Partial Nitritation Anammox Process For Sidestream Wastewater Treatment In Mabr Technology, Panagiota Stamatopoulou

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There has been an increased interest in alternative wastewater treatment systems to improve nutrients removal and energy consumptions while achieving acceptable discharge limits. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) have shifted their interest in treating the sidestream wastewater; a reject liquid post anaerobic digestion, rich in ammonium-nitrogen. A dedicated sidestream wastewater treatment unit has become an attractive option with the finding of a relatively new species of bacteria, anaerobic ammonium oxidizers (anammox), able to convert ammonium and nitrite into nitrogen gas. However, anammox bacteria are sensitive in environmental changes, and in combination with their low growth rate, it is challenging to establish …

Anaerobic Digestion Modeling Of A High Rate Acidification Pre-Treatment Technology, Connor Pritty

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Through the application of a computerized model (BioWin), anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) of source separated organics (SSO) and a high rate acidification technology (pretreatment) for a conventional wastewater treatment plant was reviewed. Through this combined approach of high rate acidification, and co-digestion techniques it was found that the experimental modeling scenarios offered increases when compared to the existing base scenario production levels. With the addition of the high rate acidification technology and application of source separated organics the maximum increases in biogas production came when an OLR of 5.24 kg-COD/m³/day and 97g COD/L/d was experimentally modeled. It is therefore, recommended that …

Spatial And Temporal Characteristics Of Temperature-Precipitation Covariability Across Canada In A Changing Climate, Harsimrenjit Singh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Changes in the regional characteristics of temperature and precipitation can intensify the occurrence and severity of extreme events such as rain-on-snow induced flooding, droughts and wildfires. Analyzing these climate variables in isolation without considering their interdependencies might result in severe underestimation of their combined effects. In this study, copula functions are used to describe the joint behaviour of temperature and precipitation across Canada over a historical period of 1910-present using observations and further till the end of the 21st century using three large ensembles of regional climate models. Moreover, given the lack of observation data over Canada, gridded datasets are …

Comparative Assessment Of Downscaling Methods And Application Towards Analysis Of Climate Change Impact On Urban Regions, Markus Eichenbaum

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Global climate models (GCM) are sophisticated numerical models used to make long term climate projections. However, the resolution of their output is too coarse for climate change related local impact studies on urban regional scales. Downscaling efforts are taken to address this and increase GCM projection resolution. Physical Scaling (SP) downscaling methodology attempts to incorporate the physical basis of dynamical downscaling efforts with the computational efficiency of statistical methods. In this study, North American Regional Reanalysis surface skin temperature and precipitation data for a 1°x1° region centered on Houston, TX are downscaled to a resolution of 500m via SP and …

Bioremediation Of Refinery Desalter Effluent Using Debaryomyces Hansenii And Parachlorella Kessleri, Leila Azimian

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Crude oil desalting operations produce an effluent stream which is challenging to treat due to its salt, heavy metal and hydrocarbon content. Consequently, desalter effluent (DE) is usually diluted into other effluent streams and sent to conventional wastewater treatment plants which may lead to upsets the plant operation.

In this study, a novel microbial approach was applied which investigated DE treatment using halotolerant yeast Debaryomyces hansenii (LAF-3 10 U) or the environmentally robust micro-algae Parachlorella kessleri strain CPCC 266. The effect of these two different approaches on both synthetic and actual DE was investigated in both batch and/or continuous mode. …

Modal Analysis And Analytical Modeling Of Tornado-Like Vortices, Mohammad Karami

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Regardless of the type of vortex chamber, many tornado simulators generate flows that reveal similar flow patterns and a general agreement on the variations of the flow structures with swirl ratio (the ratio of tangential velocity to radial velocity) was achieved. However, very little is known about the underlying physics of the flow, mostly of the fluctuating one, as the previous studies have mainly focused on qualitative flow visualization and the quantitative description of the mean flow.

