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• A quantitative method was proposed to assess the shear stability of AGS. • Parameter a had a strong positive linear correlation with the wet density of AGS. • LGS represented the equilibrium size for AGS after sheared for a period of time. • LGS was significantly and exponentially related to the parameter a. • The results were validated with the AGS samples from a pilot-scale AGS-MBR. This work established a quantitative method to access the shear stability of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) and validated its feasibility by using the mature AGS from a pilot-scale (50 tons/day) membrane bioreactor (MBR) for treating real municipal wastewater. The results showed that the changing rate (Δ S) of the peak area (S) of granule size distribution (GSD) exhibited an exponential relationship (R 2≥0.76) with the shear time (y = a − b · c x), which was a suitable indicative index to reflect the shear stability of different AGS samples. The limiting granule size (LGS) was defined and proposed to characterize the equilibrium size for AGS after being sheared for a period of time, whose value in terms of Dv50 showed high correlation (R 2=0.92) with the parameter a. The free Ca2+ (28.44–34.21 mg/L) in the influent specifically interacted with polysaccharides (PS) in the granule's extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) as a nucleation site, thereby inducing the formation of Ca precipitation to enhance its Young's modulus, while Ca2+ primarily interacted with PS in soluble metabolic product (SMP) during the initial granulation process. Furthermore, the Young's modulus significantly affected the parameter a related to shear stability (R 2=0.99). Since the parameter a was more closely related (R 2=1.00) to Δ S than that of the parameter b or c , the excellent correlation (R 2=0.99) between the parameter a and the wet density further verified the feasibility of this method. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The osmotically assisted reverse osmosis (OARO) process is gaining attention for cost‐effective aqueous solution concentration. However, there is a lack of pilot‐scale studies. This research used two spiral‐wound modules in a pilot‐scale plant. The first one, an adapted commercial reverse osmosis module, showed no positive results, likely due to excessive membrane thickness and high internal concentration polarization. In contrast, the second one consisting of a novel forward osmosis prototype demonstrated promising outcomes, achieving water fluxes exceeding 2 L m−2 h−1 even at high salt concentrations (50 g L−1) and relatively low applied pressures (above 12 bar). The study highlights OARO potential, underscores limitations, and emphasizes the need for dedicated module design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pilot-scale investigation of ozonation combined with electrolysis (E-O3) was performed to treat concentrated wastewater from a reverse osmosis system from the printing and dyeing industry. It was found that E-O3 only exhibits an efficiency advantage after the removal of carbonate ions. The synergy of ozone and electrolysis lies not only in the generation of hydroxyl radicals, but also in the degradation of organic compounds. Moreover, the combination of electrolysis and ozonation has an inhibitory effect on the decrease in pH, which plays an important role in the synergistic generation of hydroxyl radicals. This pilot-scale study holds reference significance for the engineering applications of the E-O3 technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extortionate demand of global bioethanol has led to a burgeoning interest in finding the alternative sources of biofuel. For this purpose, researchers are interested in microalgae because of its biorefinery applications and ability to produce biofuels, and other value-added products. Bioethanol is the most extensively used renewable fuel and is one of the realistic candidates for addressing environmental issues and mitigating the low base of oil supply. Chlorella sorokiniana can be considered as the most eminent source of bioethanol due to the accumulation of high levels of carbohydrates which can significantly be converted into renewable, cost-effective, and eco-friendly bioethanol. Keeping in view the importance of pretreatment for the efficient production of biofuels, the present study was targeted to determine the optimum conditions required for the chemical pretreatment. The selected microalgae strain was cultivated under mixotrophic and photoautotrophic conditions at laboratory and pilot scales. For mixotrophic cultivation, 0.2% (v/w) of molasses was used as an organic source of carbon. The reducing sugar content of Chlorella sp. was studied by pretreating the dried biomass with dilute H2SO4 and NaOH at 3%, 5%, 7%, and 9% (v/v) concentrations. Mixotrophic cultivation conditions along with 3% H2SO4 pretreatment showed the most efficient recovery of entrapped sugars from algal cell wall consequently producing maximum amount of bioethanol. At lab scale, the biomass cultivated under photoautotrophic and mixotrophic conditions and pretreated with 3% acid produced maximum of 10.96 and 16.07 g/L ethanol, respectively, while maximum ethanol production of biomass cultivated under mixotrophic conditions in alkaline pretreatment was 12.21 g/L at 9% NaOH and in biomass cultivated under photoautotrophic conditions maximum 9.89 g/L of ethanol production was estimated at 5% NaOH. During pilot-scale cultivation, the mixotrophically cultivated biomass pretreated with acidic medium produced 13.45 ± 4.31 g/L ethanol and photoautotrophically cultivated biomass resulted into 10.8 ± 6.31 g/L of ethanol with 88 and 83% of substrate reduction, respectively. This study proofs that biomass of C. sorokiniana pretreated with H2SO4 can act as a possible alternative for the sustainable production of bioethanol. Optimum growth of C. sorokiniana by using molasses