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Wastewater Treatment: Review, Key Challenges, and New Perspectives

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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Wastewater Treatment and Reuse".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2019) | Viewed by 30563

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Helvi Heinonen-Tanski

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Guest Editor

Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
Interests: environmental microbiology; water and wastewater disinfection; sustainable sanitation; use of human urine as fertilizer; hygiene of manure and its use as fertilizer; interactions between soil microorganisms and pesticides
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wastewaters are formed in all human activities. They can be black wastewaters containing human excreta with enteric microorganisms, or they can be grey wastewaters containing washing wastewaters without human feces. Usually, cities collect and treat wastewaters and they have, therefore, professional personal. On the contrary, sewage pipes do not usually reach rural areas. This is also valid in industrial countries. Rural people must, thus, treat their own wastewaters. There are many different treatment methods, starting from simple dumping of wastewaters in ditches up to sophisticated treatments. Some systems have served royal families.The most sophisticated units need electricity and maybe some chemicals. All units need some maintenance work so that the user can be sure about their operation. Some treatment systems can cause microbiological and chemical contamination of drinking waters, but dry-toilet systems can save water.

This Special Issues will publish papers about small-scale wastewater treatment systems. Which unit types fit to tropics or to climates with real winter? How can the units be improved? What are the benefits and weaknesses? How long can a unit operate? What is the fate of the filter sand after the treatment time? What are the chemical and microbiological qualities of treated wastewater? Can the treated wastewater be used for irrigation or as fertilizer?

Dr. Helvi Heinonen-Tanski
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

dry sanitation
hygiene
pharmaceutical residues
phosphorus traps
sand filters
separating sanitation
small scale treatment plants
sustainability

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 3472 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of Biodegradation of Fats and Oils by Activated Sludge on Experimental and Real Scales

by Pedro Cisterna-Osorio and Patricia Arancibia-Avila

Water 2019, 11(6), 1286; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11061286 - 20 Jun 2019

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5269

Abstract

Fats and oils are the most common pollutants in wastewater, and are usually eliminated through physical processes in wastewater treatment plants, generating large amounts of fats and residual oils that are difficult to dispose of and handle. The degradation of fatty wastewater was studied in a real wastewater treatment plant and a laboratory scale treatment unit. The wastewater treatment plant, located in Chile, was designed for a population of 200,000 inhabitants. It includes an aerobic digester that receives fat and oils retained in a degreaser and treats the fats and oils together with biomass. The biodegradation of fats and oils was analyzed in both wastewater treatment systems. Key parameters were monitored such as the concentration of fats and oils in the influents and effluents, mass loading, and the efficiency of biodegradation. The mass loading range was similar in both wastewater treatment systems. In the experimental activated sludge plant, the biodegradation of fats and oils reached levels in the range of 64% to 75%. For the wastewater treatment plant with an aerobic digester, the levels of biodegradation of fats and oils ranged from 69% to 92%. Therefore, considering the efficiency of the elimination of fats and oils, the results indicated that physical treatment should be replaced with biological treatment so that the CO₂ generated by the biodegradation will be incorporated into the carbon cycle and the mass of fats and oils in landfills will be reduced. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Treatment: Review, Key Challenges, and New Perspectives)

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17 pages, 1561 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adsorption of Chloramphenicol on Commercial and Modified Activated Carbons

by Joanna Lach

Water 2019, 11(6), 1141; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11061141 - 30 May 2019

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 3932

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the possibility of applying commercial activated carbons currently used in water treatment plants and modified carbon at 400 and 800 °C in the atmosphere of air, water vapour and carbon dioxide to remove chloramphenicol. Adsorption kinetics was examined for solutions with pH of 2–10. Adsorption kinetics were determined for the initial concentration of chloramphenicol of 161 mg/dm³ and the adsorption isotherm was determined for the concentrations of 161 to 1615 mg/dm³. Of the analysed activated carbons (F-300, F-100, WG-12, ROW 08 Supra and Picabiol), the highest adsorption capacity was obtained for the use of Picabiol (214 mg/g), characterized by the highest specific surface area and pore volume. The pH value of the solution has little effect on the adsorption of chloramphenicol (the highest adsorption was found for pH = 10, qm = 190 mg/g, whereas the lowest—for pH = 6, qm = 208 mg/g). Modification of activated carbon WG-12 at 800 °C caused an increase in adsorption capacity from 195 mg/g (unmodified carbon) to 343 mg/g. A high correlation coefficient was found between the capacity of activated carbons and the total volume of micropores and mesopores. Among the examined adsorption kinetics equations (pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, Elovich, intraparticle diffusion), the lowest values of the R² correlation coefficient were obtained for the pseudo-first order equation. Other models with high correlation coefficient values described the adsorption kinetics. The adsorption results were modelled by means of the Freundlich, Langmuir, Temkin and Dubibin–Radushkevich adsorption isotherms. For all activated carbons and process conditions, the best match to the test results was obtained using the Langmuir model, whereas the lowest was found for the Dubibin–Radushkevich model. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Treatment: Review, Key Challenges, and New Perspectives)

