Search results for: bacterial aerobic granular sludge
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 396

Search results for: bacterial aerobic granular sludge

186 A Numerical Model Simulation for an Updraft Gasifier Using High Temperature Steam

Authors: T. M. Ismail, M. Abd El-Salam

Abstract:

A mathematical model study was carried out to investigate gasification of biomass fuels using high temperature air and steam as a gasifying agent using high-temperature air up to 1000°C. In this study, a 2D computational fluid dynamics model was developed to study the gasification process in an updraft gasifier, considering drying, pyrolysis, combustion, and gasification reactions. The gas and solid phases were resolved using a Euler−Euler multiphase approach, with exchange terms for the momentum, mass, and energy. The standard k−ε turbulence model was used in the gas phase, and the particle phase was modeled using the kinetic theory of granular flow. The results show that the present model giving a promise way in its capability and sensitivity for the parameter affects that influence the gasification process.

Keywords: Computational fluid dynamics, gasification, biomass fuel, fixed bed gasifier

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2775
185 Lead in The Soil-Plant System Following Aged Contamination from Ceramic Wastes

Authors: F. Pedron, M. Grifoni, G. Petruzzelli, M. Barbafieri, I. Rosellini, B. Pezzarossa

Abstract:

Lead contamination of agricultural land mainly vegetated with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) has been investigated. The metal derived from the discharge of sludge from a ceramic industry in the past had used lead paints. The results showed very high values of lead concentration in many soil samples. In order to assess the lead soil contamination, a sequential extraction with H2O, KNO3, EDTA was performed, and the chemical forms of lead in the soil were evaluated. More than 70% of lead was in a potentially bioavailable form. Analysis of Lolium perenne showed elevated lead concentration. A Freundlich-like model was used to describe the transferability of the metal from the soil to the plant.

Keywords: Bioavailability, Freundlich-like equation, sequential extraction, soil lead contamination.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 906
184 Applications of Rough Set Decompositions in Information Retrieval

Authors: Chen Wu, Xiaohua Hu

Abstract:

This paper proposes rough set models with three different level knowledge granules in incomplete information system under tolerance relation by similarity between objects according to their attribute values. Through introducing dominance relation on the discourse to decompose similarity classes into three subclasses: little better subclass, little worse subclass and vague subclass, it dismantles lower and upper approximations into three components. By using these components, retrieving information to find naturally hierarchical expansions to queries and constructing answers to elaborative queries can be effective. It illustrates the approach in applying rough set models in the design of information retrieval system to access different granular expanded documents. The proposed method enhances rough set model application in the flexibility of expansions and elaborative queries in information retrieval.

Keywords: Incomplete information system, Rough set model, tolerance relation, dominance relation, approximation, decomposition, elaborative query.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1572
183 Fractal Analysis of 16S rRNA Gene Sequences in Archaea Thermophiles

Authors: T. Holden, G. Tremberger, Jr, E. Cheung, R. Subramaniam, R. Sullivan, N. Gadura, P. Schneider, P. Marchese, A. Flamholz, T. Cheung, D. Lieberman

Abstract:

A nucleotide sequence can be expressed as a numerical sequence when each nucleotide is assigned its proton number. A resulting gene numerical sequence can be investigated for its fractal dimension in terms of evolution and chemical properties for comparative studies. We have investigated such nucleotide fluctuation in the 16S rRNA gene of archaea thermophiles. The studied archaea thermophiles were archaeoglobus fulgidus, methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus, methanocaldococcus jannaschii, pyrococcus horikoshii, and thermoplasma acidophilum. The studied five archaea-euryarchaeota thermophiles have fractal dimension values ranging from 1.93 to 1.97. Computer simulation shows that random sequences would have an average of about 2 with a standard deviation about 0.015. The fractal dimension was found to correlate (negative correlation) with the thermophile-s optimal growth temperature with R2 value of 0.90 (N =5). The inclusion of two aracheae-crenarchaeota thermophiles reduces the R2 value to 0.66 (N = 7). Further inclusion of two bacterial thermophiles reduces the R2 value to 0.50 (N =9). The fractal dimension is correlated (positive) to the sequence GC content with an R2 value of 0.89 for the five archaea-euryarchaeota thermophiles (and 0.74 for the entire set of N = 9), although computer simulation shows little correlation. The highest correlation (positive) was found to be between the fractal dimension and di-nucleotide Shannon entropy. However Shannon entropy and sequence GC content were observed to correlate with optimal growth temperature having an R2 of 0.8 (negative), and 0.88 (positive), respectively, for the entire set of 9 thermophiles; thus the correlation lacks species specificity. Together with another correlation study of bacterial radiation dosage with RecA repair gene sequence fractal dimension, it is postulated that fractal dimension analysis is a sensitive tool for studying the relationship between genotype and phenotype among closely related sequences.

