Total Dissolved Solids Reduction Research Articles

Development of Rainwater Filtration System with Porous Asphalt

Rainwater that is not properly collected causes stagnant water, where the water will be polluted by pollutants and contaminants. Thus, it is necessary to innovate to increase the availability of clean water using porous asphalt which is researched to reduce pollutants in polluted water. In this study, filtration of rainwater and stormwater runoff will be carried out using porous asphalt as a filter media with six different filtrate variations. Parameters analysed were pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), and conductivity. The tests carried out were Optimum Asphalt Content (OAC) testing using the Marshall test method with a percentage of asphalt content used was 4-6%, Cantabro Loss testing, porosity, and permeability tests on porous asphalt specimens, as well as testing the filtration effect of porous asphalt. Rainwater and stormwater runoff that flowed through porous asphalt samples without the addition of filter media increased pH, TDS, and conductivity. In rainwater and stormwater runoff filtration, the highest increase in pH occurred in variation 3, namely porous asphalt + aggregate + limestone. The largest reduction in TDS and conductivity values occurred in Variation 7, namely porous asphalt + aggregate + coconut shell activated carbon + sponge + cotton.

A Study of the Effects of Alum and PAC on the Coagulation Process of Dug Well Water

The local population of Pal IX Village in West Kalimantan heavily depends on dug wells as their main source of obtaining clean water. The prolonged consumption of elevated concentrations of manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe) in water sourced from dug wells have neurotoxic effects on both adults and children. Therefore, it is imperative to employ alum and PAC coagulants for the treatment of dug well water in order to comply with the established national quality standard. However, the utilization of both coagulants resulted in elevation in the levels of iron (Fe), hence restricting the capacity to satisfy the quality standards. An augmentation in the mass of the coagulant is associated with a decline in the reduction efficiency. It is indicated that utilizing a mass of 0.5 grams of alum coagulant is the most favorable choice, resulting in a reduced of 50.14% for total dissolved solids (TDS), 86.25% for color, 97.70% for turbidity, and 94.48% for the concentration of Mn metal. By PAC coagulant, it has been determined that an ideal coagulant mass of 0.5 gram produces favorable outcomes with a TDS reduction of 45.08%, a color reduction of 97.71%, a turbidity reduction of 97.22%, and a Mn reduction of 95.04%.

Implementation of vacuum distillation system at PPLi: A case study on high-concentrated waste treatment and water recycling

This case study presents the successful implementation of a vacuum distillation system at PPLi for treatment of high-concentrated waste, with a focus on water recycling. The vacuum distillation unit employs advanced thermal heating and evaporation processes, facilitated by reduced pressure, to effectively separate contaminants from the waste stream. Operational parameters, including waste type, feed rate, temperature settings, and vacuum level, were meticulously optimized to achieve optimal treatment efficiency. The study conducted experimental trials over six months, rigorously monitoring and analyzing the treated water quality for chemical composition, total dissolved solids (TDS), and other relevant parameters. Results showed a remarkable reduction in TDS and chemical contaminants, ensuring compliance with stringent regulatory standards. Additionally, the case study explored potential reuse and recovery options for the separated concentrated waste. Laboratory tests examined the feasibility of utilizing the waste residues for energy generation or as raw materials for other processes. The successful implementation of the vacuum distillation system at PPLi underscores its practicality and effectiveness in treating high-concentrated waste while facilitating water recycling. This achievement represents a significant step towards reducing environmental impacts associated with waste disposal and conserving precious water resources. The insights gained from this study serve as a valuable reference for industrial facilities seeking sustainable waste management solutions, fostering a circular economy approach and promoting responsible environmental stewardship.

