Nutrient and sediment removal by stormwater biofilters: a large-scale design optimisation study

A large-scale column study was conducted in Melbourne, Australia, to test the performance of stormwater biofilters for the removal of sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus. The aim of the study was to provide guidance on the optimal design for reliable treatment performance. A variety of factors were tested, using 125 large columns: plant species, filter media, filter depth, filter area and pollutant inflow concentration. The results demonstrate that vegetation selection is critical to performance for nitrogen removal (e.g. Carex appressa and Melaleuca ericifolia performed significantly better than other tested species). Whilst phosphorus removal was consistently very high (typically around 85%), biofilter soil media with added organic matter reduced the phosphorus treatment effectiveness. Biofilters built according to observed 'optimal specifications' can reliably remove both nutrients (up to 70% for nitrogen and 85% for phosphorus) and suspended solids (consistently over 95%). The optimally designed biofilter is at least 2% of its catchment area and possesses a sandy loam filter media, planted with C. appressa or M. ericifolia. Further trials will be required to test a wider range of vegetation, and to examine performance over the longer term. Future work will also examine biofilter effectiveness for treatment of heavy metals and pathogens.     

水泥固化重金属污染土干湿循环特性试验研究

水泥固化/稳定法是修复污染土地基的常用方法,修复后的固化土在外界环境干湿循环作用下的稳定性如何是事关修复成败的关键所在。通过系统的室内试验,着重研究了水泥固化Pb²⁺、Zn²⁺污染土在干湿循环作用下的强度特性、淋滤特性以及微结构变化规律,揭示了水泥固化重金属污染土的微观作用机制。试验结果表明,固化土体的强度及淋滤特性随着水泥掺量的增加得到了显著改善。固化重金属污染土的无侧限抗压强度随干湿循环次数的增加先增大,达到峰值后,随干湿循环次数的继续增大而减小。污染物掺量较低时,重金属离子的滤出浓度在干湿循环作用初期略有降低,此后则有所增加,但变化幅度较小;高污染物掺量时,滤出液中的重金属离子浓度较高,且随着干湿循环次数的增加而不断增大。低污染物掺量下,水泥对Pb²⁺及Zn²⁺固化效果相差不大;高污染物掺量下,水泥对Zn²⁺的固化效果较好。经过干湿循环作用后的固化土的扫描电镜试验结果与与其宏观力学及淋滤特性指标变化规律一致,从微观角度揭示了固化土工程性质的变化机制。     

Simultaneous removal of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn from stormwater: experimental comparison of 11 different sorbents

The potential of using alumina, activated bauxsol-coated sand (ABCS), bark, bauxsol-coated sand (BCS), fly ash (FA), granulated activated carbon (GAC), granulated ferric hydroxide (GFH), iron oxide-coated sand (IOCS), natural zeolite (NZ), sand, and spinel (MgAl(2)O(4)) as sorbents for removing heavy metals from stormwater are investigated in the present study. The ability of the sorbents to remove a mixture of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn from synthetic stormwater samples were evaluated in batch tests at a starting pH of 6.5. The metal speciation and saturation data is obtained using the PHREEQ-C geochemical model and used to elucidate the sorption data. It is found that BCS, FA, and spinel have significantly higher affinity towards heavy metals mainly present as cationic or non-charged species (i.e. Cd, Cu, Ni and Zn) compared to those present as anionic species (i.e. As and Cr). However, IOCS, NZ and sand have higher affinity towards As and Cr, while alumina has equally high affinity to all tested heavy metals. The Freundlich isotherm model is found to fit the data in many cases, but ill fitted results are also observed, especially for FA, BCS and GAC, possibly due to leaching of some metals from the sorbents (i.e. for FA) and oversaturated conditions making precipitation the dominant removal mechanism over sorption in batches with high heavy metal concentrations and pH. Calculated sorption constants (i.e. K(d)) are used to compare the overall heavy metal removal efficiency of the sorbents, which in a decreasing order are found to be: alumina, BCS, GFH, FA, GAC, spinel, ABCS, IOCS, NZ, bark, and sand. These findings are significant for future development of secondary filters for removal of dissolved heavy metals from stormwater runoff under realistic competitive conditions in terms of initial heavy metal concentrations, pH and ionic strength.     

