Case study on the implementation of deammonification for the process water treatment of Munich WWTPs

The two-staged WWTP 'Gut Grosslappen' has a capacity of 2 mio. PE. It comprises a pre-denitrification in the first stage using recirculation from the nitrifying second stage. A residual post-denitrification in a downstream sand filter is required in order to achieve the effluent standards. Presently the process water from sludge digestion is treated separately by nitrification/denitrification. Due to necessary reconstruction of the biological stages, the process water treatment was included in the future overall process concept of the WWTP. A case study was conducted comparing the processes nitritation/denitrititation and deammonification with nitrification/denitrification including their effect on the operational costs of the planned main flow treatment. Besides the different operating costs the investment costs required for the process water treatment played a significant role. Six cases for the process water treatment were compared. As a result, in Munich deammonification can only be recommended for long-term future developments, due to the high investment costs, compared with the nitritation/denitritation alternative realizable in existing tanks. The savings concerning aeration, sludge disposal and chemicals were not sufficient to compensate for the additional investment costs. Due to the specific circumstances in Munich, for the time being the use of existing tanks for nitritation/denitritation proved to be most economical.     

Evaluation of the origin of nitrate influencing the Klju? groundwater source, Serbia

This paper describes the use of the dual isotope method involving δ(15)N and δ(18)O measurements of dissolved nitrates to assess the origin and fate of groundwater nitrate at the Klju? groundwater source, Serbia. A sampling campaign was conducted in September 2007 during flow conditions obtaining groundwater from observation wells and river water fed by a shallow aquifer hosted in alluvial (sandy-gravel) sediments. Nitrate isotope ratios ranged from +5.3 to +16.9‰ and δ(18)O(NO(3)) values varied from -2.3 to +5.0‰. Two major contamination sources were identified with isotopic compositions characteristic for nitrate derived from nitrification of soil organic nitrogen (+5.3 to +7.8‰ for δ(15)N) resulting in nitrate concentrations of 33.6 and 78.8 mg/L and nitrate derived from animal wastes or human sewage, e.g. via septic systems, yielding δ(15)N values of +9.9 to +11.9‰ and elevated nitrate concentrations of 31.2-245.8 mg/L. The occurrence of nitrification and denitrification was also revealed based on concentration and isotope data for dissolved nitrate.     

Indikatorenbasierte Evaluierung von Fischhabitaten in alpinen Fließgewässern

The EU Water Framework Directive commits member states to achieve good ecological status in all waterbodies. Artificial or heavily modified waterbodies must reach at least its good ecological potential. In view of these requirements, simple and feasible methods are required in order to evaluate habitat suitability for relevant target species in larger river reaches. Well-developed models for determining the relationship between stream flows and habitat for target species mainly based on micro- and meso-scale already exist. However, the application of such models is complex and time-consuming and consequently limited to relatively short river segments. The objective of this study is to develop a simplified applicable assessment model to evaluate habitat conditions for selected target fish. This model uses hydro-morphological indicators for the habitat assessment and relies on correlative relations between habitat suitability and hydro-morphological features of river stretches (average Froude-number, relative flow width, mean bed slope, relative water depth and flow velocity). The indicators were determined as reach-related averages, derived from 2D model simulations (hydraulic and habitat-specific). Particular emphasis was laid on using a wide range of river stretches with different hydro-morphological characteristics (hydrology, bed substratum, bed structures, degree of braiding, sinuosity of the river course, mean bed width and bed slope). As a result, a set of model equations enables the evaluation of fish habitat conditions in river stretches as a function of flow and morphology. The habitat suitability assessment focuses on four preselected target species: brown trout, European grayling and for low slope rivers common nase and barbel.     