Total Dissolved Solids Risk Assessment and Optimisation Scheme of Managed Aquifer Recharge Projects in a Karst Area of Northern China

Jinan, China, is famous for its springs. However, societal and economic development over the past decades has detrimentally altered the natural water cycle in the spring area. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is an effective measure to ensure the normal gushing of springs. Balancing water resource utilisation, ecological effects, and water quality risks is not always easy to implement. This study focused on the potential effects of MAR projects that divert water from multiple local surface water sites, e.g., the Yellow River and South-to-North Water Diversion (SNWD) Project. A numerical simulation model for the entire spring area was built using MODFLOW and MT3DMS. The SNWD Project diverts water with relatively high total dissolved solids (TDS) to the Yufu River, which consequently recharges groundwater and poses a potential risk to the downstream karst water in the Jinan Spring area. Different simulation scenarios were set, and the results showed that the 90% recovery ratio scheme yields the highest TDS reduction efficiency as well as the largest karst water extraction volume. In addition, the water table remains stable as a whole. The benefits of the designed scheme are multifold, including improving water quality up to Standard III groundwater quality and meeting the water needs of the economy. The study provides a novel method of addressing the groundwater quality risks posed by artificial recharge.

Microbial-earthworm ecofilters (MEES) for urban wastewater treatment

Water is an absolute necessity for life and water scarcity is a major problem all over the world. Reusing household wastewater for non-potable water applications is one of the solutions to tackle this problem. Many developing countries lack the technological resources to construct and operate costly wastewater treatment plants. They need cost-effective wastewater treatment options so that both economic aspects and human needs can be met easily. Centralized sewage treatment systems are unable to achieve future demands for sustainable wastewater management in developing countries due to the growing population and needs. The present work examines the effectiveness of treating urban wastewater with microbial-earthworm eco filters (MEEs) (reactor 2) and the filter unit without earthworms (reactor 1). Results of the use of the vermi-biofiltration wastewater treatment unit comprising the biological filtration treatment unit, Eisenia fetida earthworm species, live soil organisms, and natural stones to treat household wastewater are reported herein. The biological oxygen demand (BOD), total dissolved solids (TDS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and total organic carbon (TOC) were monitored for seven weeks. These parameters exhibited a decreasing trend in both the filtration units. A 75 % reduction in TOC for reactor 2 shows the effectiveness of the proposed system for the utilization of wastewater from urban households. Reactor 2 also showed a reduction in BOD, COD, and TDS approximately in the range of 85, 90, and 30 % respectively. This technique seems to be useful for developing a low-cost and useful household purification system in water-scarce areas using harmless bio-organisms.

Assessment of solar photocatalytic degradation of textile wastewater by ZnO-based reactors

Abstract The present study deals with treating the textile wastewater of Jodhpur city in Rajasthan, India employing a photocatalysis technique. Jodhpur has a number of textile industries and efficient treatment of its effluents has been a major problem in the region. An effort has been made to resolve this issue through this study. A wastewater treatment unit was setup which involved coagulation and flocculation, sand filter, photoreactor, and activated carbon filter processes. ZnO-based semiconductor, coated on galvanized iron (GI) plates, served as a photoreactor. The water quality parameters removal efficiency at the end of each process operation was recorded for different detention periods in the photoreactor. Water quality parameters analyzed were biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), and pH. The optimal retention time for the photoreactor was found and the BOD of the wastewater reduced to 25 from 740 mg/l (97% reduction), and TSS from 1,430 to 12 mg/l (99% reduction) for the corresponding retention time. TDS reduction efficiency was 25% and pH changed from 9.2 in raw wastewater to 8.4 in treated wastewater. Results show that the pilot treatment plant was efficient for BOD and TSS removal from the textile wastewater.

Intensification of pharmaceutical wastewater treatment using hydrodynamic cavitation process

