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MICROBIOLOGICAL PROCESSAL STUDY OF THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN NITRIFICATION-DENITRIFICATION AND BIOLOGICAL PHOSPHOROUS REACTION IN SEWAGE TREATMENT. - Main researchers: Pedro García Encina - PhD student: Elisa Rodríguez Rodríguez - The evolution of legislation and the increase in the knowledge of the processes involved in the sewage treatment have modified the objective to be reached in the sewage treatment plants. Actually, a big part of this plants include nitrogen (nitrification and denitrification) and enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). The combination of these processes results in the coexistence of several microorganisms whose optimum operative conditions are extremely different. For this reason, it is necessary to reach a state of balance. Besides, the enhanced biological phosphorus removal is a non-stationary process and is strongly influenced by the nitrification and denitrification processes. In this context, biological phosphorus removal has become one of the most important processes, but little is known of the microbian groups participating in these reactions. For this reason, not only the study of the operational parameters’ influence is essential to achieve a successful removal of phosphates and nitrogen in sewage treatment plants, but also the study of the microbial communities involved in these processes. http://envtech.uva.es/pdf/P-Phosphorous.pdf ANAEROBIC MICROBRIAL DETERIORATION OF SURFACTANTS - Main researchers: Alfons Stams; Pedro García Encina - PhD student: Ana Paulo - The regular surfactants used constitute a diverse group of chemical products designed for cleaning and solubilization purposes. These are the main ingredients in domestic and industrial detergents. They are also used in personal hygene products and pesticide formulations. After its use, surfactants may be founf together with other pollutants in sewage treatment plants. They can also be unloaded into aqatic environment. The removal of sewage surfactants is a microbial process, which has several advantages compared to non-biological techniques. Surfactant biodegradation in the presence of oxygen is feasible and subject to many studies. However, environments in which molecular oxugen is absent or present in low concentrations are very common in nature. Anoxic environments can be found in anaerobic digesters, cesspools, organically enriched sediments, flooded grounds and rubbish dumps. Surfactants an be used as a carbon and energy source through bacteria where nitrate is present as electron acceptor, if the oxygen is limited or unavailable. Through the process of denitrification, unwanted nitrate accumulation can be avoided both in EDAR and the environment, due to its N2 reduction. Surfactants are used as a carbon source, thus being oxidized to CO2 and H2O (Figure 1). - http://envtech.uva.es/pdf/P-Microbial_Degradation.pdf ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION OF PHARMACEUTICAL AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS (PPCP) - Main researchers: Rubén Irusta Mata y Pedro García Encina - PhD student Sheyla A. Ortiz de García - Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) are extensively and increasingly used in human and animal medicine. Some of them have been identified as an emergent kind of potential pollutants for the aquatic environment. An extensive published literature recognized as one of the emergent questions in the different ambiental study areas. Despite these efforts, the adverse effects of many PPCPs and their metabolites are still unknown. Some authors have studied its harmful nature in detail: Endocrine disruptions, persistence, toxicity or problematic bioaccumulation. This project therefore considers some of these compounds, some of them recently synthesized or with a bigger prescription, consumption and presence in aquatic environment. -http://envtech.uva.es/pdf/P-Pharma_PersonalCPs.pdf STUDY OF THE PROCESS TO MINIMIZE SLUDGE PRODUCTION, RECOVER THE NUTRIENTS AND OPTIMIZE ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN SEWAGE TREATMENT. - Main researcher: María Fdz.-Polanco - Other researcher: Lara Pelaz - The anaerobic sewage treatment process is characterized by its efficiency, since it allows the production of methane -and therefore, energy- through the organic matter present in sewage. However, this process isn’t capable of removing some kind of nutrients such as N or P. While P cannot be removed due to chemical precipitation, nitrogen removal is more difficult on economically viable terms. The main objective of the projecr is to remove nitrogen through conventional nitrification-denitrification processes using a SBR reactor. A sequencing batch reactor is chosen due to its advantages, such as flexibility, stability, high performance and its ability to soften loads and big flows. Due to its operative flexibility, requirements for oxygen removal can be introduced in nitrogen removal, which involve a sequence of the aerobic and anoxic phases within the operative cycle. This generates the required conditions for the development of processes such as nitrification and denitrification. The system consists of two peristaltic pumps, a compressor and a mechanical agitation system, being all of them accurately timed. During the nitrification phase, nitrogen goes through a series of reactions to its most oxidized form. During denitrification, nitrogen is reduced to its gaseous state (N2). - http://envtech.uva.es/pdf/P-Sludge_WasteTreat.pdf

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