The Effectiveness of Aeration Recirculation in Controlling VOC Emissions from Publicly Owned Treatment Works

Abstract

The effects of aeration recirculation on oxygen transfer and the fate of five volatile organic compounds (VOCs) commonly found in publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) influent are studied using various modeling approaches. The five compounds are benzene, chloroform, methylene chloride, toluene, and trichloroethylene. The models predict that the overall oxygen transfer efficiency can be increased by 96.7% at 50% aeration recirculation with only a 9.6% drop in oxygen transfer rate. The emission reductions and biodegradation improvements are compound specific; for the compounds investigated here, about 40% emission reductions and 16% biodegradation increases can be achieved at 50% aeration recirculation. The temperature effect on the VOC fate mechanisms is also investigated. Overall, the model predictions reveal that up to 50% aeration recirculation is effective in controlling VOC emissions.     

A technical and economic comparison of biofiltration and wet chemical oxidation (scrubbing) for odor control at wastewater treatment plants

An economic and technical comparison of two odor control systems, a biofilter and a chemical wet scrubber, was conducted over a 1-year time period at a large municipal wastewater treatment plant. The biofilter system was designed to remove hydrogen sulfide gas and other oxidizable sewage odors from four covered gravity sludge thickeners, a gravity sludge thickener effluent channel and an influent splitter box for the gravity sludge thickeners. The sodium hypochlorite/sodium hydroxide wet scrubber was designed to control hydrogen sulfide gas and other oxidizable sewage odors from the covered primary settling tanks, influent distribution channels and effluent channel, and the mixing tank effluent channel. The technical comparison comprised their overall removal rates and efficiencies based on inlet H₂S concentrations and other operating variables. The economic comparison was designed to provide the cost per cubic meter of H₂S removed for each system. Influent and effluent gas samples were collected on a weekly basis. H₂S concentration levels were determined through the use of gas chromatography with a flame photometric detector. The results showed that the H₂S inlet gas concentration has a seasonal change with a maximum value occurring in August and September. The effluent H₂S concentration was lower than 2 ppm_v for both systems for most of the samples. The efficiency for both the biofilter and wet scrubber was above 95%, and was related to the operating and ambient conditions. The economic comparison revealed that the actual unit cost for the biofilter was higher than for the wet scrubber (U.S.160 /m < SUP > 3 < /SUP > H < SUB > 2 < /SUB > S removed versus U.S.160 /m³ H₂S removed versus U.S.131 /m³ H₂S removed). For both the biofilter and the wet scrubber, the investment costs are affected by the size/scale of the system, the design flow and other factors. For these systems, the mulch change costs, chemical usage costs, maintenance costs and power usage costs were mainly dependent on the actual odor gas loadings which showed substantial seasonal fluctuations as a function of the seasonal temperature. The worst case conditions reported here indicate that the H₂S concentrations generated during the summer months should be used to determine the design load.     

Short-term in vitro and in vivo genotoxicity testing systems for some water bodies of Northern India

The genotoxicity of certain water bodies was evaluated employing the DNA repair defective mutants of Escherichia coli, induction of prophage lamda in the lysogen and the plasmid nicking assay. All the test DNA repair defective mutants invariably exhibited more sensitivity than their isogenic wild-type strains but distinctive patterns against the three water samples viz. industrial waste water and the groundwater samples obtained from industrial estate of Aligarh as well as river water of Yamuna at Agra. A significant level of phage induction was also recorded in the test system exhibiting maximum induction in case of industrial waste water followed by that in river and groundwater samples, respectively. The single- and double-strand breaks were also observed in the plasmid DNA treated with industrial waste water and the river water samples. These findings are suggestive of the DNA damage induced by the test samples with the probable role of SOS repair in E. coli.     

Comparative low lethal effects of three insecticides on demographical traits and enzyme activity of the Spodoptera exigua (Hübner)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Many species of devastating insect pests have acquired a high degree of resistance to insecticides in the field during the last few decades....