- Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED)
Department of Civil Engineering
University of Salerno - Via Giovanni Paolo II #132
84084 Fisciano (SA) Italy - +1 305 520 9887
Vincenzo Naddeo
University of Salerno, Civil Engineering, Faculty Member
- prof. Vincenzo Naddeo (納文 森 - Chinese name for the appointments in Taiwan) is Director of the Sanitary Environmental ... moreprof. Vincenzo Naddeo (納文 森 - Chinese name for the appointments in Taiwan) is Director of the Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED) at the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Salerno (Italy), where he drives research and academic activities in the Environmental Engineering fields.
He serves as an affiliate professor at both the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the University of Washington (Seattle, WA, USA) and at the Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering of the Tamkang University (New Taipei City, Taiwan).
Since 2018 prof. Naddeo is CEO and co-founder of Sponge s.r.l., a Spin-Off of the University of Salerno working on Environmental Technology.edit
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ABSTRACT Introduction Self-forming dynamic membrane (SFDM) technology has been gaining significant interest due to its potential advantages, notably lower capital and operational cost and easier fouling control, over conventional... more
ABSTRACT Introduction Self-forming dynamic membrane (SFDM) technology has been gaining significant interest due to its potential advantages, notably lower capital and operational cost and easier fouling control, over conventional membranes used in membrane bioreactors. SFDM technology utilizes inexpensive support material integrated with a dynamic membrane (DM) made of suspended solids and biomass to provide high effluent quality. Objectives This paper aims to bridge the gap between the previous reviews and the current studies to provide a comprehensive review on SFDM applications to both aerobic and anaerobic bioreactors. Literature review The historical development of DMs since the 1960s up to the present is presented. Specific attention was given to DM formation mechanisms, deposition time, impacts of design, and operational factors (mesh characteristics and sludge properties) on DM formation and performances and on DM-based integrated systems. Abbreviations AnDMBR, anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactor; CFV,crossflow velocity; COD,chemical oxygen demand; DM,dynamic membrane; DO,dissolved oxygen; EPS,extracellular polymeric substances; F/M,food to microorganisms ratio; HRT,hydraulic retention time; J,flux; MBR,membrane bioreactor; MF,microfiltration; MLSS,mixed liquor suspended solids; PSD,particle size distribution; RO,reverse osmosis; SEM,scanning electron microscopy; SFDM,self-forming dynamic membrane; SMP,soluble microbial products; SRT,sludge retention time; SS,suspended solids; TMP,transmembrane pressure; TN,total nitrogen; TP,total phosphorus; TSS,total suspended solids; UF,ultrafiltration
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An advanced concept of aerobic membrane bioreactors (MBRs) for highly efficient wastewater treatment has been disclosed by introduction of an electro and encapsulated self-forming dynamic biomembrane (e-ESFDM). The biological filtering... more
An advanced concept of aerobic membrane bioreactors (MBRs) for highly efficient wastewater treatment has been disclosed by introduction of an electro and encapsulated self-forming dynamic biomembrane (e-ESFDM). The biological filtering membrane is intercalated between two woven polyester fabrics as supports that assist the formation and protect the biomembrane. The innovative architecture of the e-ESFDM in combination with electrocoagulation processes resulted in efficient and cost-effective wastewater treatment and control of the membrane fouling. The performance of the e-ESFDMBR was compared to a yet highly efficient ESFDMBR, where the electric field was not present. The ESFDM-based reactors both showed comparable results in the removal of organic matter, in terms of COD and DOC. On the other hand, e-ESFDMBR exceeded the performance of the ESFDMBR in the reduction of nitrogen- and phosphorous-containing pollutants, responsible for eutrophication processes in the environment, and r...
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Oil refinery and petrochemical plants are of crucial importance to enhance world economy. Besides the related considerable economic impact of this industries, the population and governments pose towards a great attention which boosted the... more
Oil refinery and petrochemical plants are of crucial importance to enhance world economy. Besides the related considerable economic impact of this industries, the population and governments pose towards a great attention which boosted the necessity of developing effective tools for the control of the associated environmental pressures, without hindering economy growth. Among the environmental aspects of key relevance in the refinery sector, air quality and atmospheric pollution in terms of odour emissions, especially in the last years, have become a priority concern in the management of the plants. The monitoring and control of the odour emissions are thus needed in order to prevent potential impact and avoid complaints from the exposed population. Nowadays, senso-instrumental methods by using Instrumental Odour Emissions Systems (IOMSs) represents the most attractive tool for the monitoring of environmental odours, allowing the possibility to obtain real-time and continuous informa...
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The characterization and quantification of the odour emissions in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) represents a fundamental step in order to identify potential odour problems and establish the best and most appropriate odour management... more
The characterization and quantification of the odour emissions in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) represents a fundamental step in order to identify potential odour problems and establish the best and most appropriate odour management tools. Nowadays odour emissions in WWTP are characterized by the use of sampling techniques which take samples directly from the gaseous phase: i.e. when the emission and consequently the potential problem are already present.The definition of proactive tools for the assessment of potential odour emissions from the emitting sources can prevent the occurrence of potential significant odours events and as consequence complaints.The research presents and describes a novel system, called H2Odour, useful to measure the potential Odour Emission Capacity (OEC) directly from liquids. The system has been designed and developed to standardize the stripping phase of gaseous samples, ensuring the maximization of the odour compounds transfer from the liquid to th...