in mixotrophic culture conditions also addresses the ability of microalgae to treat wastewaters and use waste materials as a carbon source. For the commercial production of bioethanol from microalgae, results of the present study will be helpful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalytic ozonation is regarded as a promising technology in the advanced treatment of refractory organic wastewater. Packed-bed reactors are widely used in practical applications due to simple structures, installation and operation. However, mass transfer of packed-bed reactors is relatively restrained and amplified deviations usually occurred in scale-up application. Herein, a multi-scale packed-bed model of catalytic ozonation was established to guide pilot tests. First, a laboratory-scale test was conducted to obtain kinetic parameters needed for modeling. Then, a multi-scale packed-bed model was developed to research the effects of water distribution structure, catalyst particle size, and hydraulic retention time (HRT) on catalytic ozonation. It was found that the performance of packed bed reactor was increased with evenly distributed water inlet, HRT of 60 min, and catalyst diameter of about 3–7 mm. Last, an optimized reactor was manufactured and a pilot-scale test was conducted to treat kitchen wastewater using catalytic ozonation process. In the pilot-scale test with an ozone dosage of 50 mg/L and HRT of 60 min, the packed-bed reactor filled with catalysts I was able to reduce chemical oxygen demand (COD) from 117 to 59 mg/L. The performance of the catalytic ozonation process in the packed-bed reactor for the advanced treatment of actual kitchen wastewater was investigated via both multi-scale simulation and pilot-scale tests in this study, which provided a practical method for optimizing the reactors of treating refractory organic wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Three photovoltaic-assisted composting systems were developed for rural waste treatment. • Monthly turning and ventilation-dehydration treatment is recommended as the optimized process for the system. • Oxygen disparity at gradient heights of the compost pile significantly affects the physicochemical properties and maturity process of composting. • Manual turning and ventilation-dehydration optimize compost maturity. • The humification process at gradient heights is influenced by oxygen disparity and has different mechanisms. This study constructs three different photovoltaic assisted composting systems to treat rural domestic waste, and explores the interaction pathways between biomacromolecules and other factors under oxygen disparity at gradient heights of the compost. The optimized mode of regular turning and ventilation-dehydration significantly reduced the moisture content by 53.6% and increased the seed germination index by 35.6%. The oxygen content at different heights under the optimized mode significantly affects the physicochemical properties of the compost, and the degradation of cellulose, hemicellulose, and protein in the middle is higher than other parts. The structural equation model shows that the physicochemical properties at the bottom are affected by biomacromolecules, which may be related to volatile fatty acids(VFAs) produced under low oxygen conditions.The research results show that using manual turning and ventilation-dehydration as the optimized process can promote compost maturity, and oxygen concentration has an important impact on the humification process of the compost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon cycle regulation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission abatement within wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can theoretically improve sustainability. Currently, however, large amounts of external carbon sources used for deep nitrogen removal and waste sludge disposal aggravate the carbon footprint of most WWTPs. In this pilot-scale study, considerable carbon was preliminarily recovered from primary sludge (PS) through short-term (five days) acidogenic fermentation and subsequently utilized on-site for denitrification in a wool processing industrial WWTP. The recovered sludge-derived carbon sources were excellent electron donors that could be used as additional carbon supplements for commercial glucose to enhance denitrification. Additionally, improvements in carbon and nitrogen flow further contributed to GHG emission abatement. Overall, a 9.1% reduction in sludge volatile solids was achieved from carbon recovery, which offset 57.4% of external carbon sources, and the indirect GHG emissions of the target industrial WWTP were reduced by 8.05%. This study demonstrates that optimizing the allocation of carbon mass flow within a WWTP has numerous benefits.

It is important to develop a catalyst that has high catalytic activity and can improve the degradation efficiency of refractory organic pollutants in the catalytic ozonation process. In this study, Fe-Mn-Cu-Ce/Al2O3 was synthesised via impregnation calcination for catalytic ozonation of bio-treated coking wastewater. The physical and chemical characteristics of the catalysts were analysed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller nitrogen adsorption–desorption methods. The effects of catalyst dosage, pH, and reflux ratio on the degradation efficiency of wastewater were examined in laboratory-scale experiments. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rate of bio-treated coking wastewater was estimated to be 52.76 % under optimal conditions. The experiments on the catalytic mechanism demonstrated that the surface hydroxyl formed by the Lewis acid sites on the surface of the catalyst can react with ozone as the active site forming the active oxygen (·OH, ·O2–, and 1O2), thereby efficiently degrading the organic pollutants in coking wastewater. Furthermore, a pilot-scale experiment on the catalytic ozonation of bio-treated coking wastewater was carried out using an Fe-Mn-Cu-Ce/Al2O3 catalyst, while the effects of the initial pollutant concentration, ozone concentration, and gas flow on the COD removal rate were studied on a pilot scale. It was found that the COD removal rate of the wastewater was ∼ 60 % under optimal parameters. After the treatment, the wastewater steadily reached the coking wastewater discharge standard (COD

