The thermal conductivity enhancement of nanofluids – MyronLMeters.com

TweetThe thermal conductivity enhancement of nanofluids  Abstract Increasing interests have been paid to nanofluids because of the intriguing heat transfer enhancement performances presented by this kind of promising heat transfer media. We produced a series of nanofluids and measured their thermal conductivities. In this article, we discussed the measurements and the enhancements of the thermal [...]

The thermal conductivity enhancement of nanofluids

 Abstract

Increasing interests have been paid to nanofluids because of the intriguing heat transfer enhancement performances presented by this kind of promising heat transfer media. We produced a series of nanofluids and measured their thermal conductivities. In this article, we discussed the measurements and the enhancements of the thermal conductivity of a variety of nanofluids. The base fluids used included those that are most employed heat transfer fluids, such as deionized water (DW), ethylene glycol (EG), glycerol, silicone oil, and the binary mixture of DW and EG. Various nanoparticles (NPs) involving Al₂O₃ NPs with different sizes, SiC NPs with different shapes, MgO NPs, ZnO NPs, SiO₂ NPs, Fe₃O₄ NPs, TiO₂ NPs, diamond NPs, and carbon nanotubes with different pretreatments were used as additives. Our findings demonstrated that the thermal conductivity enhancements of nanofluids could be influenced by multi-faceted factors including the volume fraction of the dispersed NPs, the tested temperature, the thermal conductivity of the base fluid, the size of the dispersed NPs, the pretreatment process, and the additives of the fluids. The thermal transport mechanisms in nanofluids were further discussed, and the promising approaches for optimizing the thermal conductivity of nanofluids have been proposed.

More efficient heat transfer systems are increasingly preferred because of the accelerating miniaturization, on the one hand, and the ever-increasing heat flux, on the other. In many industrial processes, including power generation, chemical processes, heating or cooling processes, and microelectronics, heat transfer fluids such as water, mineral oil, and ethylene glycol always play vital roles. The poor heat transfer properties of these common fluids compared to most solids is a primary obstacle to the high compactness and effectiveness of heat exchangers[1]. An innovative way of improving the thermal conductivities of working media is to suspend ultrafine metallic or nonmetallic solid powders in traditional fluids since the thermal conductivities of most solid materials are higher than those of liquids. A novel kind of heat transfer enhancement fluid, the so-called nanofluid, has been proposed to meet the demands [2].

“Nanofluid” is an eye-catching word in the heat transfer community nowadays. The thermal properties, including thermal conductivity, viscosity, specific heat, convective heat transfer coefficient, and critical heat flux have been studied extensively. Several elaborate and comprehensive review articles and books have addressed thermal transport properties of nanofluids [1,3-6]. Among all these properties, thermal conductivity is the first referred one, and it is believed to be the most important parameter responsible for the enhanced heat transfer. Investigations on the thermal conductivity of nanofluids have been drawing the greatest attention of the researchers. A variety of physical and chemical factors, including the volume fraction, the size, the shape, and the species of the nanoparticles (NPs), pH value and temperature of the fluids, the Brownian motion of the NPs, and the aggregation of the NPs, have been proposed to play their respective roles on the heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids [7-19]. Extensive efforts have been made to improve the thermal conductivity of nanofluids [7-19] and to elucidate the thermal transport mechanisms in nanofluids [20-23].

The authors have carried out a series of studies on the heat transfer enhancement performance of nanofluids. A variety of nanofluids have been produced by the one- or two-step method. The base fluids used include deionized water (DW), ethylene glycol (EG), glycerol, silicone oil, and the binary mixture of DW and EG (DW-EG). Al₂O₃ NPs with different sizes, SiC NPs with different shapes, MgO NPs, ZnO NPs, SiO₂ NPs, Fe₃O₄ NPs, TiO₂ NPs, diamond NPs (DNPs), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with different pretreatments have been used as additives. The thermal conductivities of these nanofluids have been measured by transient hot wire (THW) method or short hot wire (SHW) technique. In this article, the experimental results that elucidate the influencing factors for thermal conductivity enhancement of nanofluids are presented. The thermal transport mechanisms in nanofluids and promising approaches for optimizing the thermal conductivity of nanofluids are further presented.

Two techniques have been applied to prepare nanofluids in our studies: two- and one-step techniques. Most of the studied nanofluids were prepared by the two-step technique. During the procedure of two-step technique, the dispersed NPs were prepared by chemical or physical methods first, and then the NPs were added into a specified base fluid, with or without pretreatment and surfactant based on the need. In the preparation of nanofluids containing metallic NPs, one-step technique was employed.

The process was quite simple in the preparation of nanofluids containing oxide NPs like Al₂O₃, ZnO, MgO, TiO₂, and SiO₂ NPs. The NPs were obtained commercially and were dispersed into a base fluid in a mixing container. The NPs were deagglomerated by intensive ultrasonication after being mixed with the base fluid, and then the suspensions were homogenized by magnetic force agitation.

Two-step method was used to prepare graphene nanofluids. The first step was to prepare graphene nanosheets. Functionalized graphene was gained through a modified Hummers method as described elsewhere [24]. Graphene nanosheets were obtained by exfoliation of graphite in anhydrous ethanol. The product was a loose brown powder, and it had good hydrophilic nature. The graphene nanosheets could be dispersed well in polar solvents, like DW and EG, without the use of surfactant. For liquid paraffin (LP)-based nanofluid, oleylamine was used as the surfactant. The fixed quality of graphene nanosheets with different volume fractions was dispersed in the base fluids.

Severe aggregation always takes place in the as-prepared CNTs (pristine CNTs: PCNTs) because of the non-reactive surfaces, intrinsic Von der Waals forces, and very large specific surface areas, and aspect ratios [25]. In CNT nanofluid preparations, surfactant addition is an effective way to enhance the dispersibility of CNTs [26-28]. However, surfactant molecules attaching on the surfaces of CNTs may enlarge the thermal resistance between the CNTs and the base fluid [29], which limits the enhancement of the effective thermal conductivity. The steps involved in the preparation of surfactant-free CNT nanofluids include (1) disentangling the nanotube entanglement and introducing hydrophilic functional groups on the surfaces of the nanotubes by chemical treatments; (2) cutting the treated CNTs (TCNTs) to optimal length by ball milling; and (3) dispersing the treated and cut CNTs into base fluids. CNTs including single-walled CNTs (SWNTs), double-walled CNTs (DWNTs), and multi-walled CNTs (MWNTs) were obtained commercially. Two chemical routes for treating CNTs were used for this study. One is oxidation with concentrated acid, and the other is mechanochemical reaction with potassium hydroxide (KOH). The detailed treatment processes have been described elsewhere [8,30].

Phase transfer method was used to prepare stable kerosene-based Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanofluid. The first step is to synthesize Fe₃O₄ NPs in water by coprecipitation. Oleic acid was added to modify the NPs. When kerosene is added to the mixture with slow stirring, the phase transfer process took place spontaneously. There was a distinct phase interface between the aqueous and kerosene. After the removal of the aqueous phase using a pipette, the kerosene-based Fe₃O₄ nanofluid was obtained [31].

Nanofluids containing copper NPs were prepared using direct chemical reduction method. Stable nanofluids were obtained with the addition of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP). The diameters of copper NPs prepared by chemical reduction procedure are in the range of 5-10 nm, and copper NPs disperse well with no clear aggregation [32].

Surface modification is always used to enhance the dispersibility of NPs in the preparation of nanofluids. For example, diamond NPs (DNPs) were purified and surface modified by acid mixtures of perchloric acid, nitric acid and hydrochloric acid according to the literature [33] before being dispersed into the base fluids. SiC NPs were heated in air to remove the excess free carbon and their surfaces modified to enhance their dispersibility.

Inconsistent experimental results and controversial arguments arise unceasingly from different groups conducting research on nanofluids, indicating the complexity of the thermal transport in nanofluids. Through an investigation, a large degree of randomness and scatter have been observed in the experimental data published in the open literature. Given the inconsistency in the data, it is impossible to develop a convincing and comprehensive physical-based model that can predict all the trends. To clarify the suspicion on the scattered and wide-ranging experimental results of the thermal conductivity obtained by different groups, it is preferred to screen the measurement technique and procedure to guarantee the accuracy of the obtained results.

Several researchers observed the “time-dependent characteristic” of thermal conductivity [34-36], that is to say, thermal conductivity was the highest right after nanofluid preparation, and then it decreased considerably with elapsed time. We believe that the “time-dependent characteristic” does not represent the essence of thermal conduction capability of nanofluids. The following two factors may account for this phenomenon. The first one is the motion of the remained particle caused by the agitation during the nanofluid preparation. To make a nanofluid homogeneous and long-term stable, it is always subjected to intensive agitation including magnetic stirring and sonication to destroy the aggregation of the suspended NPs. In very short time after nanofluid preparation, the NPs still keep moving in the base fluid (different from Brownian motion). The motion of the remained particle would cause convection and enhance the energy transport in the nanofluids. Second, when a nanofluid is subjected to long-time sonication, its temperature would be increased. The temperature goes down gradually to the surrounding temperature (thermal conductivity measurement temperature). In very short time after the sonication stops, the process has been remaining. Although the temperature decrease is not severe, the thermal conductivity obtained is very sensitive to the temperature decrease when the transient hot-wire technique is used to measured the thermal conductivity. In our measurements, this phenomenon would be observed. When measuring the thermal conductivity at an unequilibrium state, it was found that the measured data might be very different for a nanofluid even at a specific temperature (see 25°C) if the process to reach this temperature is different. If the temperature is increasing, then the datum obtained of the thermal conductivity would be lower than the true value. While the temperature is decreasing, the datum obtained of the thermal conductivity would be higher than the true value. Therefore, keeping a nanofluid stable and initial equilibrium is very important to obtain accurate thermal conductivity data in measurements.

A transient short hot-wire method was used to measure the thermal conductivities of the base fluids (k₀) and the nanofluids (k). The detailed measurement principle, procedure, and error analysis have been described in [37]. In our measurements, a platinum wire with a diameter of 50 μm was used for the hot wire, and it served both as a heating unit and as an electrical resistance thermometer. The platinum wire was coated with an insulation layer of 7-μm thickness. Initially the platinum wire immersed in media was kept at equilibrium with the surroundings. When a regulation voltage was supplied to initiate the measurement, the electrical resistance of the wire changed proportionally with the rise in temperature. The thermal conductivity was calculated from the slope of the rise in the wire’s temperature against the logarithmic time interval. The uncertainty of this measurement is estimated to be within ± 1.0%. A temperature-controlled bath was used to maintain different temperatures of the nanofluids. Instead of monitoring the temperature of the bath, a thermocouple was positioned inside the sample to monitor the temperature on the spot. When the temperature of the sample reached a steady value, the authors waited for further 20 min to make sure that the initial state is at equilibrium. At every tested temperature, measurements were made three times and the average values were taken as the final results. A 20-min interval was needed between two successive measurements. After the above-mentioned careful check on the measurement condition and procedure, the authors could gain confidence on the experimental results.

In the experiment of the study, it was found that the thermal conductivity enhancements of nanofluids might be influenced by multi-faceted factors including the volume fraction of the dispersed NPs, the tested temperature, the thermal conductivity of the base fluid, the size of the dispersed NPs, the pretreatment process, and the additives of the fluids. The effects of these factors are presented in this section.

Particle loading

The idea of nanofluid application originated from the fact that the thermal conductivity of a solid is much higher than that of a liquid. For example, the thermal conductivity of the most used conventional heat transfer fluid, water, is about 0.6 W/m · K at room temperature, while that of copper is higher than 400 W/m · K. Therefore, particle loading would be the chief factor that influences the thermal transport in nanofluids. As expected, the thermal conductivities of the nanofluids have been increased over that of the base fluid with the addition of a small amount of NPs. Figure 1 shows the enhanced thermal conductivity ratios of the nanofluids with NPs at different volume fractions [7,8,38-42]. (k - k₀)/k₀ and φ refer to the thermal conductivity enhancement ratio of nanofluids and the volume fraction of NPs, respectively, in this article. Figure1a presents oxide nanofluids, while Figure 1b presents nonoxide nanofluids. The results show that all the nanofluids have noticeable higher thermal conductivities than the base fluid without NPs. In general, the thermal conductivity enhancement increases monotonously with the volume fraction. For the graphene nanofluid with a volume fraction of 0.05, the thermal conductivity can be enhanced by more than 60.0%. There is an approximate linear relationship between the thermal conductivity enhancement ratios and the volume fraction of graphene nanosheets. The nanofluids containing graphene nanosheets show larger thermal conductivity enhancement than those containing oxide NPs. It demonstrates that graphene nanosheet is a good additive to enhance the thermal conductivity of base fluid. However, the enhancement ratios of nanofluids containing graphene nanosheets are less than those of CNTs with the same loading. Many factors have direct influence on the thermal conductivity of the nanofluid. One of the important factors is the crystal structure of the inclusion in the nanofluid. Graphene is a one-atom-thick planar sheet of sp²-bonded carbon atoms that are densely packed in a honeycomb crystal lattice. The perfect structure of graphene is damaged when graphite is chemically oxidized by treatment with strong oxidants. There is no doubt that the high thermal conductivity is diminished by defects, and the defects have direct influence on the heat transport along the 2-D structure.

