps between urban water supply and irrigated agriculture may be possible. As a consequence of re-use of domestic wastewater, expenditure on inorganic inputs by farmers may decline and source sustainability of water supply could be enhanced. Given the fact that, at present, approximately 20 million ha of land worldwide is being cultivated by re-using domestic wastewater, this paper draws on evidence from India to explore: (1) the economic costs–benefits of wastewater reuse in the context of hypothesized links to climate variability; (2) the role of local farming practices, market conditions and crop variety in influencing wastewater reuse in agriculture; and (3) the role of inter-governmental financing in influencing the selection of technical adaptation options for collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater.     

Undisclosed chemicals — implications for risk assessment: A case study from the mining industry

Many of the chemicals used in industry can be hazardous to human health and the environment, and some formulations can have undisclosed ingredients and hazards, increasing the uncertainty of the risks posed by their use. The need for a better understanding of the extent of undisclosed information in chemicals arose from collecting data on the hazards and exposures of chemicals used in typical mining operations (copper, platinum and coal). Four main categories of undisclosed chemicals were defined (incomplete disclosure; chemicals with unspecific identities; relative quantities of ingredients not stated; and trade secret ingredients) by reviewing material safety data sheet (MSDS) omissions in previous studies. A significant number of chemicals (20% of 957 different chemicals) across the three sites had a range of undisclosed information, with majority of the chemicals (39%) having unspecific identities. The majority of undisclosed information was found in commercially available motor oils followed by cleaning products and mechanical maintenance products, as opposed to reagents critical to the main mining processes. All three types of chemicals had trade secrets, unspecific chemical identities and incomplete disclosures. These types of undisclosed information pose a hindrance to a full understanding of the hazards, which is made worse when combined with additional MSDS omissions such as acute toxicity endpoints (LD₅₀) and/or acute aquatic toxicity endpoints (LC₅₀), as well as inadequate hazard classifications of ingredients. The communication of the hazard information in the MSDSs varied according to the chemical type, the manufacturer and the regulations governing the MSDSs. Undisclosed information can undermine occupational health protection, compromise the safety of workers in industry, hinder risk assessment procedures and cause uncertainty about future health. It comes down to the duty of care that industries have towards their employees. With a wide range of chemicals increasingly used, there is a balance that needs to be reached between disclosure requirements, trade secret provisions and definitions of hazardous ingredients for market needs, and the information required to protect the health of their workers.     

Toxicity removal from hard board wastewater

The rapid growth of industry in Egypt in recent years has made industrial pollution an important issue. During the past decade fish production in some canals and lakes have virtually ceased due to the discharge of industrial and agricultural wastewater. The alternatives under study include effluent treatment before discharge to receiving water. Highly polluted wastewater from a hard board mill was treated using the activated sludge process. Factors affecting the efficiency of the treatment were detention time and organic loading rate. The results indicated that BOD and phenol reduction reached 82% and 94% respectively. when the organic loading rate was 0.1 (kg BOD/kg SS). The process proved to be successful in completely eliminating the toxicity effect of the waste on Nile fish (Tilapia nilotica).