Retrofitting a full-scale multistage landfill leachate treatment plant by introducing coagulation/flocculation/sedimentation and ultrafiltration process steps.

Considering that landfilling still remains among the most commonly used methods for the confrontation of solid wastes, effective methods should be applied to treat the leachate generated, due to its recalcitrant nature. In this work, a full-scale system consisting of two SBRs operating in parallel (350 m each) and two activated carbon (AC) columns operating in series (3 m each) was retrofitted by introducing a coagulation/flocculation/sedimentation (C/F/S) unit of 7.8 m and an ultrafiltration (UF) membrane of 100 m to effectively treat landfill leachate.

Evaluation of electrochemical and O/UV/HO methods at various combinations during treatment of mature landfill leachate.

In this study, electrochemical treatment and application of O/UV/HO in various combinations were evaluated in respect to their efficiency to depurate mature landfill leachate. Based on preliminary experiments, electrochemical treatment using stainless-steel electrodes at 2 cm gap was performed optimally at 50 mA/cm and pH 6, while application of O at 120 L/h, UV at 991 J/cm and HO concentration of 1 g/L was carried out. Electrochemical treatment and O/UV/HO under optimal conditions were applied as follows: I) electrochemical treatment, followed by O/UV/HO and solids precipitation, II) electrochemical treatment, followed by precipitation and then by O/UV/HO treatment, and III) O/UV/HO, followed by electrochemical treatment.

Isolation, characterization and industrial application of a Cladosporium herbarum fungal strain able to degrade the fungicide imazalil.

Imazalil (IMZ) is an imidazole fungicide commonly used by fruit-packaging plants (FPPs) to control fungal infections during storage. Its application leads to the production of pesticide-contaminated wastewaters, which, according to the European Commission, need to be treated on site. Considering the lack of efficient treatment methods, biodepuration systems inoculated with tailored-made inocula specialized on the removal of such persistent fungicides appear as an appropriate solution.

NH-N versus pH and ORP versus NO-N sensors during online monitoring of an intermittently aerated and fed membrane bioreactor.

Online sensors, which monitor the ammonia oxidation and the dissimilatory nitrate reduction process, can optimize aerobic and anoxic phase duration. The purpose of this study was to comparatively evaluate the effectiveness of online sensors that were in situ-located in an intermittently aerated and fed membrane bioreactor (IAF-MBR) system. Ammonium and nitrate nitrogen sensors equipped with ion-selective electrodes as well as pH and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) sensors were employed to online monitoring and optimizing of ammonia oxidation and nitrate reduction processes.

Biochemical and nutritional characterization of the medfly gut symbiont Enterobacter sp. AA26 for its use as probiotics in sterile insect technique applications.

Background: Enterobacter sp. AA26 was recently isolated from the midgut of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) and it was shown to have positive effects in rearing efficiency when used as larval probiotics. In this study, biomass production was carried out in bench-scale bioreactors to elucidate the biokinetic properties of Enterobacter sp.

Microbiological and physicochemical evaluation of the effluent quality in a membrane bioreactor system to meet the legislative limits for wastewater reuse.

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and effluent quality of a pilot-scale intermittently aerated and fed, externally submerged membrane bioreactor (MBRes) treating municipal wastewater. The effluent quality of the MBRes was evaluated regarding system ability to comply with the Greek legislative limits for restricted and unrestricted wastewater reuse. The average permeate flux was 13.