Keywords: Fractal dimension, archaea thermophiles, Shannon entropy, GC content

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1730
182 Density of Hydrocarbonoclastic Bacteria and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Accumulation in Iko River Mangrove Ecosystem, Nigeria

Authors: Ime R. Udotong, Samuel I. Eduok, Joseph P. Essien, Basil N. Ita

Abstract:

Sediment and mangrove root samples from Iko River Estuary, Nigeria were analyzed for microbial and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content. The total heterotrophic bacterial (THB) count ranged from 1.1x107 to 5.1 x107 cfu/g, total fungal (TF) count ranged from 1.0x106 to 2.7x106 cfu/g, total coliform (TC) count ranged from 2.0x104 to 8.0x104cfu/g while hydrocarbon utilizing bacterial (HUB) count ranged from 1.0x 105 to 5.0 x 105cfu/g. There was a range of positive correlation (r = 0.72 to 0.93) between THB count and total HUB count, respectively. The organisms were Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Flavobacterium breve, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Erwinia amylovora, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter sp, Desulfovibrio sp, Acinetobacter iwoffii, Chromobacterium violaceum, Micrococcus sedentarius, Corynebacterium sp, and Pseudomonas putrefaciens. The PAH were Naphthalene, 2-Methylnaphthalene, Acenapthylene, Acenaphthene, Fluorene, Phenanthene, Anthracene, Fluoranthene, Pyrene, Benzo(a)anthracene, Chrysene, Benzo(b)fluoranthene, Benzo(k)fluoranthene, Benzo(a)pyrene, Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, Benzo(g,h,l)perylene ,Indeno(1,2,3-d)pyrene with individual PAH concentrations that ranged from 0.20mg/kg to 1.02mg/kg, 0.20mg/kg to 1.07mg/kg and 0.2mg/kg to 4.43mg/kg in the benthic sediment, epipellic sediment and mangrove roots, respectively. Total PAH ranged from 6.30 to 9.93mg/kg, 6.30 to 9.13mg/kg and 9.66 to 16.68mg/kg in the benthic sediment, epipellic sediment and mangrove roots, respectively. The high concentrations in the mangrove roots are indicative of bioaccumulation of the pollutant in the plant tissue. The microorganisms are of ecological significance and the detectable quantities of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon could be partitioned and accumulated in tissues of infaunal and epifaunal organisms in the study area.

Keywords: Hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria, Iko River estuary, Mangrove, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2687
181 Preparation of Heterogeneous Ferrite Catalysts and Their Application for Fenton-Like Oxidation of Radioactive Organic Wastewater

Authors: Hsien T. Hsieh, Chao R. Chen, Li C. Chuang, Chin C. Shen

Abstract:

Fenton oxidation technology is the general strategy for the treatment of organic compounds-contained wastewater. However, a considerable amount of ferric sludge was produced during the Fenton process as secondary wastes, which were needed to be further removed from the effluent and treated. In this study, heterogeneous catalysts based on ferrite oxide (Cu-Fe-Ce-O) were synthesized and characterized, and their application for Fenton-like oxidation of simulated and actual radioactive organic wastewater was investigated. The results of TOC decomposition efficiency around 54% ~ 99% were obtained when the catalyst loading, H2O2 loading, pH, temperature, and reaction time were controlled. In this case, no secondary wastes formed and the given catalysts were able to be separated by magnetic devices and reused again.

