Techno-economic characteristics of wastewater treatment plants retrofitted from the conventional activated sludge process to the membrane bioreactor process

• Retrofitting from CAS to MBR increased effluent quality and environmental benefits. • Retrofitting from CAS to MBR increased energy consumption but not operating cost. • Retrofitting from CAS to MBR increased the net profit and cost efficiency. • The advantage of MBR is related to the adopted effluent standard. • The techno-economy of MBR improves with stricter effluent standards. While a growing number of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are being retrofitted from the conventional activated sludge (CAS) process to the membrane bioreactor (MBR) process, the debate on the techno-economy of MBR vs. CAS has continued and calls for a thorough assessment based on techno-economic valuation. In this study, we analyzed the operating data of 20 large-scale WWTPs (capacity≥10000 m³/d) and compared their techno-economy before and after the retrofitting from CAS to MBR. Through cost-benefit analysis, we evaluated the net profit by subtracting the operating cost from the environmental benefit (estimated by the shadow price of pollutant removal and water reclamation). After the retrofitting, the removal rate of pollutants increased (e.g., from 89.0% to 93.3% on average for NH₃-N), the average energy consumption increased from 0.40 to 0.57 kWh/m³, but the operating cost did not increase significantly. The average marginal environmental benefit increased remarkably (from 0.47 to 0.66 CNY/g for NH₃-N removal), leading to an increase in the average net profit from 19.4 to 24.4 CNY/m³. We further scored the technical efficiencies via data envelopment analysis based on non-radial directional distance functions. After the retrofitting, the relative cost efficiency increased from 0.70 to 0.73 (the theoretical maximum is 1), while the relative energy efficiency did not change significantly. The techno-economy is closely related to the effluent standard adopted, particularly when truncating the extra benefit of pollutant removal beyond the standard in economic modeling. The modeling results suggested that MBR is more profitable than CAS given stricter effluent standards.     

Developing a method for assessing environmental sustainability based on the Google Earth Engine platform

Environmental sustainability is the foundation and of great significance for the sustainable development of urban agglomerations. Taking the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration as an example, we developed a method to effectively assess long-term regional environmental sustainability based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. We used the GEE to obtain 5206 Landsat remote sensing images in the region from 1983 to 2016 and developed the comprehensive environmental index (CEI) to assess regional environmental sustainability based on the theme-oriented framework proposed by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. We found that the environmental sustainability of the urban agglomeration showed a trend of first rising, then falling, and then rising again in the past 30 years. The average CEI increased from 0.621 to 0.631 from 1985 to 1990, dropped to the lowest value of 0.618 in 2000, and then rose to the highest value of 0.672 in 2015. In particular, the extent of areas in which environmental sustainability improved (56% of the region) was greater than the extent of areas in which environmental deterioration occurred. The environmental sustainability of Hengshui, Xingtai, and Cangzhou in the southeast of the region has been significantly improved. The method proposed in this study provides an automatic, rapid, and extensible way to assess regional environmental sustainability and provides a scientific reference for improving the sustainability of the regional environment.

     

Exploring the embodied carbon flow interactive relationships in China from an ecological network perspective: a model framework and application at provincial level

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Energy-related carbon emissions take a large proportion in China, and the interregional trade caused by provincial disparities has led to significant...     

系统加权聚类法及其在滑坡稳定性预测中的应用

本文以工程地质类比分析法为基础，针对一般系统聚类法在滑坡稳定性预测中应用的不足，提出并建立了一种系统加权聚类法。最后以三峡库岸研究程度较高的３６个边坡为例，进行了一般系统聚类法与系统加权聚类法的对比研究。对比研究结果表明：系统加权聚类法应用于滑坡稳定性预测，其预测精度有较大提高。     

塔里木河下游输水前后NDVI差异分析

运用统计方法分析塔里木河下游英苏、喀尔达依、阿拉干三断面输水前后归一化植被指数(NDVI)的差异大小并推测河畔植被对输水的响应程度。结果表明:随着输水进行,研究区NDVI与地下水埋深逐渐呈负相关趋势,NDVI增幅随地下水埋深减小逐渐增大;输水前后相同断面NDVI差异极显著,根据输水前后NDVI差值大小确定植被恢复速度为:英苏>喀尔达依>阿拉干;各断面NDVI在输水前没有差异,输水后断面间NDVI差异显著,根据差异大小确定恢复程度顺序为英苏>喀尔达依>阿拉干;以大西海子水库周边NDVI为参照,确定经7年8次生态输水英苏、喀尔达依、阿拉干三断面植被恢复度分别为20.2%、18.4%和8.4%。以上研究表明,研究区植被恢复仍然有限,坚持持续输水很有必要。     

两种工艺对污水再生水中微量有机物的去除效果

以20种微量有机污染物为目标物,针对北京市2个再生水厂的不同工艺,系统地考察了污水再生水中目标化合物的去除效果,并采用重组酵母雌激素活性筛检法(YES法)对再生水中雌激素活性进行评价.结果表明,超滤(UF)+臭氧(O3)氧化处理工艺可有效地去除微量有机污染物,出水中雌二醇当量浓度(EEQ)低于YES法检出范围.A2/O+膜生物反应器(MBR)+反渗透(RO)处理工艺对微量有机污染物有很高的去除能力,出水中可检测出的目标化合物较少.2种工艺均可降低再生水的环境风险,保障其使用安全.     

