Comparative study of two biological nitrogen removal processes:A/O process and step-feeding process

Two biological nitrogen removal processes are compared in the aspect of nitrogen removal, process operation and energy saving. Results show that when the returned sludge ratio is 50% of the inflow rate, the step-feeding process achieves over 80% total nitrogen （TN） removal efficiency, but the TN removal efficiency of the A/O process is only 40%. Moreover, filamentous sludge bulking can be well restrained in the step-feeding process. Given the conditions of a returned sludge ratio of 100% and a nitrifying liquor recycle ratio of 200%, the TN removal efficiency is 78.32% in the A/O process, but the sludge volume index （SVI） value increases to 143 mL/g. In the step-feeding process, the SVI is only 94.4 mL/g when the TN removal efficiency reaches 81. 1%. The step-feeding process has distinct advantages over the A/O process in the aspects of practicability, nitrogen removal and operating stability.

Simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in step feeding biological nitrogen removal process

The simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in step-feeding biological nitrogen removal process were investigated under different influent substrate concentrations and aeration flow rates. Biological occurrence of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification was verified in the aspect of nitrogen mass balance and alkalinity. The experimental results also showed that there was a distinct linear relationship between simultaneous nitrification and denitrification and DO concentration under the conditions of low and high aeration flow rate. In each experimental run the floc sizes of activated sludge were also measured and the results showed that simultaneous nitrification and denitrification could occur with very small size of floc.

Chemical and biological flocculation process to treat municipal sewage and analysis of biological function

The pilot scale experimental apparatus and the procedure of the chemical and biological flocculation process to verify the feasibility in treating Shanghai municipal sewage were introduced in this paper. In addition, the biological function of the process was discussed. The results of optimal running showed that in the reaction tank, the concentration of mixed liquor suspended solid(MLSS) was 2 g/L, hydraulic retention time(HRT) was 35 min, dosage of liquid polyaluminium chloride(PAC) was 60 mg/L, and the concentration of polyacrylamide(PAM) was 0 5 mg/L. The effluent average concentrations of COD Cr , TP, SS and BOD 5 were 50 mg/L, 0 62 mg/L, 18 mg/L, and 17 mg/L, respectively. These were better than the designed demand. In addition, the existence of biological degradation in this system was proven by several methods. The removal efficiencies of the chemical and biological flocculation process were 20% higher than that of the chemical flocculation process above at the same coagulant dosage. The treatment process under different situations was evaluated on a pilot scale experiment, and the results provided magnificent parameters and optimal condition for future operation of the plant.

Effect of Ferric Chloride on the Properties of Biological Sludge in Co-precipitation Phosphorus Removal Process

This paper studied the effect of ferric chloride on waste sludge digestion,dewatering and sedimentation under the optimized doses in co-precipitation phosphorus removal process.The experimental results showed that the concentration of mixed liquid suspended solid(MLSS) was 2436 mg.L-1 and 2385 mg.L-1 in co-precipitation phosphorus removal process(CPR) and biological phosphorous removal process(BPR),respectively.The sludge reduction ratio for each process was 22.6% and 24.6% in aerobic digestion,and 27.6% and 29.9% in anaerobic digestion,respectively.Due to the addition of chemical to the end of aeration tank,the sludge content of CPR was slightly higher than that of BPR,but the sludge reduction rate for both processes had no distinct difference.The sludge volume index(SVI) and sludge specific resistance of BPR were 126 ml.g-1 and 11.7×1012 m.kg-1,respectively,while those of CPR were only 98 ml.g-1 and 7.1×1012 m.kg-1,indicating that CPR chemical could improve sludge settling and dewatering.

