Wastewater sludge characteristics, treatment techniques and energy production

The research presents an overview on sludge types, characteristics, and methods of treatment. Additionally, using the sludge as an energy source for future plans was studied as well. The paper focused mainly on analyzing different sludge characteristics based on the previous studies. Wastewater sludge produced from the primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment processes was analyzed. It was mainly composed of many organic and inorganic materials. Some of the materials were removed by physical and other required chemical or biological processes. Most of the sludge was solid, semi-solid, and muddy with the harmful substances such as proteins, phenols, and hazardous materials. The study explained different methods of energy production as well. At the end, it was concluded that every type of sludge could provide energy and be a basic financial product for the selected area, and keep environment safely and healthy as well. The calculated quantity of dry sludge for 1,000,000 inhabitants in Erbil City, Kurdistan Region-Iraq, was 50,000 kg/d, which produced calorific value of 9.5 · 107 K. cal./day. Furthermore, the essential area for under drain sand bed area was 5,100 m2

Sustainability of water supply management for Erbil City in the context of sustainable development agenda

Conserving water and providing for the future generation is one of the most important principals established on the agenda concerning sustainable development goals. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the sustainability of the quantity and quality of water sources for Erbil City, as well as their safety and security based on the standard limitations. Therefore, the study computed the adapted scale of measuring water quantity and the demand of water and then evaluated the collected data from the water directorates related to both surface water and groundwater for the studied area. The study focused on the management of water supply and main factors that affected the lack of the sustainability. The next step was the planning of appropriate solution for those problems, such as avoiding drilling of illegal groundwater wells and managing water sector that made the poor water management as well. The use of additional surface water accomplished with the construction of extra water treatment plants was seen as an alternative to consuming groundwater. Reusing of processed sewage for various consumption and recharging of groundwater was considered as sustainable strategy and management for the water field in Erbil City

Geopolymer concrete: Properties, durability and applications: Review

Concrete is one of the most reliable, durable, and desired construction materials. It became the second most used material after water in the world. Many studies and investigations reported that the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere is nearly 1 ton in the production of 1 ton of cement, which contributes to 5-7 % of total CO2 emissions worldwide. Geopolymer concrete (GPC) is a new development in the world of concrete, which does not need to use cement. The most used materials in geopolymer are by-products such as fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, silica fume, etc. Industrial waste materials are a great problem for human health, environment, and scarcity of land, therefore, reusing them in GPC manufacturing can be seen as a great advantage. Fortunately, most of the recent research concludes that most by-products exhibit similar or better durability, mechanical and physical properties when compared to ordinary concrete. Therefore, GPC became a good sustainable engineering material with many advantages over conventional concrete, such as high early strength, excellent resistance to chemical attacks and steel reinforcement corrosion, elimination of water curing, low cost, etc. This paper reviews the process of geopolymer concrete, constituents, types, properties, durability, and particular applications

Design steps and performance of aerated lagoon, oxidation ditch and wetland methods for Erbil municipal wastewater treatment and reusing

The objectives of the current study were to investigate the characterization, treatment techniques and reuse of fresh municipal wastewater (MWW) from the east-south area of Erbil city, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. The collected wastewater samples were analyzed for 21 quality parameters. Some of the quality parameters such as color (146 Pt. Co and 337 Pt. Co), total solids (800 mg/L), suspended solids (400 mg/L and 1100 mg/L), nitrate (17.7 mg/L), nitrite (11 mg/L and 29 mg/L), and ammonia (2.09 mg/L and 2.64 mg/L) exceeded the standards for wastewater disposal. Accordingly, treatment was required before the wastewater could be discharged to the natural environment. Treatment techniques such as aerated lagoons, oxidation ditches, and wetlands were designed and investigated. Design procedures, calculations, and performance for each treatment method were explained. The total area designed for aerated lagoons, oxidation ditches, and wetlands was 72000 m2, 17180 m2, and 25200 m2, respectively. In general, the wetland method was the most effective method with efficiencies of 91.6 % for biochemical oxygen demand, 90.4 % for chemical oxygen demand, 85.7 % for ammonia, and 91.8 % for suspended solids. Treated wastewater can be reused for irrigation purposes and is completely safe for irrigation. The use of treated wastewater from the east-south part of the city of Erbil for irrigation instead of drinking water is economical and leads to the conservation of drinking water sources

Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Awareness, Risk Level, Hand Washing, and Water Consumption for Hospital Staff in Sulaimaniyah City of Iraq

Covid-19 impacted several sectors such as economic, political, social, sports and art activities etc. On the other hand, it influenced handwashing times, awareness, and risk levels for the hospital staff in Sulaimaniyah City. In this study, the effects of Covid-19 on awareness, risk level, and hand cleaning have been focused on by hospital staff in Sulaimaniyah City hospitals. A qualitative method using an electronic questionnaire was applied for data collection. The total number of participants was 404 hospital staff. The percentage ratio of female employees is higher than males in the health sector in the Sulaimaniyah Hospitals. Awareness by the hospital staff has increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. Participants aged more than 55 years were more at risk because of their age, and females more than 55 years had the most threat. Covid-19 impacted the increasing rate of washing hands by 38% and using materials for cleaning hands by 46% for the hospital staff in Sulaimaniyah City. The average grand total change percentage was 41%. Water consumption increased by 135% in the Sulaimaniyah Hospitals throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. On the other hand, fewer working hours in the hospitals led to a high-water consumption ratio among the employees in the hospitals

