Do wastewater treatment plants act as a potential point source of microplastics? Preliminary study in the coastal Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (9) ◽  
pp. 1495-1504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Talvitie ◽  
Mari Heinonen ◽  
Jari-Pekka Pääkkönen ◽  
Emil Vahtera ◽  
Anna Mikola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Particle Concentration ◽  
Treatment Process ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Textile Fibre ◽  
Biological Filtration ◽  
Treatment Unit ◽  
Fibre Concentration ◽  
Average Fibre

This study on the removal of microplastics during different wastewater treatment unit processes was carried out at Viikinmäki wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The amount of microplastics in the influent was high, but it decreased significantly during the treatment process. The major part of the fibres were removed already in primary sedimentation whereas synthetic particles settled mostly in secondary sedimentation. Biological filtration further improved the removal. A proportion of the microplastic load also passed the treatment and was found in the effluent, entering the receiving water body. After the treatment process, an average of 4.9 (±1.4) fibres and 8.6 (±2.5) particles were found per litre of wastewater. The total textile fibre concentration in the samples collected from the surface waters in the Helsinki archipelago varied between 0.01 and 0.65 fibres per litre, while the synthetic particle concentration varied between 0.5 and 9.4 particles per litre. The average fibre concentration was 25 times higher and the particle concentration was three times higher in the effluent compared to the receiving body of water. This indicates that WWTPs may operate as a route for microplastics entering the sea.

scholarly journals Sewer Mining as a Distributed Intervention for Water-Energy-Materials in the Circular Economy Suitable for Dense Urban Environments: A Real World Demonstration in the City of Athens

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 2764
Author(s):  
Argyro Plevri ◽  
Klio Monokrousou ◽  
Christos Makropoulos ◽  
Christos Lioumis ◽  
Nikolaos Tazes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Water Reuse ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Aquifer Recharge ◽  
Treatment Unit ◽  
Plant Nursery

Water reuse and recycling is gaining momentum as a way to improve the circularity of cities, while recognizing the central role of water within a circular economy (CE) context. However, such interventions often depend on the location of wastewater treatment plants and the treatment technologies installed in their premises, while relying on an expensive piped network to ensure that treated wastewater gets transported from the treatment plant to the point of demand. Thus, the penetration level of treated wastewater as a source of non-potable supply in dense urban environments is limited. This paper focuses on the demonstration of a sewer mining (SM) unit as a source of treated wastewater, as part of a larger and more holistic configuration that examines all three ‘streams’ associated with water in CE: water, energy and materials. The application area is the Athens Plant Nursery, in the (water stressed) city of Athens, Greece. SM technology is in fact a mobile wastewater treatment unit in containers able to extract wastewater from local sewers, treat it directly and reuse at the point of demand even in urban environments with limited space. The unit consists of a membrane bioreactor unit (MBR) and a UV disinfection unit and produces high quality reclaimed water for irrigation and also for aquifer recharge during the winter. Furthermore, a short overview of the integrated nutrient and energy recovery subsystem is presented in order to conceptualise the holistic approach and circularity of the whole configuration. The SM technology demonstrates flexibility, scalability and replicability, which are important characteristics for innovation uptake within the emerging CE context and market.

scholarly journals Comparison of Biodegradation of Fats and Oils by Activated Sludge on Experimental and Real Scales

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Cisterna-Osorio ◽  
Patricia Arancibia-Avila
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plant ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Fats And Oils ◽  
Mass Loading ◽  
Physical Treatment ◽  
Treatment Unit ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Systems

Fats and oils are the most common pollutants in wastewater, and are usually eliminated through physical processes in wastewater treatment plants, generating large amounts of fats and residual oils that are difficult to dispose of and handle. The degradation of fatty wastewater was studied in a real wastewater treatment plant and a laboratory scale treatment unit. The wastewater treatment plant, located in Chile, was designed for a population of 200,000 inhabitants. It includes an aerobic digester that receives fat and oils retained in a degreaser and treats the fats and oils together with biomass. The biodegradation of fats and oils was analyzed in both wastewater treatment systems. Key parameters were monitored such as the concentration of fats and oils in the influents and effluents, mass loading, and the efficiency of biodegradation. The mass loading range was similar in both wastewater treatment systems. In the experimental activated sludge plant, the biodegradation of fats and oils reached levels in the range of 64% to 75%. For the wastewater treatment plant with an aerobic digester, the levels of biodegradation of fats and oils ranged from 69% to 92%. Therefore, considering the efficiency of the elimination of fats and oils, the results indicated that physical treatment should be replaced with biological treatment so that the CO2 generated by the biodegradation will be incorporated into the carbon cycle and the mass of fats and oils in landfills will be reduced.

