Small hydropower systems have emerged as an attractive solution for areas with low head and flow rates, offering versatility for implementation in diverse locations such as rivers and wastewater treatment plants. This research specifically focuses on exploring the potential of small hydropower generation within wastewater treatment plants. Through the utilization of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, the study successfully predicted the torque and power generation capacity of the installed turbine. The analysis underscored the effective control of fluid flow achieved through careful turbine design, including considerations of blade shape and quantity. For instance, in the case of the Tancheon wastewater treatment plant, the study revealed the ability to generate a torque of approximately 7000 Nm, translating to an estimated power production of around 48.3 kW per hour. Ultimately, this research significantly contributes to evaluating the feasibility and viability of small hydropower generation within wastewater treatment plants.

The object of this study is to feasibility assesment for co-digestion efficiency of food waste recycling wastewater(FWR) with thermal hydrolysis process dehydration cake (THP Sludge). As a result of THP pre-treatment experimental conditions to 160oC and 30 minutes, the solubility rate(conversion rate of TCOD to SCOD) of the THP sludge increased by 34%. And the bio-methane potential in the THP sludge increased by about 1.42 times from 0.230 to 0.328 m3 CH4/kg VS compared to the non-pre-treatment. The substrates of the co-digestion reactor were FWR and THP sludge at a 1:1 ratio. Whereas, only FWR was used as a substrate in the digestion reactor as a control group. The experimental conditions are 28.5 days of hydraulic retention time(HRT) and 3.5 kg VS/m3-day of organic loading rate(OLR). During the 120 days operation period, the co-digestion reactor was able to operate stably in terms of water quality and methane production, but the FWR digestion reactor deteriorated after 90 days, and methane production decreased to 0.233 m3 CH4/kg VS, which is 67% of normal condition. After 120 days of the experiment, organic loading rate(OLR) of co-digestion reactor was gradually increased to 4.5 kg VS/m3-day and operated for 80 days. Methane production during 80 days was evaluated to be good at the level of 0.349 m3 CH4/kg VS. As a result of evaluating the dehydration efficiency of the sludge before/after 150-180oC THP using a filter press, it was confirmed that the moisture content of the sludge treated before THP at 180oC was 75% and improved by 8% from 83-85% level. Therefore, it is expected that the co-digestion reactor of FWR and THP sludge will ensure stable treatment water quality and increase bio-methane production and reduction effect of dehydration sludge volume.

본 연구에서는 하수 재이용을 위한 역삼투막 공정에서 전처리 정밀여과막(MF) 손상에 대한 누출되는 다양한 수 질변화로써 막 손상 검지 방안을 제시하였다. 이를 위하여 역삼투막 유입수질 적합성 평가지표인 SDI (silt density index)를 3에서 5의 범위 내에서 막 손상 시 검지 감도를 정량화하기 위하여 전처리 분리막이 1에서 3가닥 파단에 따라 SDI는 1.92에 서 6.11까지 증가한 결과를 확인할 수 있었다. 일반적으로 3을 기준으로 역삼투막 유입수질로 설정하였을 때 분리막이 3가닥 까지 파단이 되어야만 막 손상 검지가 가능하다는 것을 의미하며 역삼투막의 오염은 잠재적으로 가속화되어 효율을 저하시 킬 수 있다. 또한 이때 누출되는 입자성과 유기물질에 대하여 0.45 μm 이상의 크기만 걸러주는 입자계수는 입도분포별 막 파 단 개수에 따라 일정한 패턴을 확인할 수 없었으며, TOC 농도는 약 2배의 변화패턴으로써 SDI와의 상관관계로써 TOC가 막 손상 수질지표로써 신뢰성이 높은 것으로 확인되었다. 수질분석결과와 더불어 USEPA에서 제시하는 막 손상 검지 방법 중 압력손실시험과 이를 기반으로 LRVDIT 모델의 적합성 평가를 한 결과 막 손상 또는 역삼투막 공정으로 유입되는 막오염물질 을 신속하게 확인할 수 있는 SDI 및 TOC를 포함한 LRVDIT 모니터링과 UCL 설정을 병행해야 한다.

자기공명영상(MRI) 장비의 조영제로 흔히 사용되는 가돌리늄(Gd)은 매우 안정된 상태로 하수처리과정에서 거의 제거되지 않고 수환경으로 유입된다고 알려져 있다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 세 가지의 공법으로 하수처리를 하는 부산 수영 하수처리장에서 채취한 하수 시료의 공정별 용존 희토류 원소의 제거율 및 수환경으로 배출되는 인위적 기원 Gd (Gdanth)의 배출량을 평가하고자 하였다. 용존 희토류 원소는 공정별 처리 단계에 따라 무거운 희토류 원소(Tb-Lu)에 비 해 가벼운 희토류 원소(La-Eu)에서 농도가 감소하는 경향을 보였다. 또한 일부 시료에서 나타난 음의(negative) Sm anomaly (<1)는 생물학적 제거 과정에서 Sm이 입자나 인산염과 흡착되어 함께 제거되었을 가능성을 시사한다. 모든 시 료에서 양의(positive) Gd anomaly (149±50, n=9)를 보였으며, 공정별로 측정된 Gd의 총 농도 중 Gdanth은 약 97% 이 상을 차지하는 것으로 나타났다. 이는 하수처리과정에서 Gdanth 이 거의 제거되지 않고 수영강 하류로 배출된다는 것을 의미한다. 일별 처리용량을 고려하여 각 공정에서 배출되는 Gdanth의 배출량은 259 mmol/day로 추정할 수 있다. 본 연 구의 결과는 하수처리장을 통해 수영만 연안으로 Gdanth이 지속적으로 배출될 것으로 예상되며, 향후 Gd의 중장기적인 관측이 필요함을 시사한다.

