Ultrafiltration (UF) Pilot Plant for Municipal Wastewater Reuse in Agriculture: Impact of the Operation Mode on Process Performance

Following increasing interest in the use of UltraFiltration (UF) membrane processes as an alternative advanced disinfection technique, the performance of a UF pilot plant was investigated under two opposite operating conditions ("stressed operating condition" versus "conventional operating condition"). The results indicate that for both conditions, the reclaimed effluent complied with the Italian regulations for unrestricted wastewater reuse (i.e., Total Suspended Solids (TSS) < 10 mg/L; Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) < 100 mg/L and Escherichia coli < 10 CFU/100 mL). On the other hand, when compared with the Title 22 of the California Wastewater Reclamation Criteria, only the effluent produced under the "conventional operating condition" met the stipulated water quality standards (i.e., TSS and turbidity undetectable and total coliforms < 2.2 CFU/100 mL). It should be noted that, in spite of the nominal cut-off size, total coliforms breakthrough was indeed occasionally observed. A localized membrane pore micro-enlargement mechanism was hypothesized to explain the total coliforms propagation in the ultrafiltered effluent, as monitoring of the membrane permeability and transmembrane pressure highlighted that gel/cake formation had only a minor contribution to the overall membrane fouling mechanism with respect to pore plugging and pore narrowing mechanisms

Kinetics of PAA Demand and its Implications on Disinfection of Wastewaters

Abstract Disinfectant demand and microbial inactivation rate are essential issues for assessing disinfection performance and proper design of disinfecting systems. In the United Kingdom and Italy, peracetic acid (PAA) has recently become an accepted disinfectant for treating wastewaters prior to reuse in agriculture, and its use is likely to spread worldwide due to its efficacy as well as the benign nature of the by-products produced. In this paper, overall PAA demand during the advanced disinfection of municipal wastewater for agricultural reuse was evaluated under different experimental conditions. Batch tests were carried out using primary and secondary settled effluents sampled at the City of Taranto municipal wastewater treatment plant. PAA dosages ranged from 1.5 to 8.5 mg/L and from 21 to 40 mg/L for the secondary and primary settled effluents, respectively. Residual PAA was measured after contact times ranging from 1 to 60 min. Results showed that after a strong and almost instantaneous initial disinfectant consumption, the PAA consumption followed first-order kinetics with both effluents. The effluent characteristics affected the values of the parameters in the consumption model. PAA disinfection efficacy was assessed in terms of total coliform and Escherichia coli indicator organism reduction; better results were achieved with the latter. The approximate solution of Hom's model established by Haas and Joffe was used to model inactivation kinetics of both microbial targets

Ultrafiltration (UF) Pilot Plant for Municipal Wastewater Reuse in Agriculture: Impact of the Operation Mode on Process Performance

Following increasing interest in the use of UltraFiltration (UF) membrane processes as an alternative advanced disinfection technique, the performance of a UF pilot plant was investigated under two opposite operating conditions (“stressed operating condition” versus “conventional operating condition”). The results indicate that for both conditions, the reclaimed effluent complied with the Italian regulations for unrestricted wastewater reuse (i.e., Total Suspended Solids (TSS) < 10 mg/L; Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) < 100 mg/L and Escherichia coli < 10 CFU/100 mL). On the other hand, when compared with the Title 22 of the California Wastewater Reclamation Criteria, only the effluent produced under the “conventional operating condition” met the stipulated water quality standards (i.e., TSS and turbidity undetectable and total coliforms < 2.2 CFU/100 mL). It should be noted that, in spite of the nominal cut-off size, total coliforms breakthrough was indeed occasionally observed. A localized membrane pore micro-enlargement mechanism was hypothesized to explain the total coliforms propagation in the ultrafiltered effluent, as monitoring of the membrane permeability and transmembrane pressure highlighted that gel/cake formation had only a minor contribution to the overall membrane fouling mechanism with respect to pore plugging and pore narrowing mechanisms

The Acquisition of Negative Concord: An Experimental Study of L1 Polish learners of L2 Italian and L2 English

The main aim of this thesis revolves around Negative Concord and its expression cross-linguistically. Specifically, this work aims to gain a deeper insight into how Polish L1 speakers may be influenced in their acceptability judgments and intuitions when facing similar and/or opposite NC structures displayed in other languages (targeting English and Italian). The first part of the thesis outlines the theoretical background employed as a starting point. The concept of negation is examined as well as its cross-linguistic peculiarities. After that, the discussion focuses on the different types and structures of negation. Then, the structures employed in Polish, Italian and English are observed, representing respectively: a Strict NC language, Non-Strict NC language and lastly a non-NC language. The second part of the thesis revolves around the empirical study. The research hypotheses are illustrated, along with the participants samples, materials employed and procedure. The experiment involved an acceptability judgement task which was provided in two parallel questionnaires (English and Italian). Finally, the last sections present the results obtained and their analysis through several statistical tests, along with a concluding discussion. The data collected concerning the English L2 speakers’ group did not report a significant distinction in the response patters of L2 and MT speakers. Conversely, the Italian L2 speakers’ group, showed some very interesting outcomes, which, however, did not appear to support our hypotheses. In conclusion, we can infer that the results obtained offer an interesting starting point, from which we can speculate that this outcome might have been a result of multiple potential reasons. Nonetheless, the limited sample size as well as the sometimes-contradictory data gathered, do not allow us to confidently make a final claim in this direction

Linguistic relativity and second language acquisition: can languages affect how we think?

The purpose of this thesis is to provide a global overview on the studies that have been carried out on the relationship between language, culture and thought. Specifically, the first part will focus on the belief at the core of this subject, Linguistic Relativity, while the second part will analyse the field of second language acquisition, which appears to often intertwine with the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. After a short introduction, a brief overview of previous research is provided. In particular, the claims of Aristotle, von Humboldt and Boas are illustrated more in detail. Then, the focus is shifted towards the figures and claims of Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf. The hypothesis of Linguistic Relativity is further explained, pointing to the two principles which stem from it (the weak and the strong version, i.e., linguistic determinism). The belief that each language deeply affects its speaker’s cognition (resulting in differences in patterns of thought and cognitive structures) is consequently illustrated. A review of some of the objections that have been moved against this hypothesis follow. After that, a general overview on subsequent studies is provided, drawing the attention towards some of the main domains around which research has revolved: colour perception and grammatical gender and number. Lastly, the field of second language acquisition is outlined. The main focus concerns the implications of Linguistic Relativity for this field and a summary of the research that has been carried out on this topic, again offering a deeper insight on some of the most well-researched areas: colour terms and perception, grammatical gender and number and the interpretation of motion events

Caratterizzazione del sistema di cotrasporto H&quot;+/Glicil-L-prolina in vescicole dell'orletto a spazzola dell'intestino di anguilla (Anguilla anguilla) mediante traccianti radioattivi

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Biblioteca Centrale -. P.le Aldo Moro, 7, Rome / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal