The occurrence and spread of bacterial antibiotic resistance are subjects of great interest, and the role of wastewater treatment plants has been attracting particular interest. These stations are a reservoir of bacteria, have a large range of organic and inorganic substances, and the amount of bacteria released into the environment is very high. The main purpose of the present study was to ass...

Data were collected at a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Burlington, Vermont, USA, (serving 30,000 people) to assess the relative contribution of CSO (combined sewer overflow) bypass flows and treated wastewater effluent to the load of steroid hormones and other wastewater micropollutants (WMPs) from a WWTP to a lake. Flow-weighted composite samples were collected over a 13 month period at...

RÉSUMÉ. In the contribution a (non-exhaustive) overview is given on the use of mathematical models in control systems of wastewater treatment plants. As a starting point for the overview, the four building blocks of any controlled process are used, 1) the process itself, 2) the actuators that allow manipulation of the process, 3) the control algorithm that calculates a proper action for disturb...

Survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain isolated from milk in Poland and an environmental E. coli strain in wastewater from Garwolin and Łowicz dairies and in activated sludges from dairy sewage treatment plants as well as in dairy wastewater with activated sludges was examined. Environmental materials were contaminated with about 10(8) of target bacteria/ml of sample. The experiments were ...

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate dissolved oxygen and nitrate control in a wastewater treatment-plant, and an integrated wastewater system, using model predictive control. This control is of importance in maintaining the conditions required for aquatic organisms and so, the entire dynamics must be considered: the urban sewer system, water treatment plant, and river itself. The integrated...

This paper describes a simple rule-based approach for the state detection in a biological waste water treatment plant. The plant shows bi-stable behaviour that makes its control a challenging and difficult task. The good operating point is difficult to reach and easy to lose. The approach combines the mathematical model of the plant and the available measurement information. After the state det...

Pharmaceuticals are being used at an increasing rate, and end up in wastewater through excretion and disposal. They also end up in the effluent water of wastewater treatment plants because they are not specifically designed for pharmaceutical removal. Several studies suggest diverse negative effects on aquatic life that are exposed to these trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in their habitats. Th...

Studies on the occurrence of pharmaceuticals show that the widely used pharmaceuticals ibuprofen and diclofenac are present in relevant concentrations in the environment. A pilot plant treating hospital wastewater with relevant concentrations of these pharmaceuticals was evaluated for its performance to reduce the concentration of the pharmaceuticals. Ibuprofen was completely removed, whereas d...