Biofiltration pretreatment for reverse osmosis (RO) membrane in a water reclamation system.

Biofouling control is considered as a major challenge in operating membrane systems. A lab-scale RO system was setup at a local water reclamation plant to study the feasibility of using biofiltration as a pretreatment process to control the biofouling. The biological activity in the RO system (feed, product, reject streams) was tested using the standard serial dilution plating technique. Operational parameters such as differential pressure (DP) and permeate flowrate of the system were also monitored. Effects of biofilter on AOC and DOC removals were investigated. Biofiltration was found to be a viable way of assimilable organic carbon (AOC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removals, with removal efficiencies of 40-49% and 35-45% at an empty bed contact time (EBCT) of 30 min. It was also found that using the biofiltration as a pretreatment reduced the rate of biofouling. It took only about 72 h for biofouling to have a significant impact on the performance of the RO membrane, when the system was operated without using biofiltration as pretreatment. There was, however, a five times increase in operational length to more than 300 h when biofiltration was used. This study presented the suitability of the biofilter as an economical and simple way of biofouling control for RO membrane.

Development of an integrated membrane process for water reclamation.

An integrated membrane process (IMP) comprising a membrane bioreactor (MBR) and a reverse osmosis (RO) process was developed for water reclamation. Wastewater was treated by an MBR operated at a sludge retention time (SRT) of 20 days and a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 5.5 h. The IMP had an overall recovery efficiency of 80%. A unique feature of the IMP was the recycling of a fraction of RO concentrate back to the MBR. Experimental results revealed that a portion of the slow- and hard-to-degrade organic constituents in the recycle stream could be degraded by an acclimated biomass leading to an improved MBR treatment efficiency. Although recycling concentrated constituents could impose an inhibitory effect on the biomass and suppress their respiratory activities, results obtained suggested that operating MBR (in the novel IMP) at an F/M ratio below 0.03 g TOC/g VSS.day could yield an effluent quality comparable to that achievable without concentrate recycling. It is noted in this study that the novel IMP could achieve an average overall TOC removal efficiency of 88.940% and it consistently produced product water usable for high value reuse applications.

Post-treatment of banknote printing works wastewater ultrafiltration concentrate.

A novel process of vortex settling and stage-2 ultrafiltration (UF) with alternating feed direction was used to further concentrate the concentrate produced by a stage-1 UF employed for treatment of banknote printing works wastewater. In this post-treatment process, the final concentrate volume for incineration was reduced by 4-5 times while the permeate of the stage-2 UF could be further reused in the banknote printing operation. It was noted vortex settling facilitated settling of the printing ink and the strategy of regularly alternating feed direction in the UF resulted in a higher permeate flux compared to the corresponding flux for operation without alternating feed direction. The hydraulic retention time (HRT) of the vortex settling tank (VST) used in the pilot-scale experiment was 14 min while feed direction to the stage-2 UF was alternated once every hour. Based on the pilot-scale experimental results, a full-scale system was set up. An economic analysis showed that the novel system was a cost-effective option for post-treatment of stage-1 UF concentrate. The treatment system has been successfully implemented at several Chinese banknote printing companies.

Packed bed columns for high rate nitrogen and carbon removals.

Two packed bed column (PB) systems, namely anoxic-anoxic and anoxic-oxic were investigated for treatment of wastewater containing high concentrations of nitrogen (N) and COD. The anoxic-anoxic PB removal rates 6.70 kg N/m3 x d and 26.02 kg COD/m3 x d, respectively. The responding removal rates of the anoxic-oxic PB system were 7.41 kg N/m3 and 28.00 kg COD/m3 x d, respectively. The N and COD removal efficiencies of anoxic anoxic PB system were in the range of 99.2-100% and 97.2-98.8%, respectively. The corresponding removal efficiencies of anoxic-oxic PB system were 97.5-100% and 98.6-99.4%, respectively. These findings showed that a PB system consisting of anoxic-oxic columns in series has a high capacity to remove nitrogenous and carbonaceous compounds even though the influent to the anoxic stage was oxygenated. Better system stability in terms of denitrification was, however, obtained with the anoxic-anoxic system.