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Measuring odour concentration is a significant step to achieve efficient environmental odour management in continuous, objective and repeatable manner. To deal with this, researchers developed instrumental odour monitoring systems (IOMS)... more
Measuring odour concentration is a significant step to achieve efficient environmental odour management in continuous, objective and repeatable manner. To deal with this, researchers developed instrumental odour monitoring systems (IOMS) by applying odour monitoring models (OMM) for prediction. At present, limited data are available in the literature regarding the exploration of different prediction models to quantify the odour emissions in terms of odour concentration. This study presents and compares different types of parametric and nonparametric predictive models (i.e., artificial neural network (ANN), multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARSpline), partial least squares (PLS), multiple linear regression (MLR), response surface regression (RSR)) with the aim to increase the reliability of the odour concentration prediction by using IOMS for environmental odour monitoring. The experimental studies are carried out considering odour samples collected from the organic fraction...
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This review paper aims to identify the main sources of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and highlights the technologies developed for CO2 capture in this milieu. CO2 is emitted in all the operational... more
This review paper aims to identify the main sources of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and highlights the technologies developed for CO2 capture in this milieu. CO2 is emitted in all the operational units of conventional WWTPs and even after the disposal of treated effluents and sludges. CO2 emissions from wastewater can be captured or mitigated by several technologies such as the production of biochar from sludge, the application of constructed wetlands (CWs), the treatment of wastewater in microbial electrochemical processes (microbial electrosynthesis, MES; microbial electrolytic carbon capture, MECC; in microbial carbon capture, MCC), and via microalgal cultivation. Sludge-to-biochar and CW systems showed a high cost-effectiveness in the capture of CO2, while MES, MECC, MCC technologies, and microalgal cultivation offered efficient capture of CO2 with associate production of value-added by-products. At the state-of-the-art, these technologies, utilized for carbon capture and utilization from wastewater, require more research for further configuration, development and cost-effectiveness. Moreover, the integration of these technologies has a potential internal rate of return (IRR) that could equate the operation or provide additional revenue to wastewater management. In the context of circular economy, these carbon capture technologies will pave the way for new sustainable concepts of WWTPs, as an essential element for the mitigation of climate change fostering the transition to a decarbonised economy.
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The effect of addition of algae to activated sludge as active biomass in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) and electro-MBRs (e-MBRs) for wastewater remediation was examined in this study. The performances of Algae-Activated Sludge Membrane... more
The effect of addition of algae to activated sludge as active biomass in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) and electro-MBRs (e-MBRs) for wastewater remediation was examined in this study. The performances of Algae-Activated Sludge Membrane Bioreactor (AAS-MBR) and electro Algae-Activated Sludge Membrane Bioreactor (e-AAS-MBR) were compared to those observed in conventional MBR and e-MBR, which were previously reported and utilized activated sludge as biomass. The effect of application of electric field was also examined by the comparison of performances of e-AAS-MBR and AAS-MBR. Similar chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction efficiencies of AAS-MBR, e-AAS-MBR, MBR, and e-MBR (98.35 ± 0.35%, 99.12 ± 0.08%, 97.70 ± 1.10%, and 98.10 ± 1.70%, respectively) were observed. The effect of the algae-activated sludge system was significantly higher in the nutrient removals. Ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N) removal efficiencies of AAS-MBR and e-AAS-MBR were higher by 43.89% and 26.61% than in the conventional MBR and e-MBR, respectively. Phosphate phosphorous (PO43--P) removals were also higher in AAS-MBR and e-AAS-MBR by 6.43% and 2.66% than those in conventional MBR and e-MBR. Membrane fouling rates in AAS-MBR and e-AAS-MBR were lower by 57.30% and 61.95% than in MBR and e-MBR, respectively. Lower concentrations of fouling substances were also observed in the reactors containing algae-activated sludge biomass. Results revealed that addition of algae improved nutrient removal and membrane fouling mitigation. The study also highlighted that the application of electric field in the e-AAS-MBR enhanced organic contaminants and nutrients removal, and fouling rate reduction.
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The presence of high concentrations of VOCs in the atmosphere can lead to negative consequences for humans and the environment. The treatment of these compounds is thus necessary before their release into the atmosphere. In the study, an... more
The presence of high concentrations of VOCs in the atmosphere can lead to negative consequences for humans and the environment. The treatment of these compounds is thus necessary before their release into the atmosphere. In the study, an advanced moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) coupled with an algae photobioreactor (APBR) is presented with the aim of investigating its application for the sustainable biodegradation of toluene (C7H8). The results highlight that the MBBR alone shows a high removal efficiency (RE), ranging from 98.37 ±0.79% to 99.84 ±0.14%. Whiile, setting the Algal PhotoBioreactor (APBR) as second treatment, the biodegradation of toluene increases up to 99.91%. The research depicts the potential of the investigated system to biodegrade volatile organic compounds (VOCs), leading to a healthy environment.
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The Chinese pharmaceutical industry and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are both vital components of Chinese culture. Some traditional methods used to prepare TCMs have lost their conformity, and as a result, are producing... more
The Chinese pharmaceutical industry and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are both vital components of Chinese culture. Some traditional methods used to prepare TCMs have lost their conformity, and as a result, are producing lower-quality medicines. In this regard, the TCM sector has been looking for new ways to boost productivity and product quality. Membrane technology is environmentally-friendly, energy-saving technology, and more efficient than traditional technologies. Membrane separation is the most effective method for separating and cleaning the ingredients of the non-pharmaceutical common compounds from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Membrane technology is currently being employed for the concentration, purification, and separation of TCMs. This review paper discusses how membranes are fabricated and their role in non-pharmaceutical common compound separation and TCM purification. Accordingly, the membrane applicability and the technological advantage were also analyz...