Influence of filter media depth and vegetation on Faecal Coliform removal by stormwater biofilters

Biofilters are promising technologies that widely applied in the treatment of urban stormwater. However, the microbial removal capacity performance depends greatly on the design of biofilters. Hence, this laboratory study attempts to investigate the influence of filter media depths (i.e. 150, 250, 350 and 450 mm) and the variation of native plants, that is, Cow Grass (Axonopus compressus) and Pearl Grass (Axonopus compressus, dwarf) in removing stormwater microorganism particularly Faecal Coliform (FC). Findings showed that a minimum media depth of 300 mm was required to achieve >1 log FC removal. The mean removal of FC at 450 mm depth filter exceeded 2 log for both Cow and Pearl grass biofilter columns. Results showed that there was no statistically significant difference in vegetation type on the performance of FC removal, however, Cow grass biofilter column revealed higher FC mean log removal compared to Pearl grass biofilter column.     

Treatment of stormwater using a detention pond and constructed filters

A stormwater treatment plant, consisting of a detention pond, a constructed filter system and a constructed wetland, has been investigated according to stormwater quality improvement, sediment and heavy metals accumulation and potential toxicity of the stormwater and sediment. The reduction of metal content in the detention pond was on average 26?–?84%. No acute toxicity in the stormwater was detected although heavy metal levels often exceeded guideline values during storm events. Pore water samples of the collected sediments were not toxic but the whole sediment was toxic when assessed with the Microtox^® Solid-phase test. The constructed filter system became clogged due to cementation of the filter substrate.     

Hybrid flotation--membrane filtration process for the removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater

A promising process for the removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions involves bonding the metals firstly to a special bonding agent and then separating the loaded bonding agents from the wastewater stream by separation processes. For the separation stage, a new hybrid process of flotation and membrane separation has been developed in this work by integrating specially designed submerged microfiltration modules directly into a flotation reactor. This made it possible to combine the advantages of both flotation and membrane separation while overcoming the limitations. The feasibility of this hybrid process was proven using powdered synthetic zeolites as bonding agents. Stable fluxes of up to 80l m(-2)h(-1) were achieved with the ceramic flat-sheet multi-channel membranes applied at low transmembrane pressure (<100 mbar). The process was applied in lab-scale to treat wastewater from the electronics industry. All toxic metals in question, namely copper, nickel and zinc, were reduced from initial concentrations of 474, 3.3 and 167mg x l(-1), respectively, to below 0.05 mg x l(-1), consistently meeting the discharge limits.     

Hazard assessment of heavy metal contamination by the paper industry,north-eastern India

The spatial distribution and hazard assessment of heavy metals in the paper mill contaminated area of Jagiroad, Assam, India were investigated using statistics, geostatistics and geographic information system techniques. The amounts of Cr, Cd, Ni and Pb were determined from 188 samples collected within the contaminated area. Log-transformation was applied in order to achieve normality in the data-set. The ordinary kriging estimates of Cr, Cd, Ni and Pb maps showed that high concentrations of heavy metals were located in the low-lying areas like bils (lakes). Indicator kriged probability maps of soil Cr, Cd, Ni and Pb were prepared based on the concentrations to exceed the respective Food and Agriculture Organization maximum permissible limit (MPL) value of 100, 3, 30 and 50?mg/kg, respectively. It was seen that more than 80% of the studied area has a higher than 50% probability to exceed the MPL value of Ni. Smaller areas in the north and west side of the study area displayed a higher concentration than the MPL value of Pb. For Cr, only a small portion at the centre of the study area had a higher concentration than the MPL value. In an attempt to identify the source of heavy metals through multivariate analysis, it was concluded that Cr, Ni and Pb mainly originated from paper mill effluent and soil Cd was associated with natural concentration.     

