Removal of bisphenol A (BPA) from biologically treated wastewater by microfiltration and nanofiltration

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disruptor that is difficult to completely remove from wastewater by conventional biological methods. Increased post-treatment BPA removal with ceramic membranes is worth investigating because of these membranes’ mechanical and chemical stability and lifespan. To determine the effectiveness of ceramic membranes for post-treatment of biologically treated BPA-contaminated wastewater, microfiltration (MF) and nanofiltration (NF) were conducted. Both processes removed BPA completely at an initial BPA concentration of 0.3 ± 0.14 mg/L. Increased concentration of 0.7 ± 0.29 mg/L decreased BPA removal. MF removed at least 24 % of BPA, presumably because BPA was adsorbed on particulate matter, which was retained by the membrane, or adsorbed on its surface. NF removed up to thrice more BPA. MF and NF completely removed suspended solids and 40–60 % COD. Filtration capacity decreased with time due to fouling but did not depend on initial BPA concentration. BPA concentrations in municipal wastewater are typically lower than the lowest concentration tested, where MF completely removed BPA. Hence, MF ceramic membranes appear a promising solution for post-treatment of BPA-containing wastewater. MF can be used at a much lower transmembrane pressure than NF, requiring less energy to pump wastewater through the membrane, thus reducing costs.     

Landfill site selection using combination of fuzzy logic and multi-attribute decision-making approach

During the last decades, growth of urbanization and industrialization led to an increase in solid waste generation. Landfilling is the most prevalent ultimate disposal method for the municipal solid wastes in developing countries. The rapid municipal solid waste generation in Markazi province (central part of Iran) causes the need for precision in finding a suitable landfill site selection. In the present study, 12 factors (environmental and socioeconomic factors) have been applied to select the landfill site in Markazi province, Iran. The different methods including the analytic network process (ANP) combined with fuzzy linguistic quantifier, ordered weighted average (OWA), and weighted linear combination (WLC) approach in geographic information system was applied to find an appropriate landfill site. The OWA operator function permits the evaluation of the wide spectrum of consequences (with different scenario) obtained from different management strategies. Results revealed that integration of fuzzy logic, ANP, and OWA provides flexible and better ideas compared to the Boolean logic and WLC to select a suitable landfill site.     

Decolorisation of exhausted reactive dye bath using ozonator for reuse

Exhausted Reactive dye bath samples of Turquoise Blue, Olive Green and Navy Blue shades were collected from cotton knit wear dyeing units in Tirupur. Ozonation was conducted in a column reactor system fed with ozone at the rate of 0.16 g/min to assess its efficiency in reducing the color, chemical oxygen demand and total organic carbon. Complete decolorization of the effluent was achieved in 10 min contact time and ozone consumption of 153 mg/ L for Turquoise Blue, 128 for Olive Green and 143 for Navy Blue shades effluents respectively. The corresponding COD removal was 43%, 44% and 43% for the three shades while TOC removal efficiency was 45%, 45% and 40% respectively. The results from the reusability studies indicate that the dyeing quality was not affected by the reuse of decolorized dye bath for two successive cycles. It is concluded that ozonation is efficient in decolorization of exhausted dye bath effluents containing conventional reactive dyes. However, the corresponding removal of COD from the textile effluent was not significant.     

多模型方法在非点源污染负荷中的应用展望

对非点源污染进行定量化和有效控制的方法是通过非点源污染负荷模型对各类非点源的形成、迁移转化以及负荷量进行模拟。然而,流域非点源污染模型的不确定性是单一模型模拟污染负荷面临的重大挑战。借鉴多模型方法在降低水文模型不确定性方面的优越性,通过分析水文模型与非点源污染模型的相通性,提出多模型方法在非点源污染负荷中应用的基本思路并分析了多模型方法在非点源污染负荷估算中面临的挑战,总结了多模型方法在非点源污染负荷应用中的重点和难点问题。     