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Natural materials, especially natural colorants, have achieved global prominence and might be regarded as an environmentally beneficial alternative to hazardous synthetic dyes. The color limitation of natural dyes hinders their... more
Natural materials, especially natural colorants, have achieved global prominence and might be regarded as an environmentally beneficial alternative to hazardous synthetic dyes. The color limitation of natural dyes hinders their application in textiles. The present work aims to prepare more color shades of wool yarns via dyeing with ternary natural dye mixtures without adding mordants. In this study, a sustainable dyeing approach for wool yarn was evaluated with three natural dyes, madder red (MR), gardenia blue (GB), and gardenia yellow (GY), by following an industrial dyeing procedure in the absence of a mordant. In the beginning, a preliminary assessment of dye stabilities was carried out, and it was found that the three natural dyes were sensitive to temperature and acid (degradation tendency). Then, the dyeing behavior was systematically evaluated, including a single natural dye, a binary natural dye mixture, and a ternary natural dye mixture. The results of wool yarn dyeing wit...
Clothing, one of the basic needs, demands the growth of textile industries worldwide, resulting in higher consumption and pollution of water. Consequently, it requires extensive treatment of textile effluent for environmental protection... more
Clothing, one of the basic needs, demands the growth of textile industries worldwide, resulting in higher consumption and pollution of water. Consequently, it requires extensive treatment of textile effluent for environmental protection as well as reuse purposes. Primary treatment, secondary treatment, and tertiary treatment are the three major phases of textile wastewater treatment. Secondary treatment under aerobic and anaerobic circumstances is carried out to decrease BOD, COD, phenol, residual oil, and color, whereas primary treatment is utilized to remove suspended particles, oil, grease, and gritty materials. However, biological treatment is not fully capable of treating water according to discharge/reuse standards. Hence, tertiary treatment is used to remove final contaminants from the wastewater. Adsorption is regarded as one of the most feasible processes for dye and metal removal in consideration of cost and variation in the adsorbent. Though membrane filtration is an effi...
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In this study, novel polyethersulfone (PES) alpha-zirconium (α-ZrP) ion exchange mixed matrix membranes were fabricated via phase inversion method using nano-sized alpha-zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP-n) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as... more
In this study, novel polyethersulfone (PES) alpha-zirconium (α-ZrP) ion exchange mixed matrix membranes were fabricated via phase inversion method using nano-sized alpha-zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP-n) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as dispersant nano-additives in the dope solution preparation. The impact of α-ZrP-n loading on the removal of Cu(II), Zn(II), and Ni(II) from wastewater effluent was studied by varying the α-ZrP-n concentrations from 0.1 up to 1 wt.% while fixing the PES concentration at 10 wt.%. The composite membranes surface morphology was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and contact angle. The pure water flux was also determined under vacuum filtration while the removal of all heavy metals was carried out via the inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The optimal results incorportaing 0.3 wt.% α-ZrP (i.e. Z-2 membrane) showed 98, 86, and 99% removal efficiency of Cu(II), Zn(II), and Ni(II); respectively, and a water...
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Membrane bioreactors gained increasing interest due to its small footprint and high efficiency. Nonetheless, high capital and operational cost of MBR remains a challenge. With the aim to reduce MBR cost, this study used Dacron mesh to... more
Membrane bioreactors gained increasing interest due to its small footprint and high efficiency. Nonetheless, high capital and operational cost of MBR remains a challenge. With the aim to reduce MBR cost, this study used Dacron mesh to form a dynamic membrane that serves as a substitute to conventional membranes to treat municipal wastewater containing organic micropollutants (OMPs). COD, nutrients and OMPs removal was comparable to that obtained by conventional MBRs.
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In recent years, the technical-scientific community has been paying increasing attention to the presence of emerging contaminants that are intercepted in surface water and wastewater since these compounds could have harmful effects on... more
In recent years, the technical-scientific community has been paying increasing attention to the presence of emerging contaminants that are intercepted in surface water and wastewater since these compounds could have harmful effects on human health and on environment too. Conventional wastewater treatment installations represent a source of pollution from emerging contaminants because they are not designed to remove these compounds from the wastewater in their treatment cycle. Several studies have shown the possibility of removing successfully these compounds from wastewater through the use of membrane bioreactors (MBR) combined with electrochemical processes, using conventional membranes. The present study first examined the possibility of combining electrochemical processes with MBR (eMBR), through the use of self-forming dynamic membranes (SFDM) for the removal of emerging contaminants from municipal wastewater. Thanks to this extremely innovative hybrid system, it has been possib...
