Sugarcane vinasse: Environmental implications of its use

The inadequate and indiscriminate disposal of sugarcane vinasse in soils and water bodies has received much attention since decades ago, due to environmental problems associated to this practice. Vinasse is the final by-product of the biomass distillation, mainly for the production of ethanol, from sugar crops (beet and sugarcane), starch crops (corn, wheat, rice, and cassava), or cellulosic material (harvesting crop residues, sugarcane bagasse, and wood). Because of the large quantities of vinasse produced, alternative treatments and uses have been developed, such as recycling of vinasse in fermentation, fertirrigation, concentration by evaporation, and yeast and energy production. This review was aimed at examining the available data on the subject as a contribution to update the information on sugarcane vinasse, from its characteristics and chemical composition to alternatives uses in Brazil: fertirrigation, concentration by evaporation, energy production; the effects on soil physical, chemical and biological properties; its influence on seed germination, its use as biostimulant and environmental contaminant. The low pH, electric conductivity, and chemical elements present in sugarcane vinasse may cause changes in the chemical and physical–chemical properties of soils, rivers, and lakes with frequent discharges over a long period of time, and also have adverse effects on agricultural soils and biota in general. Thus, new studies and green methods need to be developed aiming at sugarcane vinasse recycling and disposal.     

Users' views of hospital environmental quality: Validation of the Perceived Hospital Environment Quality Indicators (PHEQIs)

Environmental Quality Perception (EQP) is an important construct used to help to understand the relationship between people and the hospital environment. From a patient-centered care perspective, it is important that hospital design take into account the patients' (and other users') point of view. This paper presents the adaptation and validation of a measure of hospital EQP, the Perceived Hospital Environment Quality Indicators (PHEQIs; Fornara, Bonaiuto, & Bonnes, 2006), and seeks to confirm the factor structure of this construct in a different cultural context. Three scales, two focusing on physical environments and one evaluating the social environment, were completed by 562 users of four orthopedic units in Portuguese hospitals, two older and two recently built or renovated. To assess criterion validity, hospital physical environments were also objectively evaluated by two architects. Using a confirmatory factor analysis the three validation procedures produced acceptable fit indices in the final measurement models. Overall reliability values were satisfactory, as was the evidence for criterion validity. PHEQIs scales and factors correlated with global evaluation of the environment, supporting concurrent criterion validity; and predictive criterion validity was demonstrated given that users of older and newer hospitals differed significantly on the perception of quality of hospital EQP, and that high congruence between users' and experts' evaluations was found. Discriminant construct validity was supported, and some difficulties in showing convergent validity are discussed in terms of item formulation adequacy. Implications for research and practice are described.     

膜生物反应器出水深度处理及回用技术

针对膜生物反应器对难生化降解物质去除率不高,出水中仍残留部分污染物,对水安全和回用造成一定影响这一不足,综述了膜生物反应器出水深度处理及回用技术,并指出了今后的发展方向.     

铁炭内电解垂直流人工湿地对污水厂尾水深度脱氮效果

针对污水厂尾水总氮(TN)含量偏高、微生物可利用碳源低的问题,构建铁炭内电解垂直流人工湿地(ICIE-VFCW)装置,研究了ICIE-VFCW对尾水的处理效果,并采用紫外-可见光光谱(UV-VIS)、凝胶过滤色谱(GFC),进一步探讨了ICIEVFCW强化脱氮机制.结果表明,ICIE-VFCW可提高系统对尾水中COD的去除,出水COD可稳定在30 mg·L~(-1)以下,全年、暖季、寒季COD平均去除率较普通垂直流人工湿地分别可提高10.16%、9.81%、11.22%.系统出水TN可维持在10 mg·L~(-1)以下,全年、暖季、寒季TN平均去除率较普通垂直流人工湿地分别提高13.72%、12.90%、16.17%.经过人工湿地处理后,污水中有机物的腐殖度、芳香度及相对分子质量(Mr)均有所下降,且ICIE-VFCW中Mr下降更为明显.湿地基质掺杂铁炭可促进尾水中大分子有机物转化为小分子,为微生物提供更多可利用碳源,从而提高脱氮效率.     