Keywords: Fenton, oxidation, heterogeneous catalyst, wastewater.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1409
180 Some Characteristics of Biodegradable Film Substituted by Yam (Dioscorea alata) Starch from Thailand

Authors: Orose Rugchati, Khumthong Mahawongwiriya, Kanita Thanacharoenchanaphas

Abstract:

Yam starch obtained from the water yam (munlued) by the wet milling process was studied for some physicochemical properties. Yam starch film was prepared by casting using glycerol as a plasticizer. The effect of different glycerol (1.30, 1.65 and 2.00g/100g of filmogenic solution) and starch concentrations (3.30, 3.65 and 4.00g /100g of filmogenic solution) were evaluated on some characteristics of the film. The temperature for obtaining the gelatinized starch solution was 70-80°C and then dried at 45°C for 4 hours. The resulting starch from munlued granular morphology was triangular and the average size of the granule was 26.68 μm. The amylose content by colorimetric method was 26 % and the gelatinize temperature was 70-80°C. The appearance of the film was smooth, transparent, and glossy with average moisture content of 25.96% and thickness of 0.01mm. Puncture deformation and flexibility increased with glycerol content. The starch and glycerol concentration were a significant factor of the yam starch film characteristics. Yam starch film can be described as a biofilm providing many applications and developments with the advantage of biodegradability.

Keywords: Characteristics of Biodegradable film, yam starch, Dioscoreaalata, substitute, Thailand.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2895
179 Aerobic Bioprocess Control Using Artificial Intelligence Techniques

Authors: M. Caramihai, Irina Severin

Abstract:

This paper deals with the design of an intelligent control structure for a bioprocess of Hansenula polymorpha yeast cultivation. The objective of the process control is to produce biomass in a desired physiological state. The work demonstrates that the designed Hybrid Control Techniques (HCT) are able to recognize specific evolution bioprocess trajectories using neural networks trained specifically for this purpose, in order to estimate the model parameters and to adjust the overall bioprocess evolution through an expert system and a fuzzy structure. The design of the control algorithm as well as its tuning through realistic simulations is presented. Taking into consideration the synergism of different paradigms like fuzzy logic, neural network, and symbolic artificial intelligence (AI), in this paper we present a real and fulfilled intelligent control architecture with application in bioprocess control.

Keywords: Bioprocess, intelligent control, neural nets, fuzzy structure, hybrid techniques.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1200
178 Effects of Sprint Training on Athletic Performance Related Physiological, Cardiovascular, and Neuromuscular Parameters

Authors: Asim Cengiz, Dede Basturk, Hakan Ozalp

Abstract:

Practicing recurring resistance workout such as may cause changes in human muscle. These changes may be because combination if several factors determining physical fitness. Thus, it is important to identify these changes. Several studies were reviewed to investigate these changes. As a result, the changes included positive modifications in amplified citrate synthase (CS) maximal activity, increased capacity for pyruvate oxidation, improvement on molecular signaling on human performance, amplified resting muscle glycogen and whole GLUT4 protein content, better health outcomes such as enhancement in cardiorespiratory fitness. Sprint training also have numerous long long-term changes inhuman body such as better enzyme action, changes in muscle fiber and oxidative ability. This is important because SV is the critical factor influencing maximal cardiac output and therefore oxygen delivery and maximal aerobic power.

Keywords: Sprint, training, performance, exercise.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 861
177 The Coupling of Photocatalytic Oxidation Processes with Activated Carbon Technologies and the Comparison of the Treatment Methods for Organic Removal from Surface Water

Authors: N. Areerachakul

Abstract:

The surface water used in this study was collected from the Chao Praya River at the lower part at the Nonthaburi bridge. It was collected and used throughout the experiment. TOC (also known as DOC) in the range between 2.5 to 5.6 mg/l were investigated in this experiment. The use of conventional treatment methods such as FeCl3 and PAC showed that TOC removal was 65% using FeCl3 and 78% using PAC (powder activated carbon). The advanced oxidation process alone showed only 35% removal of TOC. Coupling advanced oxidation with a small amount of PAC (0.05g/L) increased efficiency by upto 55%. The combined BAC with advanced oxidation process and small amount of PAC demonstrated the highest efficiency of up to 95% of TOC removal and lower sludge production compared with other methods.

Keywords: Advanced oxidation process, TOC, PAC

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1734
176 Effect of a Gravel Bed Flocculator on the Efficiency of a Low Cost Water Treatment Plants

Authors: Alaa Hussein Wadi

Abstract:

