Evaluation of flocculation and dissolved air flotation as an advanced wastewater treatment.
A bench scale study was carried out in order to evaluate the applicability of dissolved air flotation (DAF) as an advanced treatment for effluents from three different domestic wastewater treatment processes, namely: (i) a tertiary activated sludge plant; (ii) an upflow sludge blanket anaerobic reactor (UASB); and (iii) a high-rate stabilization pond.
Evaluating coagulation pretreatment on poultry processing wastewater for dissolved air flotation
Eleven metal coagulants and one polyelectrolyte were assessed for their suitability in assisting a dissolved air flotation (DAF) system aimed at treating poultry processing wastewater. Preliminary jar tests determined that a combination of 800 mg/L of FeCl3 (ferric chloride) and 900 mg/L of Floccin 1115 would provide the best treatment by removing at least 98% of the total suspended solids (TSS) and 97% of the volatile suspended solids (VSS), while providing a 97% increase in water clarity. Final flotation tests suggested that the flocculated particles could be carried to the surface with 40% recycle ratio of the DAF. The resulting supernatant indicated 94.7% increase in clarity (± 1.4%), 97.3% reduction in TSS (± 0.5%), 96.6% reduction in VSS (±1.1%), 91% reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD), and nearly 100% removal of fats, oils, and greases (FOGs). Despite the high removal efficiencies, flotation was found not to be critically necessary for treatment because the high concentration of coagulants caused settling of the flocs to occur just as rapidly. Potential coagulant overdosing is suspected at the higher end of the tested coagulant concentrations due to limited alkalinity in the wastewater. However, lack of residual metal (coagulant) ions in water may be linked to reactions leading to phosphate precipitation. The exact effect of the competing phosphate reaction on treatment efficiency is not clearly evident from this present study.
Evaluation of buckling load and dynamic performance of steel shear wall retrofitted with strips made of shape memory alloy
One of the most imperfections of the steel shear wall is out of plane displacements that cause severe damage in both structural and non-structural elements. In this paper, the effects of shape-memory alloys on steel shear walls are investigated. First, a numerical analysis using the finite element method in ABAQUS software has been carried out according to an experimental test. The results of the numerical analysis have been verified with experimental results. Next, shape-memory alloy fibers have been added vertically and horizontally to various parts of the steel shear wall. The results show that retrofitting with the shape-memory alloy reduces the out-of-plane displacement of the steel shear wall under both cyclic and seismic loadings. Besides, the buckling load in the steel shear wall increases when it is retrofitted with the shape-memory alloy. Also, the total out-of-plane movement (accumulated absolute displacements) of the steel shear wall and non-structural damage are controlled by the characteristic of a shape-memory alloy material called “super-elastic”.