Effect of thermal alkaline pretreatment on the anaerobic digestion of wasted activated sludge

The effect of alkaline pretreatment of waste-activated sludge, using two models to study the sequential hydrolysis rates of suspended (Sanders' surface model) and dissolved (Goel's saturation model) solids, on the mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion rate is evaluated. The pretreatment, which reduces the size of the solids, increases the reaction rate by increasing the surface area and the specific surface hydrolysis constant (K(SBK)); at thermophilic conditions from 0.45 x 10(-3) kg m(-2) d(-1) for the fresh sludge to 0.74 x 10(-3) kg m(-2) d(-1) for the pretreated sludge and at mesophilic conditions these values are 0.28 x 10(-3) kg m(-2) d(-1) and 0.47 x 10(-3) kg m(-2) d(-1) confirming the usefulness of a pretreatment for solids reduction. But for soluble solids, the thermoalkaline pretreatment decreases the reaction rates by inducing a competitive inhibition on the thermophilic anaerobic digestion rate while in the mesophilic range, a non-competitive inhibition is observed. A mathematical simulation of the consecutive reactions, suspended solids to dissolved solids and to methane in staged anaerobic thermophilic-mesophilic digestion, shows that with 4% suspended solids concentration it is better not to use a thermoalkaline pretreatment because overall solids reduction and total methane production are not as good as without pretreatment.     

Elaboration of the hydroxyapatite with different precursors and application for the retention of the lead

Carbonate hydroxyapatite (CHAP) was synthesized from different precursors; synthetic (CaCO3 and Ca(OH)2) and natural (egg shell before and after calcinations at 900 degrees C) under different conditions and characterized by using TG/DTG analysis, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) method and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy techniques. The results of these analyses indicate that the four powders present the same structure of hydroxyapatite. Furthermore the four powders obtained were used for the retention of lead. The results obtained indicated that all powders present high adsorption capacity for lead, but from environmental and economic views, the hydroxyapatite synthesized from eggshell no calcined (HA2) is most advantageous. The influence of different sorption parameters, such as: initial metal concentration, equilibration time, solution pH and sorbent dosage was studied and discussed.     

Synthesis and structure-activity study of quaternary ammonium functionalized beta-cyclodextrin-carboxymethylcellulose polymers

Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD)-based polymers functionalized with two types of quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), the alkaquat DMB-451 (N-alkyl (50% C14, 40% C12, 10% C10) dimethylbenzylammonium chloride) (DMD-451) named polymer DMB-451, and FMB 1210-8 (a blend of 32 w% N-alkyl (50% C14, 40% C12, 10% C10) dimethylbenzylammonium chloride and 48 w% of didecyldimethylammonium chloride) named polymer FMB 1210-8, were synthethized and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The antimicrobial activities of these polymers against Eschericia coli were also evaluated at 25 degrees C in wastewater. The results have indicated that the polymer FMB 1210-8 possesses a high-affinity binding with bacterial cells that induces a rapid disinfection process. Moreover, in the same experimental conditions of disinfection (mixture of 1.0 g of polymer and 100 mL of wastewater), the polymer FMB 1210-8 has a higher antimicrobial efficiency (99.90%) than polymer DMB-451 (92.8%). This phenomenon might be associated to a stronger interaction with bacterial cells due to stronger binding affinity for E. coli cells and greater killing efficiency of the C10 alkyl chains QAC of polymer FMB 1210-8 to disrupt the bacterial cell membrane as compared to N-alkyl (50% C14, 40% C12, 10% C10) dimethylbenzylammonium chloride. Together, these results suggest that the polymer FMB 1210-8 could constitute a good disinfectant against Escherichia coli, which could be advantageously used in wastewater treatments due to the low toxicity of beta-CD and CMC, and moderated toxicity of FMB 1210-8 to human and environment.     