Bioremediation of sulphate rich mine effluents using grass cuttings and rumen fluid microorganisms

Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) needs to be treated before it can be re-used or discharged in receiving water bodies due to the low pH, high salinity and high sulphate concentrations of the water. Several treatment methods are currently applied including chemical treatment (e.g. neutralisation of the low pH waters), physical treatment (e.g. reverse osmosis) and biological treatment to reduce the high sulphate concentration. When treating AMD biologically, sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB) reduce sulphate to sulphide, provided that a suitable and cost effective carbon and energy source is present. In the present study mine water was remediated biologically, using the degradation products of grass-cellulose, as carbon and energy sources for the sulphate reducing bacteria. A laboratory scale one stage anaerobic bioreactor (20 L volume) containing grass cuttings and biomass consisting of rumen fluid microorganisms and immobilized SRB, was initially fed with synthetic sulphate rich water and later with diluted AMD. The results indicated an average of 86% sulphate removal efficiency when feeding synthetic sulphate rich feed water to the reactor. When feeding diluted AMD, the highest sulphate removal efficiency was 78%. The sulphate removal was dependant on Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) concentrations in the reactor. Increased COD concentrations were obtained when fresh grass was added to the reactor on a regular basis. Metal removal, especially iron, was observed due to the metal sulphide precipitates formed during biological sulphate removal.     

Batch and continuous removal of heavy metals from industrial effluents using microbial consortia

Bio-removal of heavy metals, using microbial biomass, increasingly attracting scientific attention due to their significant role in purification of different types of wastewaters making it reusable. Heavy metals were reported to have a significant hazardous effect on human health, and while the conventional methods of removal were found to be insufficient; microbial biosorption was found to be the most suitable alternative. In this work, an immobilized microbial consortium was generated using Statistical Design of Experiment (DOE) as a robust method to screen the efficiency of the microbial isolates in heavy metal removal process. This is the first report of applying Statistical DOE to screen the efficacy of microbial isolates to remove heavy metals instead of screening normal variables. A mixture of bacterial biomass and fungal spores was used both in batch and continuous modes to remove Chromium and Iron ions from industrial effluents. Bakery yeast was applied as a positive control, and all the obtained biosorbent isolates showed more significant efficiency in heavy metal removal. In batch mode, the immobilized biomass was enclosed in a hanged tea bag-like cellulose membrane to facilitate the separation of the biosorbent from the treated solutions, which is one of the main challenges in applying microbial biosorption at large scale. The continuous flow removal was performed using fixed bed mini-bioreactor, and the process was optimized in terms of pH (6) and flow rates (1 ml/min) using Response Surface Methodology. The most potential biosorbent microbes were identified and characterized. The generated microbial consortia and process succeeded in the total removal of Chromium ions and more than half of Iron ions both from standard solutions and industrial effluents.     

Bio-treatment and water reuse as feasible treatment approaches for improving wastewater management during flotation of copper ores

Established and emerging technologies for treatment of flotation wastewaters are compared and discussed in the context of their applicability during the management of wastewaters from Cu–Co ores processing through flotation in the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The effects from water recycling on water quality and flotation performance are briefly presented in parallel. The ore processing schemes and the wastewater management practices at two operational concentrators are illustrated as study cases and their peculiarities outlined. A reference to a copper concentrator in a nearby Zambia is addressed for comparative purpose. Based on analysis of the findings, the clarification, bio-treatment inside the tailing ponds or the use of constructed wetlands as polishing stage prior to water reuse are suggested as feasible treatment approaches in view improving the management practice of flotation wastewaters during the dressing of copper ores in the Katanga province.     

