Article
Environmental Sciences
Isaac Owusu-Agyeman, Elzbieta Plaza, Nilay Elginoz, Merve Atasoy, Kasra Khatami, Mariel Perez-Zabaleta, Carlos Cabrera-Rodriguez, Hatice Yesil, A. Evren Tugtas, Baris Calli, Zeynep Cetecioglu
Summary: Shifting the concept of municipal wastewater treatment to recover resources is proposed to achieve a sustainable society. This novel concept utilizes various units to recover bio-based products from wastewater while meeting regulatory standards. The proposed units include anaerobic sludge blanket reactor for biogas recovery, co-fermentation of sewage sludge and organic waste for volatile fatty acid production, and membrane technology for VFA separation and recovery.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Review
Engineering, Environmental
Jiefu Wang, Yuepeng Sun, Kang Xia, Allison Deines, Ross Cooper, Karen Pallansch, Zhi-Wu Wang
Summary: Urban agriculture provides a comprehensive solution to challenges of water, energy, and food scarcity caused by population growth, urbanization, and climate change. Urban Water Resource Reclamation Facilities play a key role in sustainable urban agriculture by providing reclaimed water and biosolids as resources to support operations.
WATER ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Giorgio Mannina, Rosa Alduina, Luigi Badalucco, Lorenzo Barbara, Fanny Claire Capri, Alida Cosenza, Daniele Di Trapani, Giuseppe Gallo, Vito Armando Laudicina, Sofia Maria Muscarella, Dario Presti
Summary: The article introduces a case study on water resource recovery, aiming to demonstrate the importance of a resource recovery system based on the circular economy concept. It highlights the potential of the wastewater treatment plant and the central role of the university in fostering the transition towards circular economy.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Nancy Diaz-Elsayed, Jiayi Hua, Nader Rezaei, Qiong Zhang
Summary: The availability of sufficient water supply is a challenge that many municipalities have faced and is expected to intensify. Water reclamation offers a sustainable solution for resource recovery. This article investigates the factors influencing the environmental and economic impacts of resource recovery technologies and develops a decision framework for resource recovery-oriented wastewater management.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Mariane Yvonne Schneider, Ward Quaghebeur, Sina Borzooei, Andreas Froemelt, Feiyi Li, Ramesh Saagi, Matthew J. Wade, Jun-Jie Zhu, Elena Torfs
Summary: Mathematical modelling is crucial for water resource recovery facility operators and engineers to achieve a circular economy and sustainable future. Mechanistic models and data-driven methods have limitations, but hybrid modelling aims to combine the advantages of both paradigms. The application of hybrid models in the water sector is still unclear, and this article provides an overview and emphasizes the need for wider adoption and development.
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jiaxin Du, T. David Waite, Jing Feng, Yang Lei, Wangwang Tang
Summary: Declining mineral resources, high fertilizer production cost, and widespread eutrophication have created a need for the recovery of nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewaters in the circular economy. Electrochemical coupling technologies show great promise in this regard. This review focuses on the separate recovery of nitrogen, separate recovery of phosphorus, and concurrent recovery of nitrogen and phosphorus from water using electrochemical coupling methods. The limitations of traditional methods are discussed, and various electrochemical coupling techniques for nitrogen and phosphorus recovery are detailed.
ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Abozar Nasirahmadi, Oliver Hensel
Summary: Digitalization has revolutionized the agricultural sector, enabling the application of advanced technologies and data processing techniques. Digital farming uses available information to tackle challenges in food security, climate protection, and resource management. The concept of digital twin has great potential in enhancing productivity and efficiency in agriculture. This review presents a framework of digital twins in various aspects of agriculture, such as soil, irrigation, robotics, farm machineries, and food post-harvest processing, and discusses the use of artificial intelligence, big data, and simulation in digital twins for agriculture.