A Training Program for Operators of Small Wastewater Treatment Plants

1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 43-48
Author(s):  
K. D. Kerri
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Treatment Process ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Training Materials ◽  
Extensive Field ◽  
One Year ◽  
Self Instruction

Operators of small wastewater treatment plants frequently live in remote areas where operator training is not readily available. A training program has been prepared using the techniques of self-instruction, wherein an operator reads a short section of the training material, writes the answers to questions in a notebook, and compares the written answers with suggested answers. The training materials were developed by experienced operators following extensive field studies. First, operators (subject matter experts) for each treatment process prepared an outline of what knowledge and skills (need-to-know criteria) they expected their operators to possess to safely operate and maintain each treatment process in the training manual. Draft chapters were then field tested using operators with varying levels of education and experience to determine the effectiveness of the training materials. Studies conducted on the performance of operators who had participated in the training program and those who had not received the training revealed that trained operators produced a better quality effluent at the same treatment plant over a one-year period. Effective training materials and programs can help operators safely and efficiently operate and maintain small wastewater treatment plants.

Northern Europe's Largest Wastewater Treatment Plant in Copenhagen Upgraded to Nutrient Removal

1992 ◽  
Vol 25 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 339-346
Author(s):  
J. L. Hansen ◽  
P. S. Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Nutrient Removal ◽  
Treatment Process ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Financial Evaluation ◽  
Design Load ◽  
Choice Of Treatment ◽  
Made In

In connection with the Danish Action Plan on the Aquatic Environment (APAE), the Copenhagen wastewater treatment plants are to be upgraded to nutrient removal. This paper describes the way in which the basis of the decision in respect of design load, choice of treatment process, upgrade type, etc. is achieved. There are 2 wastewater treatment plants in Copenhagen and it is possible either to upgrade both plants or only to upgrade one and close the other one. It was decided to upgrade both plants and we describe the rationale for this decision. An extensive effort has been made in order to choose the treatment process. The technical-financial evaluation of various methods will be described, as will the testing of the chosen methods in pilot plants. The design load criteria include the present load, industrial discharges of nutrients, runoff, infiltration, water consumption forecasts, and wastewater temperature. Finally, the plans for a gradual extension are described. The first stage aims at an extension to the load expected in 1996 when the plant will be put into operation, however, with the possibility to adapt the size of the works during construction, if developments do not correspond to expectations.

scholarly journals Pollution characteristics and fate of microfibers in the wastewater from textile dyeing wastewater treatment plant

2018 ◽  
Vol 78 (10) ◽  
pp. 2046-2054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Xu ◽  
Qingtong Hou ◽  
Yingang Xue ◽  
Yun Jian ◽  
LiPing Wang
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Textile Industry ◽  
Treatment Process ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Process ◽  
Textile Dyeing ◽  
Average Abundance ◽  
Final Effluent ◽  
Textile Dyeing Wastewater

Abstract Wastewater discharged from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is suspected to be a significant contributor of microplastics (MPs) to the environment, and fiber is the main shape of MPs in wastewater effluent. A typical textile industry WWTP with 30,000 tons of daily treatment capacity was sampled for microfibers at different stages of the treatment process to ascertain at what stage in the treatment process the microfibers are being removed. The average abundance of microfibers was 334.1 (±24.3) items/litre in influent, and it reduced to 16.3 (±1.2) items/litre in the final effluent with a decrease of 95.1%. Despite this large reduction we calculated that this textile industry WWTP was releasing 4.89 × 108 microfibers including microplastic fibers and non-microplastic fibers into the receiving water every day. This study showed that a modest amount of microplastics being released per litre of effluent could result in significant amounts of fibers entering the environment, despite the fact that efficient removal rates of microplastic fibers and non-microplastic fibers were achieved by this modern treatment plant when dealing with such a large volume of effluent. The fate of fibers is described during the textile industry wastewater treatment process.

An Engineering Example of Technological Transformation about Wastewater Treatment Plant

2012 ◽  
Vol 518-523 ◽  
pp. 2324-2327
Author(s):  
Jun Feng Wu ◽  
Hua Shu Ouyang ◽  
Xian Li Wang
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plant ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Treatment Process ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Main Process ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Process

To alleviate the water pollution, the original wastewater treatment process was transformed based on the existing structures. Anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic process (A2/O process) was used as the main process, instead of the original two-stage aeration process (AB process). Pretreatment process and advanced treatment process were strengthened. After transformation, the effluent quality could meet the first class of A standard of the "municipal wastewater treatment plant emission standards" (GB18918-2002) and all the quality indexes of the treated water met the requirements of discharge standard of sewage treatment. The original structures were fully used in this transformation, saving investment, which provided a practical reference for the transformation of the wastewater treatment plants.