Low temperature alteration of magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE sulfides as a source for hydrothermal Ni and PGE ores: A quantitative approach using automated mineralogy

Magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide assemblages are almost ubiquitously comprised of pyrrhotite-pentlandite-chalcopyrite(-pyrite). Sulfide alteration is common during syn- or post-magmatic fluid interaction, usually replacing sulfides with amphiboles or serpentine. However, some are altered to a low temperature (<200 °C) hydrothermal assemblage of pyrite-millerite-chalcopyrite (PMC). An example is the Ni-Cu-PGE mineralisation in the Grasvally-Norite-Pyroxenite-Anorthosite (GNPA) Member, northern Bushveld Complex, which displays a continuum of mineralogical styles formed through progressive alteration: Style 1 primary pyrrhotite-pentlandite-chalcopyrite; which is altered to Style 2 pyrrhotite-pyrite-pentlandite-chalcopyrite; Style 3 pyrite-pentlandite-chalcopyrite; Style 4 pyrite-pentlandite-millerite-chalcopyrite; and Style 5 pyrite-millerite-chalcopyrite-cubanite. Modelling using CHILLER confirms this mineralogical sequence is thermodynamically possible at ∼200 °C. Quantitative characterisation using automated Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping alongside in situ laser ablation analyses determined mineral proportions, major and trace element concentrations and deportments in each style. The early loss of pyrrhotite removes over half of the bulk Fe and S during the initial stages of PMC alteration, increasing Cu, Ni and PGE tenors of the remaining sulfides significantly. As water–rock interaction progresses, pyrrhotite is replaced by pyrite and pentlandite by millerite, with concurrent losses in Fe, S and Ni. Copper is lost throughout the alteration, and is most pronounced in the more advanced stages. The fluids responsible were most likely acidic and oxidised, with metals mobilised as chloride complexes. Using Rh as an immobile normalising element, the overall mass loss in the most altered samples is calculated to be up to 90%, consistent with textural relationships that indicate 40–90% volume loss from Styles 2–5, with sulfides replaced by secondary silicates, including phlogopite, quartz, chlorite, pyroxenes and minor amphiboles. Magnetite is not a significant alteration product and thus Fe is mobilised, or incorporated into silicates. Most trace elements present in the magmatic sulfide (the IPGE, Rh and Bi) remain in the sulfide phases, and are effectively transferred to pyrite during PMC alteration, except Pd, which remains in pentlandite, and is liberated from the sulfide assemblage when pentlandite disappears. Selenium tenors increase slightly with alteration, demonstrating that alteration decreases S/Se ratios. The significant mobilisation of Ni, Cu and Pd during PMC alteration produces fluids enriched in these elements that may represent a metal source for a number of enigmatic hydrothermal Ni deposits such as Avebury, Enterprise and Talvivaara, whose metal sources remain speculative. The PMC alteration of the GNPA Member may be specifically a source for the nearby Waterberg hydrothermal Pt deposit. Furthermore, this study has implications not only for magmatic ore deposits, but also for the general implications of sulfide transformation and metal transfer in ore systems in general.     

Determining the source of felsitic lithic material in southeastern New England using neodymium isotope ratios

We introduce the use of Nd isotopes as a high‐precision technique that can be used in conjunction with visual, petrographic, and trace element analyses to source indistinct felsitic debitage. This approach allows sourcing of debitage from southeastern New England, including samples that previously could not be constrained to one source. Combined with trace element data, isotopic data also provide the possibility of sourcing debitage to a particular quarry site within a volcanic complex, and even to a particular ash flow within a quarry site. Determining the origin of debitage so precisely is important for understanding acquisition, trade, and exchange networks in southeastern New England, where distances separating quarry sites within an individual volcanic complex (Lynn–Mattapan) are greater than distances between different volcanic complexes (Lynn–Mattapan, Blue Hill, and Wamsutta). The sourcing of debitage to Mattapan quarries suggests that Middle Archaic populations in the northwest part of the Boston Basin obtained nonlocal lithic material primarily from sources south of the basin. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Two types of multiple solutions for microseismic source location based on arrival-time-difference approach

