Fouling prediction using neural network model for membrane bioreactor system

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology is a new method for water and wastewater treatment due to its ability to produce better and high-quality effluent that meets water quality regulations. MBR also is an advanced way to displace the conventional activated sludge (CAS) process. Even this membrane gives better performances compared to CAS, it does have few drawbacks such as high maintenance cost and fouling problem. In order to overcome this problem, an optimal MBR plant operation needs to be developed. This can be achieved through an accurate model that can predict the fouling behaviour which could optimise the membrane operation. This paper presents the application of artificial neural network technique to predict the filtration of membrane bioreactor system. The Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN) is applied to model the developed submerged MBR filtration system. RBFNN model is expected to give good prediction model of filtration system for estimating the fouling that formed during filtration process

Performance comparison of SVM and ANN for aerobic granular sludge

To comply with growing demand for high effluent quality of Domestic Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), a simple and reliable prediction model is thus needed. The wastewater treatment technology considered in this paper is an Aerobic Granular Sludge (AGS). The AGS systems are fundamentally complex due to uncertainty and non-linearity of the system makes it hard to predict. This paper presents model predictions and optimization as a tool in predicting the performance of the AGS. The input-output data used in model prediction are (COD, TN, TP, AN, and MLSS). After feature analysis, the prediction of the models using Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Feed-Forward Neural Network (FFNN) are developed and compared. The simulation of the model uses the experimental data obtained from Sequencing Batch Reactor under hot temperature of 50˚C. The simulation results indicated that the SVM is preferable to FFNN and it can provide a useful tool in predicting the effluent quality of WWTP

Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technologies

This edited volume is a collection of 12 publications from esteemed research groups around the globe. The articles belong to the following broad categories: biological treatment process parameters, sludge management and disinfection, removal of trace organic contaminants, removal of heavy metals, and synthesis and fouling control of membranes for wastewater treatment

Monitoring biological wastewater treatment processes: Recent advances in spectroscopy applications

Biological processes based on aerobic and anaerobic technologies have been continuously developed to wastewater treatment and are currently routinely employed to reduce the contaminants discharge levels in the environment. However, most methodologies commonly applied for monitoring key parameters are labor intensive, time-consuming and just provide a snapshot of the process. Thus, spectroscopy applications in biological processes are, nowadays, considered a rapid and effective alternative technology for real-time monitoring though still lacking implementation in full-scale plants. In this review, the application of spectroscopic techniques to aerobic and anaerobic systems is addressed focusing on UV--Vis, infrared, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Furthermore, chemometric techniques, valuable tools to extract the relevant data, are also referred. To that effect, a detailed analysis is performed for aerobic and anaerobic systems to summarize the findings that have been obtained since 2000. Future prospects for the application of spectroscopic techniques in biological wastewater treatment processes are further discussed.The authors thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and the project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. The authors also acknowledge the financial support to Daniela P. Mesquita and Cristina Quintelas through the postdoctoral Grants (SFRH/BPD/82558/2011 and SFRH/BPD/101338/2014) provided by FCT - Portugal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Optimisation of membrane technology for water reuse

Increasing freshwater scarcity is making reclamation of wastewater effluent more economically attractive as a means of preserving freshwater resources. The use of an integrated membrane system (IMS), the combination of micro/ultra-filtration (MF/UF) followed by reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, represents a key process for municipal wastewater reuse. A major drawback of such systems is the fouling of both the MF/UF and RO membranes. The water to be treated by the IMS system varies from one wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) to another, and its fouling propensity changes correspondingly. It is thus preferable to conduct pilot trials before implementing a full-scale plant. This thesis aims to look at the sustainability of IMS technology dedicated to indirect potable reuse (IPR) in terms of fouling minimisation and cost via a 600 m3 .d- 1 pilot plant. Wastewater reuse plants, using IMS, as well as statistical methods for membrane optimisation were reviewed. Box-Behnken design was used to define optimum operating envelopes of the pilot plant for both the microfiltration and the reverse osmosis in terms of fouling minimisation. Same statistical method was used to enhance the efficiency of the MF cleaning-in place through bench-scale test. Data from the pilot plant MF process allow to determine relationship between reversible and irreversible fouling, and operating parameters and feed water quality. Life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) of the both trains (MF/RO/AOP and MF/AOP) of the pilot plant was performed and compared with the LCCA of two full-scale plant

Preliminary study in discovering 2-propen-1-one, 1-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)- from syzygium aqueum leaves as a tyrosinase inhibitor in food product: experimental and theoretical approach