The principal objective of a water treatment plant is to produce water that satisfies a set of drinking water quality standards at a reasonable price to the consumers. The gravel-bed flocculator provide a simple and inexpensive design for flocculation in small water treatment plants (less than 5000 m3/day capacity). The packed bed of gravel provides ideal conditions for the formation of compact settleable flocs because of continuous recontact provided by the sinuous flow of water through the interstices formed by the gravel. The field data which were obtained from the operation of the water supply treatment unit cover the physical, chemical and biological water qualities of the raw and settled water as obtained by the operation of the treatment unit. The experiments were carried out with the aim of assessing the efficiency of the gravel filter in removing the turbidity, pathogenic bacteria, from the raw water. The water treatment plant, which was constructed for the treatment of river water, was in principle a rapid sand filter. The results show that the average value of the turbidity level of the settled water was 4.83 NTU with a standard deviation of turbidity 2.893 NTU. This indicated that the removal efficiency of the sedimentation tank (gravel filter) was about 67.8 %. for pH values fluctuated between 7.75 and 8.15, indicating the alkaline nature of the raw water of the river Shatt Al-Hilla, as expected. Raw water pH is depressed slightly following alum coagulation. The pH of the settled water ranged from 7.75 to a maximum of 8.05. The bacteriological tests which were carried out on the water samples were: total coliform test, E-coli test, and the plate count test. In each test the procedure used was as outlined in the Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater (APHA, AWWA, and WPCF, 1985). The gravel filter exhibit a low performance in removing bacterial load. The percentage bacterial removal, which is maximum for total plate count (19%) and minimum for total coliform (16.82%).

Keywords: Gravel bed flocculator, turbidity, total coliform.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2616
175 Structural Characteristics of Three-Dimensional Random Packing of Aggregates with Wide Size Distribution

Authors: Kasthurirangan Gopalakrishnan, Naga Shashidhar

Abstract:

The mechanical properties of granular solids are dependent on the flow of stresses from one particle to another through inter-particle contact. Although some experimental methods have been used to study the inter-particle contacts in the past, preliminary work with these techniques indicated that they do not have the necessary resolution to distinguish between those contacts that transmit the load and those that do not, especially for systems with a wide distribution of particle sizes. In this research, computer simulations are used to study the nature and distribution of contacts in a compact with wide particle size distribution, representative of aggregate size distribution used in asphalt pavement construction. The packing fraction, the mean number of contacts and the distribution of contacts were studied for different scenarios. A methodology to distinguish and compute the fraction of load-bearing particles and the fraction of space-filling particles (particles that do not transmit any force) is needed for further investigation.

Keywords: Computer simulation, three-dimensional particlepacking, coordination number, asphalt concrete, aggregates.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2070
174 CFD Simulation of the Hydrodynamic Vibrator for Stuck - Pipe Liquidation

Authors: L. Grinis, V. Haslavsky

Abstract:

Stuck-pipe in drilling operations is one of the most pressing and expensive problems in the oil industry. This paper describes a computational simulation and an experimental study of the hydrodynamic vibrator, which may be used for liquidation of stuck-pipe problems during well drilling. The work principle of the vibrator is based upon the known phenomena of Vortex Street of Karman and the resulting generation of vibrations. We will discuss the computational simulation and experimental investigations of vibrations in this device. The frequency of the vibration parameters has been measured as a function of the wide range Reynolds Number. The validity of the computational simulation and of the assumptions on which it is based has been proved experimentally. The computational simulation of the vibrator work and its effectiveness was carried out using FLUENT software. The research showed high degree of congruence with the results of the laboratory tests and allowed to determine the effect of the granular material features upon the pipe vibration in the well. This study demonstrates the potential of using the hydrodynamic vibrator in a well drilling system.

Keywords: Drilling, stuck-pipe, vibration, vortex shedding.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2560
173 A Condition Rating System for Wastewater Treatment Plants Infrastructures

Authors: Altayeb Qasem, Tarek Zayed, Zhi Chen

Abstract:

Statistics Canada stated that the wastewater treatment facilities in most provinces are aging and passes 63% of their useful life in 2007 the highest ratio among public infrastructure assets. Currently, there is no standard condition rating system for wastewater treatment plants that give a specific rating index that describe the physical integrity of different infrastructure elements in the treatment plant and its environmental performance. The main objective of this study is to develop a condition-rating index for wastewater treatment plants mainly activated sludge systems. The proposed WWTP CRI, is based on dividing the treatment plant into its three treatment phases; primary phase, secondary phase and the tertiary phase. The condition-rating index will reflect the infrastructures state for each phase, mainly tanks, pipes, blowers and pumps.