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Review

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23 pages, 1733 KiB

Open AccessReview

Wastewater Management in Citrus Processing Industries: An Overview of Advantages and Limits

by Demetrio Antonio Zema, Paolo Salvatore Calabro, Adele Folino, Vincenzo Tamburino, Giovanni Zappia and Santo Marcello Zimbone

Water 2019, 11(12), 2481; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11122481 - 25 Nov 2019

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 5633

Abstract

Citrus-processing industries produce large volumes of wastewater (CPWW). The large variability of these volumes coupled to physicochemical characteristics of CPWW determine severe constraints for their disposal due to both economic and environmental factors. To minimize the management costs and prevent the negative ecological impacts of CPWW, several systems have been proposed and adopted. However, all these treatment/valorization routes have many issues that are not yet thoroughly known by the scientific community and stakeholders of the citrus-processing chain. This paper reports an overview of the possible treatment/valorization opportunities for CPWW: intensive biological treatment, lagooning, direct land application, energy conversion, and biorefinery uses for the extraction of added-value compounds. Advantages and constraints are presented and discussed, and the following conclusions are achieved: (i) there is not a unique solution for CPWW treatment, since the best management system of CPWW must be chosen case by case, taking into account the quality/quantity of the effluent and the location of the transformation industry; (ii) the adoption of a biorefinery approach can increase the competitiveness and the further development of the whole citrus sector, but the cost of novel technologies (some of which have not been tested at real scale) still limits their development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Treatment: Review, Key Challenges, and New Perspectives)

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20 pages, 1433 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Risk-Yuck Factor Nexus in Reclaimed Wastewater for Irrigation: Comparing Farmers’ Attitudes and Public Perception

by Sandra Ricart, Antonio M. Rico and Anna Ribas

Water 2019, 11(2), 187; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11020187 - 22 Jan 2019

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 5462

Abstract

The successes and failures of water reuse schemes are shaped by complex interrelationships between technological, economic, and socio-political factors. However, it has long been recognized that the main challenges to more effective water management are largely social rather than technical. This article reviews the recent literature (2007–2017) to analyze driving factors associated with farmers’ concerns and public perception of reclaimed wastewater for irrigation. The aim of the paper is to synthetize how both environmental and health risks and the yuck factor could be addressed in order to promote mutual understanding between farmers and the public. Results show: (1) how farmers and the public perceive environmental and health risks in a similar way, (2) how the yuck factor is more noticeable for the public than farmers, and (3) how constructed wetlands, reclaimed water exchange consortiums, product certification, and direct site visits to water reuse infrastructure could be promoted in order to foster understanding between farmers and the public. The article concludes by providing key research questions for managers and public authorities relating to how to focus on the study of technical and social issues related to water reuse. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Treatment: Review, Key Challenges, and New Perspectives)

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46 pages, 1796 KiB

Open AccessReview

Treatment of Palm Oil Mill Effluent Using Membrane Bioreactor: Novel Processes and Their Major Drawbacks

by Mohammed Abdulsalam, Hasfalina Che Man, Aida Isma Idris, Khairul Faezah Yunos and Zurina Zainal Abidin

Water 2018, 10(9), 1165; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10091165 - 30 Aug 2018

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 7936

Abstract

Over the years, different types of alternative technologies have been developed and used for palm oil mill effluent (POME) treatment. Specifically, membrane bioreactor (MBR) has been employed to relegate pollutants contained in POME under different operating conditions, and the technology was found to be promising. The major challenge impeding the wider application of this technology is membrane fouling, which usually attracts high operating energy and running cost. In this regard, novel methods of mitigating membrane fouling through the treatment processes have been developed. Therefore, this review article specifically focuses on the recent treatment processes of POME using MBR, with particular emphasis on innovative processes conditions such as aerobic, anaerobic, and hybrid processing as well as their performance in relation to fouling minimization. Furthermore, the effects of sonication and thermophilic and mesophilic conditions on membrane blockage were critically reviewed. The types of foulants and fouling mechanism as influenced by different operating conditions were also analyzed censoriously. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Treatment: Review, Key Challenges, and New Perspectives)

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