Herein, coherent structures in tornado-like vortices are extracted using modal decomposition techniques. Modal analysis helps us to better understand the complex vortex dynamics …

An Integrated Framework To Assess Compound Flood Risks For Interdependent Critical Infrastructure In A Coastal Environment, Ying Zhang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Compound flooding refers to flood events caused by multiple factors, including marine processes (e.g. storm tides and waves), hydrometeorological signals (e.g. rainfall and river flows) among others. Saint Lucia is a tropical island in eastern Caribbean Sea, which is frequently affected by weather-related extreme events such as tropical storms and the associated risks are exacerbated due to its mountainous topography and high concentrations of infrastructure and human communities close to the coast. At the southern coast of Saint Lucia, significant infrastructures such as Hewanorra International Airport and Vieux Fort Seaport, and human settlements such as towns of Vieux Fort and …

Field Trials Of Ex Situ Smouldering Treatment (Starx) Of Oil Sludge, Cody Murray

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Growing environmental concern and regulations around petroleum producing and refining facilities, along with the divesting of legacy properties, have necessitated the need for rapid, high capacity, and cost-effective treatment technologies for remediating these sites and their produced wastes. Self-sustained liquid smouldering – known as STAR technology - has been studied extensively at small scales and has been proven as an effective in situ remediation technique for heavy hydrocarbons. However, STAR as a large-scale ex situ waste disposal method (STARx) has yet to be demonstrated. Here STARx is evaluated for the first time in soil pile configurations, using an engineered base …

Field-Scale Implementation Of Sulfidated Nano Zerovalent Iron For In-Situ Remediation, Ariel Nunez Garcia

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

As far back as the mid-1990s, biogenic sulfidation has been observed during the implementation of iron-based materials for groundwater remediation. This phenomenon has largely been a consequence of natural biogeochemical processes and the prospects of utilizing engineered sulfidated zerovalent iron (ZVI) particles – nano- and/or micro- sized – were not extensively explored. More recently sulfidation of zerovalent iron (ZVI) particles has received considerable attention, highlighting the benefits that engineered/abiotic sulfidation can offer to nZVI, but to date, no field demonstration of the technology has been conducted. The first part of this thesis aims to report the unique challenges and unanswered …

The Effect Of Low Temperature And Low Light Intensity On Nutrient Removal From Municipal Wastewater By Purple Phototrophic Bacteria (Ppb), Peyman Dalaei

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There has been increased interest in alternative wastewater treatment systems to improve nutrient recovery while achieving acceptable TCOD, TN, and TP discharge limits. Purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) have a high potential for simultaneous nutrient removal and recovery from wastewater. This study evaluated the PPB performance and its growth at different operating conditions with a focus on HRT and light optimization using a continuous-flow membrane photobioreactor (PHB). Furthermore, the effect of low temperature on PPB performance was assessed to evaluate the PPB’s application in cold-climate regions. In order to evaluate PPB performance, TCOD, TN, and TP removal efficiencies and Monod kinetic …

Effect Of Coagulant Recycling On Chemically Enhanced Primary Treatment Performance, Tulip Chakraborty

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) process is a promising method for carbon redirection and improving the performance and efficiency of wastewater treatment processes. CEPT is employed to precipitate colloidal and suspended matter from wastewater; however, this requires a significant amount of coagulant and produces large volumes of sludge. Coagulant recovery (CR) from the precipitated sludge has the potential to reduce sludge quantities, associated costs for disposal of sludge, cost of dosing fresh coagulant by regenerating and purifying the coagulant before reuse. This research was conducted to understand the feasibility and implications of CR in municipal wastewater.

In order to evaluate …

Future Changes Of Hydroclimatic Extremes In Western North America Using A Large Ensemble: The Role Of Internal Variability, Mohammad Hasan Mahmoudi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Increases in the intensity and frequency of extreme events in Western North America (WNA) can cause significant socioeconomic problems and threaten existing infrastructure. In this study we analyze the impacts of climate change on hydroclimatic extremes and assess the role of internal variability over WNA, which collectively drain an area of about 1 million km². We used gridded observations and downscaled precipitation, maximum and minimum temperature from seven General Circulation Models (GCMs) that participated in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) and a large ensemble of CanESM2 model simulations (CanESM2-LE; 50 members) for this analysis. Spatial …

