Comparison of five integrative samplers in laboratory for the monitoring of indicator and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in water.

This study aimed at evaluating and comparing five integrative samplers for the monitoring of indicator and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in water: semi-permeable membrane device (SPMD), silicone rubber, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) strip, Chemcatcher and a continuous-flow integrative sampler (CFIS). These samplers were spiked with performance reference compounds (PRCs) and then simultaneously exposed under constant agitation and temperature in a 200 L stainless steel tank for periods ranging from one day to three months. A constant PCB concentration of about 1 ng·L(-1) was achieved by immersing a large amount of silicone rubber sheets ("dosing sheets") spiked with the target PCBs. The uptake of PCBs in the five samplers showed overall good repeatability and their accumulation was linear with time. The samplers SPMD, silicone rubber and LDPE strip were the most promising in terms of achieving low limits of quantification. Time-weighted average (TWA) concentrations of PCBs in water were estimated from uptake of PCBs using the sampling rates calculated from the release of PRCs. Except for Chemcatcher, a good agreement was found between the different samplers and TWA concentrations ranged between 0.4 and 2.8 times the nominal water concentration. Finally, the influence of calculation methods (sampler-water partition coefficients, selected PRCs, models) on final TWA concentrations was studied.

Pilot-scale anaerobic digestion of screenings from wastewater treatment plants.

The anaerobic digestion of screenings from a municipal wastewater treatment plant was studied in a 90 L pilot-scale digester operated at 35 degrees C under semi-continuous conditions. In the first 4 weeks, a dry solids residence time of 28 days was applied, but the installation of inhibitory conditions was observed. Feeding was therefore suspended for 4 weeks to allow the digester to recover from inhibition, and then progressively increased up to a constant load of 6 kg of raw waste per week, corresponding to an average residence time of about 35 days of dry solids. At this stage, biogas production stabilized between 513 and 618 Nl/kg VS(added) per week, with methane contents around 61% v/v. The results of this work thereby supported the feasibility of (co-)digestion as a potential alternative treatment of screenings from municipal wastewater treatment plants.