Enhanced biological nutrient removal in modified carbon source division anaerobic anoxic oxic process with return activated sludge pre-concentration

A pilot-scale modified carbon source division anaerobic anoxic oxic(AAO) process with pre-concentration of returned activated sludge(RAS) was proposed in this study for the enhanced biological nutrient removal(BNR) of municipal wastewater with limited carbon source. The influent carbon source was fed in step while a novel RAS pre-concentration tank was adopted to improve BNR efficiency, and the effects of an influent carbon source distribution ratio and a RAS pre-concentration ratio were investigated. The results show that the removal efficiency of TN is mainly influenced by the carbon source distribution ratio while the TP removal relies on the RAS pre-concentration ratio. The optimum carbon source distribution ratio and RAS pre-concentration ratio are 60% and 50%, respectively, with an inner recycling ratio of 100% under the optimum steady operation of pilot test, reaching an average effluent TN concentration of 9.8 mg·L-1with a removal efficiency of 63% and an average TP removal efficiency of 94%. The mechanism of nutrient removal is discussed and the kinetics is analyzed. The results reveal that the optimal carbon source distribution ratio provides sufficient denitrifying carbon source to each anoxic phase, reducing nitrate accumulation while the RAS pre-concentration ratio improves the condition of anaerobic zone to ensure the phosphorus release due to less nitrate in the returned sludge. Therefore, nitrifying bacteria, denitrifying bacteria and phosphorus accumulation organisms play an important role under the optimum condition, enhancing the performance of nutrient removal in this test.

Synergism of Novel Sequence Bio-ecological Process and Biological Aerated Filter for Sewage Treatment in Cold Climate

A lab-scale integrated treatment system including the novel sequence bio-ecological process （SBEP） and biological aerated filter （BAF） for a sewage mixture （chemistry laboratory wastewater and domestic sewage） was presented in this paper. The main objective of the study was to test the contribution of artificial aeration, recir-culation ratio and mass concentration of steel slag on pollutant removal in winter when the plants are dormant. It had been shown that SBEP and BAF play different roles in removing contaminants from wastewater. During the airflow experiment, the removal efficiency of COD and TP in SBEP was higher than that in BAF, whereas BAF can compensate for the deficiency of SBEP where no significant improvement on ammonium nitrogen removal is ob-served. Yet, the removal etticiencies of COD,TP and NH4^＋ -N in SBEP could be improved apparently when ditterent recireulation ratio or various mass concentration of steel were applied. Especially, when the airflow of 0.06 L·h^-1, the recirculation ratio rate of 80% and the mass concentration of steel of 2.2-2.4 g·L^-1 were applied, thehighest efficiency of 94.6%, 77.9% and 80.7% for COD, TP and NH4^＋ -N were achieved,-respectively,The integrated treatment system of SBEP and BAF was proved to be an effective wastewater treatment technique and a better alternative to treat domestic sewage.

Study on Treatment of the Pesticide Wastewater by the Composite Process of Biological Active Carbon Filter-Fluid Bed

[ Objectlve] The research aimed to study treatment effect of the pesticide wastewater by the composite process of biological active car- bon filter-fluid bed. [Method] The composite process of biological active carbon filter- fluid bed was applied to treat the mixed pesticide wastewater. The removal efficiencies of CODcr, BODs, NH3-N, SS and the influence factors were investigated. [ Result] The composite process had good treatment efficiency for pesticide wastewater. After running stably, the average removal rates of CODc,, BODs, NH3-N and SS were re- spectively 91.6%, 96.2%, 90.2% and 87.5%. All indices reached the third level cdteda specified in Comprehensive Standard of the Sewage Dis- charge （DB12/356-2008）. [ Conclusionl The whole system operates reliably and simply, and provides a stable, convenient and economical solu- tion for deep treatment of the mixed pesticide wastewater.

Intended process water management concept for the mechanical biological treatment of municipal solid waste

Accumulating operational experience in both aerobic and anaerobic mechanical biological waste treatment （MBT） makes it increasingly obvious that controlled water management would substantially reduce the cost of MBT and also enhance resource recovery of the organic and inorganic fraction. The MBT plant at Gescher, Germany, is used as an example in order to determine the quantity and composition of process water and leachates from intensive and subsequent rotting, pressing water from anaerobic digestion and scrubber water from acid exhaust air treatment, and hence prepare an MBT water balance. The potential of, requirements for and limits to internal process water reuse as well as the possibilities of resource recovery from scrubber water are also examined. Finally, an assimilated process water management concept with the purpose of an extensive reduction of wastewater quantity and freshwater demand is presented.