The arrival-time-difference approach is the dominant source location approach used in the microseismic source location area. Multiple solutions problem is one of the major concerns in microseismic source location, which is closely related to the microseismic network. This paper categorizes the multiple solutions into two types based on the origin times when using the arrival-time-difference approach. Type I multiple solutions are those which have the same origin time; type II multiple solutions are those with different origin times. The sufficient and necessary conditions to produce type I multiple solutions are that all sensors are located in a straight line for two-dimensional cases and on a plane for three-dimensional cases. The sufficient and necessary conditions to produce type II multiple solutions are that all sensors are located on a hyperbola for two-dimensional cases and on a hyperboloid for three-dimensional cases. Furthermore, the proofs indicate that type I multiple solutions are preventable, while a microseismic network consisting of the minimum number of sensors can never be free of type II multiple solutions. It means, besides the minimum number of sensors, at least one more sensor which is not on this hyperbola or hyperboloid is needed to uniquely determine a source. The results from field tests and applications indicate that when the sensors of a network lie on a hyperbola, the type II multiple solutions may not be the necessary outcome under the influence of errors in real data. However, the accuracy of the microseismic source location is affected significantly by this kind of networks. The results also show that not only the multiple solutions problem can be avoided effectively, but more importantly, the accuracy of the source location will be greatly improved by the optimization of network based on the characteristics of the microseismic network and field conditions.     

Evaluation of the effect of oxygen on electro-Fenton treatment performance for real textile wastewater using the Taguchi approach

This investigation demonstrates the performance difference of EF reactions conducted in the oxygenated and oxygen-free conditions due to the contribution of hydroxyl radicals in the solution. Additionally, the effects of different operating variables (e.g., current, initial wastewater concentration, and air flow rate) on the decolorization, mineralization, and turbidity removal performance were investigated, and the variables were optimized using the Taguchi method. Under the optimum operation conditions in the EF process, 100% color, 70.4% total organic carbon (TOC), and 98.8% turbidity removals were achieved in the oxygenated solution. However, a decrease was observed in the results of oxygen-free EF reactions, and 91.2, 63.2, and 89.1% removal percentages were obtained for decolorization, mineralization, and turbidity, respectively.     

Impact of industrial effluents on groundwater around Pali city, Rajasthan using field and satellite data

Groundwater pollution due to industrial effluents from textile units around Pali city area is the major concern to the local villagers and the district administration. Indiscriminate discharge of these effluents in the past two decades caused severe damage to the agricultural land and groundwater resources within 3 km buffer zone of the Bandi river. Remote Sensing and GIS techniques are found to be better tools in assessing the damage in agricultural crops during 1997 and 2006 with the help of high resolution satellite images. Groundwater fluctuation trend with annual rainfall pattern during 1985 and 2005 indicate good recharge in the study area. Detailed analysis of groundwater quality parameters (TDS, Cl and SO₄) and heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Fe, Cd and Cr) for 1997–98 indicates maximum concentration around Chatelao village and Dholera Jagir in the downstream direction of Bandi river. However, temporal analysis of groundwater samples collected in January, 2009 shows marginal decrease in concentration of TDS, Cl, SO₄, Pb and Cu in both groundwater as well as river effluents. Slight improvement in water quality especially heavy metals in the last 12 years (1998–2009) may be attributed to the appropriate measures (treatment of wastewater and solid waste disposal) taken by the establishment of three Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP) in Pali city area. However, a few stringent actions may be taken to avoid direct discharge of the effluents into Bandi river.     