干湿循环作用下砂岩溶蚀的孔隙度演化规律

针对干湿循环作用下岩石劣化机理的复杂性,以砂岩为研究对象,通过对砂岩浸泡溶液离子浓度的测试,定量反分析砂岩矿物的溶解,得到砂岩孔隙度的演化规律,分析干湿循环作用下砂岩的劣化机制。结果表明:浸泡溶液中Ca~(2+)的生成速率比K~+、Na~+、SiO_2高一个数量级,Fe~(2+)的生成速率最低。每阶段循环后,方解石的体积减少量最多,其次是钾长石和钠长石,黑云母和石英的体积减少量最小。干湿循环作用后,微小的孔隙度变化,会导致抗压强度的大幅度降低,各阶段孔隙度变化值与劣化度成正相关。干湿循环侵蚀后,砂岩各种矿物的溶解流失,使得自身胶结物量减少,孔隙度增大,产生各种空洞与微裂缝,最终反映为强度的降低,是为干湿循环导致砂岩劣化的重要原因。     

Uncertainty-based calibration and prediction with a stormwater surface accumulation-washoff model based on coverage of sampled Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd field data

A dynamic conceptual and lumped accumulation wash-off model (SEWSYS) is uncertainty-calibrated with Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd field data from an intensive, detailed monitoring campaign. We use the generalized linear uncertainty estimation (GLUE) technique in combination with the Metropolis algorithm, which allows identifying a range of behavioral model parameter sets. The small catchment size and nearness of the rain gauge justified excluding the hydrological model parameters from the uncertainty assessment. Uniform, closed prior distributions were heuristically specified for the dry and wet removal parameters, which allowed using an open not specified uniform prior for the dry deposition parameter. We used an exponential likelihood function based on the sum of squared errors between observed and simulated event masses and adjusted a scaling factor to cover 95% of the observations within the empirical 95% model prediction bounds. A positive correlation between the dry deposition and the dry (wind) removal rates was revealed as well as a negative correlation between the wet removal (wash-off) rate and the ratio between the dry deposition and wind removal rates, which determines the maximum pool of accumulated metal available on the conceptual catchment surface. Forward Monte Carlo analysis based on the posterior parameter sets covered 95% of the observed event mean concentrations, and 95% prediction quantiles for site mean concentrations were estimated to 470 μg/l ±20% for Zn, 295 μg/l ±40% for Cu, 20 μg/l ±80% for Pb and 0.6 μg/l ±35% for Cd. This uncertainty-based calibration procedure adequately describes the prediction uncertainty conditioned on the used model and data, but seasonal and site-to-site variation is not considered, i.e. predicting metal concentrations in stormwater runoff from gauged as well as ungauged catchments with the SEWSYS model is generally more uncertain than the indicated numbers.     

干湿循环作用下击实膨胀土胀缩变形模拟

击实膨胀土在干湿循环作用下产生的胀缩体变可以分解为一个随含水率或吸力改变而同步变化的可逆性分量和一个主要产生于干湿循环过程初期的不可逆性分量。可逆性干湿体变来源于组成土骨架的黏土微观结构变形的可逆性,主要由当前吸力或含水率的变化确定。不可逆性干湿体变分量与干湿循环引起的土的宏观结构的不可逆变化有关,其大小依赖于当前状态与平衡状态的宏观结构的差异。分别给出了可逆性和不可逆性干湿体变分量的数学描述,结合低塑性非饱和土的BBM模型,提出了一个适用于击实膨胀土的实用本构模型。该模型的参数数量少且易于确定。通过对试验结果的模拟,表明本模型比经典的膨胀土BExM模型的模拟效果更好,更易于实用。     

Biotreatment and bioassessment of heavy metal removal by sulphate reducing bacteria in fixed bed reactors

In this work a batch-optimised mixture (w/w %: 6% leaves, 9% compost, 3% Fe(0), 30% silica sand, 30% perlite, 22% limestone) was investigated in a continuous fixed bed column reactor for the treatment of synthetic acid-mine drainage (AMD). A column reactor was inoculated with sulphate-reducing bacteria and fed with a solution containing sulphate and heavy metals (As(V), Cd, Cr(VI), Cu and Zn). At steady state, sulphate abatement was 50 ± 10%, while metals were totally removed. A degradation rate constant (k) of 0.015 ± 0.001 h⁻¹ for sulphate removal was determined from column data by assuming a first order degradation rate. Reduction of AMD toxicity was assessed by using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a test organism. A lethality assay was performed with the toxicants before and after the treatment, showing that only 5% of the animals were still alive after 48 h in presence of the contaminants, while the percentage increased to 73% when the nematodes were exposed to the solution eluted from the column.     

