ABSTRACT
Health service station is a place in which close contacts with the COVID-19 and other key populations are centralized quarantined for medical observation.A newly built health service station is equipped with 4 700 beds and a supporting sewage treatment station with a designed treatment scale of2 200 m~3/d.The treatment process consists of enhanced biological treatment system,sewage virus disinfection and sterilization system,aerosol disinfection and sterilization system and sludge disinfection and sterilization system.After treatment,the effluent and waste gas can meet the limit specified in Discharge Standard of Water Pollutants for Medical Organization （GB 18466-2005）.The average COD,NH3-N and SS in effluent are 14.53 mg/L,1.26 mg/L and 9.11 mg/L,respectively,and the average concentrations of H2S,NH3 and odor at the outlet are 0.01 mg/L,0.8 mg/L and 6.3,respectively.The sludge is disinfected regularly and then transported outside for disposal.This project can provide reference for sewage treatment design of emergency medical temporary isolation and observation facility and cabin hospital.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for the hotel industry, with rooms being converted into quarantine centres and leading to an increase in waste volume and composition. With frequent lockdowns and stringent guidelines by governments on social distancing, 60% of hotels converted 10% of their rooms into quarantine facilities, which drastically changed the composition of hotel waste (JLL, 2020). This waste may lead to environmental degradation if handled inappropriately. The primary objective of this study is to identify, compare and highlight the challenges faced in waste management practices in two different circumstances, namely pre-COVID and during-COVID, in the hotel industry. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire put to hoteliers in selected hotels in India. A total of 61 responses were recorded out of 100 respondents. Descriptive analysis indicated new practices in hotel housekeeping such as use of single-use PPE kits, arrangement of separate zones for disposing of medical waste and digitalization of services. Another interesting finding of the research is the aggravation of single-use plastic in the form of disposable crockery, cutlery and packaging of PPE kits. Lastly, the study showed an increase in operational costs and highlighted innovative procedures in existing waste management disposal practices and suggested new practices that will be of great significance for dealing with similar episodes in the future.
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The COVID-19 pandemic raised the public profile of wastewater-based infectious disease monitoring. General media coverage about wastewater detection of SARS-CoV-2 (the COVID-19 coronavirus) increased community awareness of the potential use of wastewater for the detection and surveillance of emerging diseases and also heightened recognition of the potential for wastewater to harbour and convey a variety of pathogens. This has also generated questions about the potential public health impacts of emerging pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2 and mpox, in sewage and recycled water. To ensure water security in an era of climate change, water recycling is increasingly important in Australia and other water-stressed nations and managing disease risks in integrated water management is thus of critical importance. This paper demonstrates the existing risk management provisions for recycled water and explores potential issues posed by novel and emerging pathogens. First, a synopsis of some key emerging and re-emerging human pathogens is presented and the risks associated with these pathogens in the context of recycled water provision is considered. Then, an overview of the engineered treatment systems and regulatory framework used to manage these emerging risks in Australia is presented, together with a discusion of how emerging pathogen risks can be managed to ensure safe recycled water supply now and into the future.
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The present research deals with the Risk assessment of groundwater quality. 79 groundwater samples were collected from domestic and agricultural usage open and bore wells during January 2021(COVID-19 Pandemic Period). Groundwater samples were tested to determine the physicochemical parameters using standard testing procedure for the preparation of spatial distribution maps of each parameter based on the World Health Organization (WHO) standard. Multivariate statistical analysis has shown the source of groundwater pollution from secondary leaching of chemical weathering of rocks. From the Water Quality Index and bivariate plot reveals that less than 20% of the area comes under high and very high-risk zone. The types of hardness diagram showed 32.91% of the samples fall in hard brackish water as illustrated by the Piper trilinear diagram. The research outcome result shows that the least percentage of industrials effluents due to the COVID-19 pandemic, not working for all industries during lock down period.
