TiO2-Coated Optical Fibres for Groundwater Remediation.

In this study, polyethylene glycol (PEG) was tested as an alternative polymer to improve the coating of TiO2 particles onto optical fibres. The addition of PEG helped dispersing effectively the particles in solution to control their deposition and therefore achieving better properties of the coating film. Results showed that PEG increased the effectiveness of the coating and the prepared fibres showed better performance for the removal of methylene blue (MB). This was attributed to the morphological changes induced by PEG. EDX mapping of the fibre surface showed that the addition of PEG lead to a better coverage of the fibre surface; increasing the active surface area for subsequent photocatalytic degradation. This study also showed that the light intensity, pH and initial concentration of MB have a significant influence. Finally, it was demonstrated that the coatings using PEG were better ordered and structured; showing a distinct layer-by-layer deposition.

Combining high performance fertiliser with surfactants to reduce the reverse solute flux in the fertiliser drawn forward osmosis process.

Solutions to mitigate the reverse diffusion of solutes are critical to the successful commercialisation of the fertiliser drawn forward osmosis process. In this study, we proposed to combine a high performance fertiliser (i.e., ammonium sulfate or SOA) with surfactants as additives as an approach to reduce the reverse diffusion of ammonium ions. Results showed that combining SOA with both anionic and non-ionic surfactants can help in reducing the reverse salt diffusion by up to 67%. We hypothesised that, hydrophobic interactions between the surfactant tails and the membrane surface likely constricted membrane pores resulting in increased rejection of ions with large hydrated radii such as SO42-. By electroneutrality, the rejection of the counter ions (i.e., NH4+) also therefore subsequently improved. Anionic surfactant was found to further decrease the reverse salt diffusion due to electrostatic repulsions between the surfactant negatively-charged heads and SO42-. However, when the feed solution contains cations with small hydrated radii (e.g., Na+); it was found that NH4+ ions can be substituted in the DS to maintain its electroneutrality and thus the diffusion of NH4+ to the feed solution was increased.

Evaluating the effect of different draw solutes in a baffled osmotic membrane bioreactor-microfiltration using optical coherence tomography with real wastewater.

This study investigated the performance of an integrated osmotic and microfiltration membrane bioreactor for real sewage employing baffles in the reactor. To study the biofouling development on forward osmosis membranes optical coherence tomography (OCT) technique was employed. On-line monitoring of biofilm growth on a flat sheet cellulose triacetate forward osmosis (CTA-FO) membrane was conducted for 21 days. Further, the process performance was evaluated in terms of water flux, organic and nutrient removal, microbial activity in terms of soluble microbial products (SMP) and extracellular polymeric substance (EPS), and floc size. The measured biofouling layer thickness was in the order sodium chloride (NaCl) > ammonium sulfate (SOA) > potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4). Very high organic removal (96.9 ±â€¯0.8%) and reasonably good nutrient removal efficiency (85.2 ±â€¯1.6% TN) was achieved. The sludge characteristics and biofouling layer thickness suggest that less EPS and higher floc size were the governing factors for less fouling.

Assessing the removal of organic micropollutants by a novel baffled osmotic membrane bioreactor-microfiltration hybrid system.

A novel approach was employed to study removal of organic micropollutants (OMPs) in a baffled osmotic membrane bioreactor-microfiltration (OMBR-MF) hybrid system under oxicanoxic conditions. The performance of OMBR-MF system was examined employing three different draw solutes (DS), and three model OMPs. The highest forward osmosis (FO) membrane rejection was attained with atenolol (100%) due to its higher molar mass and positive charge. With inorganic DS caffeine (94-100%) revealed highest removal followed by atenolol (89-96%) and atrazine (16-40%) respectively. All three OMPs exhibited higher removal with organic DS as compared to inorganic DS. Significant anoxic removal was observed for atrazine under very different redox conditions with extended anoxic cycle time. This can be linked with possible development of different microbial consortia responsible for diverse enzymes secretion. Overall, the OMBR-MF process showed effective removal of total organic carbon (98%) and nutrients (phosphate 97% and total nitrogen 85%), respectively.

Simultaneous phosphorous and nitrogen recovery from source-separated urine: A novel application for fertiliser drawn forward osmosis.

Re-thinking our approach to dealing with waste is one of the major challenges in achieving a more sustainable society. However, it could also generate numerous opportunities. Specifically, in the context of wastewater, nutrients, energy and water could be mined from it. Because of its exceptionally high nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) concentration, human urine is particularly suitable to be processed for fertiliser production. In the present study, forward osmosis (FO) was employed to mine the P and N from human urine. Two Mg2+-fertilisers, i.e. MgSO4 and Mg(NO3)2 were selected as draw solution (DS) to dewater synthetic non-hydrolysed urine. In this process, the Mg2+ reverse salt flux (RSF) were used to recover P as struvite. Simultaneously, the urea was recovered in the DS as it is poorly rejected by the FO membrane. The results showed that, after concentrating the urine by 60%, about 40% of the P and 50% of the N were recovered. XRD and SEM - EDX analysis confirmed that P was precipitated as mineral struvite. If successfully tested on real urine, this process could be applied to treat the urine collected in urban areas e.g., high-rise building. After the filtration, the solid struvite could be sold for inland applications whereas the diluted fertiliser used for direct fertigation of green walls, parks or for urban farming. Finally, reduction in the load of N, P to the downstream wastewater treatment plant would also ensure a more sustainable urban water cycle.

