Publications by authors named "Cristina Alejandra Villamar-Ayala"
An innovative nature-based technology for wastewater treatment is the hybrid biofiltration, which combines complex symbiotic relationships between plants, earthworms and microorganisms with adequate support components. This latter could be optimized using organic supports. The aim of this research was to evaluate the performance of hybrid biofilters based on rice husks/sawdust treating grey wastewater from mining camps.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater from WWTPs became an interesting source of epidemiological surveillance. However, there is uncertainty about the influence of treatment type on virus removal. The aim of this study was to assess viral surveillance within wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) based on different biological treatments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImprovement of nutrients removal from domestic wastewater by activated-sludge encapsulation with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA).
J Environ Sci Health A Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng
August 2019
Article Synopsis
- Conventional activated-sludge (AS) technologies struggle with nutrient removal due to specific floc characteristics, but encapsulating AS with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) promotes better floc formation for nutrient uptake.
- The study monitored the removal of organic matter and nutrients from synthetic domestic wastewater using laboratory-scale AS reactors operated at an optimized Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) of 8 hours, evaluating various sludge characteristics.
- Results indicated that PVA-encapsulated AS improved nitrogen and phosphorus removal by up to 35%, although it did not enhance organic matter removal; the encapsulated AS exhibited favorable floc characteristics for effective separation from the liquid phase.