• Membrane-coated DSA electrode evaluated for pilot chlorate production. • HER selectivity improved via coating with thin ion exchange membrane. • Cathodic efficiency increased from ∼80 % to ∼90 % under industrial relevant condition. • Coating thickness optimized to ensure higher stability during electrolysis. • H 2 permeability found crucial for maintaining coating's structural integrity. Sodium chlorate (NaClO 3) is primarily used for producing chlorine dioxide, an environmentally friendly bleaching agent for pulp. Currently, dichromate is used as an electrolyte additive in the chlorate process where it has several functions, but due to health and environmental risks associated with chromate, there is a need for a less toxic alternative. In the present study, we prepared a membrane-coated cathode as a substitute for chromium(VI), to keep a high current efficiency in chlorate electrolysis. This electrode employed an industrially relevant electrode with active catalysts as the substrate and a thin layer of ion exchange polymer as the coating. The coating effectively blocked anions such as ClO− and ClO 3 − from reaching the cathode, thereby suppressing cathodic side reactions. We conducted a series of electrochemical characterizations on the membrane-coated cathodes with varying coating thickness and tested them in a pilot-scale setup for efficiency and stability under industrial testing conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Operating parameters for the two-stage nitritation/anammox (PN/A) process in mainstream flows from lab-scale to pilot-scale were investigated. In the batch experiment, the specific activities of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) were fitted with a Monod model, and the oxygen affinity of NOB was higher than that of AOB. Nevertheless, dissolved oxygen concentrations higher than 2.0 mgO 2 /L were effectively applied for selective inhibition of NOB. In addition, organic matter was evaluated as the operating parameter that inhibited the activity of NOB more selectively than AOB under mainstream conditions. The operating parameters determined in the batch experiment were verified in a continuous experiment, and it was shown that the shortening of hydraulic retention time with increasing aeration time in the sequencing batch reactor cycle has the potential to selectively enhance the activity of AOB over NOB. The effect on the C/N ratio and temperature in a lab-scale anammox reactor was investigated. The denitrification with the addition of organic matter contributed to the improvement of nitrogen removal efficiency, but a C/N ratio of more than 1.0 severely deteriorated the sludge settleability. The operating factors for the mainstream PN/A determined in the lab scale were applied to the pilot plant. As a result, a nitrogen removal efficiency of 79 ± 11% was stably achieved with effluent total nitrogen of 2.6 ± 1.5 mg/L. However, unpredictable fluctuations in environmental factors revealed that residual ammonium was another critical factor affecting mainstream PN/A. • The operating parameters on mainstream PN/A from lab-scale to pilot-scale studies were investigated. • The DO, C/N ratio, and HRT were verified as factors significantly affecting the PN. • The effects of C/N and temperature as design factors for the anammox were investigated. • The NRE of 79 ± 11% was achieved at pilot-scale with operating factors determined in lab-scale studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In situ anaerobic treatment is an effective and sustainable method for petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC)-contaminated groundwater remediation. In this study, application of a formerly screened microbial agent with quinone-respiration ability for PHC removal in our previous study on an actual contaminated site has been investigated. The background characterization revealed that bioaugmentation should be applicable taking into consideration the contamination plume, N:P ratio, overall dissolved oxygen, toxic substances, and colony number. In single-well investigation, viable bacteria present in groundwater were not sharply decreased after injection and maintained around 80% on the 28th day. Removal rate of PHCs in groundwater in injection and monitoring wells on the 28th day was 96% and 52%, respectively, while it decreased to 36% with the distance from the injection well increasing to 2 m. In multiwell investigation, removal rate for PHCs (C < 22) in injection wells was 95%, 89%, and 94%, respectively, after 63 days. Addition of nitrate nitrogen slightly improved the removal rate of PHCs, while presence of biological surfactants resulted in a quicker, greater, and more stable PHC removing process. A higher removal rate was found in monitoring wells on the downstream of the groundwater, with a maximum of about 76.5%. Degradation of PHCs in GW1-S3 (3 m from the injection well) reached 76.1%, which was much higher than that in single-well investigation, mainly due to the longer reaction time and groundwater flow. The remediation process in a stable period obeyed pseudo-first-order degradation kinetics. The results document the suitability of application of microbial agent to bioremediate PHC-contaminated sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To increase the safety of drinking water supply for residents, the O3/BAC (ozonation and biological activated carbon filtration) advanced treatment was investigated through a pilot-scale water plant in Harbin City. Results indicated that the raw water of the Songhuajiang River contained a high content of turbidity, chemical oxygen demand (CODMn), and