Methane production in an anaerobic osmotic membrane bioreactor using forward osmosis: Effect of reverse salt flux.

This study investigated the impact of reverse salt flux (RSF) on microbe community and bio-methane production in a simulated fertilizer driven FO-AnMBR system using KCl, KNO3 and KH2PO4 as draw solutes. Results showed that KH2PO4 exhibited the lowest RSF in terms of molar concentration 19.1mM/(m2.h), while for KCl and KNO3 it was 32.2 and 120.8mM/(m2.h), respectively. Interestingly, bio-methane production displayed an opposite order with KH2PO4, followed by KCl and KNO3. Pyrosequencing results revealed the presence of different bacterial communities among the tested fertilizers. Bacterial community of sludge exposed to KH2PO4 was very similar to that of DI-water and KCl. However, results with KNO3 were different since the denitrifying bacteria were found to have a higher percentage than the sludge with other fertilizers. This study demonstrated that RSF has a negative effect on bio-methane production, probably by influencing the sludge bacterial community via environment modification.

Performance of a novel baffled osmotic membrane bioreactor-microfiltration hybrid system under continuous operation for simultaneous nutrient removal and mitigation of brine discharge.

The present study investigated the performance of an integrated osmotic and microfiltration membrane bioreactor system for wastewater treatment employing baffles in the reactor. Thus, this reactor design enables both aerobic and anoxic processes in an attempt to reduce the process footprint and energy costs associated with continuous aeration. The process performance was evaluated in terms of water flux, salinity build up in the bioreactor, organic and nutrient removal and microbial activity using synthetic reverse osmosis (RO) brine as draw solution (DS). The incorporation of MF membrane was effective in maintaining a reasonable salinity level (612-1434mg/L) in the reactor which resulted in a much lower flux decline (i.e. 11.48-6.98LMH) as compared to previous studies. The stable operation of the osmotic membrane bioreactor-forward osmosis (OMBR-FO) process resulted in an effective removal of both organic matter (97.84%) and nutrient (phosphate 87.36% and total nitrogen 94.28%), respectively.

Influence of fertilizer draw solution properties on the process performance and microbial community structure in a side-stream anaerobic fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis - ultrafiltration bioreactor.

In this study, a side-stream anaerobic fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis (FDFO) and ultrafiltration (UF) membrane bioreactor (MBR) hybrid system was proposed and operated for 55days. The FDFO performance was first investigated in terms of flux decline with various fertilizers draw solution. Flux decline was very severe with all fertilizers due to the absence of aeration and the sticky property of sludge. Flux recovery by physical cleaning varied significantly amongst tested fertilizers which seriously affected biofouling in FDFO via reverse salt flux (RSF). Besides, RSF had a significant impact on nutrient accumulation in the bioreactor. These results indicated that nutrient accumulation negatively influenced the anaerobic activity. To elucidate these phenomena, bacterial and archaeal community structures were analyzed by pyrosequencing. Results showed that bacterial community structure was affected by fertilizer properties with less impact on archaeal community structure, which resulted in a reduction in biogas production and an increase in nitrogen content.

Evaluation of fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis for sustainable agriculture and water reuse in arid regions.

The present study focused on the performance of the FDFO process to achieve simultaneous water reuse from wastewater and production of nutrient solution for hydroponic application. Bio-methane potential (BMP) measurements were firstly carried out to determine the effect of osmotic concentration of wastewater achieved in the FDFO process on the anaerobic activity. Results showed that 95% water recovery from the FDFO process is the optimum value for further AnMBR treatment. Nine different fertilizers were then tested based on their FO performance (i.e. water flux, water recovery and reverse salt flux) and final nutrient concentration. From this initial screening, ammonium phosphate monobasic (MAP), ammonium sulfate (SOA) and mono-potassium phosphate were selected for long term experiments to investigate the maximum water recovery achievable. After the experiments, hydraulic membrane cleaning was performed to assess the water flux recovery. SOA showed the highest water recovery rate, up to 76% while KH2PO4 showed the highest water flux recovery, up to 75% and finally MAP showed the lowest final nutrient concentration. However, substantial dilution was still necessary to comply with the standards for fertigation even if the recovery rate was increased.

Adsorption and Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue Using Potassium Polytitanate and Solar Simulator.