GIS Visualization of Solid Waste Disposal Sites and Environmental Impacts in Kurdistan Region-Iraq

The increase in the quantity of municipal solid waste (MSW) has made environmental problems in the Kurdistan Region (KR)-Iraq. Current study illustrated components and generation rates (GR) of MSW in seven different cities of KR. Geographic information system (GIS) was applied to locate MSW disposal sites, components, and generation rate in the cities. The study reported the maximum GR for MSW in Sulaymaniyah City which was 1.20 Kg/Capita/day and the minimum GR for domestic solid waste in Erbil City was 0.65 Kg/Capita/day. In-addition, the amount of organic waste component (OWC) in Erbil, Halabja, Sulaymaniyah, Semel, Duhok, Qaladize, and Ranya Cities were 79.34 %, 58 %, 65 %, 65 %, 79 %, 75.1 %, and 67.05 %, respectively. The average GR and OWC were calculated to be 0.972 Kg/Capita/day and 71.91%, respectively. Consequently, all MSW disposal sites had great impact to the surrounding areas resulting in air, water, and soil contamination

Effect of Alton Kopri Wastewater on Lesser-Zab Raw Water

This work aimed to study the impact of Alton Kopri wastewater on the Lesser-Zab River water. Specifically, the study aimed to determine the impacts of the formed wastewater on the Lesser-Zab River using the mass balance principle (MBP) and provide appropriate solutions to this problem. Fresh samples from Alton Kopri wastewater and the Lesser-Zab River water were collected from February 2013 to September 2013. The samples were analyzed for temperature, pH, total alkalinity, total hardness, total acidity, chloride, turbidity, solids, dissolved oxygen, 5-day biochemical oxygen demand, and sulfate. Results presented graphically demonstrated that Alton Kopri wastewater can be classified as medium- to strong-type wastewater, whereas the Lesser-Zab River can be categorized as a moderately polluted river and moderately hard to hard water. The application of MBP revealed that Alton Kopri wastewater affected the Lesser-Zab River water; hence, appropriate solutions were outlined to minimize the impact of the former on the water resource and treatment of the latter

Solidification/Stabilization of Contaminated Soil in a South Station of the Khurmala Oil Field in Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Currently, the primary source of pollution is crude oil production. Crude oil production has dramatic consequences for farmlands, communities, and in terms of the construction materials required for earthworks. The main aims of the present study were to reduce the level of pollution caused by oil production in the Khurmala soil and then reuse it as a construction material. Soil remediation using the solidification/stabilization method was applied in the field using Portland limestone cement (CEM II). The performance of using CEM II in the remediation process was then investigated in the laboratory by taking the natural, contaminated, and treated soils from the Khurmala site. Furthermore, the results of the soils were compared with their corresponding soil samples using ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The comparison was performed by investigating the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of the soils. The discussion was supported using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results. Chemical and SEM results revealed that there were fourfold and tenfold decreases in the percentage of oil and grease using OPC and CEM II, respectively, confirming the higher performance of using CEM II over OPC. The values of the coefficient of permeability, shear strength parameters, and California bearing ratio of the treated soils were significantly improved, compared to those of the contaminated soils

Comparison And Optimization of OZONE – Based Advanced Oxidation Processes in The Treatment of Stabilized Landfill Leachate

Leachate pollution is one of the main problems in landfilling. Among the most problematic parameters in stabilized leachate are COD, ammonia, and color. The treatment technology that can be used may differ based on the type of leachate produced. Even after treatment, the effluent characteristics are always hard to comply with the discharge standard. Ozonation is one of the chemical processes that can be used in the treatment of landfill leachate. However, its performance when use alone is low; its effectiveness can be improved using advanced oxidants. To date, application of Fenton and persulfate reagents separately to improve ozonation process in one ozone reactor was not well established. The study aimed to evaluate and compare the performance of the three treatment processes, namely ozone, ozone/Fenton and ozone/persulfate in treating stabilized leachate separately at different experimental conditions. The performance of the three methods in the treating stabilized leachate was compared. According to the results, the performance of ozone alone was poor, and utilizing new advanced oxidation material during ozonation of such leachate was required to improve leachate treatability. Ozone/Fenton process is a viable choice for degrading and decolourizing stabilized leachate. Furthermore, ozone/persulfate process has higher performance in ammonia removal as well as it has good removal efficiency of COD and color from stabilized leachate. Suitable data for establishing fully stabilized leachate treatment plant using ozone/Fenton and ozone/persulfate was suggested. The final effluent of ozone/Fenton process complied with the discharge standard for COD and colour