The presence of pharmaceuticals in wastewater is seen as an increasing environmental issue due to the toxicity of these substances and their ability to remain active chemically in the environment. Traditional wastewater treatment is inefficient due to the damaging and intractable activity of drugs that are accumulating in the environment. The cavitation is the phenomenon of initiation, nurture, and unstable collapse of bubbles in the suspension. This unstable collapses of bubbles in the suspension leads to the production of large amount of energy for instantaneous moment. In this study, the wastewater flowing out of the pharmaceutical industries is treated by oxidation approach. The oxidation was achieved with the help of chemically active radicals produced during the cavitation. The extent of oxidation with the single effect of cavitation was experimentally studied and reported in the manuscript. The optimization was achieved to target the maximum reduction in Biological Oxygen demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). The observed results were compared with the conventional method of the wastewater treatment. The highest TDS reduction was observed with the orifice plate arrangement, which was about 14%, as in the conventional and with the venture arrangement, it was observed at 2% and 8% respectively. The sudden pressure drop and effective vena contracta generate the zone of un-stability for the synthesized cavities. This un-stable zone of pressure increases the rate of collapses as well as the new generation of cavities. The reduction of BOD and COD was also observed at its highest during the utilization of the orifice arrangement, which is 20% and 6%, respectively. By adopting the cavitation method and observing degradation of said factors in the wastewater, this procedure may be found to be more successful than the conventional treatment method. The method may be employed before the conventional treatment method, and the water that has been treated may also be utilized for secondary purposes, while before it may have been wasted.

Polygonum hydropiper in goatskin preservation: A sustainable leather processing approach

In conventional preservation of hides and skins, the use of NaCl (50%) evolves enormous salinity and total dissolved solids (TDS) in soaking effluent during leather processing. Plant-based skins preservation is a sustainable solution in reducing salinity and TDS from leather industry to replace conventional curing. In this study, the application of Polygonum hydropiper-based dry powder paste over flesh side of goatskin following 10%, 10%, and 15% paste mixing with 5%, 10%, and 5% salt, respectively, was done with periodical monitoring of organoleptic properties, moisture content, hydrothermal stability, and bacterial load. As compared to conventional curing, these Phyto-based salt minimized curing formulations had preserved goatskin for 30 days, resulting in a maximum 81% and 52% salinity and TDS reduction, respectively, in soaking liquor. The preserved skins were processed into shoe-upper leather in the same manner, and the ultimately produced leather offered the equivalent physical qualities. SEM images corroborated the structural orientation of collagen fibers was more suited than leather produced from salt-preserved skins. The correlation analysis demonstrated strong interdependencies among goatskin preservation efficacy metrics, particularly moisture content and hydrothermal stability, with the highest correlation (r = −0.919). Phytochemicals like alkaloids, flavonoids, coumarin, quinones, terpenoids, tannin, and phlobatannin were present in P. hydropiper extracts. The acetonic and water extract of the examined plant demonstrated modest antibacterial efficacy (11 mm) against Staphylococcus aureus compared to chloramphenicol (27 mm). Therefore, P. hydropiper can be a potential curing agent with comparable leather strength while minimizing the environmental impact and endorsing sustainable developments of leather industry.

Floating Wetlands for Sustainable Drainage Wastewater Treatment

The preservation of water resources in modern urbanized society is a major concern. In this study, a floating constructed wetland (FWT) pilot plant was designed and constructed for the treatment of a polluted wastewater drain. A series of experiments were run continuously for a year in pilot-scale FWTs in a semi-arid area located in Egypt’s Delta. Four aquatic plant species (Eichhornia, Ceratophyllum, Pistia stratiotes, and Nymphaea lotus) were used to assess the performance of FWTs for pollutant removals, such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), electrical conductivity (EC), and total dissolved solids (TDS), from drainage wastewater to reuse the treated effluent in irrigation practices. The FWT systems were fed drainage tainted water on a weekly basis, and the concentrations and removal efficiency were assessed in the experiments. The average reduction in BOD, COD, TSS, TDS, TN, EC, and TP were 76–86%, 61–80%, 87–95%, 36.6–44.1%, 70–97%, 37–44%, and 83–96%, respectively. ANOVA with Post-HOC t-tests show that the Eichhornia, Pistia stratiotes, and Nymphaea lotus have the highest BOD and COD removal performance, whereas Pistia stratiotes and Nymphaea lotus have the highest TN and TP removal performance. In all cases, the Nymphaea lotus performed well in terms of pollutant removal. In addition, a design procedure for a FWT systems is presented. For wastewater treatment, FWT systems have proven to be a low-cost, long-term option.