In this study, response surface methodology (RSM) in combination with central composite rotatable design (CCRD) were performed to optimize the extraction parameters for total phenolic content (TPC) on Syzygium aqueum (S. aqueum) leaves. The effect of operational conditions on the extraction of S. aqueum leaves using carbon dioxide (CO2) on TPC was investigated. The conditions used in the supercritical extraction with CO2 included temperatures of (40-70 °C), pressures (2200-4500 psi) and extraction time (40-100 min). The highest TPC (3.5893 mg GAE/mg) was obtained at optimum conditions of 55 °C, 3350 psi and 70 min. The major compound in the optimized crude extract was2-propen-1-one,1-(2,4Dihydroxyphenyl)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)- (82.65 %) which was identified by GC-MS. COSMO-RS was introduced to study the σ-profile between CO2 and 2-propen-1-one,1-(2,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)-3-(4methoxyphenyl)-. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to classify major compound which exhibit similar chemical properties with selected control. 2-propen-1-one,1-(2,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)-3-(4methoxyphenyl)- has similar chemical properties with kaempferol as tyrosinase inhibitor. Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) and molecular docking were plotted to investigate a recognition manner of 2-propen-1-one,1-(2,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-upon tyrosinase receptor

Realtime optical measurement of wastewater COD and nutrients

Abstract. This study successfully gathered preliminary data and developed a real-time (COD) determination method using UV-visible spectrophotometry. This method is intended to be part of a new product by Valmet that can measure multiple parameters in wastewater. Six samples from four different locations within the Taskila wastewater treatment plant were analyzed, and the data served as a foundation for creating prediction models using MATLAB. The study confirmed the potential of UV-Vis spectrophotometry as a reliable and accurate tool for COD determination in wastewater treatment. However, the MATLAB prediction models would benefit from refinement and validation with larger datasets. This research paves the way for future studies aiming to improve real-time monitoring methods in wastewater treatment for optimal environmental sustainability

Technology, Science and Culture

From the success of the first and second volume of this series, we are enthusiastic to continue our discussions on research topics related to the fields of Food Science, Intelligent Systems, Molecular Biomedicine, Water Science, and Creation and Theories of Culture. Our aims are to discuss the newest topics, theories, and research methods in each of the mentioned fields, to promote debates among top researchers and graduate students and to generate collaborative works among them

Hydrodynamic cavitation using orifice plate configurations and arrangements for tertiary treatment of palm oil mill effluent

Hydrodynamic Cavitation (HC) is one of Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs), which generates and utilises hydroxyl radicals (HO·) as its oxidising agent. It has been studied for different applications to treat pharmaceuticals waste, seawater and microalgae, where much effort has been conducted to enhance its performance such as using pH, aeration and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). However, the production of HO· using multiple-plate combination has not yet been studied. The use of pH, aeration and H2O2 has proven to give significant improvement for HO· formation, but these have not being studied previously using multiple-plate combination. The use of HC as a tertiary treatment for POME has not being reported before. Therefore, in this study, the enhancement of the HC has been investigated using double and triple orifice plate configurations and arrangements. The best system was then tested on biologically treated palm oil mill effluent (BT-POME). As the colour of POME is difficult to remove the performance of ponding treatment system was evaluated to understand the causes of colour in POME. The experiments were conducted in a labscale HC system, treating 10 L samples for reaction time ranging from 30 to 180 min. The effect of pH (2-7), aeration (2-10 L/min) and H2O2 dosing (50-200 mg/L) were explored. The performance of the HC system was based on iodine liberation, and removal of colour and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The byproducts of BTPOME degradation was identified. Additionally, the performance of an existing ponding system treating POME was assessed and the relationship between colour and few selected parameters were studied. Within the range of the experimental conditions used in this study, the HC orifice plate configurations and arrangements were found to have significant effects on HO·generation. The iodine liberation for both double and triple plate were higher than that of a single plate. The HO·generation was also affected by the arrangement and the distance between the plates; arrangement plate of P3P2 with 10 cm distance gave the highest iodine liberation (1296 mg/L). The performance of HC was enhanced under the effect of pH, H2O2 and aeration as compared to HC alone. For the conventional ponding treatment system, the anaerobic pond played the most significant role in treating POME with removal up to 97%. Among the pollutants analysed, colour has strong relationship with phenolics, tannin, lignin and carotene, indicating the roles of these compounds in causing colour of POME. The degradation of BT-POME by the HC system was not encouraging as only up to 14.7% of colour was removed, with lower removal of COD. The addition of H2O2 and aeration have significant effect in removing COD, while pH and addition of H2O2 have significant effect on colour removal. The degradation of BT-POME, particularly phenolics and tannin/lignin was found to form catechol and ρ-benzoquinone as by-products. The study showed another approach in improving HC system performance but further work is required before the system can be applied in treating BT-POME effectively