ABSTRACT
Sludge generation as an organic by-product of wastewater treatment has seen a consistent increase worldwide due to population growth and industrial activities. This poses a chronic challenge regarding management options and environmental concerns. The agricultural valorization of unconventional organic materials has become inevitable, especially in semi-arid and arid countries that suffer from depleted soils and shortages in farm manure supply. High-income countries have also been interested in this recycling practice to mitigate landfilling or incineration issues. Sewage and some industrial sludges contain a complex mixture of beneficial and harmful substances, which varies with the origin of effluents. Therefore, sludge land application should be well managed in order to achieve sustainable agro-environmental goals. This review paper focuses on different aspects related to sludge reuse in agriculture, starting by investigating the diversity of sludge types and composition. In addition to the preponderant urban sewage sludge, the less-studied industrial sludges, such as those generated from pulp and paper mills or gas-to-liquid industries, are hereby addressed as well. Then, post-land application effects are discussed in relation to sludge quality, dose, and reuse conditions. The present paper also examines the disparities between guidelines that determine sludge conformity for land application in various countries or regions. Accordingly, special attention is given to increasing risks related to emerging pollutants in sludge such as pharmaceuticals, which have been overused since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. This exhaustive investigation will assist the establishment of sustainable strategies for the safe agricultural reuse of biosolids.
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While virus effluent limits are yet to be promulgated through wastewater discharge permits, consideration for regulations and their resulting impact on current and future wastewater disinfection systems have long preceded the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Further, the pandemic has prompted significant pubic interested in the presence and threat of pathogens in waterways. The wastewater industry has proven its adaptability through the implementation of influent monitoring to predict coronavirus outbreaks and the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has ushered in a new perspective on both virus monitoring and potential regulation. As a result, disinfection projects occurring during the pandemic have been privy to the influence of virus-based control considerations, irrespective of official discharge regulations impacting the UV design dose for secondary effluent applications. Copyright © 2022 Water Environment Federation.
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In a modern era of unprecedented events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, energy matters now more than ever. What was previously impossible is now a challenge that should be met with measured risk and a mitigation plan. In early 2020, a service company pursued a solution to provide a compact surface well test (SWT) package for an extended well test (EWT) on an offshore production platform in the Zafaraana field with extremely high concentrations of H2S. The solution involved proper treatment and safe delivery of well effluent within acceptable H2S limits to a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility. The EWT was to be installed for a long period to allow production from the reservoir, treatment of the effluent using H2S scavenger, and delivery to the FPSO facility by means of electric transfer pumps. This was the only way to produce because the FPSO facility could not accommodate the high H2S concentrations from the reservoir. A further challenge was that it was a simultaneous operation (SIMOPs) wherein the rig was engaged in drilling and completion activities of other wells on the same offshore platform;operational conflicts were identified during the HAZOP/HAZID meeting to help mitigate potential issues. Copyright © 2023, Society of Petroleum Engineers.
ABSTRACT
Triclosan (TCS) has been proved to have a harmful effect on human health and ecological environment, especially during the COVID-19 epidemic, when plentiful antibacterial hand sanitizers were discharged. Manganese dioxide (MnO2) showed a good effect on the removal of TCS. The morphology of MnO2 was regulated in this study to increase the active sites for removing TCS and improve the removal effect. The results showed that nanoflower T-MnO2 exhibited best removal efficiency due to its high oxygen vacancy, high Mn3+ content, easily released lattice oxygen and unique tunnel structure which make its Mn-O bond easier to activate. Further study of the mechanism revealed that the process of removing TCS by MnO2 was the first adsorption and then oxidation process and the detailed reaction process was clarified. 3-chlorophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol were proved to be their oxidative product. Additionally, it was verified that oxidation dominated in the removal of TCS by MnO2 rather than adsorption through Density functional theory (DFT) calculations analysis. It is determined that nanoflower MnO2 was a promising material for removing TCS.
ABSTRACT
Contamination events in water distribution systems (WDS) are emergencies that cause public health crises and require fast response by the responsible utility manager. Various models have been developed to explore the reactions of relevant stakeholders during a contamination event, including agent-based modeling. As the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the daily habits of communities around the globe, consumer water demands have changed dramatically. In this study, an agent-based modeling framework is developed to explore social dynamics and reactions of water consumers and a utility manager to a contamination event, while considering regular and pandemic demand scenarios. Utility manager agents use graph theory algorithms to place mobile sensor equipment and divide the network in sections that are endangered of being contaminated or cleared again for water consumption. The status of respective network nodes is communicated to consumer agents in real time, and consumer agents adjust their water demands accordingly. This sociotechnological framework is presented using the overview, design, and details protocol. The results comprise comparisons of reactions and demand adjustments of consumers to a water event during normal and pandemic times, while exploring new methods to predict the fate of a contaminant plume in the WDS.