NH3-N, which resulted in substandard water quality via the conventional treatment. However, after treatment by the O3/BAC process, the average removal rates of turbidity, CODMn, NH3-N, UV254, total organic carbon, and trihalomethane formation potential in effluent were 97.97%, 84.84%, 64.29%, 87.39%, 72.09%, and 78.67%, respectively. The combined effect of the pre-ozonation and O3/BAC process also eliminated the precursors of disinfection by-products from water. The results indicate that the O3/BAC process is effective and promising to treat water from the Songhuajiang River. Moreover, the stable operation of the system confirmed that it can meet the effluent requirements of the "Standards for drinking water quality" (GB5749-2006), and also ensure minimal fluctuations in the treated water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A systematic study on the pilot-scale fabrication of NF membranes and modules. • The NF module exhibits a flux of 75 L m−2 h−1 and MgSO 4 rejection of 95% at 6 bar. • The NF modules hold bright potential in potable and mineral water treatment. Few studies have reported on the detail of the mass production process of nanofiltration (NF) membranes and modules due to technical confidentiality. This work presents a procedure of fabrication of NF membranes and modules on the pilot scale. Thin film composite (TFC) NF flat-sheet membranes of 300 mm width were continuously fabricated via custom-designed equipment. The fabrication parameters and their effects on NF performance were systematically investigated. The optimized conditions parameters were achieved for excellent NF modules' performance. The modules show over 75 L m−2 h−1 flux at 6 bar and over 95% MgSO 4 rejection. This study may provide insightful guidelines for the scale-up of NF membranes for water treatment and other applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A pilot-scale plant of A2O-BCO was established and operated continuously for 385 days. • PDPRA was proposed and applied by leveraging DPAOs as NO 2 - suppliers for anammox. • PDPRA enabled a mainstream anammox activity as high as 6.14 μmol-N/(L·h). • PDPRA facilitated a high-level enrichment of AnAOB (Ca. Brocadia, 2.46 ± 0.52 %). • CRE, ARE, NRE, and PRE achieved up to 83.5 %, 99.8 %, 77.1 %, and 99.3 %, respectively. Applying anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) in municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWWTPs) can unlock significant energy and resource savings. However, its practical implementation encounters significant challenges, particularly due to its limited compatibility with carbon and phosphorus removal processes. This study established a pilot-scale plant featuring a modified anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (A2O) process and operated continuously for 385 days, treating municipal wastewater of 50 m3/d. For the first time, we propose a novel concept of partial denitrifying phosphorus removal coupling with anammox (PDPRA), leveraging denitrifying phosphorus-accumulating organisms (DPAOs) as NO 2 − suppliers for anammox. 15N stable isotope tracing revealed that the PDPRA enabled an anammox reaction rate of 6.14 ± 0.18 μmol-N/(L·h), contributing 57.4 % to total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) removal. Metagenomic sequencing and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing unveiled the co-existence and co-prosperity of anammox bacteria and DPAOs, with Candidatus Brocadia being highly enriched in the anoxic biofilms at a relative abundance of 2.46 ± 0.52 %. Finally, the PDPRA facilitated the synergistic conversion and removal of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus nutrients, achieving remarkable removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD, 83.5 ± 5.3 %), NH 4 + (99.8 ± 0.7 %), TIN (77.1 ± 3.6 %), and PO 4 3− (99.3 ± 1.6 %), even under challenging operational conditions such as low temperature of 11.7 °C. The PDPRA offers a promising solution for reconciling the mainstream anammox and the carbon and phosphorus removal, shedding fresh light on the paradigm shift of MWWTPs in the near future. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of phytoremediation of sediments contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by two submerged aquatic plants (Vallisneria spiralis and Hydrilla verticillata) at pilot scale were reported for the first time in this study. During a 108-day period, the plants grew well, and more PAHs were dissipated in planted sediments than in unplanted sediments. At the end, dissipation ratios of phenanthrene and pyrene were 85.9% and 79.1% in sediments planted with V. spiralis, 76.3% and 64.6% in sediments planted with H. verticillata, but only 64.8% and 55.8% in unplanted sediments. V. spiralis exhibited higher phytoremediation ability, which was significantly related to its root oxygenation as indicated by the redox potential in sediments. The remediation results at pilot scale were also compared with those previously obtained in our laboratory. The ratio of root weight to sediment weight showed a similar trend to PAH dissipation enhancement. Bioconcentration factors of PAHs in the two plants were larger in the pilot experiment than in the laboratory tests as a result of quicker increase of plant weight in the pilot experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Given the high ammonia nitrogen (NH 3 -N) concentration and low biological oxygen demand/chemical oxygen demand (BOD/COD) ratio (<0.1) in mature landfill leachate, it is hard to treat it with the membrane bioreactor (MBR) system to meet the discharge standard for Pollution Control of the Municipal Solid Waste Landfills" (GB16889-2008) without additional carbon source. This pilot-scale study evaluated the use of negative pressure steam-stripping technology for the pretreatment of mature landfill leachate. Our study results have shown that NH 3 -N concentrations of raw leachate and treated effluent from