人工湿地净化海水养殖外排水影响因素与效果实验研究

以海水养殖外排水为处理对象,构建芦苇复合垂直流人工湿地模拟系统进行处理效果的影响因素(盐度,水力负荷,污染负荷)实验。植物选择芦苇,种植密度为48株/m2,基质填料选择细纱、蛭石、高炉矿渣、沸石和砾石。实验结果显示,随着盐度的升高,人工湿地对CODMn和NH4-N的去除率差异不显著(P>0.05),对PO4-P的去除率在逐渐降低,变化显著(P<0.05),但芦苇表现出较强的耐盐性,在盐度20时生长良好。随着水力负荷的增加,人工湿地对CODMn、NH4-N和PO4-P的去除率呈现出降低的趋势,变化显著(P<0.05);而当污染负荷增加时,去除率呈现出先增加后降低的趋势。综合考虑运行合理性及运行效果,得出合理工况为盐度20,水力负荷0.4 m3/(m2.d),污染负荷CODMn 10 mg/L,NH4-N 2 mg/L,PO4-P 0.5 mg/L。在此工况下,系统稳定运行2个月,显示人工湿地对海水养殖外排水中的污染物具有较好的去除效果。     

加压气浮法处理含油废水中溶气压力对出水水质的影响与应用研究

以实际工作中的含油废水为研究对象,采用加压气浮处理工艺,通过多年的实际应用与对监测数据的分析,总结出气浮压力对气浮处理效果的影响,通过对溶气罐压力的调整,可得到最佳的出水水质。该项研究结果操作方便、处理效率高、易于控制、对今后的工作具有指导意义,有很好的推广价值。     

改性膨润土处理污水处理厂二级出水的实验研究

研究基于再生水回灌地下、补充地下水水源的目的,使用河南信阳某膨润土厂生产的钠基膨润土,通过酸改性、铝柱撑改性和微波-硫酸亚铁改性制得三种改性膨润土,用于处理城市污水处理厂的二级出水.实验结果显示,经XRD衍射分析可知,三种方法制备的改性膨润土,其矿物结构都有不同程度上的变化,膨润土层间距都较膨润土原矿有所增大,可见其改...     

耐冷菌在低温下处理污水的研究进展

低温污水的生物处理一直是水处理领域的难点和热点,由于耐冷菌对温度的适应范围较宽,且在低温下仍然保持较高的代谢活性,因此在污水处理和污染环境生物修复领域中的应用逐渐受到重视。本文介绍了耐冷菌在环境中的分布、主要种类以及适冷机理,概述了耐冷菌在工业废水和生活污水处理中的主要研究进展。指出应进一步开发环境中耐冷菌菌种资源,揭示耐冷菌的冷适应特性和功能表达之间的关系,加强耐冷菌在水体修复与净化领域的理论和应用研究,从而为我国北方尤其是东北地区的水环境保护提供行之有效的新途径。     

Fate of cancerostatic platinum compounds in biological wastewater treatment of hospital effluents

The present work focuses on the fate of two cancerostatic platinum compounds (CPC), cisplatin and carboplatin, as well as of two inorganic platinum compounds, [PtCl₄]²⁻ and [PtCl₆]²⁻ in biological wastewater treatment. Laboratory experiments modelling adsorption of these compounds onto activated sludge showed promising specific adsorption coefficients K_D and K_OC and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. However, the adsorption properties of the investigated substances were differing significantly. Adsorption decreased following the order cisplatin > [PtCl₆]²⁻ > [PtCl₄]²⁻ > carboplatin. Log K_D-values were ranging from 2.5 to 4.3 , log K_OC from 3.0 to 4.7.