Low cost electrocoagulation process for treatment of contaminated water using aluminium electrodes from recycled cans

Electrocoagulation has been used to successfully treat diverse types of wastewaters. This treatment is carried out when there is an electro-dissolution of soluble anodes to form metal hydroxide flocks within the effluent. In this work an electrocoagulation setup was used to treat water from a contaminated stream. Aluminium anodes produced from recycled cans were used as electrodes. The contact time and voltage during electrocoagulation were varied and the corresponding effects on pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and electrode weight gain/loss were observed. The average TDS of the raw water before Electrocoagulation was 286.7 mg/L. At 10 V, 20 V and 30 V, the average TDS of 246.3 mg/L, 227.3 mg/L and 220.7 mg/L were obtained after 120 min of electrocoagulation. The reduction in TDS signified improved anode dissolution and thus improved water quality. The results show that optimum COD and BOD removal efficiencies of 90.7% and 97.67% were obtained at 10 V.

Characterization and application of dried neem leaf powder as a bio-additive for salt less animal skin preservation for tanneries.

Sodium chloride (NaCl) is commonly used as a curing/preservative agent for raw hides and skins in tanneries and is removed through a soaking process with total dissolved solids (TDS) and other organic pollutants in effluent, causing significant pollution load to the environment. Hence, the present study evaluated to apply dried neem leaf powder (DNL) as an additive to reduce the usage of salt in skin processing and preservation. To make certain of DNL antimicrobial properties, solvent extracts were performed against proteolytic bacteria isolated from raw skins. Initial characterization of DNL revealed the presence of bioactive compounds nimbolide and dehydro salannol and acetone extract with 16.9-mm, 10-mm and 8-mm zone of inhibition against Salmonella sp., E. coli sp. and Bacillus sp. identified using phenotypic conventional biochemical screening method. Further, skin curing experiments were carried out using four different treatments of DNL (10% 15%, 20% and 25% w/w) along with 15% w/w of conventional salt to obtain an optimum concentration for pilot-scale studies. Thus, the application of optimal DNL (15%) and salt (15%) resulted in no physical changes such as smell and hair slip and was taken for further studies for hydroxyproline activity, pollution load and organoleptic properties along compared with control 40% salt. DNL-aided salt less preservation of freshly flayed goat skins at ambient condition showed no hair slip or putrefaction during the preservation period with significant reduction of TDS (86%) and chloride (71%) in soak liquors compared to conventional salt preservation and enhanced organic load requiring additional treatment. However, the application of the organoleptic, physical and hydrothermal properties of resulting leathers produced from the DNL applied skins was on par with results of leather obtained from conventional salt. Thus, our results demonstrate DNL-aided salt less preservation method is able to reduce the amount of salt for preservation of goat skins significantly, leading to reduced salinity issues during leather processing.

Assessing the Surface Water Quality of Ana Sagar Lake and its Bioremediation in Modified Constructed Wetland

The present study evaluates the potential of an integrated Constructed Wetland and Microbial Fuel Cell (CW-MFC) in removing Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), nitrate and phosphate along with generating electricity from the polluted water of Ana Sagar Lake, Ajmer. Two vertical downward flow CW-MFCs have been investigated (with and without plant) in batch mode for a period of 12 months. The performance of CW-MFC with the plant (system A) was better than the CW-MFC without the plant (system B), both in terms of COD, TDS, nitrate and phosphate removal and electricity generation. Dracaena trifasciata plant species were used in this study. The maximum power density of 157 mW/m2, current density of 0.65 mA/m2, COD removal efficiency (72%), TDS reduction (74%), nitrate removal (69%) and phosphate removal (69%) were obtained with System A. The germination rate of Vigna radiata seeds was 100% with the effluent from system A. At the end of the experiment the FTIR analysis revealed the structural changes occurring on the CW-MFC media (sand) after removal of pollutants present in the lake water.