Figure 1. Thermal conductivity enhancement ratios of the nanofluids as a function of nanoparticle loading. (a) Oxide nanofluids: MgO-EG [38]; Al₂O₃-EG [7]; ZnO-EG [39]; (b) Nonoxide nanofluids: CNT-EG [8]; DNP-EG [40]; Graphene-EG [41]; Cu-EG [42].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temperature

Some studies have demonstrated that the temperature has a great effect on the enhancement of the thermal conductivity for nanofluids. However, there is considerable disagreement in the literature with respect to the temperature dependence of their thermal conductivity. For example, Das et al. reported strong temperature-depended thermal conductivity for water-based Al₂O₃ and CuO nanofluids [43]. The thermal conductivity enhancements of nanofluids containing Bi₂Te₃nanorods in FC72 and in oil had been experimentally found to decrease with increasing temperature [44]. Micael et al. measured the thermal conductivities of EG-based Al₂O₃ nanofluids at temperatures ranging from 298 to 411 K. A maximum in the thermal conductivity was observed at all mass fractions of NPs [45].

Figure 2 shows our measured temperature-depended thermal conductivity enhancements of nanofluids [8,38-42]. For EG-based nanofluids containing MgO, ZnO, SiO₂, and graphene NPs, the thermal conductivity enhancements almost remain constant when the tested temperature changes (see Figure 2a), which means that the thermal conductivity of the nanofluid tracks the thermal conductivities of the base liquid in the experimented temperature range of this study. The thermal conductivity enhancements of DW-EG-based nanofluids containing MgO, ZnO, SiO₂, Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, TiO₂, and graphene NPs also appear to have the same behavior. It was further found that kerosene-based Fe₃O₄ nanofluids presented temperature-independent thermal conductivity enhancements. Patel et al. [46] reported that the thermal conductivity enhancement ratios of Cu nanofluids are enhanced considerably when the temperature increases. The experimental results of this study shown in Figure 2b demonstrated similar tendency. At 10°C, the thermal conductivity enhancement of EG based Cu nanofluid with 0.5% nanoparticle loading is less than 15.0%. When the temperature is increased to 60°C, the enhancement reaches as large as 46.0%. Brownian motion of the NPs has been proposed as the dominant factor for this phenomenon. For the EG-based CNT nanofluids, cylindrical nanotubes with large aspect ratios were used as additions. The effect of Brownian motion will be negligible. Typical conduction-based models will give (k - k₀)/k₀, independent of the temperature. However, results shown in Figure 2b illustrate that (k - k₀)/k₀increases, though not drastically, with the temperature. CNT aggregation kinetics may contribute to the observed differences [21]. It is worthy of bearing in mind that the temperatures of the base fluid and the nanofluid should be the same when compared with the thermal conductivities between them. Comparison of the thermal conductivities between the nanofluid at one temperature and the base at another one is meaningless.

Figure 2. Thermal conductivity enhancement varying with the tested temperatures. (a) Oxide nanofluids: MgO-EG [38]; ZnO-EG[39]; Graphene-EG [41]; (b) Nonoxide nanofluids: Cu-EG [42]; CNT-EG[8]; DNP-EG [40].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Base fluid

Figure 3 shows the relation between the enhanced thermal conductivity ratios of the nanofluids and the thermal conductivities of the base fluids [7,8,40,41]. It is clearly seen that no matter what kind of nanoparticle was used, the thermal conductivity enhancement decreases with an increase in the thermal conductivity of the base fluid. For pump oil (PO)-based Al₂O₃ nanofluid with 5.0% nanoparticle loading, the thermal conductivity can be enhanced by more than 38% compared to that of PO. When the base fluid is substituted with water, the thermal conductivity enhancement achieved is only about 22.0% [7]. A greater dramatic improvement in thermal conductivity of CNT nanofluid is seen for a base fluid with lower thermal conductivity. At 1.0% nanoparticle loading, the thermal conductivity enhancements are 19.6, 12.7, and 7.0% for CNT nanofluids in decene, EG, and DW, respectively. No matter what kind of base fluid is used, the thermal conductivity enhancement of CNT nanofluids is much higher than that for Al₂O₃ nanoparticle suspensions [8] at the same volume fraction. The reason would lie in the substantial difference in thermal conductivity and morphology between alumina nanoparticle and carbon nanotube.

Figure 3. Thermal conductivity enhancement ratios as a function of the thermal conductivities of the base fluids: Al2O3 NFs [7]; CNT NFs [8]; Graphene NFs [41]; DNP NFs [40].

Particle size

Figure 4 presents the thermal conductivity enhancement of the nanofluids as a function of the specific surface area (SSA) of the suspended particles [7]. It is seen that the thermal conductivity enhancement increases first, and then decreases with an increase in the SSA, with the largest thermal conductivity at a particle SSA of 25 m² · g^-1. We ascribe the thermal conductivity change behavior to twofold factors. First, as particle size decreases, the SSA of the particle increases proportionally. Heat transfer between the particle and the fluid takes place at the particle-fluid interface. Therefore, a dramatic enhancement in thermal conductivity is expected because a reduction in particle size can result in large interfacial area. Second, the mean free path in polycrystalline Al₂O₃ is estimated to be around 35 nm, which is comparable to the size of the particle that was used. The intrinsic thermal conductivity of nanosized Al₂O₃ particle may be reduced compared to that of bulk Al₂O₃ due to the scattering of the primary carriers of energy (phonon) at the particle boundary. It is expected that the suspension’s thermal conductivity is reduced with an increase in the SSA. Therefore, for a suspension containing NPs at a particle size much different from the mean free path, the thermal conductivity increases when the particle size decreases because the first factor is dominant. However, when the size of the dispersed NPs is close to or smaller than the mean free path, the second factor will govern the mechanism of the thermal conductivity behavior of the suspension.

Figure 4. Enhanced thermal conductivity ratios as a function of the SSAs: Al2O3-EG [7]; Al2O3-PO [7].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 5 depicts the thermal conductivity enhancements of nanofluids containing CNTs with different sizes [47]. The base fluid is DW, and the volume fraction of the CNTs is 0.0054. It is observed from Figure 5 that the thermal conductivity enhancements show differences among these three kinds of nanofluids containing SWNTs, DWNTs, and MWNTs as the volume fraction of CNTs is the same. Two influencing factors may be addressed. The first one is the intrinsic heat transfer performance of the CNTs. It is reported that the thermal conductivity of CNTs decreases with an increase in the number of the nanotube layer. The tendency of the thermal conductivity enhancement of the obtained CNT nanofluids accords with that of the heat transfer performance of the three kinds of CNTs. The second one is the alignment of the liquid molecules on the surface of CNTs. There are greater number of water molecules close to the surfaces of CNTs with smaller diameter due to the larger SSA if the volume fractions of CNTs are the same. These water molecules can form an interfacial layer structure on the CNT surfaces, increasing the thermal conductivity of the nanofluid [47].

Figure 5. Thermal conductivity enhancements of nanofluids containing CNTs with different sizes: SWNT-DW [47]; DWNT-DW[47]; MWNT-DW [47].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pretreatment

In the preparation of nanofluids, solid additives are always subjected to various pretreatment procedures. The initial incentive is to tailor the surfaces of the NPs to enhance their dispersibility, thereby to enhance the stability of the nanofluids. The morphologies would be significantly changed when CNTs were subjected to chemical or mechanical treatments. Theoretical research into the thermal conductivity of composites containing cylindrical inclusions has demonstrated that the morphologies, including the aspect ratio, have influence on the effective thermal conductivity of the composites. Therefore, it can be expected that the thermal conductivity of CNT contained nanofluids would be affected by the pretreatment process.

Figure 6 shows the dependence of the thermal conductivity enhancement on the ball milling time of CNTs suspended in the nanofluids [48]. From theoretical prediction, the thermal conductivity of a composite increases with the aspect ratio of the included solid particles [49-51]. Intuition suggests that increasing the milling time should therefore decrease (k - k₀)/k₀ because of the reduced aspect ratio. Figure 6, however, shows clear peak and valley values in the thermal conductivity enhancement with respect to the milling time for all the studied CNT loadings. For nanofluid at a volume fraction of 0.01, the thermal conductivity enhancements present a peak value of 27.5% and a valley value of 10.4% when the milling times are 10 and 28 h, respectively. The maximal enhancement is intriguingly more than two and half times as the minimal one. Interestingly, when further increased the milling time from 28 to 38 h, (k - k₀)/k₀ increases from the valley value of 10.4 to 12.8%. Though the increment is not pronounced, it illustrates a difference in tendency from that in the milling time range from 10 to 28 h. Temperature-dependent thermal conductivity enhancement data further indicate that, at all the measured temperatures, nanofluid with CNTs milled for 10 h has the largest increment in thermal conductivity. Glory et al. [52] reported that the enhancement of the thermal conductivity noticeably increases when the nanotube aspect ratio increases. However, the thermal conductivity enhancement behavior of our CNT nanofluid is very different and cannot be explained only by the effect of the aspect ratio.

Figure 6. Dependence of the thermal conductivity enhancement on the ball milling time of CNTs suspended in the nanofluids [48].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The above results suggest other dominant factors that have the influence over the thermal conductivity of the CNT nanofluids. The authors proposed that the nonstraightness and the aggregation would play significantly roles. As is known, the walls of CNTs have similar structure of graphene sheet, and the thermal conductivity of CNTs shows greatly anisotropic behavior. Heat transports substantially quicker through axial direction than through radial direction [53]. For a nonstraight CNT, the high thermal anisotropy of CNTs induces a unique property that individual CNTs are nearly perfect one-dimensional thermal passages with negligibly small heat flux losses during long distance heat conductions [54]. For a nonstraight CNT with length L under a two-end temperature difference, the heat flux q goes through a curled passage. This CNT can be regarded as an equivalent straight thermal passage with a distance of L^e. The same heat flux q is conducted between the two ends of this straight passage. Obviously, the equivalent length L^e depends on the curvature of the actual nanotube in the nanofluid. A concept, straightness ratio η (η = L^e/L), can be adopted to describe the straightness of a curled CNT. The lowest straightness ratio arises when a suspended nanotube forms ring closure [55].

When subjected to ball milling, CNTs were broken and cut short with appropriate average length. The straightness ratio was significantly increased and heat transports more effectively through the CNTs and across the interfaces between the CNT tips and the base fluid, resulting in the highest thermal conductivity enhancement in a nanofluid containing CNTs milled for 10 h. For nanofluids containing relatively straight nanotubes, the influence of the aspect ratio will surpass that of straightness ratio. Therefore, by further treatment on nanotubes with relatively high straightness ratio, the excessive deterioration of the aspect ratio would decrease the thermal conductivity of nanofluids, causing (k - k₀)/k₀ decrease from 10 to 28 h. Recent theoretical analysis has revealed that the aggregation of nanoparticle plays a significant role in deciding (k - k₀)/k₀ [21]. Percolation effects in the aggregates, as highly conducting nanotubes touch each other in the aggregate, help in increasing the thermal conductivity. Our experiments demonstrate that aggregates are the dominant appearance of CNTs when the ball-milling time is increased to 38 h. The aggregation accounts for the increment of thermal conductivity enhancement when the ball-milling time is increased from 28 to 38 h. This result implies that the positive influence of the aggregation surpasses the negative influence of the aspect ratio deterioration.

pH value

For some nanofluids, the pH values of the suspensions have direct effects on the thermal conductivity enhancement. Figure 7 presents the thermal conductivity enhancement ratios at different pH values [7,40]. The results show that the enhanced thermal conductivity increases with an increase in the difference between the pH value of aqueous suspension and the isoelectric point of Al₂O₃ particle [7]. When the NPs are dispersed into a base fluid, the overall behavior of the particle-fluid interaction depends on the properties of the particle surface. For Al₂O₃ particles, the isoelectric point (pH_iep) is determined to be 9.2, i.e., the repulsive forces among Al₂O₃ particles is zero, and Al₂O₃ particles will coagulate together under this pH value. Therefore, when pH value is equal or close to 9.2, Al₂O₃ particle suspension is unstable according to DLVO theory [56]. The hydration forces among particles increase with the increasing difference of the pH value of a suspension from the pH_iep, which results in the enhanced mobility of NPs in the suspension. The microscopic motions of the particles cause micro-convection that enhances the heat transport process. Wensel’s study showed that the thermal conductivity of nanofluids containing oxide NPs and CNTs with very low percentage loading decreased when the pH value is shifted from 7 to 11.45 under the influence of a strong outside magnetic field [14].

Figure 7. Thermal conductivity enhancement ratios at different pH values: Al2O3-DW [7]; DNP-EG [40].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For DNP-EG nanofluids, it is observed from Figure 7 that the thermal conductivity enhancement increases with pH values in the range of 7.0-8.0. When pH value is above 8.0, there is no obvious relationship between pH value and the thermal conductivity enhancement. In our opinion, the influence of pH value on thermal conductivity is that pH value has a direct effect on the stability of nanofluids. When pH value is below 8.5, the suspension is not very stable, and DNPs are easy to form aggregations. The alkalinity of the solution is helpful to the dispersion and the stability of the nanofluids. In order to verify the above statement, the influence of settlement time on the thermal conductivity enhancement was further investigated. It is found that the thermal conductivity enhancement decreases with elapsed time for DNP-EG nanofluid when pH is 7.0. However, for the stable DNP-EG nanofluids with pH of 8.5, there is no obvious thermal conductivity decrease for 6 months [40].