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The impacts of COVID-19 lockdowns on human life, air quality, and river water quality around the world have received significant attention. In comparison, assessments of the implications for freshwater ecosystems are relatively rare. This study explored the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on aquatic ecosystems in the Yangtze River by comparing river water quality, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish data collected at the site in the middle reach of the Yangtze River in 2018 and 2020. The results show that during COVID-19 lockdowns, the reduction in industrial and domestic effluent discharge led to a reduction in organic pollution and industrial plant nutrient pollution in rivers. Among them, PO43--P, CODMn, and TP were significantly decreased (p < 0.05). During lockdowns, nutrient supplies such as TN and TP were reduced, which led to inhibition of algae growth and decreased phytoplankton abundance. Phytoplankton affects the abundance of zooplankton through a bottom-up effect, and a decrease in phytoplankton density leads to a decrease in zooplankton density. The decrease in plankton density led to lower primary productivity in rivers, reduced fish feed supplies, intensified competition among fish populations, with increases in population dominated by high trophic level carnivorous fish. In addition, the decrease in fishing intensity has contributed to an increase in the number of rivers-sea migratory fish;the fish community was earlier mainly dominated by small-sized species with a short life cycle, and the number of supplementary populations has now increased. As a consequence, the fish community structure shows a tendency toward high complexity and high fish diversity. Overall, these observations demonstrate that the rapid revival of the retrogressive Yangtze River ecosystem is possible through limitation of anthropic interferences.
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OBJECTIVE: To understand the status of generation and management of medical waste in medical institutions of Chongqing. METHODS: By means of onsite investigation and questionnaire survey, the generation categories and current status of management of medical waste in 50 medical institutions were investigated from Oct 2021 to Apr 2022 the existing limitations and prominent problems in the whole-process management of medical waste were identified so as to enable the safe disposal of medical waste based on laws and regulations. RESULTS: The average pollutants generation coefficient of medical waste was 0.22-0.72 kg/bed.day among all the grades of hospitals, the average pollutant generation coefficient of medical waste was 0.28-2.30 kg/10 people among grass-root medical institutions. The management of medical waste was more standardized in tertiary hospitals. There were a variety of problems in management of medical waste in clinics and village clinics, such as nonstandard classification of medical waste, unreasonable site selection for temporary storage of medical waste, unsatisfactory transportation means and untimely collection and transportation of medical waste. The problems of chemical, pharmaceutical and pathological medical waste were more prominent. The costs of disposal of medical waste were not strictly implemented in accordance with standards. The packaging, storage, loading, handover and disinfection of COVID-19 medical waste have been carried out in accordance with regulations. CONCLUSION: It is necessary to further standardize the management of medical waste, explore and formulate the collection and transportation modes of medical waste in primary medical institutions, intensify the supervision of classification, collection, storage, transportation and disposal of medical waste, optimize and upgrade the medical waste management information system, and encourage subsidies for the disposal of medical waste in Chongqing medical waste disposal enterprises during the COVID-19 period.
ABSTRACT
Facile and sensitive analysis methods for pharmaceutical contaminants in aqueous environment are of vital importance for water safety, especially when large amounts of anti-viral drugs are being used, discharged and accumulated. In this work, we used functional metal-organic framework (MOF) as high-performance adsorbent for selective enrichment of such pharmaceutical contaminants in aqueous samples. The MOF was synthesized via a new synthesis method previously developed by our group and immobilized on paper membrane to be used in solid-phase extraction (SPE) device. Different metal ions were anchored by MOF to screen out the adsorbent with the best affinity. The targets were a potential anti-COVID-19 drug favipiravir, and its structural and functional analogues (ingredients or intermediates, other anti-viral drugs). To deeply understand the adsorption mechanisms, quantum calculation and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation were both applied. The experimental and in-silico results together demonstrated that the as-prepared MOF adsorbent possessed high affinity and fast dynamics. The established SPE-based liquid chromatography (LC) method worked well in the range of 10-1000 ng/mL, with only 3 mg of adsorbent per device and 5 mL sample needed, and no mass spectrometer (MS) included, which was very efficient compared to commercial adsorbents. The results met the current detection needs in the application scenario, and inspirable for later design of well-behaved adsorbents.