Assessing spawning ground hydraulic suitability for Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) from horizontal mean vorticity in Yangtze River

The Chinese sturgeon, Acipenser sinensis, is an anadromous protected species. Its migration pattern has been blocked since the construction of Gezhouba dam and the length of the natural spawning site reduced to less than 7 km. However, the fish eventually established an alternative spawning ground in the narrow downstream reach of Gezhouba dam. In this article, we applied Delft3D-Flow model to simulate the hydraulic suitability of the spawning ground downstream Gezhouba dam. Horizontal mean vorticity was used to assess the hydraulic environment of spawning ground. The flow field state was determined through model simulation and field-measured data used to validate the model. The computational method was improved by calculating absolute horizontal mean vorticity from estimates the literature. The final vorticity was determined from the simulation output and its distribution pattern retrieved. The horizontal mean vorticity range was 0.71–4.61 10⁻³ s⁻¹ for the entire spawning grounds, with egg mass field upper limit of 1.0 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹. Vorticity strength selection of Chinese sturgeon spawning can enhance our understanding of egg fertilization rate, hence the protection of fertilized eggs. Furthermore, the results of the study would add to existing scientific database for spawning ground hydraulic environment protection, especially in the ecological regulation drive of the Three Gorges Reservoir.     

不同湿地植物的根系酸化作用与重金属吸收

为研究不同湿地植物根系分泌物对水体的酸化能力与重金属吸收积累能力间的关系,选用六种对废水中重金属吸收能力较强的湿地植物进行了盆栽实验.这六种湿地植物分别是:稗(Echinochloa crus-galli)、空心莲子草(Alternanthera philoxeroides)、茭笋(Zizania latifolia)、鸭舌草(Monochoria vaginalis)、柳叶箬(Isachne globosa)、辣蓼(Polygonum hydropiper).研究结果表明,不同种类的植物对水体的酸化能力存在明显差异,水体pH差异最大可达0.85个单位;不同湿地植物间对重金属的吸收积累能力有显著差异,而且在重金属积累量方面的差异明显高于重金属浓度方面的差异.相关分析表明,不同湿地植物水体pH与植株重金属积累量之间存在较好的负相关关系,相关系数达到或接近P0.05显著水平.研究结果说明,湿地植物对废水中重金属的吸收积累能力在相当大的程度上取决于其根系分泌物对水体的酸化能力.     

广西南部地区坡地桉树生长与气象因子的关系

采用偏相关、典型相关分析等方法,对广西南部地区2.5万hm2 2～8 a生桉树(Eucalyptus)的平均胸径、平均树高、单位蓄积量等生长指标与该地区的气象因子的关系进行分析,研究制约坡地桉树生长的主要因素.结果表明:(1)该地区桉树生长与气候因子间存在着较密切的相关关系,其中成年桉树的树高和单位蓄积量生长主要受最冷月平均气温、年平均气温和年降雨量的影响;(2)胸径生长受气象因子的影响较小;(3)4 a生桉树受最冷月气温、年平均气温影响较大;(4)2 a生桉树幼林平均胸径与最冷月平均气温呈极显著正相关,而与年平均气温、年降雨量呈显著正相关关系; (5)尽管降水量丰富,但由于坡地特殊的地形,年降水量仍然是制约广西南部坡地桉树人工林的主要限制因子;(6)广西南部地区太阳辐射较大,不是制约桉树生长的主要因素,故在采用3-PG模型预测桉树生长状况时,太阳辐射不是关键参数.     

絮凝—γ射线辐照技术处理印染废水

采用絮凝—γ射线辐照技术处理印染废水,研究了最佳絮凝条件以及吸收剂量率、吸收剂量、废水pH和H2O2浓度对废水辐照处理效果的影响.实验结果表明:采用絮凝和辐照技术联用对印染废水的处理效果明显优于两个方法单独使用的效果;辐照可以显著降低废水中COD、TOC、TC和苯胺类物质的含量,并提高废水的可生化性;吸收剂量率对废水处理效果影响不大;随废水中H2O2浓度增加,COD、TOC、TIC及苯胺类含量均有所下降.