Keywords: Condition rating index, Wastewater treatment plants, AHP- MUAT.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2744
172 Pollutants Removal from Synthetic Wastewater by the Combined Electrochemical Sequencing Batch Reactor

Authors: Amin Mojiri, Akiyoshi Ohashi, Tomonori Kindaichi

Abstract:

Synthetic domestic wastewater was treated via combining treatment methods, including electrochemical oxidation, adsorption, and sequencing batch reactor (SBR). In the upper part of the reactor, an anode and a cathode (Ti/RuO2-IrO2) were organized in parallel for the electrochemical oxidation procedure. Sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) with a concentration of 2.5 g/L was applied as the electrolyte. The voltage and current were fixed on 7.50 V and 0.40 A, respectively. Then, 15% working value of the reactor was filled by activated sludge, and 85% working value of the reactor was added with synthetic wastewater. Powdered cockleshell, 1.5 g/L, was added in the reactor to do ion-exchange. Response surface methodology was employed for statistical analysis. Reaction time (h) and pH were considered as independent factors. A total of 97.0% biochemical oxygen demand, 99.9% phosphorous and 88.6% cadmium were eliminated at the optimum reaction time (80.0 min) and pH (6.4).

Keywords: Adsorption, electrochemical oxidation, metals, sequencing batch reactor.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 746
171 Numerical Investigation on Load Bearing Capacity of Pervious Concrete Piles as an Alternative to Granular Columns

Authors: Ashkan Shafee, Masoud Ghodrati, Ahmad Fahimifar

Abstract:

Pervious concrete combines considerable permeability with adequate strength, which makes it very beneficial in pavement construction and also in ground improvement projects. In this paper, a single pervious concrete pile subjected to vertical and lateral loading is analysed using a verified three dimensional finite element code. A parametric study was carried out in order to investigate load bearing capacity of a single unreinforced pervious concrete pile in saturated soft soil and also gain insight into the failure mechanism of this rather new soil improvement technique. The results show that concrete damaged plasticity constitutive model can perfectly simulate the highly brittle nature of the pervious concrete material and considering the computed vertical and horizontal load bearing capacities, some suggestions have been made for ground improvement projects.

Keywords: Concrete damaged plasticity, ground improvement, load bearing capacity, pervious concrete pile.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 971
170 Treatment of Petroleum Refinery Wastewater by using UASB Reactors

Authors: H.A. Gasim, S.R.M. Kutty, M.H. Isa, M.P.M. Isa

Abstract:

Petroleum refineries discharged large amount of wastewater -during the refining process- that contains hazardous constituents that is hard to degrade. Anaerobic treatment process is well known as an efficient method to degrade high strength wastewaters. Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanker (UASB) is a common process used for various wastewater treatments. Two UASB reactors were set up and operated in parallel to evaluate the treatment efficiency of petroleum refinery wastewater. In this study four organic volumetric loading rates were applied (i.e. 0.58, 0.89, 1.21 and 2.34 kg/m3·d), two loads to each reactor. Each load was applied for a period of 60 days for the reactor to acclimatize and reach steady state, and then the second load applied. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removals were satisfactory with the removal efficiencies at the loadings applied were 78, 82, 83 and 81 % respectively.

Keywords: Petroleum refinery wastewater, anaerobic treatment, UASB, organic volumetric loading rate

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2452
169 Electrokinetic Remediation of Uranium Contaminated Soil by Ion Exchange Membranes

Authors: Z. H. Shi, T. J. Dou, H. Zhang, H. X. Huang, N. Zeng

Abstract:

The contamination of significant quantities of soils and sediments with uranium and other actinide elements as a result of nuclear activity poses many environmental risks. The electrokinetic process is one of the most promising remediation techniques for sludge, sediment, and saturated or unsaturated soils contaminated with heavy metals and radionuclides. However, secondary waste is a major concern for soil contaminated with nuclides. To minimize the generation of secondary wastes, this study used the anion and cation exchange membranes to improve the performance of the experimental apparatus. Remediation experiments of uranium-contaminated soil were performed with different agents. The results show that using acetic acid and EDTA as chelating agents clearly enhances the migration ability of the uranium. The ion exchange membranes (IEMs) used in the experiments not only reduce secondary wastes, but also, keep the soil pH stable.