An integrated approach of adsorption and membrane separation for treatment of sewage water and resource recovery

The traditional sewage treatment methods are facing several challenges and barriers necessitating the development of newer treatment approaches along with value addition and resource recovery. The present work demonstrates the integration of Carbon Capture Reactor (CCR) i.e. adsorption column and membrane separation for efficient treatment of wastewater collected from different sewage sources with resource recovery in terms of CCR-Oil which is a mixture of organic compounds having calorific value of 18−20 MJ/Kg. Detailed physicochemical characterization of sewage water was conducted for quantification of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS), and conductivity. The obtained CCR-Oil was also tested for its physicochemical properties by using attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC–MS), and elemental and calorific value analysis. In the adsorption studies, various hydrophobic, hydrophilic and ion exchange resins were tested for maximum COD reduction. Hydrophobic resin showed excellent performance with 50.0 ± 0.4 % COD reduction and maximum dynamic binding capacity of 0.0208 mg/L. The continuous CCR operation showed a 45.5 ± 1.5 % COD reduction with 1.5 bed volume (BV) per hour flow rate for up to 320 bed volume loading of sewage water. The integration of CCR with the reverse osmosis (RO) membrane showed an overall 85.0 ± 2.5 % COD reduction and 93.0 ± 0.5 % TDS reduction with the maximum flux of 34 L/hr/m2 (LMH) and no sign of membrane fouling, indicating very good performance for the combination approach. It was clearly demonstrated that the hybrid approach of adsorption followed by membrane separation provides a sustainable, efficient and economic alternative for the treatment of sewage water also yielding the benefits of resource recovery.

An eco-friendly approach to textile and tannery wastewater treatment using maghemite nanoparticles (γ-Fe2O3-NPs) fabricated by Penicillium expansum strain (K-w)

Wastewater treatment is one of the vital solutions to the global water shortage and many related environmental problems. The present study aimed at biosynthesizing maghemite nanoparticles (γ-Fe2O3-NPs) using Penicillium expansum (K-w) for the purpose of wastewater treatment. The γ-Fe2O3-NPs resultant was characterized using fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The maghemite nanoparticles capacity to mediate decolorization and degradation of textile and tanning wastewater effluents was investigated. Results verified that the successful synthesis of spherical shaped Fe2O3-NPs of 15.0–66.0 nm size, with XRD peaks that match the cubic structure of the γ-Fe2O3. XPS analysis confirmed the presence of iron as Fe2O3. Decolorization and degradation analyses indicated that γ-Fe2O3-NPs are effective biocatalysts for dye degradation under dose- and time-dependent manner. The highest decolorization gain (89 %–90 %) occurred after 6.0–8.0 h of incubation at 1.0 mg mL-1 of γ-Fe2O3-NPs. Quality of the treated textile wastewater was improved, as indicated by the reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS), and total suspended solids (TSS) by 86.8, 71.8, and 89.3 %, respectively. GC–MS results showed the complete disappearance or reduction of peaks, or peak areas in treated textile wastewater in comparison with the untreated samples. In addition, treatment of tanning wastewater with γ-Fe2O3-NPs has also resulted in decolorization, as well as reduction in COD, TDS, and TSS levels by 93.1, 40.5, and 95.9 %, respectively. The treated tanning wastewater showed low heavy metal levels, with removal percentages ranging from 66 %–98 % for Co, Cr, Pb, Ni, and Cd, indicating the high efficiency of γ-Fe2O3-NPs in improving treated wastewater quality.

Combined oxidation processes based on ultrasound, hydrodynamic cavitation and chemical oxidants for treatment of real industrial wastewater from cellulosic fiber manufacturing sector