A pilot membrane bioreactor system (MBR) was installed in a hospital in Vienna and fed with wastewater from the oncologic in-patient treatment ward to investigate CPC-adsorption in a sewage treatment plant. During three monitoring periods Pt-concentrations were measured in the influent (3–250 μg l⁻¹ Pt) and the effluent (2–150 μg l⁻¹ Pt) of the treatment plant using ICP-MS. The monitoring periods (duration 30 d) revealed elimination efficiencies between 51% and 63% based on averaged weekly input–output budgets. The derived log K_D-values and log K_OC-values ranged from 2.4 to 4.8 and from 2.8 to 5.3, respectively. Species analysis using HPLC-ICP-MS proofed that mainly carboplatin was present as intact drug in the influent and – due to low log K_D – in the effluent of the MBR.     

Impact of Bioaugmentation with a Consortium of Bacteria on the Remediation of Wastewater-Containing Hydrocarbons (5 pp)

Goals, Scope and Background It has been observed that hydrocarbon treated wastewaters still contain high COD and a number of intermediates. This suggests that the required catabolic gene pool for further degradation might be absent in the system or, that its titer value is not significant enough. By providing the desired catabolic potential, the overall efficiency of the treatment system can be improved. This study aims to demonstrate this concept by bioaugmentation of a lab-scale reactor treating refinery wastewater with a consortium having the capacity to complement the alkB genotype to the available microbial population. Methods Two reactors were set up using activated biomass collected from a refinery treatment plant and operated at a continuous mode for a period of 8 weeks. The feed to both reactors was kept constant. Crude oil was spiked regularly. One reactor was bioaugmented with a consortium previously described for crude oil spill remediation. The efficiency of the bioaugmented reactor was demonstrated by reduced COD. The changes in the microbial population over a period of time were analyzed by RAPD. Catabolic activity of the biomass in both reactors was monitored by PCR. The presence of the catabolic loci was confirmed by Southern Hybridization. Results and Discussion 52.2% removal of COD was observed in the bioaugmented reactor while only 15.1% reduction of COD was observed in the reactor without bioaugmentation. The change in microbial population can be seen from the 4th week, which also corresponds to improved catabolic activity. The presence of the bedA locus was seen in all samples, which indicates the presence of aromatic degraders, but the appearance of the alkB locus, from the 6th week onwards, which was observed only in the samples from the bioaugmented reactor. The results suggest that the gene pool of the bioaugmented reactor has catabolic loci that can degrade accumulated intermediates, thus improving the efficiency of the system. Conclusions In this study, improvement of efficiency of bioremediation was demonstrated by addition of catabolic loci that are responsible for degradation. Bioaugmentation was carried out in biomass that was collected from an ETP (effluent treatment plant) treating hydrocarbon containing wastewater to study the strategies for improvement of the treatment system. Biostimulation, only marginally improved the efficiency, when compared to bioaugmentation. The improved efficiency was demonstrated by COD removal. The presence of the alkB locus suggests the importance of a catabolic gene pool that acts on accumulated intermediates. It is well documented that straight chain aliphatics and intermediates of aromatic compounds after ring cleavage, accumulate in refinery wastewater systems, thereby hindering further degradation of the wastewater. Supplementation of a catabolic gene pool that treats the lower pathway compounds and alkanes will improve the overall efficiency. In this study, results suggest that the alkB locus can also be used to monitor the degradative mode of the activated biomass. Recommendations and Perspective . Pollution from petroleum and petroleum products around the globe are known to have grave consequences on the environment. Bioremediation, using activated sludge, is one option for the treatment of such wastes. Effluent treatment plants are usually unable to completely degrade the wastewater being treated in the biological unit (the aerator chambers). The efficiency of degradation can be improved by biostimulation and bioaugmentation. This study demonstrates the improved efficiency of a treatment system for wastewater containing hydrocarbons by bioaugmentation of a consortium that supports degradation. Further experiments on a pilot scale are recommended to assess the use of bioaugmentation on a large scale. The use of molecular tools, like DNA probes for alkB, to monitor the system also needs to be explored.