Analysis and balance of phosphorous removal from wastewater at urban wastewater treatment plant

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-151
Author(s):  
Peter Lukac ◽  
Lubos Jurik
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plant ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plant ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Phosphorus Recovery ◽  
Anaerobic Sludge ◽  
Biological Phosphorus Removal ◽  
The Mean

Abstract:Phosphorus is a major substance that is needed especially for agricultural production or for the industry. At the same time it is an important component of wastewater. At present, the waste management priority is recycling and this requirement is also transferred to wastewater treatment plants. Substances in wastewater can be recovered and utilized. In Europe (in Germany and Austria already legally binding), access to phosphorus-containing sewage treatment is changing. This paper dealt with the issue of phosphorus on the sewage treatment plant in Nitra. There are several industrial areas in Nitra where record major producers in phosphorus production in sewage. The new wastewater treatment plant is built as a mechanicalbiological wastewater treatment plant with simultaneous nitrification and denitrification, sludge regeneration, an anaerobic zone for biological phosphorus removal at the beginning of the process and chemical phosphorus precipitation. The sludge management is anaerobic sludge stabilization with heating and mechanical dewatering of stabilized sludge and gas management. The aim of the work was to document the phosphorus balance in all parts of the wastewater treatment plant - from the inflow of raw water to the outflow of purified water and the production of excess sludge. Balancing quantities in the wastewater treatment plant treatment processes provide information where efficient phosphorus recovery could be possible. The mean daily value of P tot is approximately 122.3 kg/day of these two sources. The mean daily value of P tot is approximately 122.3 kg/day of these two sources. There are also two outflows - drainage of cleaned water to the recipient - the river Nitra - 9.9 kg Ptot/day and Ptot content in sewage sludge - about 120.3 kg Ptot/day - total 130.2 kg Ptot/day.

Sludge minimization by disintegration at different wastewater treatment plants

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luchien Luning ◽  
Paul Roeleveld ◽  
Victor W.M. Claessen
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Biological Degradation ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Sludge Minimization

In recent years new technologies have been developed to improve the biological degradation of sewage sludge by anaerobic digestion. The paper describes the results of a demonstration of ultrasonic disintegration on the Dutch Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Land van Cuijk. The effect on the degradation of organic matter is presented, together with the effect on the dewatering characteristics. Recommendations are presented for establishing research conditions in which the effect of sludge disintegration can be determined in a more direct way that is less sensitive to changing conditions in the operation of the WWTP. These recommendations have been implemented in the ongoing research in the Netherlands supported by the National Institute for wastewater research (STOWA).

Upgrading Wastewater Treatment by Water Hyacinth in Developing Countries

1990 ◽  
Vol 22 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 153-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pradeep Kumar ◽  
R. J. Garde
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Water Hyacinth ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Cod Removal ◽  
Treatment System ◽  
Synthetic Wastewater ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Treatment Unit ◽  
Batch Studies ◽  
New Treatment

With increasing stress on existing wastewater treatment systems, it is necessary either to upgrade the treatment unit(s) or install an entirely new treatment plant. Obviously, the upgrading is preferred over the alternative of having a new system. Keeping this in view, in the present project, an attempt has been made to explore the possibility of upgrading existing facultative ponds using water hyacinth. Bench-scale batch studies were designed to compare the performance of hyacinth treatment system with facultative ponds. Investigations were carried out with synthetic wastewater having COD in the range of 32.5-1090 mg/l. The efficiency of COD removal in water hyacinth ponds was 15-20 percent more than the facultative ponds. Based on the results, an empirical model has been proposed for COD removal kinetics. In the second phase of the project a hyacinth pond was continuously operated. BOD, COD, TS, TN, TP, pH, and DO were regularly monitored. However, the DO of the effluent from hyacinth treatment system was considerably reduced. Effluent should be aerated before it is discharged. The results indicate that the existing facultative ponds can be stalked with water hyacinth to improve their performance as well as hyacinth treatment systems can be installed to support the conventional treatment.

Planning Replicable Small Flow Wastewater Treatment Facilities in Developing Nations

1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Gaber ◽  
M. Antill ◽  
W. Kimball ◽  
R. Abdel Wahab
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Development Program ◽  
The United States ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Funding Agency ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Technology Choice

The implementation of urban village wastewater treatment plants in developing countries has historically been primarily a function of appropriate technology choice and deciding which of the many needy communities should receive the available funding and priority attention. Usually this process is driven by an outside funding agency who views the planning, design, and construction steps as relatively insignificant milestones in the overall effort required to quickly better a community's sanitary drainage problems. With the exception of very small scale type sanitation projects which have relatively simple replication steps, the development emphasis tends to be on the final treatment plant product with little or no attention specifically focused on community participation and institutionalizing national and local policies and procedures needed for future locally sponsored facilities replication. In contrast to this, the Government of Egypt (GOE) enacted a fresh approach through a Local Development Program with the United States AID program. An overview is presented of the guiding principals of the program which produced the first 24 working wastewater systems including gravity sewers, sewage pumping stations and wastewater treatment plants which were designed and constructed by local entities in Egypt. The wastewater projects cover five different treatment technologies implemented in both delta and desert regions.

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