Die Wasserkraftschnecke – Praxis, Prüfstand und Potenzial

Since 2001 Archimedean screws have been used for commercial power generation. However, due to a lack of distribution, this comparatively new, ultra-low-head technology is essentially still a niche product. This work examines their potential, combining an operator survey, field measurements as well as laboratory tests. In extensive lab experiments, efficiencies were measured and compared for seven different screw types at varying speed-to-flow-rate combinations and inclination angles. Here, both excellent efficiencies and the impact of different parameters were observed and significant potential for improvement on the state of the art was found. This article summarizes the area of application, practical experience to date, and the latest developments concerning this highly efficient, low-maintenance, and ecologically promising low-head technology. In doing so, it also provides a well-founded basis for decision-making involving turbine selection at small hydropower sites.     

Xetal-II: A 107 GOPS, 600 mW Massively Parallel Processor for Video Scene Analysis

Xetal-II is a single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) processor with 320 processing elements. It delivers a peak performance of 107 GOPS on 16-bit data while dissipating 600 mW. A 10 Mbit on-chip memory is provided which can store up to four VGA frames, allowing efficient implementation of frame-iterative algorithms. A massively parallel interconnect provides an internal bandwidth of more than 1.3 Tbit/s to sustain the peak performance. The IC is realized in 90 nm CMOS and takes up 74 mm².     

Instability during cohesive zone growth

Tensile microcracking of quasi-brittle materials is studied by means of micromechanics, based on (i) an elasto-damaging cohesive zone model accounting for cohesive softening and (ii) a dilute distribution of non-interacting microcracks of uniform orientation and size. Considering virgin microcracks (initially without cohesive zones), macroscopic tensile load increase results in growth of cohesive zones ahead of stationary (non-propagating) cracks and, subsequently, in crack propagation which, notably, will be encountered before the cohesive zones are fully developed i.e. onset of instable cohesive zone growth will be encountered at a load level (i) at which tractions are still transmitted across the inner edges of the cohesive zones and (ii) at which the separation at the inner edges of the cohesive zones is smaller than its critical value. Focusing on onset of instable cohesive zone growth, the chosen approach allows for accessing quantities characterizing the stability limit (e.g., the intensity of the macroscopic loading and the opening at the inner edges of the cohesive zones), without raising the need for non-linear Finite Element analyses. It is shown that the tensile macrostrength of materials containing virgin microcracks is larger than the one related to cracks with already initially fully developed cohesive zones, and related strength differences are quantified for a wide class of cohesive softening behavior. The proposed model is validated by comparing model predictions with an exact solution (available for the special case of constant cohesive tractions) and with results from reliable Finite Element analyses. The paper will be of interest for engineers involved in testing and/or in modeling of quasi-brittle media including cementitious materials and rock.     

Mixed crystalline films of co-evaporated hydrogen- and fluorine-terminated phthalocyanines and their application in photovoltaic devices

Blends of organic electron and hole conductive materials are widely used for ambipolar charge carrier transport and photovoltaic cells. An obvious choice for donor–acceptor blends are organic semiconducting materials in their hydrogenated and fluorinated form, since they combine potentially suitable electronic properties with structural compatibility of the two constituents. This study focuses on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of blends using hydrogenated copper-phthalocyanine (H₁₆CuPc) in combination with its per-fluorinated version (F₁₆CuPc). Using X-ray scattering, scanning force microscopy and optical absorption measurements we show that mixed crystalline films are obtained by co-evaporation of the two materials. Electrical transport measurements reveal a profound reduction of the current for bipolar charge injection in mixed films. We discuss the formation of self-trapped charge transfer excitons as possible explanation for this unexpected behaviour, which impedes the usability of this system in photovoltaic cells.     

Application of the Tauc-Lorentz formulation to the interband absorption of optical coating materials

Recent progress in ellipsometry instrumentation permits precise measurement and characterization of optical coating materials in the deep-UV wavelength range. Dielectric coating materials exhibit their first electronic interband transition in this spectral range. The Tauc-Lorentz model is a powerful tool with which to parameterize interband absorption above the band edge. The application of this model for the parameterization of the optical absorption of TiO2, Ta2O5, HfO2, Al2O3, and LaF3 thin-film materials is described.