steam-stripping tower were respectively 2941–3648 mg/L and 401–710 mg/L, yielding an average NH 3 -N removal efficiency of 82.03%. Nitrogen (N) was recovered via the formation of NH 4 HCO 3 in the ammonia recovery tower, and the effluent of steam-stripping tower was further treated by MBR system. Economic evaluation results showed that initial investment in pretreatment could be offset by respectively reducing energy consumption and operational costs of the MBR system by 60% and 80%. Furthermore, most of Ca2+ and Mg2+ in mature leachate was removed through the formation of CaCO 3 and MgCO 3 after pretreatment, which avoided membrane fouling and increased the membrane filtration efficiency of MBR system. To conclude, this pilot-study has indicated that negative pressure steam-stripping pretreatment is an efficient and cost-effective technology for the removal of NH 3 -N, making MBR technology viable without the need for additional carbon source. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Negative pressure steam-stripping denitrification of leachate evaluated. • Economy of membrane bioreactor systems with and without pretreatment also compared. • This pretreatment is an efficient and cost-effective technology for removing NH 3 -N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • O 3 -BAC was proven an appropriate technology for the removal of sulfonamides. • BAC overcame the problem of increased THMsFP and HAAsFP resulting from ozonation. • Sulfonamide-resistant bacteria would increase after BAC filtration. • The biological safety in the application of O 3 -BAC was highlighted. Abstract Removal of sulfonamides (SAs) by an integrated ozonation and biological activated carbon filtration (O 3 -BAC) process, as an advanced drinking water treatment process, was evaluated in a pilot-scale study. Furthermore, the effects of the O 3 -BAC process on sulfonamide-resistant bacteria (SRB) and on the removal of total organic carbon, UV 254 , and turbidity were investigated. Results indicate that ozonation could effectively remove SAs from water at an appropriate ozone dose with an improvement of water quality; however, BAC filtration would lead to an increase of SRB. In addition, the performance of the integrated process in eliminating disinfection byproducts formation potential (DBPsFP) in chlorination was evaluated. The results show ozonation would result in an increase of DBPsFP, while subsequent BAC filtration could effectively reduce DBPsFP to the safety-standard level of water quality. Overall, effective removal was achieved by the O 3 -BAC process in terms of the reduction of SAs but not of SRB. Subsequent disinfection is significant and biological safety should be evaluated further to ensure the effectiveness of the integrated process and the security of water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing membrane flux, rejection, antimicrobial and chlorine resistance has been the focus of reverse osmosis membrane research. The permselectivity, chlorine resistance and antimicrobial properties of a polyamide (PA) membrane were improved by immobilization of self-synthesized amine functional hydantoin derivative poly(3-allyl-5,5-dimethylhydantoin- co -vinylamine) (P(ADMH- co -VAm)). The chlorine resistance and antimicrobial property of the modified membrane could be regenerated due to the reversible transition between hydantoin and N-halamine. The lab-scale virgin and modified membranes were systematically characterized, and their performances were evaluated and compared with some representative commercial membranes. The modified membrane showed similar permselectivity, but higher and regenerable chlorine resistance and antimicrobial property as compared with the commercial membrane e.g., BW30FR. Next, a pilot-scale 0.4-m wide continuous membrane production process was performed to fabricate membrane element. The permselectivity of the modified element was also improved. During the six “chlorination-sterilization” operation cycles, the element exhibited high antimicrobial property with small permselectivity changes. Thus, both the lab-scale and pilot-scale testing results demonstrated the improved performances of the modified membrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, micro-nano bubbles (MNBs) assisted ozonation process (O 3 /MNBs) was developed to enhance interfacial reactions for pollutant degradation. Notably, the removal of organic contaminants in O 3 /MNBs system was ultrafast over a wide pH range, much faster than that of macrobubbles ozonation process (O 3 /MaBs). Experimental observations suggested that MNBs can effectively accelerate O 3 interfacial mass transfer and enrich abundant OH− from a bulk solution, thus inducing high concentrations of O 3 and hyperaccumulation of OH− ions at gas-liquid interface. These interfacial characteristics of MNBs resulted in formation of a special interfacial reaction field, in which high concentration of O 3 can be quickly activated by hyperaccumulated OH− ions along with assistance of energy released by MNBs collapse, ultimately boosting •OOH generation significantly. In addition, •OOH/•O 2 - performed as critical intermediates for the formation of •OH in O 3 /MNBs process. O 3 /MNBs system demonstrated favorable and steady performance during long-term advanced treatment of industrial wastewater (∼7 m3/h) with significantly lower ΔO 3 /ΔCOD (1.41) than O 3 /MaBs system (2.69). The pilot-scale demonstration of O 3 /MNBs efficiently degraded all four categories of organic contaminants according to EEM fluorescence spectra. The study demonstrated an environmentally-benign technology for effective treatment of industrial wastewater. [Display omitted] • Interfacial reaction fields are formed in O 3 /micro-nano bubbles (MNBs) system. • Micro-nano bubbles boost •OOH generation significantly. • •OOH performs as critical intermediates for •OH formation in O 3 /MNBs process. • O 3 /MNBs system performs well for pollutants degradation over a wide pH