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Obinna C. Madubuike, Chimay J. Anumba
Summary: Health care facilities management currently lacks effective real-time monitoring and preventive maintenance. This study proposes the use of digital twin (DT) to address these shortcomings by providing real-time monitoring and coordination. The study identifies the basic concepts and components of DT, and develops functional implementations for monitoring various scenarios in health care facilities. It concludes by discussing the benefits and limitations of DT application in health care facilities management.
JOURNAL OF COMPUTING IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Suellen Pereira Espindola, Mario Pronk, Jure Zlopasa, Stephen J. Picken, Mark C. M. van Loosdrecht
Summary: This study focuses on extracting cellulose from wastewater solids and obtaining high-purity cellulose nanocrystals through acid hydrolysis. The cellulose derived from wastewater shows similar properties to commercial nanocrystals, with high cellulose content and crystallinity. The use of wastewater-derived cellulose in the preparation of nanocellulose for bio-nanocomposites demonstrates a positive impact on the mechanical properties of the composite materials.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Shiwei Lin, Heshan Qi, Peiyu Hou, Kai Liu
Summary: Solar-driven interfacial evaporation has been explored as a new approach for energy desalination. However, its potential for treating high-salinity organic wastewater, such as textile wastewater, has not been investigated. In this study, activated carbon fiber cloth (ACFC) was used to treat textile wastewater, achieving a high evaporation rate and effective separation of salt and organic dye. The study also demonstrated the potential for recovering a significant amount of salt, with a recovery rate of up to 89.6%. The research suggests the possibility of zero-liquid discharge technologies for textile wastewater treatment.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Florian Kretschmer, S. Franziskowski, F. Huber, T. Ertl
Summary: The advancing digitalisation presents challenges and opportunities for the wastewater sector. This research examines the extent to which building information modelling (BIM) is used in wastewater management and its benefits and constraints. The findings suggest that while some BIM-related elements are already established in the sector, there is a need to rethink and optimize existing procedures and techniques. Integrated approaches, interdisciplinary collaboration, and change management are necessary for a successful digital transition in wastewater management.
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Agricultural Engineering
Lixin Li, Taojie Liang, Mengjie Zhao, Ying Lv, Zhiwei Song, Tao Sheng, Fang Ma
Summary: This article analyzes the theoretical basis and mechanism of mycelial pellets as a biological carrier, and introduces their applications and development trends in wastewater treatment and energy recovery. The symbiotic system of mycelial pellets and microalgae is considered an important means to solve the technical challenges of biodiesel recovery from wastewater.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Giorgio Mannina, Luigi Badalucco, Lorenzo Barbara, Alida Cosenza, Daniele Di Trapani, Vito Armando Laudicina, Sofia Maria Muscarella, Dario Presti
Summary: The current exploitation of freshwater and the increase in sewage sludge production pose a critical challenge for sustainable development and the circular economy. There is a need to rethink the concept of wastewater treatment plants and shift towards water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs). This study aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of resource recovery systems through case studies, highlighting the importance of plant optimization in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from WRRFs.
Article
Ecology
Athanasios Trantas, Ruduan Plug, Paolo Pileggi, Elena Lazovik
Summary: Digital Twin is a contemporary digital representation paradigm that encompasses complex interactions in the natural environment. Developing Digital Twin Applications for biodiversity can uncover anthropogenic effects causing biodiversity loss and identify ways to mitigate or prevent these effects. However, there are unique challenges in applying Digital Twin to biodiversity, such as heterogeneous modeling, model co-simulation, variable computational power, and integration with existing research infrastructures.