Solar photocatalytic degradation of organic water pollutants can be used to degrade toxic organic pollutants in water. In this study, potassium titanate nanofibres were synthesized by an aqueous peroxide route at high pH and examined as photocatalysts for photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) using a solar simulator. Initially, MB was adsorbed on the surface of potassium polytitanates to achieve adsorption equilibrium before the photocatalysts were illuminated using solar simulator. The results showed that potassium polytitanate nanofibres were effective adsorbents of MB and also facilitated its photocatalytic degradation. Sulphate ion evolution during photocatalysis confirmed that some mineralisation occurred and hence photo-oxidative degradation of MB took place. The optimum operational conditions for the photocatalytic degradation of MB were found at 0.05 g/L of photocatalyst load, 10 mg/L MB and pH 7. The stability and regeneration of the photocatalyst specimen was also studied for 3 degradation cycles using adsorption/photocatalysis model. Morphological structure analysis of potassium titanate showed nanocrystallines structure of longitudinally-oriented isolated fibre with a length up to several micrometres with diameters ranging from 10 to 20 nanometres.

Selection of suitable fertilizer draw solute for a novel fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis-anaerobic membrane bioreactor hybrid system.

In this study, a protocol for selecting suitable fertilizer draw solute for anaerobic fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (AnFDFOMBR) was proposed. Among eleven commercial fertilizer candidates, six fertilizers were screened further for their FO performance tests and evaluated in terms of water flux and reverse salt flux. Using selected fertilizers, bio-methane potential experiments were conducted to examine the effect of fertilizers on anaerobic activity due to reverse diffusion. Mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP) showed the highest biogas production while other fertilizers exhibited an inhibition effect on anaerobic activity with solute accumulation. Salt accumulation in the bioreactor was also simulated using mass balance simulation models. Results showed that ammonium sulfate and MAP were the most appropriate for AnFDFOMBR since they demonstrated less salt accumulation, relatively higher water flux, and higher dilution capacity of draw solution. Given toxicity of sulfate to anaerobic microorganisms, MAP appears to be the most suitable draw solution for AnFDFOMBR.

Assessing the aggregation behaviour of iron oxide nanoparticles under relevant environmental conditions using a multi-method approach.

Iron nanoparticles are becoming increasingly popular for the treatment of contaminated soil and groundwater; however, their mobility and reactivity in subsurface environments are significantly affected by their tendency to aggregate. Assessing their stability under environmental conditions is crucial for determining their environmental fate. A multi-method approach (including different size-measurement techniques and the DLVO theory) was used to thoroughly characterise the behaviour of iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe2O3NPs) under environmentally relevant conditions. Although recent studies have demonstrated the importance of using a multi-method approach when characterising nanoparticles, the majority of current studies continue to use a single-method approach. Under some soil conditions (i.e. pH 7, 10 mM NaCl and 2 mM CaCl2) and increasing particle concentration, Fe2O3NPs underwent extensive aggregation to form large aggregates (>1 µm). Coating the nanoparticles with dissolved organic matter (DOM) was investigated as an alternative "green" solution to overcoming the aggregation issue instead of using the more commonly proposed polyelectrolytes. At high concentrations, DOM effectively covered the surface of the Fe2O3NPs, thereby conferring negative surface charge on the particles across a wide range of pH values. This provided electrostatic stabilisation and considerably reduced the particle aggregation effect. DOM-coated Fe2O3NPs also proved to be more stable under high ionic strength conditions. The presence of CaCl2, however, even at low concentrations, induced the aggregation of DOM-coated Fe2O3NPs, mainly via charge neutralisation and bridging. This has significant implications in regards to the reactivity and fate of these materials in the environment.

Characterisation of Fe-oxide nanoparticles coated with humic acid and Suwannee River natural organic matter.

Iron oxide nanoparticles are becoming increasingly popular for various applications including the treatment of contaminated soil and groundwater; however, their mobility and reactivity in the subsurface environment are significantly affected by their tendency to aggregate. One solution to overcome this issue is to coat the nanoparticles with dissolved organic matter (DOM). The advantages of DOM over conventional surface modifiers are that DOM is naturally abundant in the environment, inexpensive, non-toxic and readily adsorbed onto the surface of metal oxide nanoparticles. In this study, humic acid (HA) and Suwannee River natural organic matter (SRNOM) were tested and compared as surface modifiers for Fe2O3 nanoparticles (NPs). The DOM-coated Fe2O3 NPs were characterised by various analytical methods including: flow field-flow fractionation (FlFFF), high performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The stability of the coated NPs was then evaluated by assessing their aggregation and disaggregation behaviour over time. Results showed that both HA and SRNOM were rapidly and readily adsorbed on the surface of Fe2O3 NPs, providing electrosteric stabilisation over a wide range of pH. HPSEC results showed that the higher molecular weight components of DOM were preferentially adsorbed onto the surface of Fe2O3. As SRNOM consists of macromolecules with a higher molecular weight than HA, the measured size of the SRNOM-coated Fe2O3 NPs was 30% larger than the HA-coated Fe2O3 NPs. FTIR results indicated the occurrence of hydrogen bonding arising from electrostatic interaction between the DOM and Fe2O3 NPs. Finally, a stability study showed that after 14 days, small agglomerates and aggregates were formed. The HA-coated Fe2O3 NPs formed agglomerates which were easily disaggregated using a vortex mixer, with the coated NPs returning to their initial size. However, SRNOM-coated Fe2O3 NPs were only partially disaggregated using the same method, which indicates that these aggregates have a more compact structure.