Removal of MS2 bacteriophage using membrane technologies.

Removals of MS2 bacteriophage virus using different membrane materials under different operating pressures were investigated. The results obtained in this study suggested that a better log removal in terms of MS2 bacteriophage virus could be achieved using Polyamide RO membrane under the optimum operating pressure of 100 psi. It is further noted that variable MS2 influent concentration levels resulted in corresponding variable log removals of the bacteriophages by the Polyamide RO membrane. The presence of MS2 bacteriophage virus in the effluent could possibly be due to leakage of bacteriophages through the membranes structure. Investigations using SEM and AFM showed that there were gaps or pores present in the membrane structure which were sufficiently large for the MS2 viruses to pass through.

Toxicity assays to determine the start-up strategy for an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (anSBR).

Addition of glucose as the co-substrate and the use of a water-based polymer to enhance granulation were studied with the aim of shortening the start-up period of an anSBR (anerobic sequencing batch reactor) for high-strength industrial wastewater treatment. An initial start-up feed composition consisting of 70% sucrose and 30% industrial wastewater was favorable to reduce the start-up time. Increase in the average particle size and reduction in settled supernatant turbidity was observed with increased water-based polymer addition up to a concentration of 0.1 m/L. Polymer dosages above 0.1 ml/L were undesirable as big and "flaky" flocs were formed which prevented the flocs from settling quickly. Addition of 0.005 ml/L to 0.1 ml/L polymer to the mixed liquor had no observable adverse effects on the anaerobic biomass metabolism. Instead, the addition of the polymer appeared to improve biogas production and had an overall positive effect on anSBR performance treating the industrial wastewater.

[Mitochondrial vacuole types in anoxic myocytes].

The mitochondria of myocytes are easily damaged by anoxia or ischemia. Severe damage results from mitochondrial vacuolization. Four types of mitochondrial vacuoles can be identified by reference to their location: 1) in the matrix space; 2) in the intracristal space; 3) in the peripheral space; and 4) among the cristae. The first 3 types are found in early stages of anoxia or ischemia and do not disrupt the cristae. The presence of several types of vacuoles indicates severe damage. Since mitochondrial cristae are the site of high-energy phosphate production and since their disruption might affect this function, the disruption of mitochondrial cristae may serve as a morphological criterion for irreversible anoxic damage to myocytes.

[Flow cytofluorometric DNA analysis in fresh bladder specimens and its correlations between cytology and mitotic index].

From 1986 to 1987, cell materials of 50 patients with a suspicious history of bladder tumor were determined by flow cytofluorometric DNA measurement and compared with conventional cytogenetic analysis in the institution. The frequency of DNA aneuploid was found 47.6 per cent positive in 42 consecutive cases investigated by means of flow cytometry whereas in 47 cases by cytology and 42 cases by mitotic index (MI) profile a comparable 44.7% and 52.5% of positive findings were observed respectively, showing that there was good correlation between flow cytometry and conventional cytology. In a combined analysis of these 3 potential indices for tumor marker a 74 per cent positive rate could be reached and a good consistency of the 3 indices was observed by 69.7%. The study of DNA distribution pattern by FCM would definitely be of clinical significance in daily practice only if a disagreement appears a reevaluation should then be made. Cytological studies require a high level of skill and experience and it is time-consuming with subjective bias, comparing to FCM which sever as a valuable method with much more diagnostic sensitivity, objectivity and rapidity. Flow cytometry is now developed to the point as a particularly valuable adjuvant for bladder tumor detection.

[Effects of compatibility of radix Ginseng with faeces Trogopterori on toxicity in experimental animals].

The acute toxicity test in mice revealed no toxic effects after oral administration with mixed decoction of Radix Ginseng and Faeces Trogopterori. But a tendency of increasing toxicity was found with intraperitoneal injection. The subacute toxicity test in rats showed no obvious effect on white blood cell count (WBC), differential count (DC), platelet count (Pt), hemoglobin amount (Hb), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), body weight (BW), and so on after oral administration with the above-said mixed decoction.

