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The heavy metal removal from wastewater is very important due to their persistent character in aquatic environment. The use of wooden sawdust is emerging as a potential alternative to the existing conventional technologies for the removal of metal ions from aqueous solutions. The aim of this work is to study the Cu(II) removal of from water by unconventional waste products including the wooden sawdust of poplar, cherry, spruce and hornbeam. The FT-IR spectra of the studied wooden sawdust confirmed the presence of functional groups that have potential for heavy metal binding. The highest efficiency of Cu(II) removal was observed for poplar wooden sawdust at static (86 %) and dynamic (88 %) adsorption experiments. Data obtained by neutron activation analysis revealed that ion exchange is also a mechanism of metal removal by the selected wooden sawdust.

Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is the most common pollution related to mining. It consists of an aqueous solution containing high metals and sulphate concentration, which impact surface and groundwater and lead to serious environmental problems. Low pH and high concentrations of heavy metals and sulphates are limiting for many various treatment technologies in these acidic waters. Ion - exchange is a very powerful technology where one or more undesirable contaminants are removed from water by exchange with another non-objectionable or less objectionable substance. Many of materials for the ion - exchange treatment is available in a variety forms and have widely differing chemical and physical properties. The paper deals with study of ion - exchange process under static and dynamic conditions for sulphate removal from acidic waters using ion - exchange resin with the aim to apply the results for treatment of acid mine drainage. Two types of experiments were performed under static and dynamic conditions. The efficiency of AMBERLITE MB20 resin for SO4 2- removal from model solution H2SO4 under static conditions decreases from 86.6 % for concentration 100 mg/L to efficiency 66.9 % for concertation 1000 mg/L. The efficiency for sulphate removal from AMD was only 41%. The study also presents three experiments under dynamic conditions, one with new ion - exchange resin a two experiments with its regenerated form. It was find that ion-exchange capacity decreases numbers of regeneration steps.

This study aimed to improve the control system of the biological stage of wastewater treatment using the quality control information system to support the concept of environmental efficiency management. In this case, the object of the study was the treatment facilities of Sumy city (Ukraine). For automatic control of wastewater quality, pH, oxidation reduction potential (ORP), electrical conductivity, and temperature indicators were taken, as well as hydrobiological analysis of activated sludge and mathematical modelling. The pH of wastewater at the input system has systematically unacceptable values (above 8.5 were recorded). Unacceptable concentrations of sulphur-containing toxicants arrive at the entrance of treatment facilities (0.22–1.3 mg/L). The response of activated sludge biocenosis to increasing concentrations of hydrogen sulphide in wastewater was analysed. Furthermore, a mathematical model of monoculture population growth, with two factors that affect population growth (nutrient concentration and monoculture production concentration), was implemented for the initial assessment of possible negative effects on wastewater treatment. The differential equation of the population dynamics of the i-th species of microorganisms in activated sludge was described. The applied system of automated monitoring of wastewater parameters with expert assessment of activated sludge and a unified mathematical model of approaches allows for a complex system of decision-making support to be realised. However, this requires the construction of mathematical models that would take into account the cause–effect relations that operate under conditions of incomplete technological information and the potential presence of emergencies due to natural disasters and military activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some kinds of natural organic materials have a potential for removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater. It is well known that cellulosic waste materials or by-products can be used as cheap adsorbents in chemical treatment process. In this paper, poplar wood sawdust were used for removal of Cu(II), Zn(II) and Fe(II) ions from model solutions with using the static and dynamic adsorption experiments. Infrared spectrometry of poplar wood sawdust confirmed the presence of the functional groups which correspond with hemicelluloses, cellulose and lignin. At static adsorption was achieved approximately of 80 % efficiency for all treated model solutions. Similar efficiency of the adsorption processes was reached after 5 min at dynamic condition. The highest efficiency of Cu(II) removal (98 %) was observed after 30 min of dynamic adsorption. Changes of pH values confirmed a mechanism of ion exchange on the beginning of the adsorption process.

Sulphates in wastewaters have an origin as the by-products of a variety of industrial operations. A specific and major producer of such effluents, which contained sulphates and heavy metals, is the mining industry. These contaminants should be removed from wastewater using an adequate process of treatment.

Bioleaching processes were used to solubilize metals (Cu, Ni, Zn and Al) from printed circuit boards (PCBs). In this study, a PCBs-adapted pure culture of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, pure culture of Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans and PCBs-adapted mixed culture of A. ferrooxidans and A. thiooxidans were used for recovery of the metals. The study showed that the mixed bacterial culture has the greatest potential to dissolve metals. The maximum metal bioleaching efficiencies were found to be 100, 92, 89 and 20% of Cu, Ni, Zn and Al, respectively. The mixed culture revealed higher bacterial stability. The main factor responsible for high metal recovery was the ability of the mixed culture to maintain the low pH during the whole process. The pure culture of A. thiooxidans had no significant effect on metal bioleaching from PCBs.

Geochemical modeling plays an increasingly vital role in a number of areas of geoscience, ranging from groundwater and surface water hydrology to environmental preservation and remediation. Geochemical modeling is also used to model the interaction processes at the water - sediment interface in acid mine drainage (AMD). AMD contains high concentrations of sulfate and dissolved metals and it is a serious environmental problem in eastern Slovakia. The paper is focused on comparing the results of laboratory precipitation of metal ions from AMD (the Smolnik creek, Slovakia) with the results obtained by geochemical modeling software Visual Minteq 3.0.

The applicability of the natural and MnO2-coated zeolite as sorbent for the removal of Mn(II) from synthetic solutions has been investigated. Batch experiments were carried out to determine the influence of pH and Mn(II) concentration on the sorption process. A maximum removal efficiency (98.9%) was observed for modified zeolite with the concentration of 10 mg/dm³ of manganese in solution. The equilibrium data showed a very good correlation for both Langmuir and Freundlich sorption models and this suggests both monolayer adsorption and a heterogeneous surface existence. Maximum sorption capacity calculated from the Langmuir model constituted 5.57 mg/g for natural zeolite and 13.41 mg/g for modified zeolite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]