Systematic analysis of microfauna indicator values for treatment performance in a full-scale municipalwastewater treatment plant

The indicator values of microfauna functional groups and species for treatment performancewere systematically evaluated based on the continuous monitoring of the entire microfauna communities including both protozoa and metazoa over a period of 14 months, in two parallel full-scale municipalwastewater treatment systems in a plant in Beijing, China. A total of 57 species of ciliates, 14 species （units） of amoebae, 14 species （units） of flagellates and4 classes of small metazoawere identified,with Arcella hemisphaerica, Vorticella striata, Vorticella convallaria, Epistylis plicatilis and small flagellates （e.g. Bodo spp.） as thedominant protozoa, and rotifers as thedominant metazoa. The abundance of the sessile ciliateswas correlatedwith the removals of BOD 5 （Pearson＇s r = 0.410, p 〈 0.05） and COD Cr （r = 0.397, p 〈 0.05）while the testate amoebaewas significantly positively related to nitrification （r = 0.523, p 〈 0.01）. At the same time, some other associationswere also identified： the abundances of the large flagellates （r = 0.447, p 〈 0.01）, the metazoa （r = 0.718, p 〈 0.01） and species Aspidisca sulcata （r = 0.337, p 〈 0.05）were positively related to nitrification; the abundance of Aspidisca costatawas correlated to the TN （total nitrogen） removal （r = -0.374, p 〈 0.05 ）; the abundances of the sessile species Carchesium polypinum （r = 0.458, p 〈 0.01） and E. plicatilis （r = 0.377, p 〈 0.05）were correlatedwith the removal of suspended solids.

Effect of Intermittent Aeration on the Treatment Performance in a Submerged Membrane Bioreactor

In order to improve removal for nitrogen in a pilot-scale submerged membrane bioreactor（SMBR）,intermittent aeration was conducted,and the effect on the treatment performance under four kinds of operation condition（run 1,continuous aeration;run 2,60/60 min aeration on/off time;run 3,60/90 min aeration on/off time;run 4,60/75 min aeration on/off time） was evaluated.The results showed that depending on the specific on/off of the aeration time ratio,removal efficiency of nitrogen could be improved significantly,and the removal rates of total nitrogen（TN） under different operation conditions were 28.0%,59.5%,66.8% and 70.7%,respectively.There were no obvious differences for removal rates for CODCr and ammonia among different operation conditions.In general,intermittent aeration could be used as a feasible way to improve treatment performance for nitrogen in the SMBR.

Effect of NaOH treatment on combustion performance of Xilinhaote lignite

The combustion characteristics of NaOH treated and untreated Xilihaote lignite was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis.The relationship between physico-chemical properties,including the ash content,oxygen-containing functional groups,mean pore diameter and specific surface area and combustion performance,was also studied in this paper.Combustion kinetic parameters were calculated through Coasts Redfern Method.The results show that ignition of treated samples takes place at higher temperature compared to raw lignite,and peak temperature also occurs at higher temperature.The maximum combustion rate of the sample,which was treated by 0.01 mol/L NaOH lignite,was the biggest.Reaction orders of 0.6,2.0,and 0.8 were found to be effective mechanism for definite three temperature regions.Average activation energies of these three temperature regions of XLHTR,XLHT0.01,XLHT0.50 and XLTH1.00 are 19.17,23.87,10.77,and 10.93 kJ/mol,respectively.Treatment of lignite with NaOH can reduce the reactivity of lignite at proper concentration.

Numerical modeling and performance evaluation of passive convergence-permeable reactive barrier(PC-PRB)

The passive convergence-permeable reactive barrier(PC-PRB)was proposed to address the limitations of traditional PRB configurations.To evaluate the hydraulic and pollutant removal performance of the PC-PRB system,we developed a simulation code named PRB-Trans.This code uses the two-dimensional(2D)finite element method to simulate groundwater flow and solute transport.Case studies demonstrate that PC-PRB technology is more efficient and cost-effective than continuous permeable reactive barrier(C-PRB)in treating the same contaminated plume.Implementation of PC-PRB technology results in a 33.3%and 72.7%reduction in PRB length(L_(PRB))and height(H_(PRB)),respectively,while increasing 2D horizontal and 2D vertical pollutant treatment efficiencies of PRB by 87.8%and 266.8%,respectively.In addition,the PC-PRB technology has the ability to homogenize the pollutant concentration and pollutant flux through the PRB system,which can mitigate the problems arising from uneven distribution of pollutants in the C-PRB to some extent.The L_(PRB)required for PC-PRB decreases as the water pipe length(L_(p))increases,while the H_(PRB)required initially decreases and then increases with increasing L_(p).The effect of passive well height(Hw)on H_(PRB)is not as significant as that of L_(p)on H_(PRB).Overall,PC-PRB presents a promising and advantageous PRB configuration in the effective treatment of various types of contaminated plumes.

Treatment Efficiency of Integrated Vertical-Flow Constructed Wetland for Saline Wastewater

The integrated vertical-flow constructed wetland（IVCW） was simulated with three suits of designed experiment columns planted with Kandelia candel.Units A,B and C were irrigated with sewage of different salinity（A：10‰ B：20‰,C：30‰）,respectively.The removal rates of dissolved organic carbon（DOC）,NH3-N and NO3--N dropped 90.4%-48.6%,80.2%-40.3% and 84.8%-60.9%,respectively,when salinity increases from 10‰ to 30‰.The removal rate of TP increased 14%-31.2%,oppositely.A 20-day inflow salinity drastic change shock affective trial was done on units D and E.Unit D was used as a control and irrigated with saline sewage（20‰）.Unit E was irrigated with sewage with low salinity（5‰） as a salinity drastic change shock on the third and fourth days.DOC,NH3-N and NO3--N removal efficiency of unit E showed a three-stage process of change,＂rapidly decrease,increase beyond the normal standard,and then back to the normal standard＂.TP removal value was negative during the 2-day shock period.

Photoelectrochemical performance of La^(3+)-doped TiO_2

La-doped TiO_2 thin films on titanium substrates were prepared by the sol–gel method with titanium tetrachloride as a precursor and La_2O_3 as a source of lanthanum. The heat-treatment temperature dependence of the photoelectrochemical performance of the La-doped TiO_2 film in 0.2 mol/L Na_2SO_4 was investigated by the MottSchottky equation, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and the open-circuit potential test. The results from the Mott-Schottky curves show that the obtained films all were n-type semiconductors, and the film at 300 °C had the highest conduction band position and the widest space charge layer. The electrochemical impendence spectroscopy（EIS） tests of the 300 °C film decreased most during the change from illuminated to dark. The potential of the La–TiO_2 thin film electrode was the lowest after the 300 °C heat treatment. The open-circuit potential indicated that the photoelectrical performance of the La-TiO_2 films was enhanced with the addition of the La element and the largest decline（837.8 mV） in the electrode potential was achieved with the 300 °C heat treatment.