The frequent detection and occurrence of micropollutants (MPs) in aquatic ecosystems has raised public health concerns worldwide. In this study, the behavior of 50 MPs was investigated in three different domestic wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Furthermore, the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to assess the geographical and seasonal variation of MPs in the WWTPs. The results showed that the concentrations of 43 MPs ranged from less than 0.1 to 237.6 μg L-1, while other seven MPs including 17-ethynylestradiol, 17-estradiol, sulfathiazole, sulfamethazine, clofibric acid, simvastatin, and lovastatin were not detected in all WWTPs. Among the detected MPs, the pharmaceuticals such as metformin, acetaminophen, naproxen, and caffeine were prominent with maximum concentrations of 133.4, 237.6, 71.5, and 107.7 μg L-1, respectively. Most perfluorinated compounds and nitrosamines were found at trace levels of 1.2 to 55.3 ng L-1, while the concentration of corrosion inhibitors, preservatives (parabens), and endocrine disruptors ranged from less than 0.1 to 4310.8 ng L-1. Regardless of the type of biological treatment process such as MLE, A2O, and MBR, the majority of pharmaceuticals (except lincomycin, diclofenac, iopromide, and carbamazepine), parabens (except Methyl paraben), and endocrine disruptors were removed by more than 80%. However, the removal efficiencies of certain MPs such as atrazine, DEET, perfluorinated compounds (except PFHxA), nitrosamines, and corrosion inhibitors were relatively low or their concentration even increased after treatment. The results of statistical analysis reveal that there is no significant geographical difference in the removal efficacy of MPs, but there are temporal seasonal variations in all WWTPs.

Conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) do not fully remove micropollutants. Enhanced treatment of sewage effluents is being considered or implemented in some countries to minimize the discharge of problematic micropollutants from WWTPs. Representative enhanced sewage treatment technologies for micropollutant removal were reviewed, including their current status of research and development. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) such as ozonation and UV/H2O2 and adsorption processes using powdered (PAC) and granular activated carbon (GAC) were mainly discussed with focusing on process principles for the micropollutant removal, effect of process operation and water matrix factors, and technical and economic feasibility. Pilot- and full-scale studies have shown that ozonation, PAC, and GAC can achieve significant elimination of various micropollutants at economically feasible costs(0.16-0.29 €/m3). Considering the current status of domestic WWTPs, ozonation and PAC were found to be the most feasible options for the enhanced sewage effluent treatment. Although ozonation and PAC are all mature technologies, a range of technical aspects should be considered for their successful application, such as energy consumption, CO2 emission, byproduct or waste generation, and ease of system construction/operation/maintenance. More feasibility studies considering domestic wastewater characteristics and WWTP conditions are required to apply ozonation or PAC/GAC adsorption process to enhance sewage effluent treatment in Korea.

N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) is a potent carcinogen that is frequently detected nitrosamine from water chloramination. This study investigated the occurrence of NDMA and its potential precursor, ranitidine (RNT), in four wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Additionally, the effects of chloramination methods and oxidative pretreatment on the NDMA formation potential (FP) were assessed. Concentration levels of NDMA in the WWTPs waters ranged from 2.5 (detection limit) to 72.6 ng/L, while RNT values ranged from 1.32 to 186.9 ng/L. Further study indicated that the NDMA-FPs from chloraminated wastewaters varied between 36.2 and 227.8 ng/L. Nonetheless, chloramination methods and oxidative pretreatment significantly impacted the NDMA-FP levels. For example, breakpoint chlorination and stepwise chloramination promoted NDMA-FP when compared to preformed chloramination, which could be attributed to the formation of dichloramine and chlorine species. In contrast, prechlorination was found to effectively mitigate NDMA-FP, based on integrated ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Notably, UV irradiation with free chlorine (UV/Cl2) or permanganate (UV/MnO4 -) reduced NDMA-FP by up to 70%. This study suggests that UV/MnO4 - and UV/Cl2 may be used as alternative mitigation strategies for reducing nitrosamine-FP in the water treatment process.

