Artificial Neural Network-Cuckoo Optimization Algorithm (ANN-COA) for Optimal Control of Khorramabad Wastewater Treatment Plant, Iran

In this study a hybrid estimation model ANN-COA developed to provide an accurate prediction of a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). An effective strategy for detection of some output parameters tested on a hardware setup in WWTP. This model is designed utilizing Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Cuckoo Optimization Algorithm (COA) to improve model performances; which is trained by a historical set of data collected during a 6 months operation. ANN-COA based on the difference between the measured and simulated values, allowed a quick revealing of the faults. The method could obtain the fault detection and used in solving continuous and discrete optimization problems, successfully. After constructing and modelling the method, selected performance indices including coefficient of Regression, Mean-Square Error, Root-Mean-Square Error and Aggregated Measure used to compare the obtained results. This analysis revealed that the hybrid ANN-COA model offers a higher degree of accuracy for predicting and control the WWTP

Study of Effective Factors on E.coli Removal from Water Using Solar Radiation Disinfection

Introduction: The removal of microbial pollutants is important for access of water quality standard. Therefore, drinking water disinfection for pathogens removal or inactivation conducted in water treatment installations. Today, due to environmental friendly, solar radiation disinfection considered. Objective of this study was effect of certain environmental factors such as turbidity, organic matter, container kind, and initial bacteria concentrations on E. coli removal from water solution using solar radiation disinfection. Material and Methods: In this study, the performance of E. coli removal were evaluated using different container (PET and Glass), turbidity (0, 10, 20 NTU), organic matter (0, 5, 10 mg/l), and initial E. coli concentrations (100, 200, 300 bacteria/ml) as experimental study. This study conducted at perfectly sunny days in July and August between 11 to 15 o’clock with maximum radiation intensity. Results: Results of this study show that both PET and Glass containers are capable to decrease of 300 E.coli per milliliter to zero at 60 min contact time. With increasing of organic matter, turbidity, and initial concentration of E. coli, bacterial removal rate from water solution decreased. Generally, solar radiation can be provide 100 % removal of E. coli in a water solution with 300 E. coli/l as initial concentration, 20 NTU of turbidity and 10 mg/l of organic matter with 60 min contact time.   Conclusion: The use of solar radiation technology is suitable for drinking water disinfection both at household level and at remote communities even for water with high turbidity and high organic matter concentrations

The effect of metronidazole on biological denitrification of Pesudomonas stutzeri in wastewater

Background : Pseudomonus stutzeri bactrerium is one of the most important and effective denitrifier bacteria in wastewater. With regard to the importance of effects of nitrate on water resources and human health and role of metronidazole inhibition, this study was done with the aim of survey of effect of metronidazole different concentrations on biological denitrification of Pesudomonas stutzeri in wastwater. Materials and Methods: This research was an experimental study. After sampling from raw wastewater, identification and isolation of pseudomonus stutzeri bactrerium were done. Bacteria suspension in specific culture medium and metronidazole different concentrations in deionized water and nitrate different concentrations for experimentals of nitrate removal under anoxic conditions was prepared and metronidazole inhibition experiments on activity of denitrification by pseudomonus stutzeri in synthetic and real wastewater were conducted. Results: Metronidazole at concentrations of 100, 200, 300 and 400mg/l, in synthetic wastewater containing nitrate concentrations to 500mg/l, had no inhibitory effect on activity of denitrification by pseudomonus stutzeri. Metronidazole at concentrations of higher than 800mg/l in synthetic wastewater and higher than 500mg/l in domestic wastewater had inhibitory effect. In 800mg/l metronidazole concentrations, with increasing the concentration of substrate(nitrate), significant reduction in the rate of nitrate removal by pseudomonus stutzeri was observed. This bacterium was added to three samples of domestic sewage, but had no effect on the rate of nitrate removal. Conclusion: With ergard to strong ability of Pseudomonus stutzeri to remove nitrate high concentrations and high resistance of this bacterium against metrinidazole, biological denitrification process can have a high potential to be used for removal of nitrates high concentrations from industrial wastewater, particularly pharmaceutical industries wastewater

Nitrate removal from water using denitrifier-bacteria immobilized on activated carbon at fluidized-bed reactor