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The chloroxylenol (PCMX) has shown well virucidal efficacy against COVID-19, but the large-scale utilization of which will undoubtedly pose extra environmental threaten. In the present study, the recycled industrial phenylenediamine residue was used and an integrated strategy of "carbonization-casting-activation" using super low-dose of activator and templates was established to achieve in-situ N/O co-doping and facile synthesis of a kind of hierarchical hyperporous carbons (HHPC). The sample of HHPC-1.25-0.5 obtained with activator and template to residue of 1.25 and 0.5 respectively shows super-high specific surface area of 3602 m2/g and volume of 2.81 cm3/g and demonstrates remarkable adsorption capacity of 1475 mg/g for PCMX in batch and of 1148 mg/g in dynamic column adsorption test. In addition, the HHPC-1.25-0.5 exhibits excellent reusability and tolerance for PCMX adsorption under various ionic backgrounds and real water matrix conditions. The combined physio-chemistry characterization, kinetic study and DFT calculation reveal that the enhanced high performances originate from the hierarchical pore structure and strong electrostatic interaction between PCMX and surface rich pyridinic-N and carbonyl groups.
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This special issue contains 17 papers covering a range of topics related to environmental, geological, and social issues in Bangladesh. The articles use various methodologies, including statistical analysis, satellite imaging, and case studies, to explore issues such as drought, urbanization, healthcare, greenhouse gas emissions, groundwater resources, COVID-19 stigmatization, oil rim reservoir development, coal permeability, seaweed composition, hailstorms, tropical cyclones, heavy metal contamination, flood hazard assessment, and climate change vulnerability. Overall, the articles provide valuable insights and information that can inform policy and decision-making in Bangladesh.
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In this article, experts highlighted their experiences with employing a wastewater-based epidemiological surveillance (WBE) approach to track coronavirus infection levels in local communities in an online symposium. The objective of the Water Research Commission (WRC)-hosted symposium was to share knowledge on the progress that has been made in South Africa in monitoring the spread of COVID-19 using the WBE approach. With insights from collaborating partners, the establishment of South African Collaborative COVID-19 Environmental Surveillance System (SACCESS) has become one of the most significant development to date in terms of WBE surveillance in South Africa. With SACCESS and WBE, advance warnings about outbreaks can be made, such that the data collected using the WBE approach enabled researchers to predict the surge in clinical cases in April in KwaZulu-Natal three weeks before it happened. But risk is still prevalent for the health of wastewater workers or in the reuse of treated effluents, as well as the absence of WBE surveillance in non-sewered communities. With this, research has been made on developing and optimising the methodology for SARS-CoV-2 detection, quantification and monitoring in different types of samples from non-sewered environments. The detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in 98% of the wastewater samples collected has demonstrated the proof of concept for using WBE surveillance to track COVID-19. Continued WBE sampling at priority sites will allow for the expansion of pandemic trend monitoring. In terms of the impact on public health decision-making, only the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Provincial Department of Health have incorporated WBE into their local responses.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most unprecedented crises of recent decades with a global effect on society and the economy. It has triggered changes in the behavior and consumption patterns of both final consumer and industrial consumers. The consumption patterns of industrial consumers are also influenced by changes in consumer values, environmental regulations, and technological developments. One of the technological highlights of the last decade is biocomposite materials being increasingly used by the packaging industry. The pandemic has highlighted the problems and challenges of the development of biocomposites to adapt to new market conditions. This study aims to investigate the industrial consumption of biocomposite materials and the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the main stages of the value chain of sustainable industrial consumption of biocomposites. The research results reveal there is a growing interest in the use of biocomposites. Suppliers and processors of raw materials are being encouraged to optimize and adapt cleaner production processes in the sustainable transition pathway. The study highlights the positive impact of COVID-19 on the feedstock production, raw material processing, and packaging manufacturing stages of the value chain as well as the neutral impact on the product manufacturing stage and negative impact on the retail stage. The companies willing to move toward the sustainable industrial chain have to incorporate economic, environmental, social, stakeholder, volunteer, resilience, and long-term directions within their strategies.