Keywords: Electrokinetic remediation, ion exchange membranes, soil, uranium.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1343
168 Evaluation of Minimization of Moment Ratio Method by Physical Modeling

Authors: Amin Eslami, Jafar Bolouri Bazaz

Abstract:

Under active stress conditions, a rigid cantilever retaining wall tends to rotate about a pivot point located within the embedded depth of the wall. For purely granular and cohesive soils, a methodology was previously reported called minimization of moment ratio to determine the location of the pivot point of rotation. The usage of this new methodology is to estimate the rotational stability safety factor. Moreover, the degree of improvement required in a backfill to get a desired safety factor can be estimated by the concept of the shear strength demand. In this article, the accuracy of this method for another type of cantilever walls called Contiguous Bored Pile (CBP) retaining wall is evaluated by using physical modeling technique. Based on observations, the results of moment ratio minimization method are in good agreement with the results of the carried out physical modeling.

Keywords: Cantilever Retaining Wall, Physical Modeling, Minimization of Moment Ratio Method, Pivot Point.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1541
167 Depyritization of US Coal Using Iron-Oxidizing Bacteria: Batch Stirred Reactor Study

Authors: Ashish Pathak, Dong-Jin Kim, Haragobinda Srichandan, Byoung-Gon Kim

Abstract:

Microbial depyritization of coal using chemoautotrophic bacteria is gaining acceptance as an efficient and eco-friendly technique. The process uses the metabolic activity of chemoautotrophic bacteria in removing sulfur and pyrite from the coal. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans in removing the pyritic sulfur and iron from high iron and sulfur containing US coal. The experiment was undertaken in 8L bench scale stirred tank reactor having 1% (w/v) pulp density of coal. The reactor was operated at 35ºC and aerobic conditions were maintained by sparging the air into the reactor. It was found that at the end of bio-depyritization process, about 90% of pyrite and 67% of pyritic sulfur was removed from the coal. The results indicate that the bio-depyritization process is an efficient process in treating the high pyrite and sulfur containing coal. 

Keywords: At. ferrooxidans, Batch reactor, Coal desulfurization, Pyrite.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1909
166 Improvement of Monacolin K and Minimizing of Citrinin Content in Korkor 6 (RD 6) Red Yeast Rice

Authors: Em-on Chairote, Panatda Jannoey, Griangsak Chairote

Abstract:

A strain of Monascus purpureus CMU001 was used to prepare red yeast rice from Thai glutinous rice Korkor 6 (RD 6). Adding of different amounts of histidine (156, 312, 625 and 1250 mg in 100 g of rice grains)) under aerobic and air limitation (air-lock) condition were used in solid fermentation. Determination of the yield as well as monacolin K content was done. Citrinin content was also determined in order to confirm the safety use of prepared red yeast rice. It was found that under air-lock condition with 1250 mg of histidine addition gave the highest yield of 37.40 g of dried red yeast rice prepared from 100 g of rice. Highest 5.72 mg content of monacolin K was obtained under air-lock condition with 312 mg histidine addition. In the other hand, citrinin content was found to be less than 24462 ng/g of all dried red yeast rice samples under the experimental methods used in this work.

Keywords: Citrinin, Glutinous rice, Monacolin K, Red yeast rice.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2481
165 Experimental and Finite Element Analysis for Mechanics of Soil-Tool Interaction

Authors: A. Armin, R. Fotouhi, W. Szyszkowski

Abstract:

In this paper a 3-D finite element (FE) investigation of soil-blade interaction is described. The effects of blade’s shape and rake angle are examined both numerically and experimentally. The soil is considered as an elastic-plastic granular material with non-associated Drucker-Prager material model. Contact elements with different properties are used to mimic soil-blade sliding and soil-soil cutting phenomena. A separation criterion is presented and a procedure to evaluate the forces acting on the blade is given and discussed in detail. Experimental results were derived from tests using soil bin facility and instruments at the University of Saskatchewan. During motion of the blade, load cells collect data and send them to a computer. The measured forces using load cells had noisy signals which are needed to be filtered. The FE results are compared with experimental results for verification. This technique can be used in blade shape optimization and design of more complicated blade’s shape.