酸碱环境干湿循环作用下砂岩抗剪强度劣化规律研究

为研究酸碱环境中砂岩在干湿循环作用下抗剪强度的劣化规律,在浸泡溶液p H值分别为7,9,4的环境中,对砂岩试件进行次数为1,3,6,10次的干湿循环试验。通过不同循环次数后的单轴和三轴试验,计算得到每个阶段循环后砂岩的黏聚力和内摩擦角及其与干湿循环次数N的变化关系式,从而获得砂岩在不同p H值干湿循环作用下抗剪强度随循环次数的变化公式。结果表明,砂岩的抗剪强度随着循环次数的增加而降低,在干湿循环作用前期,受影响较为显著,抗剪强度降幅很大,而后,强度降幅相对较小;酸性环境下,砂岩抗剪强度劣化最为严重,碱性次之,中性最轻;干湿循环后的干燥试件抗剪强度劣化幅度远不如湿状态下的劣化幅度。     

Highly efficient removal of heavy metals by polymer-supported nanosized hydrated Fe(III) oxides: Behavior and XPS study

The present study developed a polymer-based hybrid sorbent (HFO-001) for highly efficient removal of heavy metals [e.g., Pb(II), Cd(II), and Cu(II)] by irreversibly impregnating hydrated Fe(III) oxide (HFO) nanoparticles within a cation-exchange resin D-001 (R-SO₃Na), and revealed the underlying mechanism based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) study. HFO-001 combines the excellent handling, flow characteristics, and attrition resistance of conventional cation-exchange resins with the specific affinity of HFOs toward heavy metal cations. As compared to D-001, sorption selectivity of HFO-001 toward Pb(II), Cu(II), and Cd(II) was greatly improved from the Ca(II) competition at greater concentration. Column sorption results indicated that the working capacity of HFO-001 was about 4-6 times more than D-001 with respect to removal of three heavy metals from simulated electroplating water (pH ∼4.0). Also, HFO-001 is particularly effective in removing trace Pb(II) and Cd(II) from simulated natural waters to meet the drinking water standard, with treatment volume orders of magnitude higher than D-001. The superior performance of HFO-001 was attributed to the Donnan membrane effect exerted by the host D-001 as well as to the impregnated HFO nanoparticles of specific interaction toward heavy metal cations, as further confirmed by XPS study on lead sorption. More attractively, the exhausted HFO-001 beads can be effectively regenerated by HCl-NaCl solution (pH 3) for repeated use without any significant capacity loss.     

Hydraulic and volume change behaviors of compacted highly expansive soil under cyclic wetting and drying

The wide engineered application of compacted expansive soils necessitates understanding their behavior under field conditions. The results of this study demonstrate how seasonal climatic variation and stress and boundary conditions individually or collectively influence the hydraulic and volume change behavior of compacted highly expansive soils. The cyclic wetting and drying (CWD) process was applied for two boundary conditions, i.e. constant stress (CS) and constant volume (CV), and for a wide range of axial stress states. The adopted CWD process affected the hydraulic and volume change behaviors of expansive soils, with the first cycle of wetting and drying being the most effective. The CWD process under CS conditions resulted in shrinkage accumulation and reduction in saturated hydraulic conductivity (k_sat). On the other hand, CWD under CV conditions caused a reduction of swell pressure while has almost no impact on k_sat. An elastic response to CWD was achieved after the third cycle for saturated hydraulic conductivity (k_sat), the third to fourth cycle for the volume change potential under the CV conditions, and the fourth to fifth cycle for the volume change potential under the CS conditions. Finally, both swell pressure (σ_s) and saturated hydraulic conductivity (k_sat) are not fundamental parameters of the expansive soil but rather depend on stress, boundary and wetting conditions.     