Background : Nitrogen-containing ions such as nitrate and nitrite occur widely in a variety of water sources. This pollutant causes health problems such as the blue-baby syndrome, and possible formation of carcinogenic compounds in the digestive tract. Thus, removing them from water sources seems necessary. Biological denitrification is a method used in the treatment of nitrate contaminated water. Numerous biological denitrification processes such as fluidized bed reactors (FBR) have been reported. This bench-scale research describes the operation of granular activated carbon (GAC) based fluidized bed reactors (FBR) for nitrate removal from water. Materials and Methods: The GAC was inoculated with a denitrifing culture isolated from Khorramabad milk industry wastewater. In addition, characteristics of GAC were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A mixed bacterial culture was acclimated to the removal of 50-200 mg NO3-N. L–1 at 1-3 h retention time from water. The experiments were carried out under anoxic conditions. The effects of various operating conditions such as hydraulic retention time (HRT), Nitrate loading rate and initial concentrations of nitrate on the denitrification were demonstrated experimentally. Results: The experimental results demonstrated that the over 94% of NO3-N was removed in the 2-3 h retention time, almost no NO2-N accumulated in treated water when the concentration of NO3-N was around 50-100 mg/L in influent. Under the experimental conditions, drinking water quality was achieved at a nitrogen loading lower than 2.4 kgNO3-N•m-3•day-1 with an influent COD/N ratio of 3 if ethanol was used as the carbon source. The denitrification rate increased up to a maximal value of 3.45 kgNO3-N•m-3•day-1 with increasing nitrogen loading rate (4.8 kgNO3-N•m-3•day-1). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that GAC offers favorable attachment sites for bacteria on the surfaces of GAC for Nitrate removal and denitrification of water was carried out in a fluidized bed reactor (FBR) using Activated carbon-immobilized cell beads as support carriers

Study of ZnO nano particles photocatalytic process efficiency in decolorization of methylene blue and COD removal from synthetic wastewater

Background : Effluents containing synthetic dyes are hazardous to ecological systems and public health. Methylene blue is an important chemical aromatic dye which commonly used in textile industries. Due to being aromatic, it is often toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic. The goal of this study was to investigate the efficiency of ZnO nano particles photocatalytic process for decolorization of methylene blue by UV irradiation from synthetic textile wastewater. Materials and Methods: In this study methylene blue photocatalytic decomposition using Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and zinc oxide nano particles having less than 50 nm in diameter was surveyed. A batch-through Plexiglass reactor having two compartment used to conduct the experiments. Wastewater was flowed to the compartment which contains of nano ZnO stabilized glasses. UV lamps were installed at another compartment. The variables of the study included: exposure time, color concentration, light intensity, and lamp distance to the catalyst surface. Results: ZnO nano particles characteristics were determined by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Images showed that stabilizes nano particles on glass, their porosity remains in the optimal level. Optimium values for exposure time 120 minutes, color concentration 25 mg/l, light intensity 3950 μW/cm2, and distance to the catalyst surface 1 cm were achieved. At the optimal condition, methylene blue decolorization and COD removal was achieved 92.2% and 75% respectively Conclusion: Regarding the conducted experiments, the results of this studyshowed that ZnO/UV photocatalytic process has a significant efficiency in dye decolorization and COD removal. This method could be applied in the full scales

Assessment of Fungal Aerosols Dispersion from Municipal Solid Waste Disposal Site: A Case Study of Karaj, Iran

Introduction: Fungal aerosols from landfill sites can play a fundamental role in environmental pollution and health. The present study aimed to assess the dispersion of fungal aerosols from municipal solid waste disposal site. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the concentration of fungal aerosols was determined in four geographical directions at distances of 250, 500, 750, and 1000 m around landfill site. Relative humidity and temperature were also measured. Moreover the concentration and type of the fungal taxa isolated from landfill site under different environmental and metrological conditions were evaluated. Results: The results showed that the maximum and minimum concentrations of fungal aerosol in the landfill site were 256.18 ± 59.7 CFU/m3 and 76.56 ± 23.2 CFU/m3, respectively. The most frequent fungi detected from municipal landfill site included Penicillium (43.67%), Cladosporium (33.54%), Yeast (7.60%), Aspergillus (5.91%), Curvularia (3.62%), Chrysosporium (1.57%), Alternaria (1.54%), Scopulariopsis (0.84%), and Ulocladium (0.60%) taxa. The maximum identified fungal aerosol concentration in the area around the solid waste landfill was 350 CFU/m3. Furthermore, the concentration of fungal aerosols in the environment was significantly related to relative humidity, wind direction, and temperature in spring and winter (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Municipal solid waste disposal site can be a potential source for fungal aerosol dispersion. Moreover, fungal aerosols concentration is correlated with wind direction and speed, relative humidity, and temperature

Evaluating the impacts of environmental factors and compliance with health guidelines on the rate and trend in Covid-19 infection in Alborz province, 2019

Background and Objective: In this research, considering the importance of the adverse effects of the Covid-19 disease and identifying the environmental factors involved in its outbreak, the effects of environmental factors and compliance with health guidelines on outbreak and mortality of Covid-19 have been evaluated. Materials and Methods: This research was a descriptive-analytical study on confirmed patients with Covid-19 in Alborz province in 2019. In this study, outbreak rate and death due to Covid-19, compliance with health guidelines, air pollutants concentrations, air pollution indicators, and the meteorological conditions of Alborz province were daily collected for 2019. All data were analyzed in IBM SPSS Statistics v26 software with Pearson, Spearman, Kruskal-Wallis, one-way variance ANOVA analysis tests, and negative binomial regression statistical models. Results: The results of the regression model showed that in the mortality rate due to Covid-19, the variables of average temperature(p=0.042), humidity(p=0.048), rate of Covid-19 infection(p=0.001), and compliance with health guidelines(p=0.007) are significant. However, in the model of the rate of infection with Covid-19, only compliance with health guidelines(p=0.001) was significant. Pearson's and Spearman's correlation coefficients for infection rate, compliance with health guidelines, wind speed, and concentrations of carbon monoxide, PM2.5, and SO2 with the death rate due to corona, were 0.575, -0.411, -0.206, 0.211, 0.114 and -0.158. Conclusion: The results showed that in addition to compliance with health guidelines, some atmospheric factors and air pollutants also impact the rate of infection and mortality caused by Covid-19