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Odour emissions from complex industrial plants can cause potential impacts on the surrounding areas and, as consequence, complaints with the local residents. The identification of specific Odour control plan is therefore needed in the... more
Odour emissions from complex industrial plants can cause potential impacts on the surrounding areas and, as consequence, complaints with the local residents. The identification of specific Odour control plan is therefore needed in the plant management. The current challenge is the definition of instrumental odour monitoring systems (IOMS) that allow the continuous odour characterization. No regulation or standardized procedure exist at present. Limited data are available in the literature with reference to the characteristics and operational procedure of this systems for the environmental odours monitoring. The study presents a novel prototype of intelligent and integrated IOMS for the continuous classification and quantification of the odours emitted in ambient air by complex industrial plants, with the scope to control the plants emissions in an objective and continuous manner, thus avoiding odour impact. Research studies are validated through an application to a real case study o...
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Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are toxic for the environment and human health and their tendency to readily volatilize in the atmosphere leads to problems connected to odours annoyance. The conventional treatments for VOCs gaseous... more
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are toxic for the environment and human health and their tendency to readily volatilize in the atmosphere leads to problems connected to odours annoyance. The conventional treatments for VOCs gaseous emissions conventionally entail the application of chemical-physical processes, only promoting the transfer of the contaminants from gas to liquid and/or solid phases. Advanced Oxidation Process (AOPs) and biological processes, conversely, support the oxidation of the organic pollutants, promoting their conversion into harmless and odourless compounds. This study aims at evaluating the performance of an innovative treatment solution, at pilot scale, of AOPs pretreatment coupled with a bio-scrubbing unit for the abatement of toluene, selected as model VOCs. Different operating conditions have been evaluated to understand the behavior towards inlet load fluctuations. The results exhibited that the ozonation applied as pretreatment to the biological proces...
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As an edible oil, palm oil is also safe and reliable in dyeing, and the residual palm oil after dyeing can be recycled and used continuously, which is green and environmentally friendly and has great research prospects. In this research,... more
As an edible oil, palm oil is also safe and reliable in dyeing, and the residual palm oil after dyeing can be recycled and used continuously, which is green and environmentally friendly and has great research prospects. In this research, raw ramie yarn, used for traditional grass cloth, was dyed in a palm oil medium using Reactive Blue 194. Studying the adsorption and diffusion behaviour in the dyeing process is necessary. Additionally, the kinetics and isotherm model of dyeing raw ramie yarn with Reactive Blue 194 in palm oil is studied, and the adsorption behaviour between them is discussed. For a better understanding, the raw ramie yarn dyeing adsorption behaviour was also carried out in a water medium. It was found that the dyeing rates in palm oil are distinctly faster than in water. Kinetics data suggested that the pseudo-second-order model fitted for both dyeing mediums (palm oil and water) of the adsorption of the Reactive Blue 194 dye onto raw ramie yarn. Afterward, the ads...
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The adverse effects of the accumulation of plastic on our planet are no longer sustainable; plastic is a major threat to all forms of life in all environments in addition to contributing to global warming. The academic world has been... more
The adverse effects of the accumulation of plastic on our planet are no longer sustainable; plastic is a major threat to all forms of life in all environments in addition to contributing to global warming. The academic world has been focusing on registering the damages caused by plastic pollution and finding solutions to refrain from and substitute plastic and its usages, which our consumer society is so heavily dependent on. A pathway towards limiting the use of plastic comes from the European Union 2019/904 Directive for limiting the production of single-use and oxo-degradable plastics. Currently, bioplastics are one of the major alternatives in substituting fossil-based plastics, but question remain about its use. as too what extent could bioplastics be a long-term solution to plastic pollution? Is it a misconception to consider bioplastics completely harmless to the environment? This short review article aims to draw attention to the counter effects connected to the limitations ...
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Municipal solid waste (MSW) management has become a major concern for developing countries. The physical and chemical aspects of MSW management and infrastructure need to be analyzed critically to solve the existing socio-economic... more
Municipal solid waste (MSW) management has become a major concern for developing countries. The physical and chemical aspects of MSW management and infrastructure need to be analyzed critically to solve the existing socio-economic problem. Currently, MSW production is 2.01 billion tonnes/yr. In developing countries, improper management of MSW poses serious environmental and public health risks. Depending on the socio-economic framework of a country, several MSW management procedures have been established, including landfilling, thermal treatment, and chemical treatment. Most of the MSW produced in underdeveloped and developing countries such as Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan is dumped into open landfills, severely affecting the environment. Waste-to-Energy (WTE) projects based on thermal treatments, e.g., incineration, pyrolysis, and gasification, can be feasible alternatives to conventional technologies. This research has explored a comprehensive method to evaluate MSW characteris...
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The low fixation rate and colorfastness of natural dyes limit their practical application in modern textile coloration. Further, hazardous mordants are used in conventional natural dyeing to achieve better fixation and colorfastness.... more
The low fixation rate and colorfastness of natural dyes limit their practical application in modern textile coloration. Further, hazardous mordants are used in conventional natural dyeing to achieve better fixation and colorfastness. Herein, a green, sustainable, and environmental benign fixation process of natural dye was developed using a non-aqueous medium in the absence of mordants to enhance the fixation rate and colorfastness of the dyed fabric. The process was executed by the treatment of the cacao husk extracts/decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) dyed cotton fabric with a cationic dye-fixation agent (CFA)/D5 microemulsion. The conditions of optimal dye fixation process including water content, fixation time, fixation temperature, and CFA mass were determined by using <i>L<sub>9</sub></i> orthogonal array. Significant improvements in the fixation rate (95.03%) and color strength (15.26) were found after CFA treatment under the optimal conditions. Although the light fastness of the CFA-treated dyed fabrics was poor, the colorfastness to rubbing and washing were remarkable. The cacao husk extracts natural functional dye significantly enhanced the UV resistance of the dyed fabric, and the CFA treatment improved the crease recovery characteristic of the dyed fabric. The stiffness of the fabric decreased slightly after dyeing and CFA treatment. Consequently, this study paved the way for the sustainable and green dyeing process.