ECOLOGICAL INFORMATICS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Litong Zhang, Yu Guo, Weiwei Qian, Weili Wang, Daoyuan Liu, Sai Liu
Summary: This paper proposes a modelling and online training method for digital twin workshop to address the difficulties in modelling, simulation, and verification. It describes a multi-level digital twin aggregate modelling method and a digital twin organization system. A spatio-temporal data model is constructed based on the data demand for digital twin aggregates. The paper also presents a training method using truncated normal distribution and a verification method based on real-virtual error for digital twin models. The effectiveness of real-time status monitoring, online model training, and production simulation is verified through a case study.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Bernard Patry, Paul Lessard, Peter A. Vanrolleghem
Summary: Nitrification in a highly loaded biofilm-enhanced aerated lagoon is mainly affected by operating temperature. Maximum nitrification is observed during the warmer months and occurs even at high organic loading rates (>5 g CBOD5/m(2) day). Compared with a simulated suspended growth system, the biofilm-enhanced lagoon shows a significantly extended nitrification period. The extension is observed at the end of the summertime maximum nitrification period. Low amounts of nitrate still produced during winter in the biofilm-enhanced aerated lagoon suggest year-long retention of autotrophic nitrifying biomass in the biofilm. Nitrification in the biofilm-enhanced aerated lagoon is negatively impacted by the presence of important quantities of accumulated solids that resuspend when their digestion starts as temperature increases.
WATER ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH
(2021)
Review
Water Resources
Kelly Hill, Arash Zamyadi, Dan Deere, Peter A. Vanrolleghem, Nicholas D. Crosbie
Summary: Wastewater surveillance of pathogens is a useful tool to assess the effectiveness of disease monitoring, providing a sensitive and rapid indicator of infection rate changes. Models can be used to back-calculate wastewater prevalence to population prevalence, as well as help design wastewater sampling strategies.
WATER QUALITY RESEARCH JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Majid Gholami Shirkoohi, Rajeshwar D. Tyagi, Peter A. Vanrolleghem, Patrick Drogui
Summary: This study evaluates the effectiveness of a modelling and optimization methodology based on artificial neural networks and genetic algorithms in predicting the behavior of an electrolysis process. Trained ANN models successfully predicted the active chlorine production and energy consumption, leading to insights on optimal operating conditions. Multi-objective optimization using genetic algorithms resulted in non-dominated optimal points for maximizing active chlorine production and minimizing energy consumption.
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Zhipeng Zhang, Qian Ping, Dan Gao, Peter A. Vanrolleghem, Yongmei Li
Summary: This study investigates the effects of different forms of Fe(III)Ps on phosphorus release and the performance of waste activated sludge (WAS) during anaerobic fermentation. The results show that Fe(III)Ps have diverse impacts on P release and the efficiency of anaerobic fermentation, with certain Fe(III)Ps even inhibiting the fermentation process.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Michael Ghijs, Brecht Vanbillemont, Niels Nicolai, Thomas De Beer, Ingmar Nopens
Summary: Drying is a critical step in pharmaceutical wet granulation, with granule moisture content and size determining tabletting performance. Current data collection methods struggle to measure individual granule properties, but a new method using NIR-CI is developed to simultaneously characterize moisture content and size. This method has potential to gain detailed experimental insights for building robust process models.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICS
(2021)
Editorial Material
Engineering, Environmental
James C. Young, Peter A. Vanrolleghem
Summary: The standard 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) measurement is widely used in designing water resource recovery facilities, but the component of nitrogenous oxygen demand (NOD) should be taken into consideration to avoid oversizing. Carbonaceous BOD (CBOD5) is more accurate for sizing aerobic treatment processes based on the biodegradation of organic constituents in wastewater. Nitrogenous oxygen demand is important for nitrogen removal processes.
WATER ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Feiyi Li, Peter A. Vanrolleghem
Summary: Modeling, automation, and control are widely used in the upgrading and optimization of Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRF). The current calibration of the influent generator (IG) models needs to consider the temporal variability of the dataset and optimize it using a multi-objective genetic algorithm. The developed model can generate a probability distribution time series that better represents reality, providing a better description for the design and operation of WRRF.