range • O 3 /MNBs display ultrafast industrial wastewater treatment with lower ΔO 3 /ΔCOD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The degradation of bromate (BrO 3 − ) with UV/sulfite processes attracts much attention because of its high removal rate and easier combination with ultraviolet (UV) disinfection. This pilot study demonstrated the effectiveness of UV/sulfite systems and further investigated influences of typical environmental parameters such as UV fluence, pH, concentrations of sulfite ([ S (IV) T ]), humic acid (HA), bicarbonate (HCO 3 − ), and nitrate (NO 3 − ) on BrO 3 − degradation. Results showed that the decomposition was increased with the enhanced UV irradiance and [ S (IV) T ], whereas a considerable improvement was observed with enhancing pH only over pH 4.5–8.0 ranges probably due to the variation of sulfite species with pH in UV/sulfite systems. In contrast, the dosing of 2–5 mg/L HA proportionally suppressed BrO 3 − removal in UV/sulfite systems. The obvious inhibitory effect on removal kinetics suggests that HA acted primarily as a scavenger for active species. 2–8 mM HCO 3 − addition slightly depressed BrO 3 − degradation, indicating a weak inhibitor of HCO 3 − in photochemical processes. Moreover, scavenging experiments with NO 3 − demonstrated that the aqueous electron was responsible for decomposition of BrO 3 − by UV/sulfite systems in pilot studies. All the bromine atoms in BrO 3 − were reduced to Br − . Principal component analysis further substantiated that high NO 3 − and HA levels in authentic water inhibited the removal of BrO 3 − in a lower extent in pilot studies than that in laboratory experiments. The cost evaluation proved UV/sulfite processes to be economical, indicating its full-scale potential in BrO 3 − removal from drinking water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pilot-scale powdered activated carbon (PAC) countercurrent four-stage adsorption–microfiltration (MF) hybrid process was developed to remove organics from reverse osmosis concentrate (ROC). The main focus of this study was to remove the organic matters and prepare qualified influent with lower turbidity and silt density index (SDI) to reverse osmosis (RO) system for further desalination. The results indicated effective removal of organic pollutants from ROC with effluent values that met the requirements for RO influent. The average values of turbidity and SDI in the effluent were 0.70 NTU and 2.52, respectively. The average dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal rate was approximately 70% when the PAC dosage was between 0.35 and 0.45 g/L. Membrane fouling under two operational modes was analysed and compared, and membrane fouling was reduced in mode II operation. Mode II operation performed better in terms of a shorter hydraulic retention time and lower membrane fouling rate, resulting in more economical and effective operation. UV254 and DOC were linearly correlated for both the influent and effluent, and the removal rate of the DOC and PAC dosage also exhibited linear correlation with a linear coefficient R² > 0.95, which can be used to adjust the PAC dosage during operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • New design of pilot-scale CW-MFC system with aerobic chambers was configured. • MFCs with separator-electrode-assembly (SEA) were incorporated into anodic zone of CW-MFC. • COD removal efficiency of 97.56 % was achieved by individual CW-MFC in batch mode. • Maximum power density of 41.44 mW/m2 was achieved by a single MFC with SEA. In this study, a unique configuration of pilot scale constructed wetland-microbial fuel cell (CW-MFC) system was evaluated in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal from synthetic wastewater and bioelectricity generation. The system consists of nine individual CW-MFC units and two aerobic chambers configured in a fibre-reinforced rectangular tank (Total working volume-135.5 L). Typha angustifolia was used as wetland plant. To enhance electrical performance of the system, two auxiliary MFCs equipped with terracotta-based separator-electrode-assembly (SEA) were integrated into the anodic zone of each CW-MFC unit in addition to the conventional sediment-configured MFC. The system was evaluated in fed-batch and continuous up-flow modes of operations. All the CW integrated MFCs were studied individually without any combinations (parallel/series). In fed-batch mode, the CW-MFC unit of the system removed a maximum of 97.56 ± 1.6 % of COD from wastewater. The highest power and current densities achieved by the auxiliary MFCs were 58.55 mW/m2 and 229.6 mA/m2 respectively. In the continuous up-flow mode, the pilot-scale system treated around 4100 L of wastewater and exhibited a maximum of 82.8 ± 1.9 % COD removal efficiency. Whereas, the auxiliary MFCs attained the maximum power and current densities of 41.44 mW/m2 and 283.3 mA/m2 respectively. In both modes, the internal resistance of the auxiliary MFCs was found to be two times lower than that of the conventional sediment-configured MFCs of the system. The overall results manifested that the inclusion of SEAs and aerobic chambers in this innovative pilot-scale CW-MFC shows merit and improved the energetics of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] It is important to develop a catalyst that has high catalytic activity and can improve the degradation efficiency of refractory organic pollutants in the catalytic ozonation process. In this study, Fe-Mn-Cu-Ce/Al 2 O 3 was synthesised via impregnation calcination for catalytic ozonation of bio-treated coking wastewater. The physical and chemical characteristics of the catalysts were analysed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller nitrogen adsorption–desorption methods. The effects of catalyst dosage, pH, and reflux ratio on the degradation efficiency of wastewater were examined in laboratory-scale experiments. