Removal of nitrogen and phosphate from wastewater by addition of bittern

Removal of nitrogen and phosphate through crystallization of struvite (MgNH(4)PO(4).6H(2)O) has gained increasing interest. Since wastewaters tend to be low in magnesium relative to ammonia and phosphates, addition of this mineral is usually required to effect the struvite crystallization process. The present study evaluated the feasibility of using bittern, a byproduct of salt manufacture, as a low-cost source of magnesium ions. High reaction rates were observed; the extent of nitrogen and phosphorus removals did not change beyond 10 min. Phosphorus removals from pure solutions with bittern added were equivalent to those obtained with MgCl(2) or seawater. Nitrogen removals with bittern were somewhat lower than with the alternate Mg(2+) sources, however. Application of bittern to biologically treated wastewater from a swine farm achieved high phosphate removal, but ammonia removals were limited by imbalance in the nitrogen:phosphorus ratio.     

The threat of climate change to freshwater pearl mussel populations

Changes in climate are occurring around the world and the effects on ecosystems will vary, depending on the extent and nature of these changes. In northern Europe, experts predict that annual rainfall will increase significantly, along with dramatic storm events and flooding in the next 50-100 years. Scotland is a stronghold of the endangered freshwater pearl mussel, Margaritifera margaritifera (L.), and a number of populations may be threatened. For example, large floods have been shown to adversely affect mussels, and although these stochastic events were historically rare, they may now be occurring more often as a result of climate change. Populations may also be affected by a number of other factors, including predicted changes in temperature, sea level, habitat availability, host fish stocks and human activity. In this paper, we explain how climate change may impact M. margaritifera and discuss the general implications for the conservation management of this species.     

Investigation of adsorption characteristics of four toxic gases (nitric oxide,nitrogen dioxide,sulfur dioxide,and hydrogen chloride) on the inner surface of nickel-coated manganese steel cylinders and aluminum cylinders

To develop standard toxic gas mixtures, it is essential to identify adsorption characteristics of each toxic gas on the inner surface of a gas cylinder. Thus, this study quantified adsorbed amounts of the four toxic gases (nitric oxide [NO], nitrogen dioxide [NO₂], sulfur dioxide [SO₂], and hydrogen chloride [HCl]) on the inner surface of aluminum cylinders and nickel-coated manganese steel cylinders. After eluting adsorbed gases on the inside of cylinders with ultrapure water, a quantitative analysis was performed on an ion chromatograph. To evaluate the reaction characteristics of the toxic gases with cylinder materials, quantitative analyses of nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), and aluminum (Al) were also performed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). It was found that the amounts of NO, NO₂, and SO₂ adsorbed on the inner surface of aluminum cylinders were less than 1.0% at the level of 100 μmol/mol mixing ratio, whereas the signal for most heavy metal elements were below their respective detection limits. This study found that the amounts of HCl adsorbed on the inner surface of nickel-coated manganese steel cylinders were less than 5% at the level of 100 μmol/mol mixing ratio, whereas Ni (86 μmol) and Fe (28 μmol) were detected in the same cylinders. It was revealed that the adsorption mainly took place via the reaction of HCl with inner surface material of nickel-coated manganese steel cylinders. On the other hand, in the case of aluminum cylinders, the amounts of the adsorption were determined to be less than 1% at the level of HCl 100 μmol/mol mixing ratio, whereas most of Ni, Fe, and Al were detected at levels similar to their limits of detection. As a result, this study found that aluminum cylinders are more suitable for preparing HCl gas mixtures than nickel-coated manganese steel cylinders.

Implications: To develop a standard toxic gas mixture, it is essential to understand the adsorption characteristics of each toxic gas inside a gas cylinder. It was found that the amounts of NO, NO₂, and SO₂ adsorbed inside aluminum cylinders were less than 1.0% at the level of 100 μmol/mol mixing ratio. The amounts of HCl adsorbed inside nickel-coated manganese steel cylinders were less than 5% at the level of 100 μmol/mol mixing ratio, whereas those inside aluminum cylinders were less than 1%, indicating that aluminum cylinders are more suitable for preparing HCl gas mixtures.     

Bioregeneration of powdered activated carbon in the treatment of alkyl-substituted phenolic compounds in simultaneous adsorption and biodegradation processes

The role of bioregeneration process in renewing the adsorbent surface for further adsorption of organics during simultaneous adsorption and biodegradation processes has been well recognized. The extent of bioregeneration of powdered activated carbon (PAC) as an adsorbent loaded with phenol, p-methylphenol, p-ethylphenol and p-isopropylphenol, respectively, in the simultaneous adsorption and biodegradation processes were quantitatively determined using oxygen uptake as a measure of substrate consumption. Bioregeneration phenomenon was also evaluated in the simultaneous adsorption and biodegradation processes under sequencing batch reactor (SBR) operation to treat synthetic wastewater containing 1200 mg l(-1) phenol and p-methylphenol, respectively. The SBR systems were operated with FILL, REACT, SETTLE, DRAW and IDLE periods in the ratio of 4:6:1:0.75:0.25 for a cycle time of 12 h. The results show that the percentage of desorption from loaded PAC decreased in the order phenol>p-methylphenol>p-ethylphenol>p-isopropylphenol. For the treatment of phenol and p-methylphenol in the SBR reactors, respectively, the simultaneous adsorption and biodegradation processes were able to produce a consistent effluent quality of COD < or = 100 mg l(-1) when the applied PAC dosage was 0.115 and 0.143 g PAC per cycle, respectively. When no further PAC was added, the treatment performance deteriorated to that of the case without PAC addition after 68 and 48 cycles of SBR operation, respectively, for phenol and p-methylphenol. This observation is consistent with the greater extent of bioregeneration for phenol-loaded PAC as compared to p-methylphenol-loaded PAC.     