[A study of the relation between interval of the injury and the reaction of neurons, glial cells after experimental brain contusion].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the change of c-fos protein(Fos) and nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR) staining in the brain of rat after experimental brain contusion. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry of c-fos and NGFR were applied to investigate the brain contusion. RESULTS: (1) The expression of Fos protein could be observed at 0.5 h after injury and then increased with the prolonging of time. By 3 h after injury, the positive staining cells could be detected massively not only in and round the wound site but also in other areas of the whole ipsilateral cortex. The stains decreased 6-12 h later and could hardly be detected 1 d after the brain contusion. The control-experiment is negative. (2) NGFR positive staining cells could be found round the wound area 1 d postlesion. At 3 d following injury, a peak of massive positively stained cells appeared both in number and in intensity, showing significant differences compare with that of 1 d after damage (P < 0.01). 5 d later the positive express declined slowly. The express in the control-rat is negative. CONCLUSION: There is a rule that the expression of Fos and NGFR positive staining changes with time going after brain contusion, which will be of great value in estimation of brain injury time. Detection of Fos can be used for time deduction in earlier period after injury, while NGFR in later period. They are also very important for distinguishing between antemortem or postmortem injury.

Identification and quantification of bisphenol A by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry in a lab-scale dual membrane system.

Endocrine disruptor contamination is an emerging issue of concern in the field of water quality engineering. In this study, a lab-scale microfiltration (MF) and reverse osmosis (RO) based water reclamation system was set up to monitor and evaluate the removal of bisphenol A (BPA), which is a known oestrogenic compound. The identification and quantification of BPA were performed by using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. It was noted that the detection method used in this study was able to achieve an average recovery ranging from 88.2 to 94.1% of BPA with standard deviations of less than 10% in different spiked samples. The detection limit of the analytical protocol was determined at 20 ng L(-1). Based on the analytical protocol, it was noted that a low level of BPA (1.18-3.04 microg L(-1)) could be detected in feed water (effluent of an activated sludge treatment system) to the dual membrane water reclamation system. The results obtained suggested that BPA could be easily chlorinated by sodium hypochlorite with a dosage of 4 to 5 mg L(-1) and a contact time of 1 to 2 min. In this lab-scale study, a satisfactory removal of BPA was readily obtained by RO and BPA was abated to an undetectable level in the product water. It was noted that the RO rejection characteristic of BPA was not sensitive to the variations in raw feed water characteristics experienced in this study. In addition, it was noted that BPA concentration present in raw feed water did not exert any significant impact on RO performance in terms of BPA rejection. The results of this study demonstrated that membrane technology could be effectively used for BPA removal.

Kinetics of beta-mannanase fermentation by Bacillus licheniformis.

Bacterial growth, konjac powder utilization and beta-mannanase production by Bacillus licheniformis NK-27 in batch fermentation were used to develop a model of the process. The optimal set of parameters was estimated by fitting the model to experimental data. The results predicted by the model were in good agreement with the experimental data. NOMENCLATURE: fs, fraction parameter; Kp, constant in Equation (6) (g l(-1)); Ks, Monod constant for bacteria growth (g l(-1)); m, maintenance coefficient (g g(-1) h(-1)); P, beta-mannanase concentration (g 1(-1)); qm, constant in Equation (6) (h(-1)); S, substrate concentration (g l(-1)); S0, initial substrate concentration (g l(-1)); Si, insoluble substrate concentration (g l(-1)); Ss, soluble substrate concentration (g l(-1)); t, fermentation time (h); tL, lag time (h); mu, specific growth rate (h(-1)); mu(max), maximum specific growth rate (h(-1)); X, biomass concentration (g l(-1)); YP/S, beta-mannanase yield on carbon substrate (g g(-1)); YX/S, biomass yield on carbon substrate (g g(-1)).