Estimation Of Nutrient Loads From Septic Systems To Tributaries In The Lake Erie Basin, Lauren Oldfield

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Septic systems are often cited as an important source of nutrient loading to surface waters; however, there is limited quantitative evidence supporting this. To address phosphorus (P) load reduction targets for Lake Erie that were set by the Canadian and United States governments, there is a need to quantify the contribution of septic systems to P tributary loads. Doing so is challenging due to the diffuse nature of this nonpoint source, the lack of septic system inventory across Ontario, and the complexity of P transport in the environment. In this study, the artificial sweetener acesulfame, a tracer for human wastewater, …

Analysis And Control Of Aluminum Concentration In Groundwater: Mathematical Modelling And Laboratory Study, Daria Popugaeva

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The remediation of metal-contaminated natural water bodies is prioritized due to metals toxicity, non-biodegradable properties, and accumulative behaviours leading to the increased incidence of adverse health effects. Current investigation is driven by the existing problem of elevated aluminum concentrations in the groundwater of Khibiny alkaline massif (Kola Peninsula). The prohibitive aluminum level exceeding the accepted standard of 0.20 mg L⁻¹ is described as a serious health concern when the groundwater used for the local water supply. The results of comprehensive field data analysis based on chemometric methods applied to the available monitoring data including 12 groundwater quality parameters are …

A Comprehensive Study Of Arsenic Removal From Aqueous Solution Using Low-Cost Adsorbents, Mrinmoyee Mondal

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Arsenic poisoning in water is a global concern for many years due to its high carcinogenic and toxic effect on the human body. Adsorption is one of the promising technology to treat arsenic-contaminant water. Recently, natural adsorbent modified with metal oxide/hydroxide is being studied widely, because of its great removal efficiency, inexpensive and eco-friendly properties.

In the present study, two low-cost adsorbents namely Aerocrete and Vermiculite (modified with iron oxy-hydroxide) were assessed for arsenic (both As(III) and As(V)) removal. The maximum removal of As(V) was ~99% at pH 6 for both adsorbents (3g/L). Optimum removal of As(III) was observed at …

Experimental Testing And Modeling Of Partial Nitrification At Different Temperatures, Xiaoguang Liu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Nitrogen in wastewater treatment plant effluents has adverse environmental effects on aquatic systems. Excessive concentrations of nitrogen in water bodies can result in the depletion of dissolved oxygen, deterioration of water quality, and shifts of biotic community. Conventional biological nitrogen removal (BNR) processes consume high energy for nitrification and require external carbon for denitrification. Alternatively, partial nitrification is of interest as an emerging technology for its lower need of organic carbon addition and cost savings in aeration. In this study, the main objectives are: 1- developing a mathematical model involving operational parameters for the determination of successful partial nitrification conditions; …

Use Of Regional Scale Field And Modelling Methods To Evaluate Nearshore Groundwater Discharge To A Large Glacial Lake, Hayley A. Wallace Ms.

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Groundwater discharge may be an important pathway for delivering pollutants to large lakes, but this pathway is poorly understood. Understanding the potential for groundwater discharge to deliver pollutants to lakes requires an evaluation of the magnitude and spatial variability of groundwater discharge to the lake, and the history of the discharging groundwater. The first objective of this thesis was to evaluate and quantify the spatial variability of groundwater discharge to a large glacial lake, Lake Simcoe, Ontario, using the naturally occurring radon isotope tracer (²²²Rn). Regional scale boat surveys were conducted along 80% of the Lake Simcoe shoreline …

Electroflotation For Treatment Of Paint Wastewater: Experiments, Kinetics And Hydrodynamics, Syed Reza Mohtashami

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Electroflotation (EF) is a process used to remove suspended particles from water using the gas bubbles generated from the water electrolysis. This dissertation focuses on the fundamental principles and applications of EF in the treatment of industrial wastewaters, and in particular, treatment of automotive paint wastewater. In the first part, an extensive review of applications of electroflotation in the treatment of different categories of industrial wastewaters, including the fundamentals of the process, electrode materials, design aspects and process variables, is conducted. The second part is focusing on the kinetic study, statistical analysis and empirical modeling of available experimental data from …