The quantified analysis of damages to wastewater treatment plants by natural disasters is essential to maintain the stability of wastewater treatment systems. However, studies on the quantified analysis of natural disaster effects on wastewater treatment systems are very rare. In this study, a total disaster index (DI) was developed to quantify the various damages to wastewater treatment systems from natural disasters using two statistical methods (i.e., AHP: analytic hierarchy process and PCA: principal component analysis). Typhoons, heavy rain, and earthquakes are considered as three major natural disasters for the development of the DI. A total of 15 input variables from public open-source data (e.g., statistical yearbook of wastewater treatment system, meteorological data and financial status in local governments) were used for the development of a DI for 199 wastewater treatment plants in Korea. The total DI was calculated from the weighted sum of the disaster indices of the three natural disasters (i.e., TI for typhoon, RI for heavy rain, and EI for earthquake). The three disaster indices of each natural disaster were determined from four components, such as possibility of occurrence and expected damages. The relative weights of the four components to calculate the disaster indices (TI, RI and EI) for each of the three natural disasters were also determined from AHP. PCA was used to determine the relative weights of the input variables to calculate the four components. The relative weights of TI, RI and EI to calculate total DI were determined as 0.547, 0.306, and 0.147 respectively.

To remove phosphorus from the effluent of public wastewater treatment facilities, hundreds of enhanced phosphorus treatment processes have been introduced nationwide. However, these processes have a few problems including excessive maintenance cost and sludge production caused by inappropriate coagulant injection. Therefore, the optimal decision of coagulant dosage and automatic control of coagulant injection are essential. To overcome the drawbacks of conventional phosphorus removal processes, the integrated sedimentation and dissolved air flotation(SeDAF) process has been developed and a demonstration plant(capacity: 100 m3/d) has also been installed. In this study, various jar-tests(sedimentation and / or sedimentation·flotation) and multiple regression analyses have been performed. Particularly, we have highlighted the decision–making algorithms of optimal coagulant dosage to improve the applicability of the SeDAF process. As a result, the sedimentation jar-test could be a simple and reliable method for the decision of appropriate coagulant dosage in field condition of the SeDAF process. And, we have found that the SeDAF process can save 30 – 40% of coagulant dosage compared with conventional sedimentation processes to achieve total phosphorus (T-P) concentration below 0.2 mg/L of treated water, and it can also reduce same portion of sludge production.

본 연구는 점오염원인 하수종말처리장으로부터 배출되는 물의 수질을 분석하고 배출수의 영향을 받는 어류 중 지점들에서 공통적으로 출현하는 어종인 피라미 (Z. platypus) 를 선택하여 조직학적 변화를 참조하천 지점의 수질과 어류 조직을 비교·분석하였다. 2019년 6월 27~28일 하수종 말처리장 4곳 (대전, 전주, 청주, 익산)의 채집 결과, 참조하 천에서 22종 450개체로 가장 많은 종수 및 개체수가 확인 되었다. 지점별로 5개체씩 2~3년생 피라미의 조직표본을 제작하여 아가미와 근육조직 (피부조직)을 관찰한 결과, 참조하천을 제외한 나머지 지점의 조직은 병리적인 양상을 나타내었다. 수질분석 결과, 각 WTP에서는 배출수질 기준을 준수 혹은 더 좋은 수질로 방류하고 있었다. 그러나 하수종말처리수 배출수 및 방류수계 수질에서 오염도지표를 나타내는 항목인 BOD, COD, TP, TN, SS 값이 참조하천에 비해 높은 것으로 나타났다. 빈약한 어류상과 바이오마커로 이용된 종의 조직병리학적 상태는 참조하천에 비해 낮은 수질에서 기인한 것으로 추측되며, 따라서 원인이 되는 하수종말처리장 배출수 수질개선이 이루어져야 할 것으로 사료된다.

In order to determine the location of average concentration and distribution status of dissolved oxygen in the rectangular aeration tank of the sewage treatment plant was analyzed and the difference of dissolved oxygen concentration was remarkable at each location. Compared with the computational fluid dynamics analysis, it was found that the results were consistent with the measurement results by showing the difference of dissolved oxygen concentration between the locations. Based on the measured data, the representative location of dissolved oxygen in aeration tank was selected by using statistical analysis method and the representative location was expressed in three-dimensional coordinates(LWH : 25%, 50%, 33%) from flow direction and left wall. Also the difference between the dissolved oxygen concentration at the actual measurement location and the average concentration value of the entire aeration tank was founded, and the equations for calibrating the automatic measurement data considering the actual measurement location were calculated.

In this study, the fate and removal of 15 pharmaceuticals (including stimulants, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, etc.) in unit processes of a sewage treatment plant (STP) were investigated. Mass loads of pharmaceuticals were 2,598 g/d in the influent, 2,745 g/d in the primary effluent, 143 g/d in the secondary effluent, and 134 g/d in the effluent. The mass loads were reduced by 95% in the biological treatment process, but total phosphorous treatment did not show a significant effect on the removal of most pharmaceuticals. Also, mass balance analysis was performed to evaluate removal characteristics of pharmaceuticals in the biological treatment process. Acetaminophen, caffeine, acetylsalicylic acid, cefradine, and naproxen were efficiently removed in the biological treatment process mainly due to biodegradation. Removal efficiencies of gemfibrozil, ofloxacin, and ciprofloxacin were not high, but their removal was related to sorption onto sludge. This study provides useful information on understanding removal characteristics of pharmaceuticals in unit processes in the STP.