Keywords: Finite element analysis, soil-blade contact modeling, blade force, experimental results.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1117
164 Isolation and Screening of Fungi for Aerobic Delignification and Reduction of AOX of Pulp and Paper Mill Effluent

Authors: N. Lokeshwari, G Srinikethan, S. G. Joshi, I. Shasikala, B. Srikanth, Bashirahmed, L. Sushma

Abstract:

Water pollution is a major concern for the pulp and paper industry due to the large quantities of effluents generated. Biodegradation of industrial Lignin and AOX by a fungal isolate identified as Aspergillus flavus, white rot fungi which was isolated from Pulp and Paper effluent was studied in batch flask system with industrial effluent and synthetic solution. The flasks were operated at temperature 32°C at 200rpm for eight days in continuous mode. The average overall pH, Temperature, DO, C.O.D, T.D.S, T.S.S, Lignin, AOX were up to 4.56, 32oC, 4.2mg/l, 104mg/l, 6000 mg/l, 4000mg/l, 575.5mg/l, 2195 mg/l respectively after treatment. The Aspergillus flavus sp was the most effective in the biodegradation of Lignin of pulp industry for 94% at 480nm, AOX for 62% at 510nm and of chemical oxygen demand levels for 45% after 8 days of incubation. The optimal conditions found were 4 pH and 32oC temperature for lignin and AOX degradation.

Keywords: Aspergillus flavus, Lignin, Optimal conditions, Quantification studies.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2241
163 Internal Behavior of Biological Nutrient Removal System for Advanced Wastewater Treatment

Authors: J. K. Choi , D. W. Kim, H. S. Shin, H. J. Yeon, B. K. Kim, Yeon. Fan, D. Chang, S. B. Han, J.M. Hur, B. R. Jung, S. M. Park

Abstract:

The purpose of this research was develop a biological nutrient removal (BNR) system which has low energy consumption, sludge production, and land usage. These indicate that BNR system could be a alternative of future wastewater treatment in ubiquitous city(U-city). Organics and nitrogen compounds could be removed by this system so that secondary or tertiary stages of wastewater treatment satisfy their standards. This system was composed of oxic and anoxic filter filed with PVDC and POM media. Anoxic/oxic filter system operated under empty bed contact time of 4 hours by increasing recirculation ratio from 0 to 100 %. The system removals of total nitrogen and COD were 76.3% and 93%, respectively. To be observed internal behavior in this system SCOD, NH3-N, and NO3-N were conducted and removal shows range of 25~100%, 59~99%, and 70~100%, respectively.

Keywords: BNR, nitrification, denitrification, organics removal, anoxic, oxic, advanced treatment.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1574
162 Mathematical Models for Overall Gas Transfer Coefficient Using Different Theories and Evaluating Their Measurement Accuracy

Authors: Shashank.B. Thakre, Lalit.B. Bhuyar, Samir.J. Deshmukh

Abstract:

Oxygen transfer, the process by which oxygen is transferred from the gaseous to liquid phase, is a vital part of the waste water treatment process. Because of low solubility of oxygen and consequent low rate of oxygen transfer, sufficient oxygen to meet the requirement of aerobic waste does not enter through normal surface air water interface. Many theories have come up in explaining the mechanism of gas transfer and absorption of non-reacting gases in a liquid, of out of which, Two film theory is important. An exiting mathematical model determines approximate value of Overall Gas Transfer coefficient. The Overall Gas Transfer coefficient, in case of Penetration theory, is 1.13 time more than that obtained in case of Two film theory. The difference is due to the difference in assumptions in the two theories. The paper aims at development of mathematical model which determines the value of Overall Gas Transfer coefficient with greater accuracy than the existing model.

Keywords: Theories, Dissolved oxygen, Mathematical model, Gas Transfer coefficient, Accuracy.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1513
161 A Simple Device for in-situ Direct Shear and Sinkage Tests

Authors: A. Jerves, H. Ling, J. Gabaldon, M. Usoltceva, C. Coust´e, A. Agarwal, R. Hurley, J. Andrade

Abstract:

This work introduces a simple device designed to perform in-situ direct shear and sinkage tests on granular materials as sand, clays, or regolith. It consists of a box nested within a larger box. Both have open bottoms, allowing them to be lowered into the material. Afterwards, two rotating plates on opposite sides of the outer box will rotate outwards in order to clear regolith on either side, providing room for the inner box to move relative to the plates and perform a shear test without the resistance of the surrounding soil. From this test, Coulomb parameters, including cohesion and internal friction angle, as well as, Bekker parameters can be inferred. This device has been designed for a laboratory setting, but with few modifications, could be put on the underside of a rover for use in a remote location. The goal behind this work is to ultimately create a compact, but accurate measuring tool to put onto a rover or any kind of exploratory vehicle to test for regolith properties of celestial bodies.

