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Ensuring the effluent quality despite fluctuations in influent flow rate and organic load to municipal wastewater treatment plants is critical. This study investigated the performance of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) in handling hydraulic and organic loading shocks during wastewater treatment. The ability of the MBR to remove COD, BOD5, and turbidity from synthetic wastewater was evaluated at steady-state and after applying five levels of organic shock loads (1.5×-4×) and four levels of hydraulic shocks (1.2×-4.7×). Due to the short-term shock-loadings no discernible effect was observed on the mixed liquor suspended solids implying biological stability. The average COD removal in MBR exposed to organic and hydraulic shock loads was 93.8% and 94%, respectively, similar to average BOD5 removals of 94.4% and 93.6%. The membrane retained suspended particles well throughout the process. However, it became quickly fouled only by applying a strong hydraulic shock. The MBR guaranteed the quality of the effluent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the morphology of the nanostructures is evaluated on the surface characterization and performance of the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) ultrafiltration mixed matrix membranes (MMM). To this end, silica nanoparticles (NPs) such as spherical (SiO2) and hexagonal mesoporous (MCM‐41) with high hydrophilicity were incorporated at 0.5, 1, and 2 wt%. Attenuated total reflectance‐Fourier transform infrared analysis illustrated the placement of NP on the surface of the MMM. Atomic force microscopy studies also showed that SiO2 NP added to PAN exhibited a smoother surface than MCM‐41 NP. Field‐emission scanning electron microscope analysis of the MMM identified that all membranes are composed of a finger‐like porous structure. Contact angle measurements indicate that the morphology of the NPs has no significant effect on MMM hydrophilicity. Moreover, the performance of the MMM was evaluated, and regardless of NP morphology, the MMM showed better permeate flux with increased loading. A higher pure water flux was observed in the PAN‐MCM41‐1% membrane (237 L/m2 h), possibly because of inherent porosity and high hydrophilicity of MCM‐41 compared to SiO2 NP. Further, the PAN‐SiO2‐1% membrane exhibited superior antifouling properties due to a lower surface roughness. The present studies reveal that the morphology of the NP greatly influence on the structure, permeation, and antifouling properties of PAN membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coupling chemical oxidation and biodegradation to remediate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-contaminated sediment has recently gained significant attention. In this study, calcium peroxide nanoparticles (nCaO 2 ) were utilized as an innovative oxygen-releasing compound for in-situ chemical oxidation. The study investigates the bioremediation of phenanthrene (PHE)-contaminated sediment inoculated with Sphingomonas sp. DSM 7526 bacteria and treated with either aeration or nCaO 2 . Using three different culture media, the biodegradation efficiencies of PHE-contaminated anoxic sediment, aerobic sediment, and sediment treated with 0.2% w/w nCaO 2 ranged from 57.45% to 63.52%, 69.87% to 71.00%, and 92.80% to 94.67%, respectively. These values were significantly higher compared to those observed in non-inoculated sediments. Additionally, the type of culture medium had a prominent effect on the amount of PHE removal. The presence of minerals in the culture medium increased the percentage of PHE removal compared to distilled water by about 2-10%. On the other hand, although the application of CaO 2 nanoparticles negatively impacted the abundance of sediment bacteria, resulting in a 30-42% decrease in colony-forming units after 30 days of treatment, the highest PHE removal was obtained when coupling biodegradation and chemical oxidation. These findings demonstrate the successful application of bioaugmentation and chemical oxidation processes for treating PAH-contaminated sediment.