Whole process reclamation and utilization of wastes produced in the biological fermentation industry

Wastes yielded in the vintage process and the biological fermentation of itaconic acid and sodium gluconate of a winery in Shandong, such as grain stillage, melon lees, cornstarch protein residues, itacanic acid mother liquid, itaconic acid mycelium and sodium gluconate mycelium, were studied. High-activity biological protein feed, foliar fertilizer and irrigation fertilizer were generated from these wastes by applying biological/microbial technologies. Meanwhile, a whole set of technological pathways was put forward. As a result, the optimal economical and social benefits can be obtained with low natural resource consumption and environmental costs by converting wastes into useful matters. In conclusion, through the utilization of limited resources in the whole process of reclamation and utilization of wastes, the harmony promotion can be achieved between the economic system and the natural ecosystem.

Image Processing of Biological Liquids Films for Medical Diagnostics

In this paper, the development of smart medical autonomous technology is considered. An example of a smart medical autonomous distributed system for diagnostics is also discussed. To develop this system for medical image analysis we review several processing methods. The use of the cuneiform dehydration method for medical diagnosis is considered. The experimental results obtained for blood serum dehydrated films are presented. The author proposes an algorithm for the primary identification of structures formed in the films and their use for automated detection of various structures for diagnostic purposes. The paper describes the first stage of image processing, i.e. the selection of filtering types for the correct identification of structural features and characteristics of the images. The results of filtering and some computational results of various types of structures in the films are presented.

Boundary Phosphate Transport of the East China Sea and Its Influence on Biological Process

The East China Sea (ECS) is one of the largest marginal seas in the Northwest Pacific, and also one of the most productive regions of the global ocean. Using a three-dimensional Pacific physical-biological model, we investigate the interannual variation of phosphate transport via Kuroshio intrusion (KIPT) in the eastern boundary of the East China Sea (ECS) and its influence on the ECS biological process during 1997 to 2016. The KIPT into the ECS mainly occurs in the northeast of Taiwan and southwest of Kyushu, with stronger interannual variability in the northeast of Taiwan. The variation of the KIPT is more significant in the near-bottom water, and is dominated by volume transport. On the interannual timescale, the KIPT changes in response to the shift of the Kuroshio axis and to the bottom upwelling in the ECS eastern boundary. When the Kuroshio axis is closer to (farther away from) the ECS shelf, the strength of the bottom upwelling increases (decreases). This process induces more (less) significant topographic beta spiral, which causes an anticyclonic (cyclonic) eddy-like bottom velocity feature in the northeast of Taiwan. Eventually, more phosphate is transported to the ECS inner shelf, which increases chlorophyll concentration around the Zhoushan Islands and Yangtze Estuary but reduces chlorophyll concentration in the ECS outer shelf. Conversely, the chlorophyll increases in the ECS outer shelf but decreases around the Zhoushan Islands and Yangtze Estuary when there is less phosphate transport. This study highlights the importance of Kuroshio intrusion in connecting the inner and outer shelves of the ECS on the interannual timescale. Phosphate transport into the East China Sea via Kuroshio intrusion shows great interannual variability in the northeast of Taiwan. On the interannual timescale, the variation of phosphate transport into the East China Sea via Kuroshio intrusion is dominated by volume transport. When the Kuroshio axis is closer to the East China Sea shelf, there is more phosphate transport into the East China Sea, and chlorophyll increases around the Zhoushan Islands and Yangtze Estuary.

Optimal Size for Maximal Energy Efficiency in Information Processing of Biological Systems Due to Bistability

Energy efficiency is closely related to the evolution of biological systems and is important to their information processing. In this work, we calculate the excitation probability of a simple model of a bistable biological unit in response to pulsatile inputs, and its spontaneous excitation rate due to noise perturbation. Then we analytically calculate the mutual information, energy cost, and energy efficiency of an array of these bistable units. We find that the optimal number of units could maximize this array＇s energy efficiency in encoding pulse inputs, which depends on the fixed energy cost. We conclude that demand for energy efficiency in biological systems may strongly influence the size of these systems under the pressure of natural selection.