The present work reports the application of cavitation for the real industrial effluent treatment, which was derived from the cellulosic fiber manufacturing sector, individually or in combination with advanced oxidation processes. Cavitation has been applied with the objective of reducing the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the industrial effluent and to study its simultaneous effect on the total dissolved solids (TDS). A combination of cavitation with different additives/oxidants viz. hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), ozone (O3), sodium hypochlorite (NaCLO), and Fenton's reagent have been studied. Ultrasonic horn operating at an acoustic power of 120 W with a frequency of 20 kHz and duty cycle of 80% (8 sec ON, 2 sec OFF) was used for treatment based on ultrasound. Under optimized conditions, it was established that a combination of ultrasound (US) with Fenton’s reagent using an optimum mole ratio of H2O2/Fe2+ of 3 followed by lime coagulation gave a maximum COD reduction of 92% and also resulted in TDS reduction of 31%. Studies were also performed using a hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) reactor (10 L capacity) where slit venturi was used as a cavitating device. It has been observed that a combination of HC with Fenton's reagent at molar ratio of H2O2/Fe2+ as 3 gave the maximum COD reduction of 86% and a TDS reduction of 47%. It was also established that lime treatment played an important role in separating the sludge formed during the Fenton oxidation treatment and in converting brownish colored effluent to colorless effluent. Overall, it has been established that cavitation coupled with the Fenton oxidation was most the efficient among all studied combinations giving a good COD reduction as well as TDS reduction with a final colourless nature of effluent.

Evaluation of <i>Luffa Cylindrica</i> Fibers in A Biomass Packed Bed for The Treatment of Paint Industry Effluent Before Environmental Release

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of Luffa Cylindrica fibers in a biomass packed bed for the treatment of paint industry effluent before releasing into the environment. The fibers were modified by mercerisation in 0.5M NaOH for 24 h. Both modified and unmodified fibers were characterised using Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). A biomass packed bed was prepared for the study with a packing factor of 0.0617 and 0.0550 for the modified and unmodified fibers respectively. Measured parameters were the pH, colour, total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), dissolved oxygen (DO), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). Negative findings were achieved for TSS, DO and COD whilst positive findings were achieved for pH, colour, TDS and BOD. The extended residence time of 48 h was only of advantage for colour and BOD removal. In the domain of the positive results, the untreated fibers achieved 35% colour reduction, 5% TDS reduction and 77% BOD reduction all in 2 h. The treated fibers achieved 35% colour reduction in 30 minutes, 32.5% TDS reduction in 2 h and 82% BOD reduction in 30 minutes. The fibers treated with NaOH performed better in all indices where positive results were achieved except for pH. Luffa cylindrica fibres can be used as effective packing material in a biomass filter for the treatment of paint industry effluent before releasing into the environment based on WHO limits.

De-Oiled Karanja Cake as Potential Bio-Additive for Low Salt Raw Skin Preservation

The most commonly practiced preservation processes for raw hide/skin is by application of common salt (NaCl) due to its wide availability, cost effectiveness and bacteriostatic activity. During the soaking process, the salt present in the skin dissolves in water, thereby generating high total dissolved solids (TDS) levels causing pollution to the environment. Hence, an eco–friendly material without salt or with lower quantities of salt is needed for the preservation of the skin. In this present study Karanja de-oiled cake (Millettia/Pongamia pinnata) extract was studied for its antibacterial activity, minimal inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration for preservation. The reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) analysis shows the presence of karanjin (0.2%) and pongamol (0.02%) and these compounds may be responsible for the antibacterial activity against skin deteriorating bacteria. The preservation trials with karanja de-oiled cake 15% along with less salt 15% showed no hair slip, no putrefaction, reduced bacterial load to approximately 35%, compared to control skins at 25º-35ºC for 21 days. The preserved skins on rehydration showed that the soak liquor of experimental skins had a considerable reduction in TDS (about 67%) compared with conventional soak liquor. On processing these skins into leather, the experimental skins were found to possess comparable strength properties (tensile, tear strength) and organoleptic properties as conventional salt-based preserved skins. This study concludes that conventional salt-based preservation of skins can be replaced by an eco-friendly preservation method using karanja de-oiled cake along with less salt.

