Nitrification and the Removal of Micropollutants from Wastewater

2. Nitrification and the Removal of Micropollutants from Wastewater AzSGC SpaceGrant Mentor Dr. Robert Arnold Chemical and Environmental Engineering University of Arizona SpaceGrant Intern Dave Newman Civil Engineering University of Arizona Arizona SpaceGrant Consortium Undergraduate Research Internship Program Symposium April 18, 2008

3. Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) AzSGC • Chemicals that mimic or block hormones and disrupt normal functions • Concentrations in environment are generally in the 1 to 100 parts per trillion range (ng/L) • Structural commonalities include aromatic rings and large size • Ecological effects include gonadal egg development and skewed sex ratios Estrone 17b-Estradiol Estriol Ethinyl Estradiol Kidd et al 2007 Nonylphenol

4. Measured Concentrations for 30 Frequently Detected Organic Wastewater Contaminants AzSGC Kolpin et al 2002 = Known Estrogenic Effects

5. Micropollutants in the Environment AzSGC Kolpin et al 2002 AP/CNN 03/10/08

6. EDCs in Wastewater Treatment AzSGC • Wastewater represents ongoing point source as well as centralized treatment opportunity • AC, MBR, ozonation, UV radiation, ultra filtration and advanced oxidation have, at times, indicated high removal efficiencies • However, most common treatment process in US is Activated Sludge (AS) • Nitrifying AS systems have indicated increased removal efficiency over non-nitrifying AS systems • Required US infrastructure improvements/upgrades estimated in hundreds of billions • Jones et al 2007 estimated advanced treatment strategies 1.5 to 2.5 times more expensive than conventional AS Nitrification >10 days Clara et al 2004

7. Study Objectives and Design AzSGC • Objectives • Establish a bench-scale, completely-mixed AS reactor • Operate reactor over nitrifying and non-nitrifying conditions • Dose influent with nonylphenol and investigate treatment performance p-Nonylphenol Pumps CMAS Reactor Clarified Effluent Clarifier BioStat MD Control Unit Synthetic Wastewater

8. The Research Process AzSGC • Equipment • Refrigerator, Pumps, BioStat, Glass, Piping • Reactor Parameters and WW Recipe • V = 1 L, q = 6 hr, Q = 4 L/d • Synthetic WW (Esperanza et al 2004) • AS Seeding and Pilot Testing • Inoculated w/ sludge from Ina Road BNR Train • Operate system hydraulically • Issues and Hurdles • Hydraulic and Mechanical “Between the Idea and the Reality…Lies the Shadow” (T.S. Elliot)

9. Field Results AzSGC • Ina Road Water Pollution Control Facility • Activated Sludge • 2 Treatment Trains (Nitrifying and Non-Nitrifying) • Measured Estrogenic Activity using in vitro Bioassay Courtesy of Bingfeng Dong, Ph.D. Student, UA, CHEE

10. Future Work AzSGC • Batch Reactor “Proof of Concept” • Investigate nitrification via Ion Chromatograph • 200 mL batch reactor, seeded with CMAS sludge • Dose with nonylphenol (NP) • Allow to operate for 5 days • Measure NP using GC-ECD • Run CMAS as continuous flow • Operate over range of sludge ages • Dose with other EDCs?

11. Acknowledgements AzSGC Dr. Bob Arnold, SpaceGrant Mentor Dr. Eduardo Saez Brian Barbaris Bingfeng Dong & Alandra Kahl Susan Brew Matt Giardina & AzSGC Staff Sondra Teske Jeff and Mario Arla Allen Charley Amling & UA Glass Shop

12. Questions or Comments? AzSGC