Fluidized-Bed Bioreactor Applications for Biological Wastewater Treatment： A Review of Research and Developments

Wastewater treatment is a process that is vital to protecting both the environment and human health. At present, the most cost-effective way of treating wastewater is with biological treatment processes such as the activated sludge process, despite their long operating times. However, population increases have created a demand for more efficient means of wastewater treatment, Fluidization has been demonstrated to in- crease the efficiency of many processes in chemical and biochemical engineering, but it has not been widely used in large-scale wastewater treatment. At the University of Western Ontario, the circulating fluidized-bed bioreactor （CFBBR） was developed for treating wastewater. In this process, carrier particles develop a biofilm composed of bacteria and other microbes. The excellent mixing and mass transfer characteristics inherent to fluidization make this process very effective at treating both municipal and industrial wastewater. Studies of lab- and pilot-scale systems showed that the CFBBR can remove over 90% of the influent organic matter and 80% of the nitrogen, and produces less than one-third as much biological sludge as the activated sludge process. Due to its high efficiency, the CFBBR can also be used to treat wastewaters with high organic solid concentrations, which are more difficult to treat with conventional methods because they require longer residence times; the CFBBR can also be used to reduce the system size and footprint. In addition, it is much better at handling and recovering from dynamic loadings （i.e., varying influent volume and concentrations） than current systems. Overall, the CFBBR has been shown to be a very effective means of treating wastewa- ter, and to be capable of treating larger volumes of wastewater using a smaller reactor volume and a shorter residence time. In addition, its compact design holds potential for more geographically localized and isolat- ed wastewater treatment systems.

Recent Advances in Soft Biological Tissue Manipulating Technologies

Biological soft tissues manipulation,including conventional(mechanical)and nonconventional(laser,waterjet and ultrasonic)processes,is critically required in most surgical innervations.However,the soft tissues,with their nature of anisotropic and viscoelastic mechanical properties,and high biological and heat sensitivities,are difficult to manipulated.Moreover,the mechanical and thermal induced damage on the surface and surrounding tissue during the surgery can impair the proliferative phase of healing.Thus,understanding the manipulation mechanism and the resulted surface damage is of importance to the community.In recent years,more and more scholars carried out researches on soft biological tissue cutting in order to improve the cutting performance of surgical instruments and reduce the surgery induced tissue damage.However,there is a lack of compressive review that focused on the recent advances in soft biological tissue manipulating technologies.Hence,this review paper attempts to provide an informative literature survey of the state-of-the-art of soft tissue manipulation processes in surgery.This is achieved by exploring and recollecting the different soft tissue manipulation techniques currently used,including mechanical,laser,waterjet and ultrasonic cutting and advanced anastomosis and reconstruction processes,with highlighting their governing removal mechanisms as well as the surface and subsurface damages.

Biological Autonomy

We argue that genuine biological autonomy, or described at human level as free will, requires taking into account quantum vacuum processes in the context of biological teleology. One faces at least three basic problems of genuine biological autonomy： （1） if biological autonomy is not physical, where does it come from？ （2） Is there a room for biological causes？ And （3） how to obtain a workable model of biological teleology？ It is shown here that the solution of all these three problems is related to the quantum vacuum. We present a short review of how this basic aspect of the fundamentals of quantum theory, although it had not been addressed for nearly 100 years, actually it was suggested by Bohr, Heisenberg, and others. Realizing that the quantum mechanical measurement problem associated with the ＂collapse＂ of the wave function is related, in the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics, to a process between self-consciousness and the external physical environment, we are extending the issue for an explanation of the different processes occurring between living organisms and their internal environment. Definitions of genuine biological autonomy, biological aim, and biological spontaneity are presented. We propose to improve the popular two-stage model of decisions with a biological model suitable to obtain a deeper look at the nature of the mind-body problem. In the newly emerging picture biological autonomy emerges as a new, fundamental and inevitable element of the scientific worldview.

Synthesis,Characterization and Biological Activities of Novel Acrylamide Compounds

With dimethomorph and flumorph as the leading compounds, four novel acrylamide compounds with two types of structure were designed and synthesized by means of the method of ＂me too chemistry＂. The target compounds were characterized by 1H NMR, IR, MS, and elemental analysis. The influences of solvent and raw material on the yield were investigated and optimum processing conditions were determined. The results of preliminary biological tests show that all those compounds exhibit certain antifungal activities.