Surfactant addition

Surfactant addition is an effective way to enhance the stability of nanofluids. Kim’s study revealed that the thermal conductivity decreased rapidly for the instable nanofluids without surfactants after preparation. However, no obvious changes in the thermal conductivity of the nanofluids with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as surfactant were observed even after 5-h settlement [57]. Assael et al. investigated the thermal conductivities of the aqueous suspension of CNTs. When Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was employed as the dispersant, the maximum thermal conductivity enhancement obtained was 38.0% for a nanofluid with 0.6 vol% CNT loadings [58]. When the surfactant is substituted with hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), the maximum thermal conductivity enhancement obtained was 34.0% for same fraction of CNT loading [26]. Liu et al. reported that the thermal conductivity of carbon nanotube-synthetic engine oil suspensions is higher compared with that of same suspensions without the addition of surfactant. The presence of surfactant as stabilizer has positive effect on the carbon nanotube-synthetic engine oil suspensions[59].

We used cationic gemini surfactants (12-3(4,6)-12,2Br^-1) to stabilize water-based MWNT nanofluids. These surfactants were prepared following the process described in [60]. Figure 8presents the thermal conductivity enhancement ratios of the CNT-contained nanofluids with different surfactant concentrations. The volume fraction of the dispersed CNTs is 0.1%. The critical micelle concentration of 12-3-12, 2Br^-1 is reported as 9.6 ± 0.3 × 10^-4 mol/l [61]. Ten times critical micelle concentration of 12-3-12, 2Br^-1 is 0.6 wt%. Solutions of 12-3-12, 2Br^-1 with different concentrations (0.6, 1.8, and 3.6 wt% at room temperature) were selected to prepare CNT nanofluids. It is observed that at all the measured temperatures the thermal conductivity enhancement decreases with the surfactant addition. The surfactant added in the nanofluids acts as stabilizer which improves the stability of the CNT nanofluids. However, excess surfactant addition might hinder the improvement of the thermal conductivity enhancement of the nanofluids.

Figure 8. Thermal conductivity enhancement ratios with different surfactant concentrations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The effect of the structures of cationic gemini surfactant molecules on the thermal conductivity enhancement is shown in Figure 9. The fractions of the dispersed CNTs and the cationic gemini surfactants is 0.1 vol% and 0.6 wt%, respectively. The spacer chain length of the cationic gemini surfactant increase from 3 methylenes to 6 methylenes. It is seen that the thermal conductivity enhancement ratio increases with the decrease of spacer chain length of cationic gemini surfactant. Zeta potential analysis indicates that the CNT nanofluids stabilized by gemini surfactant with short spacer chain length have better stabilities. Increase of spacer chain length of surfactant might give rise to sediments of CNTs in the nanofluids, resulting in the decrease of thermal conductivity enhancement of the nanofluids.

Figure 9. Effect of surfactant structures on the thermal conductivity enhancement ratio.

Nanofluids have great potential for heat transfer enhancement and are highly suited to application in practical heat transfer processes. This provides promising ways for engineers to develop highly compact and effective heat transfer equipments. More and more researchers have paid their attention to this exciting field. When addressing the thermal conductivity of nanofluids, it is foremost important to guarantee the accuracy in the measurement of the thermal conductivity of nanofluids. Two aspects should be considered. The first one is to prepare homogeneous and long-term stable nanofluids. The second one is to keep the initial equilibrium before measuring the thermal conductivity. In general, the thermal conductivity enhancement increases monotonously with the particle loading. The effect of temperature on the thermal conductivity enhancement ratio is somewhat different for different nanofluids. It is very important to note that the temperatures of the base fluid and the nanofluid should be the same while comparing the thermal conductivities between them. With an increase in the thermal conductivity of the base fluid, the thermal conductivity enhancement ratio decreases. Considering the effect of the size of the inclusion, there exists an optimal value for alumina nanofluids, while for the CNT nanofluid, the thermal conductivity increases with a decrease of the average diameter of the included CNTs. The thermal characteristics of nanofluids might be manipulated by means of controlling the morphology of the inclusions, which also provide a promising way to conduct investigation on the mechanism of heat transfer in nanofluids. The additives like acid, base, or surfactant play considerable roles on the thermal conductivity enhancement of nanofluids.

CNTs: carbon nanotubes; DNPs: diamond NPs; DW: deionized water; DWNTs: double-walled CNTs; EG: ethylene glycol; KOH: potassium hydroxide; LP: liquid paraffin; MWNTs: multi-walled CNTs; NPs: nanoparticles; PVP: poly(vinylpyrrolidone); SDS: sodium dodecyl sulfate; SHW: short hot wire; SSA: specific surface area; SWNTs: single-walled CNTs; THW: transient hot wire; TCNTs: treated CNTs.

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

HQ supervised and participated all the studies. He wrote this paper. WY carried out the studies on the nanofluids containing copper nanoparticles, graphene, diamond nanoparticles, and several kinds of oxide nanoparticles. YL carried out the studies on the nanofluids containing other oxide nanoparticles. LF carried out the studies on the nanofluids containing carbon nanotubes.

This study was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (50876058), Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-10-883), and the Program for Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning.

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Huaqing Xie^*, Wei Yu, Yang Li and Lifei Chen

• *Corresponding author: Huaqing Xie hqxie@eed.sspu.cn

Author Affiliations

School of Urban Development and Environmental Engineering, Shanghai Second Polytechnic University, Shanghai 201209, China

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Nanoscale Research Letters 2011, 6:124 doi:10.1186/1556-276X-6-124

The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at:http://www.nanoscalereslett.com/content/6/1/124

 

Received:	3 September 2010
Accepted:	9 February 2011
Published:	9 February 2011

 

© 2011 Xie et al; licensee Springer.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Study of Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Wastewater in an Urban Agglomeration in Romania – MyronLMeters.com

TweetStudy of Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Wastewater in an Urban Agglomeration in Romania Abstract This study investigates the level of wastewater pollution by analyzing its chemical characteristics at five wastewater collectors. Samples are collected before they discharge into the Danube during a monitoring campaign of two weeks. Organic and inorganic compounds, heavy metals, and biogenic compounds [...]

Study of Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Wastewater in an Urban Agglomeration in Romania

Abstract

This study investigates the level of wastewater pollution by analyzing its chemical characteristics at five wastewater collectors. Samples are collected before they discharge into the Danube during a monitoring campaign of two weeks. Organic and inorganic compounds, heavy metals, and biogenic compounds have been analyzed using potentiometric and spectrophotometric methods. Experimental results show that the quality of wastewater varies from site to site and it greatly depends on the origin of the wastewater. Correlation analysis was used in order to identify possible relationships between concentrations of various analyzed parameters, which could be used in selecting the appropriate method for wastewater treatment to be implemented at wastewater plants.

Sources of wastewater in the selected area are microindustries (like laundries, hotels, hospitals, etc.), macroindustries (industrial wastewater) and household activities (domestic wastewater). Wastewater is collected through sewage systems (underground sewage pipes) to one or more centralized Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), where, ideally, the sewage water is treated. However, in cities and towns with old sewage systems treatment stations sometimes simply do not exist or, if they exist, they might not be properly equipped for an efficient treatment. Even when all establishments are connected to the sewage system, the designed capacities are often exceeded, resulting in a less efficient sewage system and occasional leaks.

Studies of water quality in various effluents revealed that anthropogenic activities have an important negative impact on water quality in the downstream sections of the major rivers. This is a result of cumulative effects from upstream development but also from inadequate wastewater treatment facilities. Water quality decay, characterized by important modifications of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSSs), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorous (TP), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), and so forth [11] are the result of wastewater discharge in rivers. Water-related environmental quality has been shown to be far from adequate due to unknown characteristics of wastewater . Thus an important element in preventing and controlling river pollution by an effective management of STP is the existence of reliable and accurate information about the concentrations of pollutants in wastewater. Studies of wastewater in Danube basins can be found, for instance, in central and eastern European countries, but we are not aware of extensive studies of wastewater quality at regional/national level in Romania.

This paper analyses the chemical composition of wastewater at several collectors/stations in an important Romanian city, Galati, before being discharged into natural receptors, which in this case are the Danube and Siret Rivers. No sewage treatment existed when the monitoring campaign took place, except the mechanical separation. The study presented here is part of a larger project aiming at establishing the best treatment technology of wastewater at each station. Presently this project is in the implementation stage at all stations. Possible relationships between concentrations of various chemical residues in wastewater and with pollution sources are also investigated. The study is based on daily measurements of chemical parameters at five city collectors in Galati, Romania, during a two-week campaign in February 2010.

2.1. Location of Sampling Sites

Galati-Braila area is the second urban agglomeration in Romania after Bucharest, which is located in Romania at the confluence of three major rivers: Danube, Siret, and Prut. The wastewater average flow is about 100000 m³/day . The drainage system covers an area of 2300 ha, serving approximately 99% of the population (approximately 300000 habitants). The basic drainage system is very old, dating back to the end of the 19th century, and was extended along with the expansion of the city due to demographic and industrial evolution. There are several collectors that collect wastewater and rainwater from various areas with very different characteristics, according to the existing water-pipe drainage system. There is no treatment at any station, except for simple mechanical separation. However, industrial wastewater is pretreated before being discharged in the city system. The five wastewater collectors are denoted in the following as S 1 , S 2 , … , S 5. Four of them discharge in the Danube River and the fifth discharges in the Siret River (which is an affluent of Danube River). Figure 1 shows the distribution of the monitoring sites and highlights the type of collecting area (domestic, industrial, or mixed). For the sake of brevity, these stations will be named in the present paper as “domestic,” “mixed,” and “industrial” stations, according to the type of collected wastewater. The mixture between domestic and industrial water at the two mixed collectors is the result of changes in city planning and various transformations of small/medium enterprises.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1: Monitoring sampling sites of wastewater from Galati city.

Technical details about each collector/station can be found in Table 1. The first station, S1, collects 10% of the total quantity of wastewater. A high percentage of the water collected at this station comes from domestic sources from the south part of the city (more than 96%). Station S2 collects 64% of the total daily flow of wastewater, out of which 30% comes from domestic sources and the rest (70%) is industrial. Most of the industrial sources in this area are food-production units (milk, braid, wine) while the domestic sources include 20 schools, 4 hospitals, and important social objectives. Station S3 is located in the old part of the city and collects 5% of the total wastewater and has domestic sources. At the fourth station, S4, 11% of the quantity of wastewater is collected from domestic (70%) and industrial (30%) sources. The last collector, S5, collects wastewater from the industrial area of the city, where the most important objectives are a shipyard, metallurgical, and mechanical plants and transport stations.

Table 1: Characteristics of collectors S 1 , … , S 5.

2.2. Physico-Chemical Parameters and Methods of Analysis

The physico-chemical parameters which were measured are the following:(i)pH;(ii)chemical oxygen demand (COD) and dissolved oxygen (DO);(iii)nutrients such as nitrate (N-NO₃) and phosphate (P-PO₄) (these were included due to their impact on the eutrophication phenomenon);(iv)metals such as aluminum (Al⁺³), soluble iron (Fe⁺²), and cadmium (Cd⁺²).

The pH and DO were determined in situ using a portable multiparameter analyzer. Other chemical parameters such as COD, metals and nutrients were determined according to the standard analytical methods for the examination of water and wastewater .

The COD values reflect the organic and inorganic compounds oxidized by dichromate with the following exceptions: some heterocyclic compounds (e.g., pyridine), quaternary nitrogen compounds, and readily volatile hydrocarbons. The concentration of metals (Al⁺³, Cd⁺², Fe⁺²) was determined as a result of their toxicity.

The value of pH was analyzed according to the Romanian Standard using a portable multiparameter analyzer, Consort C932.

COD parameter was measured using COD Vials (COD 25–1500 mg/L, Merck, Germany). The digestion process of 3 mL aliquots was carried out in the COD Vials for 2 h at 148°C. The absorbance level of the digested samples was then measured with a spectrophotometer at λ = 605 nm (Spectroquant NOVA 60, Merck, Germany), the method being analogous to EPA methods [20], US Standard Methods, and Romanian Standard Methods.

The DO parameter was analyzed according to Romanian Standard using a portable multiparameter analyzer, Consort C932.

Aluminum ions (Al⁺³) were determined using Al Vials (Aluminum Test 0.020–1.20 mg/L, Merck, Germany) in a way analogous to US Standard Methods. The absorbance levels of the samples were then measured with a spectrophotometer (Spectroquant NOVA 60; Merck, Germany) at λ = 550 nm. The method was based on reaction between aluminum ions and Chromazurol S, in weakly acidic-acetate buffered solution, to form a blue-violet compound that is determined spectrophotometrically. The pH of the sample must be within range 3–10. Where necessary, the pH will be adjusted with sodium hydroxide solution or sulphuric acid.