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For many centuries, traditional grass cloth has been used as an important raw material for home textiles in China, but its market can be expanded by incorporating color. Reactive Red 2 (R2), Reactive Blue 194 (B194), and Reactive Orange 5... more
For many centuries, traditional grass cloth has been used as an important raw material for home textiles in China, but its market can be expanded by incorporating color. Reactive Red 2 (R2), Reactive Blue 194 (B194), and Reactive Orange 5 (O5) were used in this work to explore the dyeing behavior of sustainable traditional grass fiber using industrial dyeing methods. Initially, an L16 (4^4) orthogonal design was schematically applied to carry out the dyeing process and it was determined that the total dye fixation rate (T%) of B194 dye was the best among the three dyes. Accordingly, a statistical Taguchi technique was analyzed on a larger scale to optimize the dyeing process parameters (salt concentration, fixation time, fixation temperature, and solution pH) of B194, in which solution pH was found to be the most influential factor in achieving the highest T%. This phenomenon was also verified using analysis of variance (ANOVA), where the solution pH was found to be the biggest cont...
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Liquid ammonia (LA) dyeing is a zero-effluent and sustainable dyeing technology investigated for textiles.
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The release of air pollutants from the operation of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is often a cause of odor annoyance for the people living in the surrounding area. Odors have been indeed recently classified as atmospheric pollutants... more
The release of air pollutants from the operation of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is often a cause of odor annoyance for the people living in the surrounding area. Odors have been indeed recently classified as atmospheric pollutants and are the main cause of complaints to local authorities. In this context, the implementation of effective treatment solutions is of key importance for urban water cycle management. This work presents a critical review of the state of the art of odor treatment technologies (OTTs) applied in full-scale WWTPs to address this issue. An overview of these technologies is given by discussing their strengths and weaknesses. A sensitivity analysis is presented, by considering land requirements, operational parameters and efficiencies, based on data of full-scale applications. The investment and operating costs have been reviewed with reference to the different OTTs. Biofilters and biotrickling filters represent the two most applied technologies for odor a...
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In this work, Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract (EUOLstabilized silver nanoparticles (EUOL@AgNPs) incorporated sulfonated polyether sulfone (SPES)/polyethersulfone (PES) electrospun nanofiber membranes (SP ENMs) were prepared by... more
In this work, Eucommia ulmoides leaf extract (EUOLstabilized silver nanoparticles (EUOL@AgNPs) incorporated sulfonated polyether sulfone (SPES)/polyethersulfone (PES) electrospun nanofiber membranes (SP ENMs) were prepared by electrospinning, and they were studied for the removal of lead (Pb(II)) and cadmium (Cd(II)) ions from aqueous solutions. The SP ENMs with various EUOL@AgNPs loadings were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscope, thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and contact angle (CA) measurements. The adsorption studies showed that the adsorption of Cd(II) and Pb(II) was rapid, achieved equilibrium within 40 min and 60 min, respectively and fitted with non-linear pseudo-second-order (PSO) kinetics model. For Cd(II) and Pb(II), the Freundlich model described the adsorption isotherm better than the Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacity...
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A market survey of the Membrane BioReactors (MBRs) industry has been performed, obtaining data from 3 major suppliers of MBR filtration systems and MBR plant constructors. MBR plants constructed up to 2012 have been checked, and about 600... more
A market survey of the Membrane BioReactors (MBRs) industry has been performed, obtaining data from 3 major suppliers of MBR filtration systems and MBR plant constructors. MBR plants constructed up to 2012 have been checked, and about 600 wastewater treatment plants have been listed. On average, the capacity of industrial applications is an order of magnitude smaller than municipal. While several systems are available, this study focuses on flat sheet and hollow fibre membranes, in that their share of the MBR market is consistent. What is more, the predominance of immersed MBR filtration systems in wastewater treatment is undisputed, as they represent 99% of the total installed membrane surface (GE Zenon and Kubota, 2 non-European suppliers, representing 63% and 30% respectively). If the industrial market can be considered as mature and stabilized, the municipal market is expected to witness further growth over the next decade under the combined effects of the acceleration of plant ...
