Nutrient Upcycling from Wastewater Treatment

The control of environmental pollution and also the treatment of polluted water are of great concern. Within the past decade, electrochemical coagulation process has emerged as most effective wastewater treatment process as compared to conventional techniques of treating wastewater. Electrocoagulation is robust, cost effective, reliable, low sludge generating process, it has automation amenability and it has high pollutant removal efficiency. The aim of the review is to explain the basics and up to date advancement of electrocoagulation method for the improvements in the pollutant removal efficiency.

•List the key monitoring points within the activated sludge process and explain what to look for at those points. •List five key process control parameters and for each parameter, explain what it is, why it is used and how it is calculated •List the daily process control tasks that need to be accomplished and explain how to perform them.

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined a need to introduce advanced treatment for pharmaceutical residues in wastewater. An additional benefit of such a treatment is that it would also include the treatment of other hazardous substances.The extent to which pharmaceutical residues risk becoming a problem depends on local conditions such as the sensitivity of the receiving waters. While this is an important variable to consider, the Swedish EPA believes that the sensitivity of the receiving waters should not be the only consideration when setting requirements for treatment. The amount of released pharmaceutical residues and long-term effects should also be considered in decision making and justification. The investment and operational costs of introducing advanced treatment depend in part on the size and current capacity of treatment facilities, which is why size limitations can be an additional consideration when setting requirements.

Abstract Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are scrutinized by Environmental Authorities particularly regarding the compliance to discharge limit values fixed by national and local regulations. An integrated approach is necessary to achieve the objectives established with Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD) considering the ecological status of the receiving water body and the quality of the discharge. Specifically, documentary, technical, management and analytical controls should be developed. Moreover, integrative information on the behaviour of the activated sludge in the aeration tank can be useful for plant managers as well as for the regulating Authorities. The study presents the experience concerning WWTP regulation considering the analytic assessment of the discharge as well the monitoring of the Sludge Biotic Index (SBI) for activated sludge. Data from monitoring during the period 2008–14 on SBI values and chemical and microbiological data on the discharges of a sample of 35 WWTPs in the province of Venice (north-east Italy, Veneto region) are presented and discussed. Together with chemical and microbiological analysis, the SBI appears to be a highly useful index for the integrative assessment of plant functionality, in particular when monitoring and identifying critical situations that can determine the exceedance of discharge limit values. The SBI method, in an integrated control approach, can be used for small and medium sized WWTPs that only treat domestic wastewaters. In a case by case assessment this may even substitute part of the analytical monitoring carried out in the WWTPs' control process.