Automatic measurement of three-phase contact angles in pore throats based on digital images

With the help of digital image processing technology, an automatic measurement method for the three-phase contact angles in the pore throats of the microfluidic model was established using the microfluidic water flooding experiment videos as the data source. The results of the new method were verified through comparing with the manual measurement data.On this basis, the dynamic changes of the three-phase contact angles under flow conditions were clarified by the contact angles probability density curve and mean value change curve. The results show that, for water-wetting rocks, the mean value of the contact angles is acute angle during the early stage of the water flooding process, and it increases with the displacement time and becomes obtuse angle in the middle-late stage of displacement as the dominant force of oil phase gradually changes from viscous force to capillary force. The droplet flow in the remaining oil occurs in the central part of the pore throats, without three-phase contact angle. The contact angles for the porous flow and the columnar flow change slightly during the displacement and present as obtuse angles in view of mean values, which makes the remaining oil poorly movable and thus hard to be recovered. The mean value of the contact angle for the cluster flow tends to increase in the flooding process, which makes the remaining oil more difficult to be recovered. The contact angles for the membrane flow are mainly obtuse angles and reach the highest mean value in the late stage of displacement, which makes the remaining oil most difficult to be recovered. After displacement, the remaining oils under different flow regimes are just subjected to capillary force, with obtuse contact angles, and the wettability of the pore throat walls in the microfluidic model tends to be oil-wet under the action of crude oil.

Biomedical applications of Jones-matrix tomography to polycrystalline films of biological fuids

Algorithms for reconstruction of linear and circular birefringence-dichroism of optically thin anisotropic biological layers are presented.The technique of Jones matrix tomography of poly-crystalline films of biological fuids of various human organs has been developed and experimentally tested.The coordinate distributions of phase and amplitude anisotropy of bile films and synovial fuid taken from the knee joint are determined and statistically analyzed.Criteria(statistical moments of 3rd and 4th orders)of differential diagnostics of early stages of cholelithiasis and septic arthritis of the knee joint with excellent balanced accuracy were determined.Data on the diagnostic fficiency of the Jones matrix tomography method for polyerystalline plasma(liver disease),urine(albuminuria)and cytological smears(cervical cancer)are presented.

Qualitative Properties and Numerical Solution of the Kolmogorov-Fisher Type Biological Population Task with Double Nonlinear Diffusion

In the present work we study the global solvability of the Kolmogorov-Fisher type biological population task with double nonlinear diffusion and qualitative properties of the solution of the task based on the self-similar analysis. In additional, in this paper we consider the model of two competing population with dual nonlinear cross-diffusion.

A weakly coupled data assimilation system of a coupled physical–biological model for the northeastern South China Sea

A weakly coupled data assimilation system was established for a coupled physical–biological model for the northeastern South China Sea（NSCS）. The physical model used was the Regional Ocean Modeling System; the biological component was a seven-compartment nitrogen–phytoplankton–zooplankton–detritus ecosystem model; and the data assimilation method was Ensemble Optical Interpolation. To test the performance of the weakly coupled data assimilation system, two numerical experiments（i.e. control and assimilation runs） based on a process-oriented idealized case were conducted, and climatological SST was assimilated in the assimilation run. Only physical variables were adjusted in the weakly coupled data assimilation. The results showed that both the assimilated SST and other unassimilated physical variables had reasonable process responses. Due to the warmer SST observation, the water temperature（salinity） in the assimilation run increased（decreased） in coastal upwelling regions. Both the alongshore and bottom cross-shore currents were reduced, jointly demonstrating the weakening of the upwelling system. Meanwhile, ecosystem variables were also affected to some extent by the SST assimilation through the coupled model. For example, larger phytoplankton（chlorophyll） productivity was found in the upwelling region within the shallow layer due to the warmer waters in the assimilation run. Hence, the application of this data assimilation system could reasonably modify both physical and biological variables for the NSCS by SST assimilation.