Multifunctional ion exchange pretreatment driven by carbon dioxide for enhancing reverse osmosis recovery during impaired water reuse

Reverse osmosis (RO) has been increasingly applied for impaired water reuse in arid areas. However, enhancing RO recovery from scarce water resources is limited by energy demand for overcoming elevated brine osmotic pressure, and membrane scaling caused by concentrated poorly soluble salts. In this study, we present a hybrid ion exchange desalination process (HIX-Desal) as multifunctional RO pretreatment to enhance RO recovery by simultaneously desalinating feed water and removing multiple scale-forming ions (calcium, sulfate, and phosphate). The novelty of HIX-Desal is that carbon dioxide was the sole regenerant for a two-column train containing a hybrid anion exchanger (HAIX, with doped ferric oxide nanoparticles) and a shallow shell weak acid cation exchanger (SSWAC). We probed the desalination abilities of HIX-Desal at both lab and pilot scales using impaired water sources with varying total dissolved solids (TDS), where consistent desalination was achieved at 50–60% TDS reduction. Field tests demonstrated >80% removal of calcium, sulfate, and phosphate simultaneously. System configuration and SSWAC structure, i.e., intraparticle diffusion path length, were demonstrated to govern the HIX-Desal process during desalination and CO2 regeneration cycle. We envision this study to facilitate RO recovery enhancement and upcycling industrial carbon emission.

Application of the epuvalisation technology for the tertiary treatment of secondary treated effluents using geranium plants

The effluent of secondary treatment process at Al-Quds University wastewater treatment plant was tertiary treated using an Epuvalisation technique in which geranium plants (Pelargonium hortorum) was employed as a treatment vehicle. The Epuvalisation system was installed in a greenhouse in which germanium was planted hydroponically in a closed-loop mode using secondary treated wastewater (TWW) and fresh water (FW) as a control. The water quality analysis results before and after the growing season of TWW showed a reduction of 23% and 41%, for BOD and COD, respectively. The electrical conductivity (EC) and total dissolved solids (TDS) for TWW demonstrated a reduction of 52% and 53%, respectively. Similar trend was observed for FW in which the reduction in EC and TDS were 48% and 49%, respectively. Furthermore, the percent reduction of the concentration of suspended solids, phosphate ions (PO4−3), chloride ion (Cl−), total nitrogen (TN), and potassium ion (K+) in TWW were found to be 95%, 89%, 60% 98% and 59%, respectively. Plant growth parameters (plant height, fresh and dry weight, number of branches and flowers number) of geranium revealed no significant difference between irrigation with TWW and FW. The chemical plant analysis of roots, leaves, stems and flowers revealed no significant difference between hydroponic plantation in TWW and in FW. From these results it is safe to conclude that the Epuvalisation technique is a promising technique for advanced wastewater treatment using ornamental plants such as geranium due to its simplicity, low cost and easy use.

Eco-friendly curing of hides/ skins using phyto based Citrus limon leaves paste

The art of leather-making have been practiced for decades, and so are the effects of pollution generated. Freshly flayed animal hides/skins are preserved temporarily with common salt for storage and transport purposes. This method of preservation paves way for increased Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in process water thereby causing enormous pollution. The present study investigates into the phyto based eco-friendly preservation of skins with paste obtained from the leaves of Citrus limon (Lemon). The phytochemical screening exhibited the presence of Terpenoids, Phenols, Steroids and Sterols, Phlobatannins, Saponins and Cardiac Glycosides . Analysis by GC-MS revealed the presence of 2-[2,6,6-Trimethylcyclohex-1-enyl] cyclopropane carboxylic acid , 1,2-benzenediol, 3[[(3,5-dichlorophenyl) imino]methyl], Pentadecanoic acid and Heptadecanoic acid in the methanolic extract of Lemon leaves. FT-IR analysis also confirmed their presence which helps in inhibiting the growth of bacteria thereby preventing the skins from degradation. The pollution load of soak liquor viz., TDS, Total Solids (TS), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) were also reduced substantially. The skins cured by this technique showed comparable physical strength of leather with respect to conventionally cured skins. Hence, application of plant based preservation method may help to considerably reduce the major problem of salinity associated with leather processing. • Eco-friendly curing of hides/skins using Citrus limon leaves paste. • Substantial reduction in TDS, COD, BOD in waste water emanating out of leather processing. • Dual role of Lemon leaves extract; in preservation as well as an effective antimicrobial agent.