The Spanwise Structure Of The Roof-Level Turbulence In A Street Canyon Flow, Tomek Jaroslawski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In the present work, for the first time, the spanwise organization of turbulent flow along an urban street canyon subjected to wind normal to the street axis using a boundary layer wind tunnel is systematically investigated.The effect of upstream roughness and canyon width on the turbulence in a street canyon flow is presented. Measurements in a horizontal plane were conducted at near roof-level of a street canyon using Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry. Three upstream roughness arrays and two canyon width (W) to height (h) aspect ratios (AR = W / h = 1 and 3) were …

Field Test Of Electrokinetically-Delivered Thermally Activated Persulfate For Remediation Of Chlorinated Solvents In Clay, Nicholas Andrew Head

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Due to extensive industrial applications, chlorinated solvents are among the most prevalent groundwater contaminants found at hazardous sites. Given their recalcitrant nature and adverse health effects upon exposure, effective remediation technologies are needed to treat sites impacted by chlorinated solvents. In-situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) has shown success; however, its performance is often hindered in low-permeability media due to the transport of oxidants in such soils being limited. This field-scale study investigated the novel approach of applying electrokinetics (EK) to enhance the delivery of persulfate and electrical resistance heating (ERH) to activate the delivered persulfate for low-permeability soil remediation. Results demonstrated …

Biohydrogen Production From Synthetic Lignocellulosic Hydrolysates: Acclimatization And Inhibition, Basem Mikhaeil Fawzy Haroun

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The growing concerns regarding climate change, population growth, depletion of fossil fuel, and pollution arising from the combustion of petroleum-based fuel can be identified as the most important factors driving the urgent need for environmentally friendly renewable energy. Among all the recognized alternatives to gasoline-based fuel, hydrogen is not only considered as a clean energy but also it has a high energy content of 142 kJ/g which is almost three times higher compared to other fossil fuels. Only water and heat are the by-products of hydrogen combustion. Dark fermentative hydrogen production is a feasible option in which inexpensive, low-grade, carbohydrate-rich, …

Electrokinetically-Enhanced Emplacement Of Lactate In A Chlorinated Solvent Contaminated Clay Site To Promote Bioremediation, Ainsley M. Inglis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Bioremediation through the injection of electron donors and bacterial cultures is effective at treating chlorinated solvent contamination but faces limitations in low permeability zones where the injected amendments cannot be delivered successfully. Using electrokinetics in combination with bioremediation to enhance the delivery of amendments was tested at a chlorinated solvent contaminated field site, where lactate was injected into clay under a direct current. Advection at locations with higher hydraulic conductivities contributed to lactate transport and dilution of aqueous chlorinated solvents. There was evidence of successful delivery of lactate by electromigration (EM) in all monitoring locations with EM lactate transport rates …

Impact Of Trace Element Ions And Fe2+ On Anaerobic Food Waste Digestion, Andisheh Yazdanpanah

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In Canada, about $31 billion worth of food is wasted annually. This amount of food waste (FW) ends up in landfills where it is naturally broken down by bacteria and releases methane to the atmosphere, a powerful greenhouse gas (GHG) which is 21 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide (CO₂). This process can also be done in a controlled environment at wastewater treatment plants, in a process known as anaerobic digestion (AD). Diverting food waste from landfills to wastewater treatment facilities allows for the capture of the methane, which can be used as an energy …

Corrosion Scale Characteristics And Lead Oxide Dissolution In Chloraminated Water, Daoping Guo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The presence of lead in drinking water is a common issue for utilities where lead pipes are used as service lines in drinking water distribution systems. Dissolved lead concentrations have been linked to the destabilization of stratified lead corrosion scales formed at the inner walls of lead pipe used as drinking water service lines. To develop a framework for lead dissolution control, it is necessary to fully describe the characteristics of the surface layer of the lead corrosion scale in direct contact with drinking water. In the first part of this thesis, a thorough lead corrosion scale characterization is carried …