Study of indoor and ambient air fungual bioaerosols and its relation with particulate matters in a hospital of khorramabad

Background: The climate change and particulate matter emission contented of bioaerosols is known as an important reason of increasing the allergic interactions especially in patients with defect in immunity system. The aim of this study was to investigate fungal bioaerosol concentrations in relation to particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5 and PM1) in indoor parts and ambient air of the generd educational hospital of Khorramabad city. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 192 samples (168 for indoor and 24 for outdoor) were gathered during 6 months at the seven indoor wards and one outdoor unit using Quick Take-30 method &nbsp;at an airflow rate of 28.3 L/min and sampling time of 2.5 min on to Sabouraud dextrose agar medium containing chloramphenicol. The sampling of particulate matter was carried out by Monitor Dust-Trak 8520. Also, the relative humidity and temperature were surveyed by TES-1360 digital. Results: The results showed that infectious ward with 101.7 CFU/m3 was as the most contaminated part and operating room with 46.4 CFU/m3 was the cleanest part. Cladosporium with 36.75% and Rodotorolla with 1.3% had higher and lower of fungi rates, respectively. The rate of &nbsp;I/O<1 &nbsp;illustrate that this contamination had an outdoor source. Conclusion: The surveys demonstrated that the increase of temperature and relative humidity have an effective influence on the pollutant accumulation. In addition, between fungi bioaerosols frequency and particulate matter ther was a significant correlation

The performance evaluation of Khorramabad wastewater treatment plant by using artificial intelligence network

Background: In the last two decades the using of artificial intelligence models for correct operation of the water treatment plant and maintain the stability of systems in favorable conditions, much researches has been done in this area. These models to simulate the behavior of water treatment systems can be used as an effective tool and to be used in the prediction of plant performance. The aim of this study was to evaluate of Khorramabad wastewater treatment plant performance (WWTP) using artificial intelligence network (AIN). Materials and Methods: In this study, by using the AIN-LM and underlying the quality parameters measured at the&nbsp; entrance of plant (T, PH, DO, BOD, COD, TSS, TDS, NO3, PO4), the corresponding three parameters BOD, COD and TSS in the output of wastewater treatment plant was predicted.&nbsp; Statistical indicators used in this study were R, MSE and the software Matlab and SPSS (test T-test), respectively. Results: Based on the results, BOD, COD and TSS, respectively, with a maximum R, 0/98, 0/91 and 0/92 for the train data and 0/5, 0/66 and 0/5 for the test data and minimum MSE, 3/5, 33/15 and 2/17 for the train data 11, 115 and 20/99 were predicted for the test data, and the results were acceptable. Also, by calculating the percent removal of pollutants in the output of plant was revealed that TSS had the maximum efficiency of pollutant removal in wastewater treatment plant and was equal to 87/68 %. Also, other amounts of pollutant were closed to TSS. Conclusion: In this study, AIN-LM created a reliable tool for predicting the performance of Khorramabad wastewater treatment plant and could predict the quality of effluent on the basis of measured parameters. So, remove of pollutants through the results were obtained by using the AIN-LM network, showed that, it was a good model, so the observed data indicates that confirm of the performance this model, as well. Also, the reduction of qualitative values as standard values recommended by the DOE indicates that the relatively good performance of the WWTP

A study of bacteria, fungi and biomass in particulate matter in ambient air of Khorramabad during summer and autumn 2012

Introduction: Particulate matter refers to the combination of atmospheric pollutants that a portion of this particulate is bioaerosol. The aim of this study was the evaluation of bacteria, fungi and biomass in particulate matter in ambient air of Khorramabad during summer and autumn 2012. Materials and Methods: This study was a cross sectional study that conducted in Khorramabad city during summer and fall 2012. Sampling has been done via high-volume sampler. The special cultures were used for cultivation and determination of fungal and Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC (and Bradford method were used to determine bacteria and protein as biomass indicator, respectively. Relationship between these variables with metrological parameters was evaluated too. Results: The highest PM10 in July (257.18 &micro;g/m3) and lowest in September (92.45 &micro;g/m3) had been recorded. The highest amount of bacteria and fungi were measured as monthly in November (605 No/m3) and December (120 No/m3), respectively. The highest of protein concentration was measured in August, September and December (27-30 &micro;g/m3). With the increase in PM10, biomass concentration in the air showed a meaningful increase. Conclusion: Biomass concentration in the air increased with increasing PM10 but it had no significant effect on the concentration of bacteria and fungi in the air. Meteorological factors such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, solar radiation and the amount of exposure time had a significant impact on bioaerosol concentrations in the air