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Riassunto La gestione integrata dei rifiuti comporta la necessità della realizzazione di diverse tipologie di impianti. L'odore indotto dall'esercizio di tali impianti rappresenta una problematica molto avvertita dalla popolazione... more
Riassunto La gestione integrata dei rifiuti comporta la necessità della realizzazione di diverse tipologie di impianti. L'odore indotto dall'esercizio di tali impianti rappresenta una problematica molto avvertita dalla popolazione residente nelle vicinanze. Obiettivo del lavoro di ricerca è quello di caratterizzare la molestia olfattiva mediante implementazione di una innovativa tecnica analitica di analisi in grado di effettuare campionamenti e quantificazioni direttamente in situ, consentendo una azione di controllo e gestione dell'impianto in tempo reale. I risultati hanno consentito l'individuazione delle sorgenti a maggiore impatto da odore, la determinazione del loro contributo alla molestia olfattiva complessivamente indotta dall'impianto. Summary Odour induced from the waste treatment plants is considered the principal cause of the annoyance noticed by the exposed population. The aim of research work is to characterize the odour noise by implementation of innovative techniques analysis to carry out both sampling and quantification directly on site. In this way the identification of odour key compounds could be carried out on site in real time to control the performances of the plant and the efficiency of the odour abatement systems. The results have enabled the identification of the main odour impact sources and the determination of their relative contribution to the total impact of the plant. 1. Introduzione La gestione integrata dei rifiuti comporta la necessità della realizzazione ed attuazione di diverse tipologie di impianti aventi quale fine ultimo quello di minimizzare l'impatto ambientale e rendere massimo il recupero di risorse, così come imposto dal quadro normativo vigente [1]. Gli odori indotti dall'esercizio di tali impianti costituiscono uno dei loro più rilevanti aspetti negativi di impatto ambientale; sebbene in generale non siano stati dimostrati effetti diretti sulla salute, essi sono causa di indubbio e persistente fastidio per la popolazione residente nelle vicinanze, diventando elemento di conflitto sia nel caso di impianti esistenti, che nella scelta del sito di localizzazione di nuovi impianti [1; 2; 3]. L'inserimento nella realtà locale di un impianto di trattamento rifiuti e l'accettazione da parte della popolazione è, infatti, quasi sempre condizionata, oltre che dagli impatti ambientali legati alle emissioni inquinanti anche, in maniera sempre crescente, dall'impatto olfattivo molesto spesso associato a tali installazioni [2; 4]. La percezione degli odori è un fenomeno complesso e con forte componente soggettiva. Le componenti che possono essere valutate per identificare una molestia di tipo olfattivo sono concentrazione, intensità, tono edonico e qualità; di queste in effetti solo la prima è determinabile in maniera oggettiva, mentre le altre sono fortemente soggettive [1; 4; 5].
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OMBR is a recently developed technology for wastewater treatment. OMBR-NF hybrid system was numerically modelled. Influence of process variables on system performance indicators was investigated.
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Anaerobic digestion is the biological degradation process of organic matter under anoxic conditions, with production of methane and inorganic by-products, including carbon dioxide. Over the past years, many studies on anaerobic digestion... more
Anaerobic digestion is the biological degradation process of organic matter under anoxic conditions, with production of methane and inorganic by-products, including carbon dioxide. Over the past years, many studies on anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) have been carried out at laboratory, bench and pilot scale. This work aims to summarize the main features of the OFMSW anaerobic digestion techniques and to define the state of art of this process in Europe, at both research and industrial level. To this end, main experimental results, design solutions and technologies are compared, also in relation to capital and operating costs and data about full scale experiences are reported. Among the different aspects discussed, particular interest has been provided to pretreatment possibilities in relation to substrate biodegradability and biogas production rate. The data collected and examined in this paper stress the aspects to be improved, in order to define future perspectives of the anaerobic process application for OFMSW treatment.
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The ubiquitous occurrences of pharmaceuticals in the environment have resulted to emerging adverse effects to both humans and animals. The integration of chemical and biological processes is deemed as a sound, cost-effective and... more
The ubiquitous occurrences of pharmaceuticals in the environment have resulted to emerging adverse effects to both humans and animals. The integration of chemical and biological processes is deemed as a sound, cost-effective and environment-friendly alternative of removing emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals found in municipal wastewaters. This study investigates the impacts of the pre-oxidation treatment using enhanced ozonation by sonolysis (O3/US) on the performance of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) to remove selected pharmaceuticals-diclofenac (DCF), sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and carbamazepine (CBZ). The influence of chemical pre-oxidation in terms of its performance in the membrane fouling control and its biological toxicity were also investigated. The enhanced O3/US using a constant power density of 370 W/L and an ozone flow of 3.3 g/h was employed as the pre-oxidation treatment. The results indicate that the removal efficiencies of MBR with O3/US pre-oxidation were observed to be 83%, 84% and 80%, for DCF, CBZ and SMX, respectively. The transmembrane pressure (TMP) was found to be relatively lower for the MBR with pre-oxidation compared to conventional MBR (without pre-oxidation). Based on the toxicity test results, the O3/US pre-oxidation did not significantly lead to complete elimination of toxicity in wastewater.
The aim of this paper is to elaborate strategies, methodologies and techniques for integrated water resource management within the philosophy of the EC Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) for the transboundary river basin of Evros.... more
The aim of this paper is to elaborate strategies, methodologies and techniques for integrated water resource management within the philosophy of the EC Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) for the transboundary river basin of Evros. Through the multidisciplinary information from the research activities in the similar EU river basins (e.g. the Ebro, Spain), development of a sustainable integrated water management scheme without conflicts among the sharing countries that incorporates quantity and quality aspects, river modelling taking into account extreme events of floods and droughts, monitoring of physico-chemical and biological parameters as well as priority substances of the WFD 2000/60/EC is obviously necessary to be developed for the Evros river which is shared by one EU (Greece) and two EU-candidates countries (Bulgaria-Turkey).
