This paper reviews both heterotrophic and autotrophic processes for the removal of nitrate from water supplies. The most commonly used carbon sources in heterotrophic denitrification are methanol, ethanol and acetic acid. Process performance for each feed stock is compared with particular reference nitrate and nitrite residual and to toxicity potential. Autotrophic nitrate removal has the advantages of not requiring an organic carbon source; however the slow growth rate of autotrophic bacteria and low nitrate removal rate have contributed to the fact that relatively few full scale plants are in operation at the present time.

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Disinfection by-products (DBPs) have heterogeneous structures which are suspected carcinogens as a result of reactions between NOMs (Natural Organic Matter) and oxidants/disinfectants such as chlorine. Because of variability in DBPs characteristics, eliminate completely from drinking water by single technique is impossible. The current article reviews removal of the precursors and DBPs by different membrane filtration methods such as Microfiltration (MF), Ultrafiltration (UF), Nanofiltration (NF) and Reverse Osmosis (RO) techniques. Also, we provide an overview of existing and potentially Membrane filtration techniques, highlight their strengths and drawbacks. MF membranes are a suitable alternative to remove suspended solids and colloidal materials. However, NOMs fractions are effectively removed by negatively charged UF membrane. RO can remove both organic and inorganic DBPs and precursors simultaneously. NF can be used to remove compounds from macromolecular size to multivalent ions.

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Background: Composting process is a feasible biological treatment for the recycling of municipal solid wastes as a soil amendment. The principal requirement of compost for it to be safely used in soil is a high degree of stability or maturity, which implies stable organic matter content as well as the absence of phytotoxic compounds and plant or animal pathogens. Objectives: At the present study, the maturity and stability of composted municipal solid wastes at a biocompost plant was evaluated. Materials and Methods: For the assessment of compost maturity, important parameters including temperature, moisture content, pH, electrical conductivity, carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio, microbial parameters including Salmonella, total and fecal coliforms were measured during the composting process (80 days). In addition, phytotoxicity as seed germination index and heavy metals concentration (Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni, Cd and Pb) was determined at the end of the composting time. Results:The results showed that the C/N ratio decreased during the composting process (reached to 15.6) due to the loss of carbon and the increase in nitrogen content per unit material; also, the NH 4 + /NO 3 ratio decreased with increase in the time of composting and reached

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Background and purpose: Textile industries are among the most polluting industries regarding the volume and the complexity of treatment of its effluents discharge. This study investigated the efficiency of electrocoagulation process using aluminum electrodes in basic red 18 dye removal from aqueous solutions. Materials and Methods:This study was performed in a bipolar batch reactor with six aluminum electrodes connected in parallel. Several important parameters, such as initial pH of solution, initial dye concentration, applied voltage; conductivity and reaction time were studied in an attempt to achieve higher removal efficiency. Results:The electrochemical technique showed satisfactory dye removal efficiency and reliable performance in treating of basic red 18. The maximum efficiency of dye removal which was obtained in voltage of 50 V, reaction time of 60 min, initial concentration 50 mg/L, conductivity 3000 µS/cm and pH 7 was equal to 97.7%. Dye removal efficiency was increased accordance to increase of applied voltage and in contrast electrode and energy consumption was increased simultaneously. Conclusion:As a conclusion, the method was found to be highly efficient and relatively fast compared to conventional existing techniques for dye removal from aqueous solutions.

Advanced oxidation processes like Fenton and photo-Fenton have been effectively applied to oxidize the persistent organic compounds in solid waste leachate and convert them to unharmful materials and products. However, there are limited data about application of Fenton-like process in leachate treatment. Therefore, this study was designed with the objective of treating municipal landfill leachate by Fenton, Fenton-like and photo–Fenton processes to determine the effect of different variables, by setting up a pilot system. The used leachate was collected from a municipal unsanitary landfill in Qaem-Shahr in the north of Iran. Fenton and Fenton-like processes were conducted by Jar-test method. Photo-Fenton process was performed in a glass photo-reactor. In all processes, H2O2 was used as the oxidant. FeSO4.7H2O and FeCl3.6H2O were used as reagents. All parameters were measured based on standard methods. The results showed that the optimum concentration of H2O2 was equal to 5 g/L for the Fenton-like process and 3 g/L for the Fenton and photo-Fenton processes. The optimum ratio of H2O2: Fe+2/Fe+3 were equal to 8:1 in all processes. At optimum conditions, the amount of COD removal was 69.6%, 65.9% and 83.2% in Fenton, Fenton-like and photo–Fenton processes, respectively. In addition, optimum pH were 3, 5 and 3 and the optimum contact time were 150, 90 and 120 minutes, for Fenton, Fenton-like and photo–Fenton processes, respectively. After all processes, the biodegradability (BOD5/COD ratio) of the treated leachate was increased compared to that of the raw leachate and the highest increase in BOD5/COD ratio was observed in the photo-Fenton process. The efficiency of the Fenton-like process was overally less than Fenton and photo-Fenton processes, meanwhile the Fenton-like process was at higher pH and did not show problems.