The fate of 14C-radiolabelled diclofenac and 4'-hydroxydiclofenac in membrane bioreactor treatment of wastewater

This study aimed at enhancing knowledge on the fate of diclofenac (DF), together with its main human metabolite 4'-hydroxydiclofenac (4'OHDF), during wastewater treatment by using a laboratory-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR). The reactor was fed continuously with non-radiolabelled diclofenac for a one month period prior to a single pulse of a 14C-radiolabelled solution of DF and 4'OHDF. The solution spike contained approximately 25% 4'OHDF and 65% DF, which corresponds to the ratio observed in municipal sewage, as well as traces of two other metabolites. The radioactivity was monitored for a total of twelve days in the various output streams. The calculation of the complete mass balance in the system demonstrated that the major part of the radioactivity left the reactor with the permeate (88.7%), while 2.1% was recovered in the excess sludge. Negligible amounts were recovered in the off-gas traps and on the membranes. Chromatographic analyses of effluent samples, by means of HPLC-MS coupled in parallel to a radiodetector, displayed a different pattern than the one of the spiked solution. It showed the occurrence of three additional metabolites.     

Dynamic changes of the ecological environment quality in a river basin: a case study of the main stream of Songhua river basin

This paper reports the investigation and analysis of the status and dynamic changes of ecological environment quality in the main stream of Songhua river basin. The evaluation index system was established and the eco-environment quality in the year of 2000 and 2008 was studied in depth. Based on our research, the trend of dynamic changes of the eco-environment quality and its origins have been further discussed: In the year of 2000, the range of evaluation index covered from 0.31 to 0.47. Harbin and Yichun was relatively better than the rest of study areas. In the year of 2008, except districts of Daqing and Qitaihe, the environmental quality of Songhua river basin has entirely improved, wherein the evaluation index of the eco-environment covered from 0.31 to 0.57. Particularly, the eco-environment quality of Hegang and Shuangyashan has obtained significant improvement, whereas the improvement of Jiamusi was not obvious. According to the evaluation results, the environmental quality in the study area has an upward trend with the average growth rate 0.13% per year.     

Urine nitrification and sewer discharge to realize in-sewer denitrification to simplify sewage treatment in Hong Kong

The chemically enhanced primary treatment works in Hong Kong will be upgraded for biological nitrogen removal. This study proposed a novel approach to waive the upgrading by urine source-separation, onsite nitrification and discharge of nitrified urine into sewers to achieve in-sewer denitrification. Human urine was collected and a lab-scale experiment for full urine nitrification was conducted. The results showed that full nitrification was achieved with alkaline addition. Simulation of nitrified urine discharge into an 8-km pressure main in Hong Kong was conducted with a quasi-2D dynamic sewer model developed from a previously calibrated sewer biofilm model. It was assumed that 70% of the residents' urine was collected and fully nitrified on-site. The simulation results revealed that the proposed approach is effective in removal of nitrogen within the sewer, which decreases ammonia-N at the sewer outlet to a level required for secondary effluent discharge in Hong Kong.     

脱水导致的某些特殊疼痛

医学上的很多疾病都是我们无意识地进入脱水状态所致,因为身体最终会把缺水这一局面,通过某种奇特而确凿的方式显示出来。例如我们已谈过的胃灼热、胃痛等。以下疼痛也与缺水有关。     

脱水 让身体面临危机

关节脱水的后果如果关节脱水,软骨细胞就会处于强烈的摩擦状态,从而使它们迅速死亡,而死亡的细胞需要得到替换。软骨使用过度,并且处在修复状态,它就可能受到损伤,这一区域的感应器就会发出强烈的信号,表达它们急需修理的愿望。     

Multicamera people tracking with a probabilistic occupancy map

Given two to four synchronized video streams taken at eye level and from different angles, we show that we can effectively combine a generative model with dynamic programming to accurately follow up to six individuals across thousands of frames in spite of significant occlusions and lighting changes. In addition, we also derive metrically accurate trajectories for each one of them.Our contribution is twofold. First, we demonstrate that our generative model can effectively handle occlusions in each time frame independently, even when the only data available comes from the output of a simple background subtraction algorithm and when the number of individuals is unknown a priori. Second, we show that multi-person tracking can be reliably achieved by processing individual trajectories separately over long sequences, provided that a reasonable heuristic is used to rank these individuals and avoid confusing them with one another.