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Water scarcity is a growing global concern and the meager fraction of the remaining renewable water is further reduced by environmental pollution. At present, meeting the world's water demand entails efforts to protect the remaining fresh... more
Water scarcity is a growing global concern and the meager fraction of the remaining renewable water is further reduced by environmental pollution. At present, meeting the world's water demand entails efforts to protect the remaining fresh water sources from contamination or conserve water by reuse processes. Both actions necessitate advanced treatment techniques to remove hazardous substances and improve quality of wastewater effluent. Membrane filtration is one promising technology in the treatment of wastewater. However, the increasing use of membranes necessitates techniques to improve performance especially to control fouling-the main burden to membrane operation. This paper investigates the integration of ultrasound irradiation and activated carbon adsorption to cross-flow membrane ultrafiltration of secondary wastewater treatment plant effluent in a novel hybrid USAMe process. Experiments employing membrane alone, membrane with ultrasound, and membrane with adsorption were also performed. Fouling is analyzed through the continuous monitoring of trans-membrane pressure in a constant flux operation and through the measurement of specific resistances obtained during a systematic cleaning process. The influence of ultrasonic frequency to performance and the eco-toxicity of the effluent to Daphnia magna were also studied. All amendment techniques have improved membrane performance and have contributed to the enhancement in the main hybrid process. Superior results were achieved in the USAMe process operated at lower ultrasonic frequency. USAMe permeates produced "no effect" in eco-toxicity tests, denoting the generation of safe effluents.
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Odours are among the main causes of complaints in regards to environmental issues for a variety of plants, including landfills. The emissions from landfills can lead the quality of life and negatively influence the area nearby. To protect... more
Odours are among the main causes of complaints in regards to environmental issues for a variety of plants, including landfills. The emissions from landfills can lead the quality of life and negatively influence the area nearby. To protect people living surrounding from excessive odour exposures, different environmental protection practices may be implemented. In order to optimize technical and economic aspects, various configurations should be taken into account. In this view, the odour dispersion modelling represents a suitable tool to simulate different scenarios. In the present study, the odour impact from a big landfill located in Borgo Montello (Lazio Region, Italy) has been assessed by dispersion model. Different operating conditions were simulated, with a view at minimizing the odour annoyance also during the intermediate covering works. The Calpuff model was selected as it is well recognized among the preferred models for assessing the long range transport of pollutants. The Odour Emission Rates, input of this kind of models, were calculated based on the results of dynamic olfactometry. The results from the dispersion model were investigated to define the best measures for the control of the odour emissions during the most impactful operations.
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Industrial plants with odour emissions affect the quality of air and are often cause of public complaints by the people living surrounding the plant. For this reason, the control of odour represent a key issue. The starting point for an... more
Industrial plants with odour emissions affect the quality of air and are often cause of public complaints by the people living surrounding the plant. For this reason, the control of odour represent a key issue. The starting point for an effective odour control it"s their objective quantification. The electronic nose represent the odour measurement technique with probably the greatest potential, but currently there is not a universally recognized procedure of their application for the continuous monitoring of environmental odours.The aim of this paper is to present and describe a novel procedure to training electronic noses in order to maximize their capability of operating a qualitative classification and estimating the odour concentration of ambient air. This novel approach will reduce the uncertainty and increase the reliability of the continuous odour measures. The research is carried out through a real case study application in a big liquid waste treatment plant (LWTP). The seedOA system, patented by the SEED group of the University of Salerno, was used as e.nose device. The characterization of the odour concentrations from the different treatment units and the identification of the principal odour sources is discussed.
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The sediments of the port areas are often affected by the presence of several contaminants, which are generated from anthropic activities. These compounds can be toxic for the human health, thus, also to ensure a correct management and... more
The sediments of the port areas are often affected by the presence of several contaminants, which are generated from anthropic activities. These compounds can be toxic for the human health, thus, also to ensure a correct management and avoid the disposal in landfills, the sediments need to be treated. A novel approach proposal by international literature for sediments remediation is the use of advanced oxidation processes, which include ultrasonic technologies. Ultrasounds could be applied mainly to mineralize organic compounds and to desorb inorganic compounds through chemical and mechanical effects, respectively. The present paper is focused on the effectiveness of sonication to abate organic contaminants. The tests were carried out by ultrasound bath at different times of the treatment and sonication frequencies. The treatment efficiency was evaluated in terms of removal percentage. High percentages of degradation were achieved during the treatments in all the tests. The results demonstrated that ultrasound technology is a possible alternative technology for the treatment of contaminated sediments
I sedimenti delle aree portuali sono spesso interessati dalla presenza di contaminanti di natura organica ed inorganica, originati da fonti antropiche. Per un’adeguata gestione dei sedimenti contaminati indirizzata a promuoverne il... more
I sedimenti delle aree portuali sono spesso interessati dalla presenza di contaminanti di natura organica ed inorganica, originati da fonti antropiche. Per un’adeguata gestione dei sedimenti contaminati indirizzata a promuoverne il riutilizzo, possono essere impiegate diverse tecnologie di trattamento. Scopo del presente lavoro è la verifica dell’applicabilità dei processi ad ultrasuoni per la decontaminazione di sedimenti marini contaminati da idrocarburi policiclici aromatici e metalli pesanti. Campioni rappresentativi di sedimenti sono stati contaminati artificialmente con benzo()antracene, benzo()pirene, piombo, zinco e cadmio e sono stati trattati mediante un bagno ad ultrasuoni. L’efficienza di trattamento, indagata al variare di tempo e frequenza di sonicazione, è stata valutata in termini di degradazione dei composti organici e desorbimento dei composti inorganici. I risultati hanno mostrato una buona efficienza di degradazione dei contaminanti organici, con percentuali superiori al 90%. Per i metalli pesanti, i risultati ottenuti relativi alla determinazione delle percentuali di desorbimento, hanno mostrato significativa variabilità. I primi test eseguiti hanno, dunque, evidenziato che gli ultrasuoni sono potenzialmente efficaci per il trattamento di sedimenti marini caratterizzati da contaminazioni complesse.
