Abstract:In this study, experiments have been conducted to evaluate the organics and nutrients removal from synthetic wastewater by a laboratory scale moving bed biofilm process. For nutrients removal, moving bed biofilm process has been applied in series with anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic units in four separate reactors. Moving bed biofilm reactors were operated continuously at different loading rates of nitrogen and Phosphorus. During optimum conditions, close to complete nitrification with average ammonium removal efficiency of 99.72% occurred in the aerobic reactor. In the aerobic reactor, the average specific nitrification rate was 1.8 g NO x -N kg VSS. The results of the average effluent soluble COD concentration from each reactor showed that denitrification process in the second anoxic reactor consumed most of the biodegradable organic matter. As seen from the results, denitrification rate has increased with increasing NO x -N loading in the second anoxic reactor. The aerobic phosphate removal rate showed a good correlation to the anaerobic phosphate release rate. Moreover, phosphate removal rate showed a strong correlation to the phosphate loading rate in the aerobic reactor. In optimum conditions, the average SCOD, total nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiencies were 96.9, 84.6 and 95.8%, respectively. This study showed that the moving bed biofilm process could be used as an ideal and efficient option for the total nutrient removal from municipal wastewater.

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The removal of xylene vapors was studied in a biofilter packed with a new hybrid (scoria/compost) packing material at various inlet loads (IL) and empty bed residence times (EBRT) of 90, 60, and 40s. The best performance was observed for EBRT of 90s, where a removal efficiency of 98% was obtained under steady state condition for inlet xylene concentration of 1.34 g m−3, while a maximum elimination capacity of 97.5 g m−3 h−1 was observed for IL of 199.5 g m−3 h−1. Carbon dioxide production rates and the microbial counts for xylene-degraders followed xylene elimination capacities. Overall look to the results of this study indicates that the scoria/compost mixture could be considered as a potential biofilter carrier, with low pressure drop (here <4 mm H2O), to treat air streams containing VOCs.

11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11 beta-OHSD) transforms endogenous glucocorticoids to their respective "biologically inert" 11-dehydro derivatives. A decrease in enzyme activity allows glucocorticoids to induce mineralocorticoid-like renal sodium retention. Since positive sodium balance is required for optimum growth in the newborn, we hypothesized that renal 11 beta-OHSD activity would be low in the postnatal period, a time of active growth. To test this, incubations with corticosterone were carried out using minces or homogenates prepared from kidneys of newborn, 8-day-old, and mature Sprague-Dawley rats. 11 beta-OHSD activity in renal minces, assessed by the percent of corticosterone (10(-8) M) transformed to 11-dehydrocorticosterone (compound A), was significantly lower in the newborn kidney (newborn 45.7 +/- 3.8%, 8 day 70.2 +/- 3.8%, and adult 73.4 +/- 3.1%, P < 0.001 1 vs. 8 day). Parallel studies were conducted using an antibody directed against liver 11 beta-OHSD counter stained with immunofluorescent labeled IgG. Kidneys from mature rats were brightly stained at S2 and S3 segments of proximal tubules. In contrast, staining was barely detectable in kidneys from the newborn and 8-day-old rats. When enzyme kinetics were examined in kidney homogenates (average protein concentration 2.5 mg/ml) in the presence of 200 microM NADP+, the apparent Km for corticosterone in the adult was 4.42 x 10(-6) M with a corresponding Vmax of 1.33 x 10(-9) mol/min/mg protein, while the apparent Km for corticosterone in the newborn was calculated to be 12.8 x 10(-8) M with a Vmax of 2.08 x 10(-11) mol/min/mg protein.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)