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rate of bio-treated coking wastewater was estimated to be 52.76 % under optimal conditions. The experiments on the catalytic mechanism demonstrated that the surface hydroxyl formed by the Lewis acid sites on the surface of the catalyst can react with ozone as the active site forming the active oxygen (·OH, ·O 2 –, and 1O 2), thereby efficiently degrading the organic pollutants in coking wastewater. Furthermore, a pilot-scale experiment on the catalytic ozonation of bio-treated coking wastewater was carried out using an Fe-Mn-Cu-Ce/Al 2 O 3 catalyst, while the effects of the initial pollutant concentration, ozone concentration, and gas flow on the COD removal rate were studied on a pilot scale. It was found that the COD removal rate of the wastewater was ∼ 60 % under optimal parameters. After the treatment, the wastewater steadily reached the coking wastewater discharge standard (COD < 80 mg/L), while the operating cost of catalytic ozonation reached ∼ 0.032$/m3, thereby paving the way toward economic engineering applications. The COD degradation kinetics in the bio-treated coking wastewater followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. Three-dimensional fluorescence and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry revealed that macromolecular organic pollutants in the bio-treated coking wastewater were greatly degraded. In summary, Fe-Mn-Cu-Ce/Al 2 O 3 exhibited good reusability, high catalytic activity, and low cost and has a wide application prospect in the treatment of coking wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An oxic-settling-anaerobic process (OSA) can effectively reduce sludge production, but most of the research studies on the OSA process have been either under laboratory test conditions or based on synthetic wastewater, which cannot fully reflect the performance and sludge reduction efficiency in existing OSA process. Thus, aiming at examining the sludge reduction efficiency and the stability of the OSA process, UNITANK and UNITANK-OSA processes were performed in a 120 m3/d pilot-scale system using actual sewage. The results indicate that UNITANK-OSA achieved a 48% reduction of the sludge compared to the reduction due to UNITANK, not considering the accumulation of the effluentsuspended solids. The effluent quality was not found to change significantly, except that the total phosphorus concentration increased slightly. The extracellular polymeric substances metal floc theory may, to some extent, explain this reduction in this study. The OSA process could be used to reform the classic wastewater treatment process to get lower sludge mass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Chemical looping combustion (CLC) of coal is established as a new concept for inherent CO2 separation with the advantages of low cost and high conversion efficiency. A pilot-scale unit consisting of two fluidized bed reactors was constructed and operated to study the performance of pressurized chemical-looping combustion (PCLC). Experiments were conducted using Shenhua bituminous coal as fuel and MAC iron ore as oxygen carrier at three different operation pressures (0.1, 0.3 and 0.5MPa) and the unit has been operated for totally 19h with steady coal-feeding, about 13.5h of which were realized under stable operation. The results showed that PCLC of coal demonstrated many remarkable advantages over the conventional CLC of coal, in terms of the improvement of carbon conversion in the fuel reactor, CO2 concentration of exhaust gas and combustion efficiency. At the operating pressure of 0.5MPa, the CO2 concentration, carbon conversion and combustion efficiency reached very high values of 97.2, 84.7 and 95.5% respectively. The potential of low-cost iron ore as oxygen carrier for commercial coal-fueled CLC unit was also examined. The loss of oxygen carrier due to fine particles leaving the reactors increased with the increase of operation pressure and no agglomeration of oxygen carrier particles occurred during these tests. The oxygen carrier used in PCLC tests were also characterized by SEM-EDX and BET analysis to further emphasis on the effects of operation pressures and runtime. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An efficient combined system based on modified two-phase anaerobic digestion (MTPAD) combined with a biological aerated filter (BAF) is proposed to treat wastewater generated in the production of Dioscorea zingiberensis C.H. Wright (DZW). The pilot-scale experiments showed that both organics and sulfates at high concentrations could be removed satisfactorily due to the advantages of the MTPAD in eliminating the negative effects of sulfide inhibition to methanogens. Simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) in the BAF resulted in efficient removal of COD and . UV–vis analysis showed that the organic compounds with aromatic structures were biodegraded effectively in the anaerobic process. GC–MS analysis revealed that furfural compounds in the influent were also biodegraded, leaving fewer compounds remaining in the final biological effluent. High efficiencies of COD removal (99.3%) and removal (93.7%) were achieved, and the quality of the final effluent met the National Discharge Standards of China for DZW wastewater. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In solving the deterioration of biological treatment system treating petrochemical wastewater under low temperatures, bioaugmentation technology was adopted by delivering engineering bacteria into a pilot-scale two-stage anoxic-oxic (A/O) process based on previous lab-scale study. Experimental results showed that when the concentrations of COD and NH4 +-N of the influent were 370–910 mg/L and 10–70 mg/L, the corresponding average concentrations of those of effluent were about 80 mg/L and 8 mg/L respectively, which was better than the Level I criteria of the Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard (GB8978-1996). According to GC-MS analysis of the effluents from both the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and the pilot system, there were 68 kinds of persistent organic pollutants in the WWTP effluent, while there were only 32 in that of the pilot system. In addition, the amount of the organics in the effluent of the pilot system reduced by almost 50% compared to that of the WWTP. As a whole, after bioaugmentation, the organic removal efficiency of the wastewater treatment system obviously increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate the feasibility of biological treatment of hypersaline wastewater produced from toilet flushing with seawater at low temperature, pilot-scale studies were established with plug-flow activated sludge process at low temperature (5-9°C) based on bench-scale experiments. The critical salinity concentration of 30 g/L, which resulted from the cooperation results of the non-halophilic bacteria and the halophilic bacteria, was drawn in bench-scale experiments. Pilot-scale studies showed that high COD removal efficiency, higher than 80%, was obtained at low temperature when 30 percent seawater was introduced. The salinity improved the settleability of activated sludge, and average sludge value dropped down from 38% to 22.5% after adding seawater. Seawater salinity had a strong negative effect on notronomonas and nitrobacter growth, but much more on the nitrobacter. The nitrification action was mainly accomplished by nitrosomonas. Bench-scale experiments using two SBRs were carried out for further investigation under different conditions of salinities, ammonia loadings and temperatures. Biological nitrogen removal via nitrite pathway from wastewater containing 30 percent seawater was achieved, but the ammonia removal efficiency was strongly related not only to the influent ammonia loading at different salinities but also to temperature. When the ratio of seawater to wastewater was 30 percent, and the ammonia loading was below the critical value of 0.15 kgNH4+-N/(kgMLSS.d), the ammonia removal efficiency via nitrite pathway was above 90%. The critical level of ammonia loading was 0.15, 0.08 and 0.03 kgNH4+-N/(kgMLSS.d) respectively at the different temperature 30°C, 25°C and 20°C when the influent ammonia concentration was 60-80 mg/L and pH was 7.5-8.0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trace amount of micro-pollutants (organic mostly) those still remain in the final effluent of any industry even after the tertiary treatment is a serious matter of concern and needs special treatment strategy to address the same. Advanced oxidation processes have emerged as the best suited remedy for that. However, among all the AOPs, cavitation process is till now one of the most unattempted technologies in spite of inherent enormous potential. The present work reports a study with the degradation of the antibiotic Ciprofloxacin (CIP) using a novel skid-mounted rotating hydrodynamic cavitation (RHC) reactor. Using only hydrodynamic cavitation, 44.8% CIP degradation was achieved within 60 min. Now RHC combined with oxidizing agents like O 3 (0.75 g/h), H 2 O 2 (0.3 g/L) and Fenton's reagent (1:3) resulted in 91.4%, 85.6%, and 87.6% degradation within 30 min. The HC+H 2 O 2 (0.3 g/L) surpassed the performances of other combinations from energetic and economic viewpoint. Liquid chromatography–mass spectra (LC–MS) studies were performed to evaluate the degradation mechanism. Lastly, a pilot scale study (400 L) with real life water sample post tertiary treatment collected from pharmaceutical industry was carried out to understand the techno-economic feasibility. [Display omitted] • Design and development of a Rotating Hydrodynamic Cavitation (RHC) reactor. • Implementing RHC in degradation of Ciprofloxacin (CIP). • Integrated performance of RHC with other AOPs like H 2 O 2 , O 3 , and Fenton's Reagent. • Techno-economic feasibility analysis for CIP degradation using RHC. • Pilot scale case study with tertiary treated real-life pharmaceutical wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Institute of Gas Technology (IGT) conducted a pilot-scale study at a former manufactured gas plant (MGP) site in New Jersey. The objective of the study was to determine the effectiveness of an innovative chemical/biological treatment process (MGP-REM process) to remediate soils contaminated with polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In order to identify the benefits of the MGP-REM process, the system was also operated in the conventional bioremediation mode. Results showed that the MGP-REM process can effectively treat PAH-contaminated MGP site soils, and it reduced the toxicity of the soil by a factor of 50, as indicated by the Microtox Toxicity Test. The MGP-REM process was 70% more efficient than conventional bioremediation in the removal of the PAHs from the soils. Air emissions data suggest that minimal air pollution control and monitoring are required for the slurry-phase application of both the MGP-REM process and the conventional biological treatment. Process economics indicate that the MGP-REM process in a slurry-phase mode has an estimated treatment cost of $100/cubic yard for remediation of PAH-contaminated soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the vermicomposting of Solid Textile Mill Sludge (STMS) spiked with Cow Dung (CD) and Horse Dung (HD) in a six-month pilot-scale experiment employing Eisenia foetida. Growth and fecundity of Eisenia foetida were significantly affected by temperature variations. The lesser number of cocoons and hatchlings were produced in pilot scale experiments than in controlled temperature experiments. Whereas, the number of earthworms had increased between 1.2-1.4 fold. Vermicomposting resulted in lowering of pH, electrical conductivity, potassium and C : N ratio and increase in nitrogen and phosphorus contents of the feed mixtures. Vermicomposting can be an alternate technology for STMS management under suitable climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]