This study investigated the viability of treating pharmaceuticals from real municipal wastewater using electrochemical process i.e. intermittent electrocoagulation. Batch experiments were performed using a laboratory scale electrochemical... more
This study investigated the viability of treating pharmaceuticals from real municipal wastewater using electrochemical process i.e. intermittent electrocoagulation. Batch experiments were performed using a laboratory scale electrochemical reactor with aluminum and stainless steel as anode and cathode, respectively. Diclofenac (DCF), carbamazepine (CBZ) and amoxicillin (AMX) were selected as representative of highly consumed pharmaceuticals under different drug categories (anti-inflammatory, antiepileptic and antibiotic) that are frequently detected in water resources. The effects of continuous and intermittent (5 min ON/ 20 min OFF) application of direct current (DC) field on the abatement of pharmaceutical compounds were determined and found to favor the latter in terms of treatment efficiency at varying current densities (CD = 0.3, 0.5 and 1.15 mA/cm2). The removal efficiencies of conventional pollutants namely chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), aromatic and humic substances (in terms of UV254), ammonia nitrogen (NH4-N) and orthophosphate (PO4-P) were also obtained and found to be directly proportional to current density and reaction time.
In the recent decades, the use of antibiotics is of great concern due to their continuous input and persistence in aquatic ecosystems even at low concentrations. The lack of appropriate treatment systems in conventional wastewater... more
In the recent decades, the use of antibiotics is of great concern due to their continuous input and persistence in aquatic ecosystems even at low concentrations. The lack of
appropriate treatment systems in conventional wastewater treatment plant, the unsuitable disposal of unused or expired antibiotics and their incomplete metabolization in
humans severely affect the quality of surface and groundwater. The present work aims to study the combination of electrochemical processes with membrane bioreactors (electro MBR/eMBR) for the removal of antibiotics from synthetic municipal wastewater. Amoxicillin (AMX) was chosen and spiked, at a wastewater, as representative of highly consumed antibiotic that is frequently detected in the aquatic environment. In order to reach the set objectives, an intermittent electric field of 0.5 and 1.15 mA/cm2 was applied between two cylindrical perforated aluminum anode and stainless steel cathode, immersed around a membrane module in a laboratory scale eMBR. For comparison purposes, the reactor was also operated as a conventional membrane bioreactor. The results illustrate that the application of electrochemical processes to membrane bioreactors was able to increase the antibiotic removal with respect to the conventional MBR.
Over the next decades, many regions worldwide will likely face dramatic changes in the availability of water. Desalination of sea water appears as the perfect mean to ensure water supply. To this end, membrane technologies represent a... more
Over the next decades, many regions worldwide will likely face dramatic changes in the availability of water. Desalination of sea water appears as the perfect mean to
ensure water supply. To this end, membrane technologies represent a promising technology since they can achieve high levels of purification and are simple technically,
energy efficient and typically scalable. However, membrane fouling, characterized by the deposition of solid material onto and into the membrane surface, is still the
main problem of this treatment. In the present work, a novel highly flux antifouling membranes were prepared via phase inversion technique using Polyethersulfone (PES) blending with a nanomaterials solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), Titanium dioxide (TiO2) and Triethanol amine (TEA), inNMethyl- 2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as a solvent. The prepared polymeric solution was cast on woven fabric as supporting material. The SEM results prove that prepared membranes have dense top layer and small finger like structure in the middle, while the bottom layer is porous due to woven support. The prepared membranes exhibit excellent mechanical behavior. Desalination test was carried out using real samples from Mediterranean sea. The membranes performance results indicate that salt rejection reached 96% with high flux 134.9 Kg/m2h under operating pressure up to 40 bar.
The presence of emerging contaminants (ECs) in water resources has raised a great concern in the last decades due to their persistence in the environment and their chronic toxicological and endocrine disrupting effects on terrestrial and... more
The presence of emerging contaminants (ECs) in water resources has raised a great concern in the last decades due to their persistence in the environment and their chronic toxicological and endocrine disrupting effects on terrestrial and aquatic organisms. Thus, advanced treatment methods are necessary for the removal of these
contaminants before wastewater reuse or disposal into aquatic ecosystem. In the present study, the hybrid process USAMe®, which combines ultrasound irradiation (US),
adsorption (A) and membrane filtration (Me), was investigated for the removal of ECs from real wastewater. Three pharmaceutical compounds - diclofenac (DCF),
carbamazepine (CBZ), and amoxicillin (AMX), were chosen for this study to represent highly consumed and frequently detected pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment. All three pharmaceuticals were spiked into real wastewater at two concentrations of 10 ppm and 100 ppb. Membrane ultrafiltration and its combination with US (USMe) or adsorption (AMe) were also studied as control tests. The results obtained showed improved pharmaceutical removals in the membrane ultrafiltration process whenever an auxiliary treatment was employed. The degree of pharmaceutical removal was achieved in the order: Me<USMe<AMe<USAMe®. The USAMe® process applied to real wastewater successfully removed the target ECs, displaying its potential as an advanced method for wastewater treatment.
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