Keywords: Simple shear, friction angle, Bekker parameters, device, regolith.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2155
160 A DOE Study of Ultrasound Intensified Removal of Phenol

Authors: P. R. Rahul, A. Kannan

Abstract:

Ultrasound-aided adsorption of phenol by Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) was investigated at different frequencies ranging from 35 kHz, 58 kHz, and 192 kHz. Other factors influencing adsorption such as Adsorbent dosage (g/L), the initial concentration of the phenol solution (ppm) and RPM was also considered along with the frequency variable. However, this study involved calorimetric measurements which helped is determining the effect of frequency on the % removal of phenol from the power dissipated to the system was normalized. It was found that low frequency (35 kHz) cavitation effects had a profound influence on the % removal of phenol per unit power. This study also had cavitation mapping of the ultrasonic baths, and it showed that the effect of cavitation on the adsorption system is irrespective of the position of the vessel. Hence, the vessel was placed at the center of the bath. In this study, novel temperature control and monitoring system to make sure that the system is under proper condition while operations. From the BET studies, it was found that there was only 5% increase in the surface area and hence it was concluded that ultrasound doesn’t profoundly alter the equilibrium value of the adsorption system. DOE studies indicated that adsorbent dosage has a higher influence on the % removal in comparison with other factors.

Keywords: Ultrasound, adsorption, granulated activated carbon, phenol.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 837
159 Modeling the Symptom-Disease Relationship by Using Rough Set Theory and Formal Concept Analysis

Authors: Mert Bal, Hayri Sever, Oya Kalıpsız

Abstract:

Medical Decision Support Systems (MDSSs) are sophisticated, intelligent systems that can provide inference due to lack of information and uncertainty. In such systems, to model the uncertainty various soft computing methods such as Bayesian networks, rough sets, artificial neural networks, fuzzy logic, inductive logic programming and genetic algorithms and hybrid methods that formed from the combination of the few mentioned methods are used. In this study, symptom-disease relationships are presented by a framework which is modeled with a formal concept analysis and theory, as diseases, objects and attributes of symptoms. After a concept lattice is formed, Bayes theorem can be used to determine the relationships between attributes and objects. A discernibility relation that forms the base of the rough sets can be applied to attribute data sets in order to reduce attributes and decrease the complexity of computation.

Keywords: Formal Concept Analysis, Rough Set Theory, Granular Computing, Medical Decision Support System.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1770
158 Anaerobic Treatment of Petroleum Refinery Wastewater

Authors: H. A. Gasim, S. R. M. Kutty, M. Hasnain Isa

Abstract:

Anaerobic treatment has many advantages over other biological method particularly when used to treat complex wastewater such as petroleum refinery wastewater. In this study two Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactors were operated in parallel to treat six volumetric organic loads (0.58, 1.21, 0.89, 2.34, 1.47 and 4.14 kg COD/m3·d) to evaluate the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency. The reactors were continuously adapting to the changing of operation condition with increase in the removal efficiency or slight decrease until the last load which was more than two times the load, at which the reactor stressed and the removal efficiency decreased to 75% with effluent concentration of 1746 mg COD/L. Other parameters were also monitored such as pH, alkalinity, volatile fatty acid and gas production rate. The UASB reactor was suitable to treat petroleum refinery wastewater and the highest COD removal rate was 83% at 1215 kg/m3·d with COD concentration about 356 mg/L in the effluent.

Keywords: Petroleum refinery wastewater, anaerobic digestion, UASB, organic volumetric loading rate

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2896
157 Effect of Scalping on the Mechanical Behavior of Coarse Soils

Authors: Nadine Ali Hassan, Ngoc Son Nguyen, Didier Marot, Fateh Bendahmane

Abstract:

This paper aims at presenting a study of the effect of scalping methods on the mechanical properties of coarse soils by resorting to numerical simulations based on the discrete element method (DEM) and experimental triaxial tests. Two reconstitution methods are used, designated as scalping method and substitution method. Triaxial compression tests are first simulated on a granular materials with a grap graded particle size distribution by using the DEM. We study the effect of these reconstitution methods on the stress-strain behavior of coarse soils with different fine contents and with different ways to control the densities of the scalped and substituted materials. Experimental triaxial tests are performed on original mixtures of sands and gravels with different fine contents and on their corresponding scalped and substituted samples. Numerical results are qualitatively compared to experimental ones. Agreements and discrepancies between these results are also discussed.

Keywords: Coarse soils, scalping, substitution, discrete element method, triaxial test.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 586