基于GIS和水质水温的矿井突水水源快速判别

针对淮南潘谢矿区新生界下含松散孔隙水与石炭系太原组石灰岩岩溶裂隙水水质接近的特殊情况,提出了基于GIS和水质水温的矿井突水水源快速判别方法。该法是利用测温钻孔的温度-深度拟合结果,构建基于GIS的利用水温识别突水水源的模型,并将其判别结果与基于水质的模糊综合评判计算的结果相结合,综合判别矿井突水水源。本法应用于潘一煤矿86-1号突水判别,实例结果显示,该法可以较好地适用于水质判别效果不佳,而含水层之间存在较大的地温差(埋深差)情况下的突水水源识别。     

Potential rock fall source areas identification and rock fall propagation in the province of Potenza territory using an empirically distributed approach

In this work an overview of the potential rock fall source areas and propagation assessment in the Province of Potenza territory has been presented. The rock fall process is characterized by two steps: the detachment of blocks and subsequently their propagation along the slope. The adopted methodology, used for the first time in the study area, and the software Histofit and FlowR have been very useful tools for the preliminary assessment of rock fall susceptibility at a regional scale, in particular because they have required low data of the study area. Only the DEM may be sufficient together with an appropriate choice of the input parameters and algorithms, that is to say: calculation method, directions algorithm, inertial algorithm and friction loss function. The output of the model is a map of the rock fall source areas, the propagation probabilities and the propagation kinetic energy. The results show that the adopted methodology is successful for the identification of rock fall source areas at a regional scale and the propagation probability obtaining an interesting rock fall susceptibility map.     

利用古氧相和古生产力替代指标评价四川上寺剖面二叠系海相烃源岩

 中国具备良好的海相地层油气勘探前景,如何正确识别并合理评价海相烃源岩是中国海相盆地油 气勘探开发中亟待解决的关键问题。作者尝试利用多个微量元素分别作为古生产力和古氧相的综合替代指标, 来进行有效烃源岩评价。研究中利用四川广元上寺剖面二叠系中Mo,U ,V,Cu,Ni,Zn6个微量元素测试结 果,计算得到对应两组元素过剩值：Mo_xS ,U_XS ,v_xs 和Cu_xs,Ni_xs,Zn_xs;对这两组元素过剩值分别进行主成分分 析,得到两个系数- - -古生产力替代指标综合系数 （ 简称古生产力系数）和古氧相替代指标综合系数 （ 简称古 氧相系数） ,用以恢复海相烃源岩的古生产力和古氧相条件;将该系数与上寺剖面残余有机碳测试结果 （ THC含 量）进行相关性分析,依此确定古生产力和古氧相条件的定量等级划分。最终,根据该划分标准来判断上寺剖 面烃源岩的品质。利用古生产力和古氧相的综合替代指标方法可为海相烃源岩评价工作提供一些新思路。     

基于AdaBoost组合学习方法的岩爆分类预测研究

针对岩爆等级划分问题,考虑了岩爆灾害发生的多种主要影响因素,采用新的数据挖掘方法AdaBoost（即Adaptive Boosting）的组合学习方法,结合流行的人工神经网络BP算法,构建了集成神经网络AdaBoost-ANN（简称AB-ANN）的岩爆等级多分类预测模型。该模型克服了单一弱分类器的不稳定性,提高了分类器精度,实验结果表明,预测的结果与实际值比较吻合,证明了该方法的可行性。     

Simulations of hydro-fracking in rock mass at meso-scale using fully coupled DEM/CFD approach

The paper deals with two-dimensional (2D) numerical modelling of hydro-fracking (hydraulic fracturing) in rocks at the meso-scale. A numerical model was developed to characterize the properties of fluid-driven fractures in rocks by combining the discrete element method (DEM) with computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The mechanical behaviour of the rock matrix was simulated with DEM and the behaviour of the fracturing fluid flow in newly developed and pre-existing fractures with CFD. The changes in the void geometry in the rock matrix were taken into account. The initial 2D hydro-fracking simulation tests were carried out for a rock segment under biaxial compression with one injection slot in order to validate the numerical model. The qualitative effect of several parameters on the propagation of a hydraulic fracture was studied: initial porosity of the rock matrix, dynamic viscosity of the fracking fluid, rock strength and pre-existing fracture. The characteristic features of a fractured rock mass due to a high-pressure injection of fluid were realistically modelled by the proposed coupled approach.