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The Nueces River and Bay were monitored every 2-4 weeks for 19 months for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, silicate, salinity, water level, river current and volume of water discharged from a sewage treatment plant located 10 km from the mouth of the river. A second sewage treatment plant discharging directly into the bay was also studied. Seasonal variations were explored, as well as geographic distribution of the nutrients. Measurements of dissolved organic nitrogen, particulate nitrogen, and estimates of nitrogen fixation, denitrification, sedimentation, other anthropogenic inputs, rain fall, and water exchange allowed calculation of the entire nitrogen budget for the river and bay. A variety of ion selective electrodes were evaluated for use as monitors of dissolved nitrogenous species in natural waters. A field ammonium monitor (FAM) was developed using a flow-through ammonia gas electrode, and deployed for up to 10 consecutive days in the outfall of the two sewage treatment plants. The instrument performed automatic calibrations and sample analysis every hour via on-board mixing of the sample with a basic solution prior to measuring the partial pressure of ammonia. For water samples containing 10-500 micromolar ammonia, the instrument analyses compared favorably with a Technicon AutoAnalyzer II employing the Berthelot reaction and measuring the adsorption of indophenol blue at 637 nm. The ammonium output of the plants were found to be highly variable on a daily basis, indicating the need for more frequent monitoring than the typical weekly or monthly sampling. An ammonium ion selective electrode was also used to monitor the Nueces River, using an additional temperature, pH and conductivity probe to calculate the sample water's ammonium ion activity. These waters contained a significant amount of seawater; the relatively high levels of sodium and potassium interfered with the ion selective membrane of the probe. An attempt to compensate for these interferences was only partially successful, confirming that the field use of ammonium ion electrodes are only possible in low conductivity fresh waters. The FAM, however, exhibited little salinity interference

The phosphorus removal characteristics of several gravel-based constructed wetland systems (CWSs) in the treatment of secondary sewage effluent was studied.Investigations were conducted on water quality parameters (redox potential, pH, dissolved oxygen and temperature) which affect phosphorus adsorption to substrata.Laboratory phosphorus adsorption experiments on Richmond CWS gravel substrata, a gravel used in Griffith CWS trials and a locally available soil, Hawkesbury sandstone, involved ion-exchange experiments and calculation of Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms and column adsorption/desorption trials.Six steelworks by-products were investigated in laboratory studies, to determine their potential for use as phosphorus adsorbers in a CWS: granulated blast furnace slag(GBF), blast furnace slag(BF), steel slag(SS), fly ash(FA), bottom ash(BA) and coal wash(CW).The ability to adsorb phosphorus was then correlated to the chemical attributes of each substratum.Of the six steelworks by-products screened in laboratory-based studies as substrata for P removal in a CWS, BF and SS slags showed the most potential due to their high phosphorus adsorption capacity and useable matrix size.Further research is recommended to evaluate the sustainability of using slags for P removal (as well as other contaminants present in wastewater), using full scale CWSs, which should include an evaluation of any likely environmental impacts using leachability and toxicity studies.

Design considerations and operating procedures were investigated for nitrogen removal in an extended aeration-denitrification facility. Both past and present removal efficiencies were evaluated for the facility, along with capital and operating cost data. The findings of this research indicate that at very long detention times, significant nitrification and denitrification occurred in the plant without the use of chemicals. Overall nitrogen, BOD5, and suspended solids removals were extremely high. The significance of this research is that future plants may achieve high rates of nitrogen removal through innovative design and operating procedures without the use of costly chemicals. However, capital costs needed to achieve longer detention items will have to be evaluated for the individual plant.

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If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu

If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu

This report is the result of investigation of the feasibility of increasing the use of autamatic controls at the Florida Technological University Wastewater Treatment Plant. This investigation was to include a literature search and visits to wastewater treatment plants. During the writers course of study, he was privileged to make a series of tests of a residual chlorine analyzer which was made in the school shop. Since this work was closely related to automatic controls the data are included in this report.