Fundamentals Of Applied Smouldering Combustion, Marco Zanoni

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Smouldering combustion is defined as a flameless oxidation reaction occurring on the surface of the condensed phase (i.e., solid or liquid). Traditional research on smouldering was related to economic damages, fire risk, and death, due to the release of toxic gases and slow propagation rates. Recently, smouldering has been applied as an intentional, engineering technology (e.g., waste and contaminant destruction). Smouldering involves the transport of heat, mass, and momentum in the solid and fluid phases along with different chemical reactions. Therefore, numerical models are essential for the fundamental understanding of the process. Smouldering models either neglected heat transfer between phases …

Role Of Zero Valent Iron And Organic Substrates In Chlorinated Solvent Degradation: An Ex-Situ Remediation Case Study, Alexander Stevenson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Field practice suggests that a combination of biotic and abiotic technologies to treat soil impacted by chlorinated solvents positively influences a remediation project’s success rate. Two large remediation programs have used a material containing both zero-valent iron (ZVI) and a dry organic substrate to abiotically reduce contaminants and increase anaerobic bioremediation in soil contaminated with tetrachloroethylene and 1,2-dichloroethylene using ex-situ mixing techniques. This research assesses the contributions made by the dry organic substrate and ZVI to the observed changes in chlorinated solvent concentrations by analyzing field samples collected from the sites previously remediated, as well as conducting bench-scale batch reactor …

Maintaining And Controlling An Extrinsic Biofilm For Pathogen Removal In Dental Unit Water Lines, Bilal B. Al-Bataina

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The control of biofilm formation is a major concern for industrial, environmental, and public health. Undesirable biofilms can harbor different disease-causing pathogens and shorten the operational life of different equipment. On the other hand, beneficial biofilms are also used in various applications and managing its growth and activity can be desirable. Killing the biofilm does not usually incorporate the removal of the dead biofilm structure that is adhered to the surface. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to control biofilm formation; to be able to remove, inhibit, and enhance biofilm formation. This thesis investigated the use of norspermidine, D-amino …

Biobutanol Production From Cellulosic And Sugar-Based Feedstock From The Corn Plant, Reyna Gomez-Flores

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this thesis, biobutanol production by biological fermentation was investigated from the corn plant, integrating two approaches. The first one was to utilize corn cobs, a cellulosic-based material. The second, using a new sugar-based material, sugarcorn juice. Utilizing suitable Clostridia strains for each substrate, these approaches converged into a biorefinery concept to produce renewable biofuels in Ontario, Canada. The corn cob pretreatment was carried out by a dilute acid method resulting in temperature as the variable with most significant effect towards glucose liberation. The enzymatic hydrolysis was performed utilizing a very low concentration of an enzymatic stock solution with approximately …

Wastewater Refining And Reuse And City-Level Water Decision Making, Ahmed Abuhussein

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Direct discharge of treated and untreated wastewater to natural surface water bodies, including rivers and lakes, is generally known to produce adverse environmental impacts that have been of concern for the past 10–15 years, particularly in the Great Lakes basin. Examples of these impacts include eutrophication and the emergence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). Advancement in wastewater treatment plant operations alone may not be feasible to meet the 2016–2019 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS), especially on phosphorus reduction targets. Diverting treated wastewater to land could present a multibarrier approach for integrated PPCPs management, and could also shift current …

Microsieving As A Primary Treatment For Biological Nitrogen Removal From Municipal Wastewater, Medhavi Gupta

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There has been an increased interest in alternative carbon diversion technologies in wastewater treatment to improve the efficiency and performance of primary treatment, increase treatment capacity, and minimize overall energy consumption, especially in geographies with limited space for expansion. Microsieving technologies like the rotating belt filters (RBFs) have emerged as a promising primary solids separation alternative to primary clarification. This research was conducted to study the implications of retrofitting existing wastewater treatment plants (without primary treatment) with RBF technology.

In order to fully evaluate the impact of RBF in water resource recovery facilities, it is paramount to investigate the unique …