有色金属矿区土壤重金属污染调查与修复研究进展

有色金属矿区是土壤重金属污染的主要地区之一,本文主要基于土壤重金属元素基准值、土壤理化特征、土壤重金属元素空间分布特征、土壤重金属元素形态特征、土壤重金属污染源同位素示踪等方面调查,为生物修复,物理、化学和联合修复的不同修复方法选择及土壤重金属污染监测提供科学依据。     

Incidence of heavy metal and antibiotic resistance in bacterial isolates from Blue Nile river water in Ethiopian region

Heavy metal pollution of river water has health implications. This study was aimed to test if bacteria that are heavy metal resistant can resist antibiotics. Heavy metal-resistant bacteria were isolated using Nutrient agar plates amended with 100?μg?ml^?1 of metal salts. Isolates were further screened to determine minimal inhibitory concentration against each metal. The isolates belonged to the genera of Neisseria, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Micrococcus, Corynebacterium and Proteus. Minimum inhibitory concentration of the isolates for heavy metals ranged from 200 to 2300?μg?ml^?1. Isolates of Pseudomonas, Neisseria, Bacillus, Protues, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus and Micrococcus spp. exhibited multiple antibiotic resistance. Statistically significant correlation between metal resistance and antibiotic resistance was observed among bacterial isolates. The present work suggests that some of the isolates could be hazardous to human beings as a result of natural selection of dual resistant mechanisms.     

Influence of prefreezing on heavy metal concentrations in Bluegill sunfish

Concern for possible changes in tissue metal concentrations due to freezing of fish specimens prior to analysis prompted this investigation. Bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) were collected from a Virginia stream and prepared for analysis of zinc, cadmium and lead concentrations either fresh or after 1, 7, and 70 days of freezing. Intact specimens as well as bone and liver tissue were then analyzed. Zinc concentrations displayed a statistically significant (P < 0.05) negative trend with duration of freezing in whole-body, liver and bone samples. Lead and cadmium concentrations showed no consistent pattern which could be related to length of the freezing period in any of the tissues analyzed. However, median concentrations of zinc, cadmium and lead were 10–30% lower in prefrozen sunfish (aggregated over freezing periods) than in sunfish which were analyzed fresh in seven of the eight tissue-metal combinations examined. These results indicate that freezing of sunfish prior to sample preparation can depress metal concentrations in both tissues and whole fish. Programs to monitor heavy metal contamination in sunfish and other fishes may incur bias unless specimens are prepared for analysis fresh or all samples experience equivalent freezing regimes.     

Effect of redox potential on heavy metal binding forms in polluted canal sediments in Delft (The Netherlands)

Heavy metal binding forms for Cu, Zn and Pb were determined at four representative sediment sites in the canals of Delft (The Netherlands), using selective chemical extraction methods. Small differences (on average <5%) were found between duplicate extraction experiments. The dominant Cu binding form was always related to sulphide and organics in the sediment. Zn was mainly bound to iron+manganese (hydr)oxides, whereas Pb was rather evenly distributed over the different labile and non-labile binding fractions. A gradual (over about 1 month) increase in redox potentials of the anaerobic sediments led to a 7-37% sediment release of the above heavy metals; this could mainly be ascribed to oxidation of the heavy metal-sulphide bindings. Part of the released heavy metals was re-adsorbed by the labile binding phases ("exchangeable" and "carbonate bound"). Contrary to expectations, we found a decrease rather than an increase in the Fe+Mn (hydr)oxide binding forms. This can probably be ascribed to non-equilibrium reactions in the time span of the experiments, as well as side reactions such as complexation with humic acids and hindered precipitation reactions due to organic matter coatings.     

Removal of heavy metals from storm and surface water by slow sand filtration: the importance of speciation

The removal of heavy metals from storm and surface waters by slow sand filtration is described. The importance of speciation as a technique for exploring and improving the mechanisms of removal is identified. Laboratory-scale slow sand filters operating at conventional flow rate and depth were shown to be able to reduce concentrations of selected heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Pb and Cd) found in road runoff, surface water and sewage effluents to drinking water standard. Nitrogen, volatile solids and modified Stover speciation were used to differentiate between the potential mechanisms of removal, i.e. active biomass, organic adsorption and simple adsorption or precipitation on the surface of the sand. The data presented show that adsorption via organic ligands was the predominant mechanism for metal removal at the surface of the filter but chemical adsorption was the more important deeper in the filter. In the lower layers the adsorbed metals were more easily exchanged than the organically bound metals. The precise chemical ligands were not identified and varied from metal to metal. The most important operational factors affecting performance were therefore the concentration of organic matter, filter depth and the flow velocity.