Iron concentration (Fe⁺²) was determined using Iron Vials (Iron Test 0.005–5.00 mg/L, Merck, Germany) and their absorbance levels were then measured using a spectrophotometer (Spectroquant NOVA 60; Merck, Germany) at λ = 565 nm. The method was based on reducing all iron ions (Fe⁺³) to iron ions (Fe⁺²). In a thioglycolate-buffered medium, these react with a triazine derivative to form a red-violet complex which is spectrophotometrically determined. The pH must be within range 3–11. Where necessary the pH was adjusted with sodium hydroxide solution or sulphuric acid.

Cadmium ions (Cd⁺²) were determined using Cadmium Vials (Cadmium Test 0.005–5.00 mg/L, Merck, Germany), their absorbance levels being measured with a spectrophotometer (Spectroquant NOVA 60; Merck, Germany) at λ = 525 nm. The method was based on the reaction of cadmium ions with a cadion derivative (cadion-trivial name for 1-(4-nitrophenyl)-3-(4-phenylazophenyl)triazene), in alkaline solution, to form a red complex that is determined spectrophotometrically. The pH must be within the range 3–11, and, if not, the pH will be adjusted with sodium hydroxide solution or sulphuric acid.

Nitrogen content was determined using Nitrate Vials (Nitrate Cell test in seawater 0.10–3.00 mg/L NO₃-N or 0.4–13.3 mg/L N O3 −, Merck, Germany). The method being based on the reaction of nitrate ions with resorcinol, in the presence of chloride, in a strongly sulphuric acid solution, to form a red-violet indophenols dye that is determined spectrophotometrically. The absorbance levels of the samples were then measured with a spectrophotometer (Spectroquant NOVA 60; Merck, Germany) at λ = 500 nm.

Phosphorous content was determined using Phosphate Vials (Phosphate Cell Test 0.5–25.0 mg/L PO₄-P or 1.5–76.7 mg/L P O4 − 3, Merck, Germany) with a method that was analogous to the US Standard Methods [17]. The method was based on the reaction of orthophosphate anions, in a sulphuric solution, with ammonium vanadate and ammonium heptamolybdate to form orange-yellow molybdo-vanado-phosphoric acid that is determined spectrophotometrically (“VM” method). The absorbance levels of the samples were then measured with a spectrophotometer (Spectroquant NOVA 60; Merck, Germany) at λ = 410 nm.

All results were compared with standardized levels for wastewater quality found in accordance with European Commission Directive [23] and Romanian law [24].

3.1. The Acidity (pH)

The results for pH for all the investigated five collectors are shown in Figure 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 2: Daily variation of pH at all sites.

Generally, the wastewater collected at the monitored sites is slightly alkaline. The pH varies between 6.8 and 8.3—average value 7.82—thus the pH values are within the accepted range for Danube River according to the Romanian law, which is between 6.5 and 9.0. The pH variation is relatively similar at collectors S1–S4 (domestic and/or mixed domestic-industrial contribution). Lower pH values are observed at S5, which is dominated by industrial wastewater, originating from major enterprises and heavy industry. However, these values are not too low, since usually pH values for industrial wastewater are smaller than 6.5.

A significant decrease in the pH value was observed during the 8th day of the analyzed period at each station. Interestingly, a heavy snowfall took place at that particular time, thus the decrease could be attributed to the mixing between wastewater and a high quantity of low pH water, resulted from the melting of snow . One could speculate that the snowfall, which has an acidic character, might have affected the pH of the wastewater through “run off” phenomena.

No other snowfall took place during the monitoring campaign, thus no definite conclusion can be drawn for a possible relationship between pH and snowfalls.

3.2. Results for Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)

Detection of COD values in each sampling site of wastewater is presented in Figure 3.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 3: Daily variation of COD at all sites.

All COD values are higher than the maximum accepted values (125 mg O₂/L) of the Romanian Law . Both organic and inorganic compounds have an effect on urban wastewater’s oxidability since COD represents not only oxidation of organic compounds, but also the oxidation of reductive inorganic compounds. That means some inorganic compounds interfere with COD determination through the consumption of C r2O7 − 2. Two different behaviors can be observed, which are associated with the type of the collected wastewater as follows.(i)The first group consists of stations S2, S4 and S5 where the wastewater has an important industrial component. At these stations, COD values are approximately between 150 and 300 mg O₂/L, smaller, for instance, than COD values found by in the raw wastewater produced by an industrial coffee plant where COD values were between 4000 and 4600 mg O₂/L. Also, the temporal variation of COD values at all three stations is similar with no significant deviations from the average value, which is about 250 mg O₂/L. Interestingly, the lowest COD level can be seen, on the average, at S5, which has the highest percentage of industrial wastewater. The second group comprises the “domestic” stations S1 and S3. The COD levels are higher, with values of 500 mg O₂/L or more. Also, the variability is clearly higher than at the industrial-type stations. No clear association between the variations at the two sites can be seen. A peak in COD was measured in the 14th day of the study at site S1 (1160 mg O₂/L). Since S1 is a domestic type station, it is unlikely that some major discharge led to such a high variation of COD. Unfortunately, no other information exists that might indicate a possible cause for this increase.

3.3. Results for Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

The amount of DO, which represents the concentration of chemical or biological compounds that can be oxidized and that might have pollution potential, can affect a sum of processes that include re-aeration, transport, photosynthesis, respiration, nitrification, and decay of organic matter. Low DO concentrations can lead to impaired fish development and maturation, increased fish mortality, and underwater habitat degradation . No standards are given by Romanian or European Law for DO in wastewater. The DO values for the analyzed wastewater at all five sites are shown in Figure 4.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 4: Daily variation of DO at all sites.

Concentration of DO varies at all sampling sites and has values between 0.96 (at S2) and 11.33 (at S4) mg O₂/L with a mean value of 6.39 mg O₂/L. These are clearly higher than DO values measured, for instance, in surface natural waters in China, where the Taihu watershed had the lowest DO level (2.70 mg/L), while in other rivers DO varied from 3.14 to 3.36 mg O₂/L [34]. On the other hand, such high values of DO (9.0 mg O₂/L) could be found, for instance, in the Santa Cruz River , who argued that discharging industry and domestic wastewater induced serious organic pollution in rivers, since the decrease of DO was mainly caused by the decomposition of organic compounds. Extremely low DO content (DO < 2 mg O₂/L) usually indicates the degradation of an aquatic system .

The DO levels vary similarly for all selected sampling sites. The DO levels cover a wide range, with a minimum value of 1.0 mg O₂/L at S1 and S3 and a maximum value of 11.33 mg O₂/L at S4. There is a drop in DO at all stations, observed is in the 8th day of the monitoring interval, which coincides with the day when a similar decrease in pH took place. The lowest values of DO are observed for S1, one of the two “domestic” stations. It is interesting to note that DO at S5 is low although the wastewater here comes only from industry sources.

3.4. Metals

The variation of Al⁺³, Fe⁺², and Cd⁺² concentrations in wastewater are shown in Figures 5, 6, and 7. Al⁺³ concentrations (Figure 5) were mostly within the 0.05–0.20 mg/L range at all the sampling sites. However, during the beginning and the end of the monitoring campaign, Al⁺³ concentration at station S2 is high (reaching even 0.65 mg/L), nonetheless below the limit imposed by the Romanian law, which is 5 mg/L . The fact that in the beginning of the time interval, the concentration of Al⁺³ is high at two neighboring stations (S1 and S2) suggests that some localized discharge affecting both runaway and waste water, might have happened in the southern part of the city, which led to the increase of Al⁺³concentration in the collected wastewater. This is supported by the fact that the concentration gradually decreases at S2.

 

Figure 5: Daily variation of Al at all sites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 6: Daily variation of Fe at all sites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 7: Daily variation of Cd at all sites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The variation of Fe⁺² concentrations is shown in Figure 6. Fe⁺² concentration is within the 0.07–0.4 mg/L interval, below 5.0 mg/L, which is the maximum accepted value of the Romanian law . Two higher values were observed at S2 and S4 (both with industrial component) during the third and fourth days of the monitoring campaign.

Besides Al⁺³ and Fe⁺², concentrations of Cd⁺² were determined and the variations at the five stations are shown in Figure 7. Cd⁺² is a rare pollutant, originating from heavy industry. Leakages in the sewage systems can also lead to Cd⁺². Except for two days, Cd⁺² varies between 0.005 and 0.04 mg/L. The two high values of 0.11 mg/L were observed in the first and fourth days at S5, which collects industrial wastewater. However, Cd⁺² concentrations do not exceed the maximum accepted values of the Romanian law [24] for the monitoring interval which is 0.2 mg/L.

3.5. Nutrients

Water systems are very vulnerable to nitrate pollution sources like septic systems, animal waste, commercial fertilizers, and decaying organic matter [37]. Important quantities of nutrients, which are impossible to be removed naturally, can be found in rivers and this leads to the eutrophication of natural water (like Danube River). As a result, an increase in the lifetime of pathogenic microorganisms is expected. Measurement of nutrient (different forms of nitrogen (N) or phosphorous (P)) variations in domestic wastewater is strongly needed in order to maintain the water quality of receptors [36]. Nitrogen by nitrate (Figure 8) and phosphorous by phosphate (Figure 9) are considered as representative for nutrients.

Figure 8: Daily variation of N-NO₃ at all sites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 9: Daily variation of P-PO₄ at all sites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 8 shows that N-NO₃ concentrations vary, on the average, between 0 and 5.0 mg/L.

At all four stations with a domestic component, S1, S2, S3 and S4, the concentration of N-NO₃ is low (between 0 and 1.5 mg/L) and the daily variation is relatively similar at all sites. Noticeable drops of the N-NO₃ concentration are observed at all stations in the 8th day of the monitoring interval, coinciding with pH (Figure 2) and DO strong variations (Figure 4). This supports the conclusion that the heavy snowfall recorded at that period had an important impact on wastewater quality most likely due to the runoff joining the sewage system.

The behavior of N-NO₃ clearly differs at station S5, which collects only industrial wastewater. Significantly higher values of N-NO₃, ranging from 2.0 to 5.0 mg/L, were detected. However, the mean concentration of N-NO₃ remained below the maximum concentration given by the Romanian law [24]. Obviously, if treatment stations have to be set up, the priority for this particular nutrient component should concentrate on stations where industrial wastewater is collected.

Another nutrient that was analyzed for our study was orthophosphate expressed by phosphorous. The P-PO₄ concentration varies, on the average, between 1.0 and 6.0 mg/L (Figure 9). For this component, concentrations are higher at domestic stations, S1 and S3, than at the other three stations. P-PO₄ is expected to increase in domestic wastewater because of food, more precisely meat, processing, washing, and so forth. The lowest values were observed at S5, which has a negligible domestic component. Peaks in the P-PO₄ concentration are observed at S1. Interestingly enough, P-PO₄ temporal variations correlated pretty well at stations S2, S4, and S5 (which collect industrial wastewater). Unlike most of the other analyzed compounds, for which the concentrations were within the accepted ranges, the maximum level of P-PO₄ is exceeded at all five collectors. Both Romanian law  and the European law  stipulate 2.0 mg/L total phosphorous for 10000–100000 habitants, and for more than 100000 habitants (as in Galati City’s case) 1.0 mg/L total phosphorus. Interestingly, domestic stations seem to require more attention with respect to the quality of water then industrial stations.

Our results regarding the variation and levels of the analyzed parameters are grouped below as the following.(1)The values of pH are within the accepted range for Danube, and their daily variations are relatively similar for both domestic and mixed wastewater. Significantly smaller pH values were measured in the wastewater with a high industrial load. A clear minimum was observed at all sites in the 8th day of the monitoring period, when a heavy snowfall took place. One could speculate that the snowfall, which has an acidic character, might have affected the pH of the wastewater through “run off” phenomena. However, a clear connection cannot be established relying on one event only.(2)The COD level clearly depends on the type of wastewater. Higher values were observed for domestic wastewater, while “pure” industrial wastewater has the lowest COD. This might be explained by the fact that industrial wastewater benefits from some treatment before being discharged into the city sewage system. However, COD does exceed the maximum accepted values according to the Romanian law [24] at all sites thus additional treatment is required at all stations.(3)Concentrations of all analysed metals, Al⁺³, Cd⁺² and Fe⁺², are within the limit of the Romanian law. No association with the type of wastewater could be inferred. Isolated peaks could not be linked with any specific polluting factors, except for Cd⁺², for which accidental concentration increases are observed for pure industrial wastewater.(4)The level of P-PO₄, one of the two nutrients that were analyzed, was high at all stations; however, the highest concentrations are associated with domestic loads.(5)Opposingly, the N-NO₃ level is the highest, by far, in wastewater with a high industrial contribution.