ABSTRACT
The design principles of decentralised wastewater treatment systems (DEWATS) make them a practical sanitation option for municipalities to adopt in fast-growing cities in South Africa. Since 2014, a demonstration-scale DEWATS with a modular design consisting of a settler, anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR), anaerobic filter (AF), vertical down-flow constructed wetland (VFCW) and horizontal flow constructed wetland (HFCW) has been in operation in eThekwini. A performance evaluation after the long-term operation was undertaken in 2019 by comparing the final effluent with national regulatory requirements. Despite limitations in characterising the raw wastewater, a comparison of the settler and final effluent quality indicated high (≥ 85%) removal efficiencies of total chemical oxygen demand (CODt), ammonium-N (NH4-N) and orthophosphate-P (PO4-P), 75% removal of total suspended solids (TSS) and 83.3% log10 removal of Escherichia coli. Lack of exogenous and endogenous carbon and high dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations (> 0.5 mg·L−1) inhibited denitrification in the HFCW, resulting in 12.5% of the effluent samples achieving compliance for nitrate-N (NO3-N). Moreover, mixed aggregate media and low residence times in the HFCW may have also contributed to poor NO3-N removal. During the COVID-19 lockdown, an unexpected shutdown and subsequent resumption of flow to the DEWATS indicated a 16-week recovery time based on achieving full nitrification in the HFCW. Although design modifications are necessary for the HFCW, the installation of urine diversion flushing toilets at the household level will reduce the nutrient loading to the DEWATS and potentially achieve fully compliant effluent. Alternatively, the application of two-stage vertical flow constructed wetlands to improve denitrification should also be explored in the South African context. With an improved design, DEWATS has the potential to fill the gap in both urban and rural sanitation in South Africa, where waterborne sanitation is still desired but connections to conventional wastewater treatment works (WWTWs) are not possible. © The Author(s) Published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0).
ABSTRACT
Effects of Olive Mill Wastewater and Two Natural Extracts as Nitrification Inhibitors on Activity of Nitrifying Bacteria, Soil Nitrate Leaching Loss, and Nitrogen Metabolism of Celery (Apium graveolens L.). Minimizing nitrification of fertilizer ammonium (NH4 +) can reduce nitrate (NO3 -) contamination of groundwater and increase nitrogen (N) use efficiency (NUE). Olive mill wastewater (OMW), hydroalcoholic extracts of Mentha piperita L.(Mp) and Artemisia annua L.(Aa), and the synthetic nitrification inhibitor (NI) dicyandiamide (DCD) were investigated. The three natural products and DCD reduced activity of nitrifying bacteria and decreased NO3 - leached, compared to the untreated control. OMW proved to be an almost equally effective natural alternative to DCD as a NI.
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These proceedings contain 18 papers presenting and discussing the current environmental issues in Indonesia including monitoring of environmental pollution, role of environmental laboratory and set up national standard of environmental monitoring;circular economy and environmental quality management by businesses and relevant activities;mercury pollution, progress of National Action Plan for mercury reduction and elimination as a part of the ratification of Minamata Convention on Mercury;medical wastes and disposal concerning Covid-19 pandemic and antibiotically resistance;domestic waste, hazardous and poisonous materials and wastes;restoration and remediation of contaminated lands;and freshwater litters.
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Natural aggregates are being depleted due to the high demand for road and building construction and need to be replaced with alternative materials. This study investigated the potential of using Palm kernel shells (PaKS) as a partial replacement for natural aggregates (NA) and waste plastics (WP) as a binder. The physical and volumetric properties of the different asphaltic mixes (AM) were assessed using the Marshall Method. The bitumen content of the mix design samples was varied from 4.0% to 7.5% of the total weight of aggregates utilized. According to the Marshall parameters, at 5.5% bitumen content, the maximum Marshall Stability value of the different mix designs increased from 9.8 kN to 12.1 kN and the flow value increased from 3.0 mm to 3.7 mm. The experimental results based on the optimum bitumen content determined by the Marshall method demonstrate that PaKS and WP can be utilized to modify AM. However, additional tests will be needed to evaluate the use of this composition in road construction.