Effects of increased deposition of atmospheric nitrogen on an upland moor: leaching of N species and soil solution chemistry

This study was designed to investigate the leaching response of an upland moorland to long-term (10 yr) ammonium nitrate additions of 40, 80 and 120 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1) and to relate this response to other indications of potential system damage, such as acidification and cation displacement. Results showed increases in nitrate leaching only in response to high rates of N input, in excess of 96 and 136 kg total N input ha(-1) yr(-1) for the organic Oh horizon and mineral Eag horizon, respectively. Individual N additions did not alter ammonium leaching from either horizon and ammonium was completely retained by the mineral horizon. Leaching of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) from the Oh horizon was increased by the addition of 40 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1), but in spite of increases, retention of total dissolved nitrogen reached a maximum of 92% and 95% of 80 kg added N ha(-1) yr(-1) in the Oh and Eag horizons, respectively. Calcium concentrations and calcium/aluminium ratios were decreased in the Eag horizon solution with significant acidification mainly in the Oh horizon leachate. Nitrate leaching is currently regarded as an early indication of N saturation in forest systems. Litter C:N ratios were significantly lowered but values remained above a threshold predicted to increase leaching of N in forests.     

Hg reactions in the presence of chlorine species: homogeneous gas phase and heterogeneous gas-solid phase

The kinetics of Hg chlorination (with HCl) was studied using a flow reactor system with an online Hg analyzer, and speciation sampling using a set of impingers. Kinetic parameters, such as reaction order (alpha), overall rate constant (k'), and activation energy (Ea), were estimated based on the simple overall reaction pathway. The reaction order with respect to C(Hg), k', and Ea were found to be 1.55, 5.07 x 10(-2) exp(-1939.68/T) [(microg/m3)(-055)(s)(-1)]. and 16.13 [kJ/ mol], respectively. The effect of chlorine species (HCl, CH2Cl2) on the in situ Hg capture method previously developed (28) was also investigated. The efficiency of capture of Hg by this in situ method was higher than 98% in the presence of chlorine species. Furthermore, under certain conditions, the presence of chlorine enhanced the removal of elemental Hg by additional gas-phase oxidation.     

Photocatalytic degradation of gaseous perchloroethylene: products and pathway

Batch photocatalytic degradation of 1000-ppm gaseous perchloroethylene (PCE) was conducted with UV irradiation such that nearly 100% was decomposed within 10 min. The main intermediate and final product were identified as trichloroacetylchloride (TCAC) and hydrogen chloride (HCl), respectively, and minor ones as dichloroacetic acid (DCAC), monochloroacetic acid (MCAC), carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, and phosgene. More than 90% of Cl- equivalent, i.e., the sum of the chlorine number in PCE, intermediates, and HCl, was compensated for during the time of PCE degradation; a result indicating that no other major chlorinated intermediates are present during the time of PCE degradation. In a similar experiment, 500 ppm of gaseous TCAC degraded into HCl within 3 h without producing DCAC or MCAC, where like PCE, more than 90% of Cl- equivalent, i.e., the sum of the chlorine number in TCAC and HCl, was compensated for during time of TCAC degradation. Accordingly, gaseous PCE is concluded to predominantly follow a degradation pathway of PCE --> TCAC --> HCl.     

Toxicological characterization of sediments from Baie des Anglais on the St. Lawrence Estuary.

The sediments of Baie des Anglais on the St. Lawrence Estuary have a history of environmental contamination, but no information exists relating to their toxicity. The purpose of the present study was to characterize three sites in and near Baie des Anglais, in terms of sediment toxicity and contaminants. Sites 1 and 2 within the Baie des Anglais are relatively close to local industry and municipal sewage discharge points, while Site 3 is outside the bay. Three microscale bioassays, Microtox, echinoderm fertilization and Toxi-ChromoPad, showed that sediments from Site 1 were the most toxic, followed by Site 2. Site 3 was non-toxic. While the solid phase Microtox test did indicate that Site 1 was most toxic, the absolute response was weak. Liver cytochrome P450 1A1 mRNA in American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides), captured at Site 1 in the bay was significantly induced compared to the P450 system of plaice captured at Sites 2 and 3. Hepatic metallothionein mRNA levels were not significantly different between plaice captured at all three sites. Sediment chemical analyses revealed a gradient in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls and dibenzofurans (PCDF) with the highest levels recorded at Site 1, about 10-fold less at Site 2 and 100-fold less at Site 3. Amongst the organochlorines the PCDF group were deemed the most important due to their prevalence and known toxicity. Heavy metal concentrations were low and representative of background levels for the St. Lawrence Estuary.     

Fractionation of fulvic acids: characteristics and complexation with copper

Two fulvic acid samples isolated from Suwannee river (International Humic Substance Society) and Feeitsuey reservoir were subjected to gel filtration chromatography (GFC) for molecular size fractionation. The GFC-eluted samples were separated into three groups corresponding to the molecular weight ranges: < 220, 220-1000, and 1000-4000. Fluorescence quenching techniques were employed for determining the conditional stability coefficient and kinetic parameters of copper complexation with the three fractions of fulvic acids. Experimental conditions were pH 6, 5 x 10(-5)m total copper and 5 mg C litre(-1) of fulvic acids. The conditional stability coefficients of the fulvic acid fractions were in the order of 0.9-3.3 x 10(5)m(-1), and the forward and reverse rate constants were in the order of 6.9-12.4 x 10(3)m(-1) s(-1) and 3.5-8.0 x 10(-2) s(-1). Information could be useful in modelling copper transport in the hydrosphere.