3.6. Possible Relationships between Various Parameters

The experimental results have shown that some parameters might be related and that their behavior greatly depends on the type of collected wastewater. Differences between the behavior of physico-chemical parameters at the domestic sites (S1 and S3), on one hand, and at the other sites, on the other, was observed. Pearson correlation coefficients have been calculated between all parameters at all the selected five sites and corresponding significances. Although most of correlations were not significant, some interesting connections between various parameters at sites with similar characteristics were revealed. Table 2 shows correlation coefficients between various parameters for all five stations. Significant correlations at different types of stations are denoted as follows: italicized fonts for domestic stations, boldface italicized fonts for the industrial station and boldface fonts for mixed stations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 2: Correlation coefficients calculated for station S1 to S5. Significant correlations at each type of stations are identified as follows: boldface italicized fonts for industrial station (S5), italicized fonts for domestic stations (S1 and S3) and boldface fonts for mixed stations (S2 and S4).

An important relationship seems to exist between pH and N-NO₃ at all stations except for the industrial wastewater collecting site, S5 (i.e., at all stations collecting wastewater resulting from domestic activities). Similarly, pH correlates well with DO at all stations except the industrial one.

COD correlates with two metals, Cd⁺² and soluble Fe⁺², which is expected [30], but only at S1 and S3, where the daily variations of the concentration for these two metals (Cd⁺² and soluble Fe⁺²) were similar.

No conclusion can be drawn for the industrial wastewater collector that was analyzed, where both positive and negative correlations were observed. The lack of correlation between the two metals and COD at the industrial wastewater collectors suggests that other processes, that alter the chemical equilibrium between the two chemical compounds, must be taken into account. For example some metals are complexed by organic compounds that are present in the water and the pH values can influence these phenomena.

DO correlates with pH and N-NO₃ at all four sampling stations with domestic component (S1–S4) but the relationship vanish at S5 (industrial). There is also a negative correlation between DO and Fe⁺² and Cd⁺² only for domestic wastewater, which is expected because of the natural oxidation of metals. The correlation vanishes at the other three stations which collect wastewater from industrial areas.

Heavy metals, Fe⁺² and Cd⁺² correlate only at domestic stations and no relationships can be defined to link the concentration of Al⁺³ with other components.

The P-PO₄ variation is linked to the variation of soluble Fe⁺² at the two stations that collect domestic wastewater. Interestingly, these two elements exist together in reductive domestic systems because these are dominated by proteins, lipids, degradation products. This relationship disappears at the other stations, where the industrial load is significant. The other metals, Al⁺³, seems to be linked with P-PO₄at stations S5 and S2, which collect wastewater with the highest industrial load. No link is observed for the rest of stations and for Cd⁺² which can be explained by a higher probability of iron (II) orthophosphate to form in wastewater compared to Al⁺³ or Cd⁺² orthophosphates.

Positive correlations can also be seen between P-PO₄ and COD for all sampling sites except S1, where the relationship is still positive but less significant. The other nutrient, N-NO₃, is anticorrelated with COD but only at S3 and is well correlated with pH and DO at all four stations with domestic component. The only exception is station S5, which collects mostly industrial wastewater.

Concluding, positive correlations were observed between the following parameters.(1)pH and N-NO₃ everywhere except “purely” industrial water.(2)COD and soluble Fe⁺² at domestic stations.(3)DO and pH, on the one hand, and DO and N-NO₃ at domestic stations.(4)P-PO₄ and soluble Fe⁺² at domestic stations.(5)P-PO₄ and COD everywhere, which, taking into account the high level of P-PO₄ at domestic stations, might suggest that one important contributor to water quality degradation are household discharges.(6)Al⁺³ and P-PO₄.

In the present paper we have analyzed the daily variation of several physico-chemical parameters of the wastewater (pH, COD, DO, Al⁺³, Fe⁺², Cd⁺², N-NO₃, and P-PO₄) at five collectors that have been characterized as domestic, industrial and mixed, according to the type of collecting area. Different results have been obtained for domestic and industrial wastewater. Most of the chemical parameters are within accepted ranges. Nevertheless, their values as well as their behavior depend significantly on the type of collected wastewater.

The overall conclusion is that wastewater with a high domestic load has the highest negative impact on water quality in a river. On the other hand, industrial wastewater brings an important nutrient load, with potentially negative effect on the basins where it is discharged. Our results suggested that meteorological factors (snow) might modify some characteristics of wastewater, but a clear connection cannot be established relying on one event only.

Significantly smaller pH values were measured in the wastewater with a high industrial load. The COD level clearly depends on the type of wastewater. Higher values were observed for wastewater with domestic sources, while “pure” industrial wastewater has the lowest COD. This might be explained by the fact that industrial wastewater benefits from some treatment before being discharged into the city sewage system. COD does exceed the maximum accepted values according to the Romanian law at all sites thus additional treatment is required at all stations. Accidental increases of Cd⁺² concentrations are observed for pure industrial wastewater. The highest concentrations of P-PO₄ are associated with domestic loads. Opposing, the N-NO₃ level is clearly the highest in wastewater with a high industrial contribution.

Correlation analysis has been used in order to identify possible relationships between various parameters for wastewater of similar origin.

Positive correlations between various physico-chemical parameters exist for the domestic wastewater (DO, pH and N-NO₃, on the one hand, and P-PO_4, COD and soluble Fe⁺², on the other hand). Except for two cases, these relationships break when the industrial load is high. Some of the existing correlations are expected as discussed above, thus any removal treatment should be differentiated according to the type of collector, before discharging it into the natural receptors in order to be costly efficient. Correlations between DO and COD and nutrient load suggest that the most important threat for natural basins in the studied area, are domestic sources for the wastewater.

The different percentages of industrial and domestic collected wastewater vary at each station, which has a clear impact on concentrations of the selected chemical components. Our results show that domestic wastewater has a higher negative impact on water quality than wastewater with a high industrial load, which, surprisingly, seems to be cleaner. This might be related to the fact that most industries are forced, by law, to apply a pretreatment before discharging wastewater into the city sewage system. Industrial wastewater affects the nutrient content of natural water basins. Although the time period was relatively short, our study identified specific requirements of chemical treatment at each station. An efficient treatment plan should take into account the type of wastewater to be processed at each station. Results presented here are linked with another research topic assessing the level of water quality in the lower basin of the Danube before and after implementing the complete biochemical treatment plants.

The work of Catalin Trif was supported by Project SOP HRD-EFICIENT 61445/2009.

Copyright © 2012 Paula Popa et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited – original found here: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2012/549028/

 

 

Application Bulletin: POOL & SPA Water – MyronLMeters.com

Tweet                 Anyone responsible for operating and maintaining a swimming pool or spa has to test, monitor, and control complex, interdependent chemical factors that affect the quality of water. Additionally, aquatic facilities operators must be familiar with all laws, regulations, and guidelines governing what these parameters should be. [...]

SALTWATER SANITATION

A relatively new development, saltwater pools use regular salt, sodium chloride, to form chlorine with an electrical current much in the same way liquid bleach is made. As chlorine – the sanitizer – is made from the salt in the water, it is critical to maintain the salt concentration at the appropriate levels to produce an adequate level of sanitizer. It is even more important to test water parameters frequently in these types of pools and spas, as saltwater does not have the ability to respond adequately to shock loadings (superchlorination treatments).

Most saltwater chlorinators require a 2,500 – 3,000 ppm salt concentration in the water (though some may require as high as 5,000-7,000 ppm).* This can barely be tasted, but provides enough salt for the system to produce the chlorine needed to sanitize the water.

(It is important to have a good stabilizer level – 30 – 50 ppm* – in the pool, or the sunlight will burn up the chlorine. Without it, the saltwater system may not be able to keep up with the demand regardless of salt concentration.)

Taste and salt shortages are of little concern to seawater systems that maintain an average of 32,000 ppm. In these high-salt environments, you need to beware of corrosion to system components that can distort salt level and other parameter readings.

Additionally, incorrect salt concentration readings can occur in any saltwater system. The monitoring/controlling components can and do fail or become scaled— sometimes giving a false low salt reading. Thus, you must test manually for salt concentration with separate instrumentation before adding salt.

You must also test salt concentration manually with separate instrumentation to re-calibrate your system. This is critical to system functioning and production of required chlorine. Both the PoolPro and PT1 conveniently test for salt concentration at the press of a button as a check against automatic controller systems that may have disabled equipment or need to be re-calibrated.

Though no one instrument or method can be used to determine ALL of the factors that affect the comfort and sanitation of pool and spa water, PoolPro is a comprehensive water testing instrument that is reliable durable, easy-to-use and easy-to-maintain and calibrate. As a pool professional, a PoolPro will not only simplify your life, it will save you time and money.

 RECORD KEEPING – WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THOSE MEASUREMENTS …

Data handling should be done objectively, and data recorded in a common format in the most accurate way. Also, data should be stored in more than one permanent location and made available for future analysis. Most municipalities require commercial aquatic facilities to keep permanent records on site and available for inspection at any time.

PoolPro makes it easy to comply with record keeping requirements. The PoolPro is an objective means to test free chlorine, ORP, pH, TDS, temperature and the mineral/salt content of any pool or spa. You just rinse and fill the cell cup by submerging the waterproof unit and press the button of the parameter you wish to measure. You immediately get a standard, numerical digital readout –  no interpretation required – eliminating all subjectivity. And model PS9TK features the added ability to perform in-cell conductometric titrations for Alkalinity, Hardness and LSI on the spot. Up to 100 date-time-stamped readings can be stored in memory and then later transferred directly to a computer wirelessly using the bluDock™ accessory package. Simply pair the bluDock with your computer, then open the U2CI software application to download data. The user never touches the data, reducing the potential for human error in transcription. The data can then be imported into any program necessary for record-keeping and analysis. The bluDock is a quick and easy way to keep records that comply with governing standards.*

*Consult your governing bodies for specific testing, chemical concentrations, and all other guidelines and requirements. The ranges and methods suggested here are meant as general examples.

Save 10% when you order online here at MyronLMeters.com.

Frequently Asked Questions – MyronLMeters.com

TweetHow long will my Standard Solutions and Buffers last? The warranty on all standards and buffers is one year from the date it is manufactured (see the label on the bottle). If the standards and buffers become contaminated by the user pouring test samples back into the bottle or inserting the probe into the bottle [...]

How long will my Standard Solutions and Buffers last?

The warranty on all standards and buffers is one year from the date it is manufactured (see the label on the bottle). If the standards and buffers become contaminated by the user pouring test samples back into the bottle or inserting the probe into the bottle the solution will not be accurate and should be discarded. The life of standards and buffers can exceed 1 year if the bottle is stored tightly capped and is not exposed to direct sunlight or freezing temperatures. If the solution becomes frozen, do not remove the cap – allow the standard or buffer solution to thaw completely and shake the bottle vigorously before opening.

How do I clean the conductivity cell cup on the handheld units?

With everyday sampling, the cell cup may build up a residue or film on the cell walls that may cause the readings to become erratic. Use a 50/50 mixture of a common household cleaner (i.e. Lime-A-Way, CLR, Tilex, etc) and DI water. Pour into conductivity cell cup and scrub with a q-tip. Be sure to get around all the electrodes and the thermistor probe. On the DS handheld unit, use an acid brush to scrub the cell cup. Let it set for about 10 minutes. Rinse the cell cup thoroughly with tap water, then a final rinse with DI water.

The display on my Ultrameter II 6P reads “Error 1″. What does that mean?

This is possibly caused by contamination to the circuit board. One or more of the traces on the PCB have been jumped/bridged and there is a contamination. Possible moisture, condensation, dirt, dried salts or other condensation inside is a potential cause for this display.

Where can I get an operations manual for my meter?

Go to MyronLMeters.com. Click on Manuals and Literature at the top of the page. Once on the Manuals and Literature page, you’ll find application bulletins, operations manuals, material safety data sheets, and product datasheets.  All are free, downloadable pdf files.

How do I pick the correct range module for my Monitor or Monitor/Controller?

Pick a range module that covers 2/3 of your operating range. If you pick a range module that is too broad, then your accuracy will suffer or it will not show a number on the display. For example, if your operating range is 100-150 microsiemens, a range module of 0-200 microsiemens (-115) would be a good choice. A range module of 0- 5,000 microsiemens (-123) would not be a good choice for this application

Got questions? Visit us at MyronLMeters.com and Ask An Expert.

 

 

 

 

Coming in 2013: The Myron L PoolPro PS9TK – MyronLMeters.com

Tweet                            For Pool Professionals The PoolPro is a comprehensive high performance tool designed to simplify pool and spa water quality control for the pool professional. Both PoolPro models – the PS6 and the PS9TK feature innovative user-friendly features and functions that make [...]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For Pool Professionals

The PoolPro is a comprehensive high performance tool designed to simplify pool and spa water quality control for the pool professional. Both PoolPro models – the PS6 and the PS9TK feature innovative user-friendly features and functions that make it easy to manage parameters critical to disinfection, water balance, system maintenance and compliance.

New! Fce FAC Readings

FCE function reports FAC quickly and accurately by measuring ORP, the chemical characteristic of chlorine that directly reflects its effectiveness, cross referenced with pH. Both DPD kits and colorimeters may tell the user the FAC value of the sample in the test tube, but since the chemistry of that sample is quite different from the source water being analyzed, the results are imprecisely related to actual disinfection power.

FCE function measures the real, unaltered chemistry of source water, including moment-to-moment changes in that chemistry.