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Majid Gholami Shirkoohi, Rajeshwar D. Tyagi, Peter A. Vanrolleghem, Patrick Drogui
Summary: This study investigated the modelling and optimization of electrochemical oxidation (EO) process for the removal of psychoactive pharmaceutical caffeine in synthetic solution and real municipal wastewater effluent. The central composite design (CCD) based on response surface methodology (RSM) and adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) were used to analyze the influence of independent variables on caffeine degradation. Both CCD and ANFIS models successfully predicted the electrochemical process behavior, with the ANFIS models performing slightly better. The degradation of caffeine by the EO process followed an oxidation pathway similar to other advanced oxidation processes. The optimal conditions determined using CCD were applied to real municipal wastewater effluent, demonstrating the effectiveness of the process. However, the EO process may increase the toxicity levels of the wastewater effluent, which can be reduced by extending the electrolysis time or using granular activated carbon.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Elena Torfs, Niels Nicolai, Saba Daneshgar, John B. Copp, Henri Haimi, David Ikumi, Bruce Johnson, Benedek B. Plosz, Spencer Snowling, Lloyd R. Townley, Borja Valverde-Perez, Peter A. Vanrolleghem, Luca Vezzaro, Ingmar Nopens
Summary: Digital Twins (DTs) are innovative and powerful technologies that utilize digitalization in the WRRF sector. However, the lack of consensus and understanding regarding the definition, perceived benefits, and technological needs of DTs hinders their widespread development and application in this field. This paper provides an overview of the state-of-the-art, challenges, good practices, development needs, and transformative capacity of DTs for WRRF applications.
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Gamze Kirim, Kester McCullough, Thiago Bressani Ribeiro, Carlos Domingo-Felez, Haoran Duan, Ahmed Al-Omari, Haydee De Clippeleir, Jose Jimenez, Stephanie Klaus, Mojolaoluwa Ladipo-Obasa, Javad Mehrani, Pusker Regmi, Elena Torfs, Eveline I. P. Volcke, Peter A. Vanrolleghem
Summary: This article provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art in modelling short-cut nitrogen removal processes in mainstream wastewater treatment, identifying future research directions and challenges. The importance of mathematical models in considering N2O emissions and the need for new, advanced approaches are emphasized.
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Feiyi Li, Peter A. Vanrolleghem
Summary: A new data-driven influent generator (IG) model is proposed in this study, which only uses routine data and weather information without the need for additional data collection. The model can generate reliable flowrate and quality data at different time scales and resolutions.
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Engineering, Environmental
Majid Gholami Shirkoohi, Rajeshwar Dayal Tyagi, Peter A. Vanrolleghem, Patrick Drogui
Summary: This paper reviews the application of artificial intelligence techniques in water and wastewater treatment processes, specifically focusing on electrochemical processes. The study highlights the importance of reliability and robustness of the AI models developed using techniques such as artificial neural networks and support vector machines.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Raheleh Arabgol, Peter A. Vanrolleghem, Robert Delatolla
Summary: This study evaluates the influence of carrier geometric properties and biofilm thickness levels on the characteristics and settleability of solids in the moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) system. The ViCAs method is used to assess particle settling velocities in the MBBR effluent, combined with microscopy imaging to relate particle size distribution to settling velocity. The results show that the commonly used AnoxK TM K5 carrier demonstrates different biofilm characteristics and settling behavior compared to the newly designed thickness-restraint carriers (AnoxK TM Z-carriers). Furthermore, statistical analysis confirms that different carrier types and biofilm thickness levels have significant effects on biofilm characteristics and particle settling properties in the MBBR system.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Mostafa Khalil, Ahmed Alsayed, Yang Liu, Peter A. Vanrolleghem
Summary: This study develops a comprehensive approach for using machine learning to perform online process modeling of N2O emissions, providing operators with the insights needed for informed corrective actions. By employing feature selection and parametric multivariate outlier removal methods, the complexity and data collection cost of modeling are reduced without significant effect on accuracy. The highest performing models are kNN, AdaBoost, and DNN.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Feiyi Li, Peter A. Vanrolleghem
Summary: A data-driven methodology is proposed in this study to create an influent generator (IG) model that accurately describes the influent flow and water temperature dynamics under the impact of snowmelt in cold climate conditions. The performance of the model is evaluated and compared with a phenomenological model, showing that the proposed model has better accuracy.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-WATER RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