FCE can be used for other types of oxidizing germicides and will track the effect of additives, such as cyanuric acid, that degrade chlorine effectively without changing the actual concentration of free available chlorine present.

In-Cell Titration Functions

The PS9TK adds the ability to perform in-cell conductometric titrations that provides a convenient way to determine alkalinity, hardness and LSI in the field. This eliminates the need to collect and transport samples to another location for analysis. User intuitive display prompts guide you through titration procedures from start to finish. All required reagents and equipment are included in the PS9 titration kit.

Water Balance Analysis

The PS9TK features both an LSI Calculator and an LSI Titration measurement mode. The Calculator allows you to perform what-if scenarios to predict how changes in solution parameters would affect the water balance of a system. The titration measurement function allows you to accurately calculate a saturation index value of a specific solution to determine whether the solution is balanced, scaling or corrosive.

Hardness Unit Conversion The Hardness and LSI Titrations and LSI Calculator functions allow you to set the hardness unit preference to either grains of hardness or ppm CaCO3 according to your needs.

System Validation & Calibration

The PoolPro provides a fast, precise, easy-to-use method of obtaining Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP or REDOX) mV readings to check the true level of effectiveness of ALL sanitizers in any pool or spa. ORP objectively and precisely measures sanitizer ability to burn up, or oxidize, organic matter in the water. ORP can only be determined by an electronic instrument.

PoolPro ORP mV readings serve as a necessary check to ensure automatic ORP control systems are working properly. PoolPro also provides independent readings for recalibration and to detect system failure.

Saltwater Chlorine Generation

PoolPro provides a convenient one-touch test for Mineral/Salt concentration. This is ideal for saltwater systems where manual testing with separate instrumentation is necessary to ensure the proper amount of sodium chloride is present for chlorine generation in quantities specified for microbial disinfection. PoolPro can also be used to recalibrate equipment as part of regular maintenance.

Wireless Benefits

The optional bluDock™ accessory package is an integrated data solution for your record keeping requirements, eliminating the need for additional hardware, wires and hassle. Because the user never touches the data, there is little opportunity for data tampering and human error. bluDock software has an easy to use interface with user intuitive functions for storing, sorting and exporting data.

Simply the Best

PoolPro is lightweight, portable, buoyant, waterproof, easy-to-calibrate, and easy-to-use. Simply rinse and fill the cell cup by dipping the PoolPro in the water, then press the button of the parameter you wish to measure. You immediately get a standard, numerical digital readout — eliminating all subjectivity. And you can store up to 100 date-time-stamped readings in PoolPro’s non-volatile memory.

Watch for the product launch later this year.

 

Recent Papers in Water Treatment for Small/Decentralized Systems – MyronLMeters.com

TweetRecent Papers in Water Treatment for Small/Decentralized Systems Content Table Recent Papers in Water Treatment for Small/Decentralized Systems  Turbidity and chlorine demand reduction using locally available physical water clarification mechanisms before household chlorination in developing countries Appropriate wastewater treatment systems for developing countries: criteria and indictor assessment in Thailand A new paradigm for low-cost urban [...]

Recent Papers in Water Treatment for Small/Decentralized Systems

Content Table

• Recent Papers in Water Treatment for Small/Decentralized Systems 
  • Turbidity and chlorine demand reduction using locally available physical water clarification mechanisms before household chlorination in developing countries
  • Appropriate wastewater treatment systems for developing countries: criteria and indictor assessment in Thailand
  • A new paradigm for low-cost urban water supplies and sanitation in developing countries
  • Faecal bacterial indicators removal in various wastewater treatment plants located in Almendares River watershed (Cuba)
  • Treatment of low and medium strength sewage in a lab-scale gradual concentric chambers (GCC) reactor
  • Use of modelling for optimization and upgrade of a tropical wastewater treatment plant in a developing country
  • Ceramic silver-impregnated pot filters for household drinking water treatment in developing countries: material characterization and performance study
  • Ceramic membranes for direct river water treatment applying coagulation and microfiltration
  • Related Publications

Turbidity and chlorine demand reduction using locally available physical water clarification mechanisms before household chlorination in developing countries

Journal of Water and Health Vol 07 No 3 pp 497–506 © IWA Publishing 2009 doi:10.2166/wh.2009.071

Link to Summary Page

Nadine Kotlarz, Daniele Lantagne, Kelsey Preston and Kristen Jellison

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Lehigh University, 13 East Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA
Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-A38, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA Tel.:             +1 404 639 0231       Fax: +1 404 639 2205 E-mail: dlantagne@cdc.gov

Abstract

Over 1.1 billion people in the world lack access to improved drinking water. Diarrhoeal and other waterborne diseases cause an estimated 1.9 million deaths per year. The Safe Water System (SWS) is a proven household water treatment intervention that reduces diarrhoeal disease incidence among users in developing countries. Turbid waters pose a particular challenge to implementation of SWS programmes; although research shows that a 3.75 mg l^-1 sodium hypochlorite dose effectively treats turbid waters, users sometimes object to the strong chlorine taste and prefer to drink water that is more aesthetically pleasing. This study investigated the efficacy of three locally available water clarification mechanisms—cloth filtration, settling/decanting and sand filtration—to reduce turbidity and chlorine demand at turbidities of 10, 30, 70, 100 and 300 NTU. All three mechanisms reduced turbidity (cloth filtration -1–60%, settling/decanting 78–88% and sand filtration 57–99%). Sand filtration (P=0.002) and settling/decanting (P=0.004), but not cloth filtration (P=0.30), were effective at reducing chlorine demand compared with controls. Recommendations for implementing organizations based on these results are discussed.

Appropriate wastewater treatment systems for developing countries: criteria and indictor assessment in Thailand

Water Science & Technology—WST Vol 59 No 9 pp 1873–1884 © IWA Publishing 2009 doi:10.2166/wst.2009.215

Link to Summary Page

W. Singhirunnusorn and M. K. Stenstrom

Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahasarakham University, Kantharawichai District, Maha Sarakham Province 44150, Thailand E-mail: swichitra@gmail.com
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UCLA, Los Angeles CA 90095, USA E-mail: stenstro@seas.ucla.edu

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive approach with factors to select appropriate wastewater treatment systems in developing countries in general and Thailand in particular. Instead of focusing merely on the technical dimensions, the study integrates the social, economic, and environmental concerns to develop a set of criteria and indicators (C&I) useful for evaluating appropriate system alternatives. The paper identifies seven elements crucial for technical selection: reliability, simplicity, efficiency, land requirement, affordability, social acceptability, and sustainability. Variables are organized into three hierarchical elements, namely: principles, criteria, and indicators. The study utilizes a mail survey to obtain information from Thai experts—academicians, practitioners, and government officials—to evaluate the C&I list. Responses were received from 33 experts on two multi-criteria analysis inquiries—ranking and rating—to obtain evaluative judgments. Results show that reliability, affordability, and efficiency are among the most important elements, followed by sustainability and social acceptability. Land requirement and simplicity are low in priority with relatively inferior weighting. A number of criteria are then developed to match the contextual environment of each particular condition. A total of 14 criteria are identified which comprised 64 indicators. Unimportant criteria and indicators are discarded after careful consideration, since some of the indicators are local or site specific.

A new paradigm for low-cost urban water supplies and sanitation in developing countries

Water Policy Vol 10 No 2 pp 119–129 © IWA Publishing 2008 doi:10.2166/wp.2008.034

Link to Summary Page

Duncan Mara^a and Graham Alabaster^b

^aCorresponding author. School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT UK. Fax: +44-113-343-2243 E-mail: d.d.mara@leeds.ac.uk
^bUnited Nations Human Settlements Programme, PO Box 30300, Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

To achieve the Millennium Development Goals for urban water supply and sanitation ~300,000 and ~400,000 people will have to be provided with an adequate water supply and adequate sanitation, respectively, every day during 2001–2015. The provision of urban water supply and sanitation services for these numbers of people necessitates action not only on an unprecedented scale, but also in a radically new way as “more of the same” is unlikely to achieve these goals. A “new paradigm” is proposed for low-cost urban water supply and sanitation, as follows: water supply and sanitation provision in urban areas and large villages should be to groups of households, not to individual households. Groups of households would form (even be required to form, or pay more if they do not) water and sanitation cooperatives. There would be standpipe and yard-tap cooperatives served by community-managed sanitation blocks, on-site sanitation systems or condominial sewerage, depending on space availability and costs and, for non-poor households, in-house multiple-tap cooperatives served by condominial sewerage or, in low-density areas, by septic tanks with on-site effluent disposal. Very poor households (those unable to afford to form standpipe cooperatives) would be served by community-managed standpipes and sanitation blocks.

Faecal bacterial indicators removal in various wastewater treatment plants located in Almendares River watershed (Cuba)

Water Science & Technology—WST Vol 58 No 4 pp 773–779 © IWA Publishing 2008 doi:10.2166/wst.2008.440

Link to Summary Page

Tamara Garcia-Armisen, Josué Prats, Yociel Marrero and Pierre Servais

Ecologie des Systèmes Aquatiques, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium *Present address: MINT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Building E, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium Tel.:            +3226291918       E-mail: tgarciaa@vub.ac.be
Dpto. de Microbiología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de La Habana, La Habana, Cuba
Instituto Superior Politécnico José Antonio Echeverría, La Habana, Cuba

Abstract

The Almendares River, located in Havana city, receives the wastewaters of more than 200,000 inhabitants. The high abundance of faecal bacterial indicators (FBIs) in the downstream stretch of the river reflects the very poor microbiological water quality. In this zone, the Almendares water is used for irrigation of urban agriculture and recreational activities although the microbiological standards for these uses are not met. Improvement of wastewater treatment is absolutely required to protect the population against health risk. This paper compares the removal of FBIs in three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in this watershed: a conventional facility using trickling filters, a constructed wetland (CW) and a solar aquatic system (SAS). The results indicate better removal efficiency in the two natural systems (CW and SAS) for all the measured parameters (suspended matters, biological oxygen demand, total coliforms, E. coli and enterococci). Removals of the FBIs were around two log units higher in both natural systems than in the conventional one. A longitudinal profile of the microbiological quality of the river illustrates the negative impact of the large conventional WWTP. This case study confirms the usefulness of small and natural WWTPs for tropical developing countries, even in urban and periurban areas.

Treatment of low and medium strength sewage in a lab-scale gradual concentric chambers (GCC) reactor

Water Science & Technology—WST Vol 57 No 8 pp 1155–1160 © IWA Publishing 2008 doi:10.2166/wst.2008.093

Link to Summary Page

L. Mendoza, M. Carballa, L. Zhang and W. Verstraete

Experimental Reproduction Centre (CEYSA), Agricultural Faculty, Technical University of Cotopaxi, Latacunga, Ecuador E-mail: lauramen_2000@yahoo.com
Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium E-mail: willy.verstraete@ugent.be; marta.carballa@ugent.be; lezhanghua@hotmail.com

Abstract

One of the major challenges of anaerobic technology is its applicability for low strength wastewaters, such as sewage. The lab-scale design and performance of a novel Gradual Concentric Chambers (GCC) reactor treating low (165±24 mg COD/L) and medium strength (550 mg COD/L) domestic wastewaters were studied. Experimental data were collected to evaluate the influence of chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations in the influent and the hydraulic retention time (HRT) on the performance of the GCC reactor. Two reactors (R₁ and R₂), integrating anaerobic and aerobic processes, were studied at ambient (26°C) and mesophilic (35°C) temperature, respectively. The highest COD removal efficiency (94%) was obtained when treating medium strength wastewater at an organic loading rate (OLR) of 1.9 g COD/L·d (HRT = 4 h). The COD levels in the final effluent were around 36 mg/L. For the low strength domestic wastewater, a highest removal efficiency of 85% was observed, producing a final effluent with 22 mg COD/L. Changes in the nutrient concentration levels were followed for both reactors.

Use of modelling for optimization and upgrade of a tropical wastewater treatment plant in a developing country

Water Science & Technology Vol 56 No 7 pp 21–31 © IWA Publishing 2007 doi:10.2166/wst.2007.675

Link to Summary Page

D. Brdjanovic^*, M. Mithaiwala^**, M.S. Moussa^***, G. Amy^* and M.C.M. van Loosdrecht^****

*Department of Urban Water and Sanitation, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, PO Box 3015, 2061 DA , Delft, The Netherlands (E-mail: d.brjanovic@unesco-ihe.org)
**Drainage Department, Surat Municipal Corporation, Muglisara, Surat , Gujarat, 395003, India (Email: mayank_heena6143@yahoo.com)
***Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering Mataria, Helwan , University, Egypt (Email: m.moussa@delft-environment.com)
****Department of Biochemical Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 67, 2628 BC , Delft, The Netherlands (Email: m.c.m.vanloosdrecht@tudelft.nl)

Abstract

This paper presents results of a novel application of coupling the Activated Sludge Model No. 3 (ASM3) and the Anaerobic Digestion Model No.1 (ADM1) to assess a tropical wastewater treatment plant in a developing country (Surat, India). In general, the coupled model was very capable of predicting current plant operation. The model proved to be a useful tool in investigating various scenarios for optimising treatment performance under present conditions and examination of upgrade options to meet stricter and upcoming effluent discharge criteria regarding N removal. It appears that use of plant-wide modelling of wastewater treatment plants is a promising approach towards addressing often complex interactions within the plant itself. It can also create an enabling environment for the implementations of the novel side processes for treatment of nutrient-rich, side-streams (reject water) from sludge treatment.

Ceramic silver-impregnated pot filters for household drinking water treatment in developing countries: material characterization and performance study

Water Science & Technology: Water Supply Vol 7 No 5-6 pp 9–17 © IWA Publishing 2007 doi:10.2166/ws.2007.142

Link to Summary Page

D. van Halem^*, S.G.J. Heijman^*, A.I.A. Soppe^**, J.C. van Dijk^* and G.L. Amy^***

*Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN , Delft, The Netherlands (E-mail: d.vanhalem@tudelft.nl; j.c.vandijk@tudelft.nl)
**Delft University of Technology & Kiwa Water Research, Groningenhaven 7, 3433 PE , Nieuwegein, The Netherlands (E-mail: s.g.j.heijman@tudelft.nl)
***Aqua for All Foundation, Groningenhaven 7, 3433 PE , Nieuwegein, The Netherlands (E-mail: gsoppe@planet.nl)
****UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX , Delft, The Netherlands (E-mail: g.amy@unesco-ihe.org)

Abstract

The ceramic silver-impregnated pot filter (CSF) is a low-cost drinking water treatment system currently produced in many factories worldwide. The objective of this study is to gather performance data to provide a scientific basis for organisations to safely scale-up and implement the CSF technology. Filters from three production locations are included in this study: Cambodia, Ghana and Nicaragua. The microstructure of the filter material was studied using mercury intrusion porosimetry and bubble-point tests. Effective pores were measured with a mean of 40 mm, which is larger than many pathogenic microorganisms. The removal efficiency of these microorganisms was measured by using indicator organisms; total coliforms naturally present in canal water, sulphite reducing Clostridium spores, E.coli K12 and MS2 bacteriophages. The removal of these organisms was monitored during a long-term study of several months in the laboratory. Ceramic silver impregnated pot filters successfully removed total coliforms and sulphite reducing Clostridium spores. High concentrations of Escherichia coli K12 were also removed, with log(10) reduction values consistently higher than 2. MS2 bacteriophages were only partially removed from the water, with significantly better results for filters without an impregnation of colloidal silver. During this study the main deficiency of the filter system proved to be the low water production; after 12 weeks of use all filter discharges were below 0.5 Lh^-1, which is insufficient to provide drinking water for a family

Ceramic membranes for direct river water treatment applying coagulation and microfiltration

Water Science & Technology: Water Supply Vol 6 No 4 pp 89–98 © IWA Publishing 2006 doi:10.2166/ws.2006.906

Link to Summary Page

A. Loi-Brügger^*, S. Panglisch^*, P. Buchta^*, K. Hattori^**, H. Yonekawa^**, Y. Tomita^** and R. Gimbel^*,***

*IWW Water Center, Moritzstr. 26, 45476 Mülheim, , Germany (E-mail: a.loi@iww-online.de)
**NGK Insulators Ltd., 2-56 Suda-cho, Nagoya, Aichi, , 467-8530, Japan (E-mail: kohji-h@ngk.co.jp)
***Institut für Energie- und Umweltverfahrenstechnik, Universität Duisburg-Essen Bismarckstr. 90, 47057 Duisburg, , Germany (E-mail: gimbel@uni-duisburg.de)

Abstract

A new ceramic membrane has been designed by NGK Insulators Ltd., Japan, to compete in the drinking water treatment market. The IWW Water Centre, Germany, investigated the operational performance and economical feasibility of this ceramic membrane in a one year pilot study of direct river water treatment with the hybrid process of coagulation and microfiltration. The aim of this study was to investigate flux, recovery, and DOC retention performance and to determine optimum operating conditions of NGK’s ceramic membrane filtration system with special regards to economical aspects. Temporarily, the performance of the ceramic membrane was challenged under adverse conditions. During pilot plant operation river water with turbidities between 3 and 100 FNU was treated. Membrane flux was increased stepwise from 80–300 l/m²h resulting in recoveries between 95.9 and 98.9%. A DOC removal between about 20–35% was achieved. The pilot study and the subsequent economical evaluation showed the potential to provide a reliable and cost competitive process option for water treatment. The robustness of the ceramic membrane filtration process makes it attractive for a broad range of water treatment applications and, due to low maintenance requirements, also suitable for drinking water treatment in developing countries.

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Reverse osmosis biofouling: Impact of feed channel spacer and biofilm development in spacer-filled channels – MyronLMeters.com

TweetIntroduction Water desalination via reverse osmosis (RO) technology provides a solution to the world’s water shortage problem. Until now, the production of fresh water from seawater has reached 21-million cubic meter per day all around the world (Wangnick, 2005). However, the success of RO technology is subject to improvement as the technology is challenged by [...]

Introduction

Water desalination via reverse osmosis (RO) technology provides a solution to the world’s water shortage problem. Until now, the production of fresh water from seawater has reached 21-million cubic meter per day all around the world (Wangnick, 2005). However, the success of RO technology is subject to improvement as the technology is challenged by a biofouling problem –a problem related to biological material development which forms a sticky layer on the membrane surface (Flemming, 1997; Baker and Dudley, 1998).

Continuous biofouling problems in RO lead to higher energy input requirement as an effect of increased biofilm resistance (Rf) and biofilm enhanced osmotic pressure (BEOP), lower quality of product water due to concentration polarization (CP) – increased concentration due to solutes accumulation on the membrane surface, (Herzberg and Elimelech, 2007), and thus significant increase in both operating and maintenance costs.

Recent studies and objectives

Recent studies show the importance of the operating conditions (e.g. flux and cross flow velocities) in RO biofouling. The presence of feed channel spacers has also been getting more attention as it may have adverse effects. A previous study (Chong et al., 2008) without feed channel spacers showed that RO biofouling was a flux driven process where higher flux increased fouling rate. It was also shown that biofouling caused a BEOP effect due to elevated CP of solutes at the membrane surface, thus resulted in loss of driving force. The BEOP effect was more severe at high flux and low crossflow operation.

In another recent study (Vrouwenvelder et al., 2009a) involving feed channel spacers suggested that flux did not affect fouling and biofouling was more severe when the crossflow velocity was higher. However, these studies were conducted on river water at low level of salinity and under no/very low flux conditions, which may suggested that BEOP effect was not observed in the above studies. These contradictory observations relating to the biofouling process in RO need to be systematically addressed as it is critical to understand the mechanism for sustainable operation of RO technology.

The objective of this study was to observe the impact of spacer towards RO biofouling as well as to investigate the development of biofilm in a spacer filled channel. The experiments were conducted at constant flux and biofouling was observed by the increase of transmembrane pressure (TMP). Observation with confocal light scanning microscope (CLSM) method was conducted to the fouled membrane and spacers to provide information of biofilm development inside the membrane module.

Materials and methods

A lab-scale set-up was arranged to resemble the real RO operation where experiments were performed with elevated salinity, high pressure, imposed flux, and permeation. The schematic diagram of the set-up is depicted in Figure 1. It is a fully-recycled system with two identical RO modules running in series. Feed solution contained constant amounts NaCl and nutrient broth (NB) to provide sufficient TOC level.

The study was conducted in the constant flux mode and biofouling was measured via the rise in TMP. A mass-flow controller was installed at the permeate side to maintain the amount of permeate withdrawn. A bacteria solution was injected into the system before the feed solution entered the RO modules and a set of microfilters (5 μm and 0.2 μm) were installed at downstream to prevent excess bacteria from entering the feed tank and turning the feed tank into an “active bioreactor”.

Model bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAO1) was used in the experiment. Bacteria stock solution used in the biofouling tests was prepared in batch and the stock solution was replenished every 24 hours. Bacteria were grown in mixture of NB and NaCl solution where they were harvested after 24 hours and diluted into autoclaved salt solution. The concentration of bacteria was controlled and measured by optical density (OD) using UV spectrophotometer at 600 nm. Batch prepared bacteria stock solution has some advantages over using continuous feed from a chemostat (Chong et al., 2008). A more consistent and fresh bacteria load and without excess nutrient was introduced into the system as nutrient content was completely removed in the harvesting step.

Prior to every experiment, cut RO membranes (DOW Filmtec, BW-30) were soaked in Milli-Q water and sterilized in 70% ethanol solution. Similar pretreatment procedures were applied to membrane support layers and feed channel spacers prior every experiment. The spacers used in the experiments are obtained from unused Hydranautics LFC-1 spiral wound module (Figure 2).

The membranes were compacted at a maximum flux (~65 L/m2.h) overnight with Milli-Q water until a stable flux was achieved. Following compaction, the flux was set to the desired values and NaCl solution was added into the feed tank until the desired concentration was achieved. The system was let to mix for 1.5 hours. NB solution was then added into the feed tank to provide an average background nutrient concentration of 6.5 mg/L TOC. The system was allowed to well-mix for 1.5 hours.

The biofouling test was initiated by continuous injection of bacteria stock solution into the flow line at a dilution rate of 1:500 based on RO cross-flow rate. Biofilm was allowed to grow on the RO membranes. TMP rise due to biofouling was measured over time. The solution in the feed tank was removed and replaced with a fresh solution at the same NaCl and NB concentration twice per day in order to maintain the freshness level of the feed solution.

Upon completion of the fouling test, the RO system was cleaned with:
 Tap water adjusted to pH 2 with HNO3 for 1.5 hours
 Tap water adjusted to pH 11 with NaOH for 1.5 hours
 Flowing tap water for rinsing for 1.5 hours
 Final rinsing with Milli-Q water at unadjusted pH

The fouled membranes were removed from the RO cells for membrane autopsy. In this analysis, fluorescence staining methods and confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) were used to detect the biofilm.

Biofilms were prepared for CLSM by staining with the LIVE/DEAD BacLight Bacterial Viability Kits (Molecular Probes, L7012). It consists of SYTO 9 green-fluorescent nucleic acid stain and the red-fluorescent nucleic acid stain, propidium iodide (PI). These stains possess different spectral characteristics and different ability to penetrate healthy bacterial cells. When used alone, the SYTO 9 stain generally labels all bacteria in a population — those with intact and damaged membranes. In contrast, propidium iodide penetrates only bacteria with damaged membranes, causing a reduction in the SYTO 9 stain fluorescence when both dyes are present. Thus, with an appropriate mixture of the SYTO 9 and propidium iodide stains, bacteria with intact cell membranes stain fluorescent green, whereas bacteria with damaged membranes stain fluorescent red.

Microscopic observation and image acquisition of biofilms were performed using a confocal laser scanning microscope (ZEISS, model LSM710), equipped with Argon laser at 488 nm and DPSS561-10 laser at 561 nm. Images were captured using confocal microscope bundled program ZEN 2009.

Results and discussions

The cross-flow velocity (CFV) in RO membrane operations is known to affect fouling rate. At higher CFV, the flow causes scouring effects which results in slower fouling (Koltuniewicz et al., 1995). On the other hand, experiments of RO modules without the presence of flux shows that a higher cross-flow velocity may increase biofouling due to more nutrients supply (Vrouwenvelder et al., 2009b).

In our study, the investigation was carried out by varying the cross-flow velocity (CFV) from
0.1, 0.17, to 0.34 m/s. The NaCl concentration used was constant at 2000 mg/L and the applied flux was constant at 35 LMH. TMP values were measured overtime and normalized to the initial TMP.

Figure 3 shows the normalized TMP profiles. Faster TMP rise was observed at lower CFV and both operation with and without spacer show similar profiles. The delay of TMP rise caused by spacer was quantified by measuring the time needed for the TMP to increase by 10 % (Table 1). The effect of spacer was higher at higher CFV where the percentage of the delay was 21.21 % and 42.87 % at 0.10 m/s and 0.17 m/s respectively. An interesting phenomenon was observed during the earlier TMP rise (0-3 days) where change in CFV gives little effect on TMP profiles. Similar phenomenon was observed for operation with and without spacer. A possible explanation for this phenomenon is that during this period bacterial attachment was dominant and therefore operation at constant flux gives similar initial TMP rise. Previous studies (Chong et al., 2008) have shown previously that membrane biofouling is a flux driven process where higher flux increases the TMP rise. However, their study did not include spacers and did not focus on initial TMP rise.

Table 1. The delay of biofouling rate caused by spacer at different CFV

The effect of different salt concentrations was also investigated. In this experiment the flux and CFV were fixed at 35 LMH and 0.17 m/s respectively. Figure 4 shows the normalized TMP profile of three different NaCl concentrations in the feed solution. When the feed channel spacer was absent it was very obvious that faster TMP rise was observed at higher salt concentration. This suggests that the effect of concentration polarization (CP) increases with the salt concentration and confirms the presence of the biofilm enhanced osmotic pressure (BEOP) effect (Herzberg and Elimelech, 2007; Chong et al., 2008). This phenomenon however, was less obvious when the spacer was present on the membrane. The spacer appears to provide flow eddies thus reducing the effect of CP and to be useful to prevent biofouling on the membrane which was indicated with slower TMP rise. The spacer gives bigger effect at higher salt concentration where the time to reach 10 % TMP rise was delayed by 30 % at 100 mg/L and 2000 mg/L NaCl, and 95.7 % at 4000 mg/L (Table 2).

4.2 Biofilm development in spacer-filled RO membrane channel The development of biofilm in spacer-filled channel was observed via microscopic and microscopic method. Macroscopic images are to show overall uniformity of biofilm distribution, while the microscopic images are able to show a more detailed biofilm patterns. All of the images in this study were taken from separate experiments as the samples were unable to be reused after analysis, however all the conditions for the experiments were maintained the same.

Figure 5 shows the macroscopic images of biofilm development. The biofilm sample on the membranes and spacers were stained with 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride (CTC) dye. CTC stains bacteria with respiration activity and stained cells appear in red colour. Analysis was done after 0, 3, 6, and 10 days, the condition was 35 LMH flux, 0.17 m/s CFV, and 4000 mg/L NaCl concentration. Longer experiment duration gives thicker and denser biofilm, which can be seen from higher red colour intensity. The biofilms have also shown overall uniformity across the membrane area where similar patterns were observed among each spacer squares.

Figure 5. Macroscopic images of biofilm development on membranes and spacers. (A) 0-day, (B) 3-day, (C) 6-day, (D) 10-day. Biofilms stained with CTC dye and images taken with SONY NEX-5 digital camera.

Confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) provides a more detailed analysis of biofilm development (Figure 6). Based on the images, it appears that biofilm was initiated on the membrane; it later covered more areas and started to appear on the spacer. Areas behind the attached filaments of the spacer fiber seem to be suitable for the initial bacterial attachments rather than the centre of the spacer. Biofilm build-up observed on areas under the detached filaments was caused by higher shear due to accelerated CFV. Our experiments confirmed that biofouling in RO is a flux driven process. A lower TMP rise was observed at lower flux, which means slower biofouling rate. This is also supported with the biofilm coverage data where less coverage was observed at lower flux.

Conclusions

From the findings above, several conclusions can be drawn. The hydrodynamic condition of the flow is affecting the biofouling process. Cross flow velocity (CFV) is an important parameter and lower fouling can be achieved at higher CFV. Having feed channel spacers on the membrane is advantageous as it provides a more well-mixed flow, reduces concentration polarization and reduces TMP increase. Biofilm enhanced osmotic pressure (BEOP) was another phenomenon observed in this study. Due to the BEOP effect, a faster TMP rise was achieved at higher salinity. However, with the presence of the spacer the BEOP effect was reduced significantly.

From our microscopic analysis of biofilm shows that initial bacterial deposition and biofilm development was started on the membrane especially on areas behind the attached spacer filaments. Biofilm develops over time to cover more areas and starts to grow on the spacer at the later stages. Imposed flux also influences the biofilm development where lower biofouling is achieved at lower flux.

References

Baker, J. S. and Dudley, L. Y. (1998), “Biofouling in membrane systems – a review”, Desalination, Vol. 118, No. 1-3, pp. 81-90.

Chong, T. H., Wong, F. S. and Fane, A. G. (2008), “The effect of imposed flux on biofouling in reverse osmosis: Role of concentration polarisation and biofilm enhanced osmotic pressure phenomena”, Journal of Membrane Science, Vol. 325, No. 2, pp. 840-850.

Flemming, H. C. (1997), “Reverse osmosis membrane biofouling”, Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 382-391.

Herzberg, M. and Elimelech, M. (2007), “Biofouling of reverse osmosis membranes: Role of biofilm-enhanced osmotic pressure”, Journal of Membrane Science, Vol. 295, No. 1-2, pp.
11-20.

Koltuniewicz, A. B., Field, R. W. and Arnot, T. C. (1995), “Cross-flow and dead-end microfiltration of oily-water emulsion. Part I: Experimental study and analysis of flux decline”, Journal of Membrane Science, Vol. 102, No. 1-3, pp. 193-207.

Suwarno, S. R., Puspitasari, V. L., Chong, T. H., Fane, A. G., Chen, X., Rice, S. A., Mcdougald, D. and Cohen, Y. (2010) “The hydrodynamic effect on biofouling in reverse osmosis membrane processes”, IWA International Young Water Professionals Conference, Sydney,

Vrouwenvelder, J. S., Hinrichs, C., Van Der Meer, W. G., Van Loosdrecht, M. C. and Kruithof, J. C. (2009b), “Pressure drop increase by biofilm accumulation in spiral wound RO and NF membrane systems: role of substrate concentration, flow velocity, substrate load and flow direction”, Biofouling, Vol. 25, No. 6, pp. 543-555.

Wangnick (2005), 2004 Worldwide Desalting Plants Directory, Global Water Intelligence, Oxford, England.

Related Publications

10 Business New Year’s Resolutions – MyronLMeters.com

TweetTo help brighten your New Year, I have compiled a list of the top 10 New Year’s resolutions for business development – things you can do to dramatically help yourself, your brands and your company. 1. Experiment with nontraditional media Media isn’t about to stop proliferating or fragmenting. Marketers need to put a plan in [...]

To help brighten your New Year, I have compiled a list of the top 10 New Year’s resolutions for business development – things you can do to dramatically help yourself, your brands and your company.

1. Experiment with nontraditional media

Media isn’t about to stop proliferating or fragmenting. Marketers need to put a plan in place to determine the nature, extent and return on an investment of something nontraditional.

2. Stop hating the sales people

Start treating the sales folks as marketing’s clients. Start mining your marketing database and giving information back to them. Show them how the information will help make them more money.

3. Lose your fear of numbers

Decide what you want to measure before you launch a campaign. It’s infinitely easier to explain your value to the boss with hardcore data, rather than offering nothing but your good name to back up major marketing decisions.

4. Use your relationships

Word-of-mouth is your best salesman – harness it with a robust referral program.  When purchasers and business owners talk, they talk about business. Make the next happy hour discussion about your company, your products, and your referral program.

Got an easy way to help build your customers’ business?  Share it!  MyronLMeters.com has a stockless reseller program that’s easy, effective, and risk-free. Believe me, we tell our customers.

5. Stop promoting your brands to death and start building them

Spend money on real marketing communications – rather than just promotions – to tell folks what your brand stands for. Give them good reasons to buy your products or services that have nothing to do with a special offer or freebie. Are your products as durable as Myron L meters?  Tell people!

6. Don’t specialize in only Partial Customer Satisfaction (PCS)

The University of Michigan‘s American Customer Satisfaction Index shows that the average cross-industry customer satisfaction score has fallen below 75% — basically a C grade. It goes without saying there is tremendous room for improvement here.

7. Walk a mile in your customers’ shoes

Get to know what makes your customers tick and what problems they have, and let insights about them drive your decisions.

8. Account-based marketing is always a sure thing

If you can’t get to anything else, make the time to hug your best customers. The fastest way to increase revenue is through customers who already know and love your brand.

9. Stop ignoring social media

It’s not going away soon, and there are some tangible, measurable results to be gained by using new marketing channels such as blogs, podcasts, RSS and video.

10. Monitor your online reputation

Today companies must closely watch their online reputation. Think about how you can put a system in place to monitor and react in case of a reputation crisis in the blogosphere.

All of us at Myron L Meters would like to take a moment to thank you for your business, and to wish you the best for 2013.  Our business nearly doubled in 2012 and we have you to thank. We have great things in store for the new year – new products, new partners, expanded international shipping, and more.  Let us know how we can be a better part of your growing business.

 

Material from Marketing Darwinism by Paul Dunay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License. Original found here: http://pauldunay.com/top-10-cmo-new-years-resolutions/

 

Measuring Free Chlorine – MyronLMeters.com

TweetChlorine Residuals The presence of free chlorine in drinking water indicates that: 1) a sufficient amount of chlorine was added to the water to inactivate most of the bacteria and viruses that cause diarrheal disease; and, 2) the water is protected from recontamination during transport to the home, and during storage of water in the [...]

Chlorine Residuals
The presence of free chlorine in drinking water indicates that: 1) a sufficient amount of chlorine was added to the water to inactivate most of the bacteria and viruses that cause diarrheal disease; and, 2) the water is protected from recontamination during transport to the home, and during storage of water in the household. Because the presence of free residual chlorine in drinking water indicates the likely absence of disease-causing organisms, it is used as one measure of the potability of drinking water.

Adding Chlorine
When chlorine is added to water as a disinfectant, a series of reactions occurs. These reactions are graphically depicted later in this article. The first of these reactions occurs when organic materials and metals present in the water react with the chlorine and transform it into compounds that are unavailable for disinfection. The amount of chlorine used in these reactions is termed the chlorine demand of the water. Any remaining chlorine concentration after the chlorine demand is met is termed total chlorine. Total chlorine is further subdivided into: 1) the amount of chlorine that then reacts with nitrates present in the water and is transformed into compounds that are much less effective disinfectants than free chlorine (termed combined chlorine); and, 2) the free chlorine, which is the chlorine available to inactivate disease-causing organisms, and is thus a measure used to determine the potability of water.

For example, when chlorine is added to completely pure water the chlorine demand will be zero, and there will be no nitrates present, so no combined chlorine will be formed. Thus, the free chlorine concentration will be equal to the concentration of chlorine added. When chlorine is added to natural waters, especially water from surface sources such as rivers, organic material will exert a chlorine demand, and combined chlorine will be formed by reaction with nitrates. Thus, the free chlorine concentration will be less than the concentration of chlorine initially
added.

Chlorine Addition Flow Chart

Testing Free Chlorine in Drinking Water

Testing free chlorine is recommended in the following circumstances:
• To conduct dosage testing in project areas
• To monitor and evaluate projects by testing stored drinking water in households

The goal of dosage testing is to determine how much sodium hypochlorite solution to add to water that will be used for drinking to maintain free chlorine residual in the water for the average time of storage of water in the household (typically 24 hours). This goal differs from the goal of infrastructure-based (piped) water treatment systems, whose aim is effective disinfection at the endpoints (i.e., water taps) of the system. The WHO recommends “a residual concentration of free chlorine of greater than or equal to 0.5 mg/litre after at least 30 minutes contact time at pH less than 8.0.” This definition is only appropriate for users who obtain water directly from a flowing tap. A free chlorine level of 0.5 mg/L can maintain the quality of water through a distribution network, but is not optimal to maintain the quality of the water when it is stored in the home in a bucket or jerry can for 24 hours.

Recommendations:
1. At 1 hour after the addition of sodium hypochlorite solution to water there should be no more than 2.0 mg/L of free chlorine residual present (this ensures the water does not have an unpleasant taste or odor).
2. At 24 hours after the addition of sodium hypochlorite to water in containers that are used by families for water storage there should be a minimum of 0.2 mg/L of free chlorine residual present (this ensures microbiologically clean water).
This methodology is approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), and is graphically depicted below. The maximum allowable WHO value for free chlorine residual in drinking water is 5 mg/L. The minimum recommended WHO value for free chlorine residual in treated drinking water is 0.2 mg/L. CDC recommends not exceeding 2.0 mg/L due to taste concerns, and chlorine residual decays over time in stored water.

1. Free Chlorine as an Indicator of Sanitizing Strength

Chlorine, which kills bacteria by way of its power as an oxidizing agent, is the most popular germicide used in water treatment. Chlorine is not only used as a primary disinfectant, but also to establish a sufficient residual level of Free Available Chlorine (FAC) for ongoing disinfection.

FAC is the chlorine that remains after a certain amount is consumed by killing bacteria or reacting with other organic (ammonia, fecal matter) or inorganic (metals, dissolved CO2, Carbonates, etc) chemicals in solution. Measuring the amount of residual free chlorine in treated water is a well accepted method for determining its effectiveness in microbial control.

The Myron L Company FCE method for measuring residual disinfecting power is based on ORP, the specific chemical attribute of chlorine (and other oxidizing germicides) that kills bacteria and microbes.

2. FCE Free Chlorine Unit

The 6PIIFCE is the first handheld device to detect free chlorine directly, by measuring ORP. The ORP value is converted to a concentration reading (ppm) using a conversion table developed by Myron L Company through a series of experiments that precisely controlled chlorine levels and excluded interferants.

Other test methods typically rely on the user visually or digitally interpreting a color change resulting from an added reagent-dye. The reagent used radically alters the sample’s pH and converts the various chlorine species present into a single, easily measured species. This ignores the effect of changing pH on free chlorine effectiveness and disregards the fact that some chlorine species are better or worse sanitizers than others.

The Myron L Company 6PIIFCE avoids these pitfalls. The chemistry of the test sample is left unchanged from the source water. It accounts for the effect of pH on chlorine effectiveness by including pH in its calculation. For these reasons, the Ultrameter II’s FCE feature provides the best reading-to-reading picture of the rise and fall in sanitizing effectivity of free available chlorine.

The 6PIIFCE also avoids a common undesirable characteristic of other ORP-based methods by including a unique Predictive ORP value in its FCE calculation. This feature, based on a proprietary model for ORP sensor behavior, calculates a final stabilized ORP value in 1 to 2 minutes rather than the 10 to 15 minutes or more that is typically required for an ORP measurement.