1.
Membrane bioreactor
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When used with domestic wastewater, MBR processes can produce effluent of high quality enough to be discharged to coastal, surface or brackish waterways or to be reclaimed for urban irrigation. Other advantages of MBRs over conventional processes include small footprint, easy retrofit, recent technical innovation and significant membrane cost reduction have enabled MBRs to become an established process option to treat wastewaters. As a result, the MBR process has now become an option for the treatment and reuse of industrial and municipal wastewaters, as evidenced by their constantly rising numbers. The current MBR market has been estimated to value around US$216 million in 2006, Membrane bioreactors can be used to reduce the footprint of an activated sludge sewage treatment system by removing some of the liquid component of the mixed liquor. This leaves a waste product that is then treated using the activated sludge process. The MBR process was introduced by the late 1960s, as soon as commercial scale ultrafiltration and microfiltration membranes were available, the original process was introduced by Dorr-Oliver Inc. and combined the use of an activated sludge bioreactor with a crossflow membrane filtration loop. The flat sheet membranes used in process were polymeric and featured pore sizes ranging from 0.003 to 0.01 μm. As a result, the focus was on the attainment of high fluxes, because of the poor economics of the first generation MBRs, they only found applications in niche areas with special needs, such as isolated trailer parks or ski resorts. The breakthrough for the MBR came in 1989 with Yamamoto and co-workers idea of submerging the membranes in the bioreactor, until then, MBRs were designed with the separation device located external to the reactor and relied on high transmembrane pressure to maintain filtration. With the membrane directly immersed in the bioreactor, submerged MBR systems are preferred to sidestream configuration. The submerged configuration relies on coarse bubble aeration to produce mixing, the energy demand of the submerged system can be up to 2 orders of magnitude lower than that of the sidestream systems and submerged systems operate at a lower flux, demanding more membrane area. In submerged configurations, aeration is considered as one of the parameters in process performance both hydraulic and biological. Aeration maintains solids in suspension, scours the membrane surface and provides oxygen to the biomass, leading to a better biodegradability, the other key steps in the recent MBR development were the acceptance of modest fluxes, and the idea to use two-phase bubbly flow to control fouling. The lower operating cost obtained with the submerged configuration along with the decrease in the membrane cost encouraged an exponential increase in MBR plant installations from the mid 90s. Since then, further improvements in the MBR design and operation have been introduced and incorporated into larger plants. While early MBRs were operated at solid retention times as high as 100 days with MLSS up to 30 g/L, thanks to these new operating conditions, the oxygen transfer and the pumping cost in the MBR have tended to decrease and overall maintenance has been simplified. Typical hydraulic retention times range between 3 and 10 hours, in terms of membrane configurations, mainly hollow fiber and flat sheet membranes are applied for MBR applications. Despite the more favourable energy usage of submerged membranes, there continued to be a market for the side stream configuration, for ease of maintenance the side stream configuration can be installed on a lower level in a plant building
2.
American and British English spelling differences
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Many of the differences between American and British English date back to a time when spelling standards had not yet developed. For instance, some spellings seen as American today were once used in Britain. But English-language spelling reform has rarely been adopted otherwise, and thus modern English orthography varies somewhat between countries and is far from phonemic in any country, in the early 18th century, English spelling was inconsistent. These differences became noticeable after the publishing of influential dictionaries, todays British English spellings mostly follow Johnsons A Dictionary of the English Language, while many American English spellings follow Websters An American Dictionary of the English Language. Webster was a proponent of English spelling reform for reasons both philological and nationalistic, in A Companion to the American Revolution, John Algeo notes, it is often assumed that characteristically American spellings were invented by Noah Webster. He was very influential in popularizing certain spellings in America, rather he chose already existing options such as center, color and check for the simplicity, analogy or etymology. William Shakespeares first folios, for example, used spellings like center and color as much as centre, Webster did attempt to introduce some reformed spellings, as did the Simplified Spelling Board in the early 20th century, but most were not adopted. In Britain, the influence of those who preferred the Norman spellings of words proved to be decisive, later spelling adjustments in the United Kingdom had little effect on todays American spellings and vice versa. For the most part, the systems of most Commonwealth countries. Australian spelling has also strayed slightly from British spelling, with some American spellings incorporated as standard, New Zealand spelling is almost identical to British spelling, except in the word fiord. There is also an increasing use of macrons in words that originated in Māori, most words ending in an unstressed -our in British English end in -or in American English. Wherever the vowel is unreduced in pronunciation, e. g. contour, velour, paramour and troubadour the spelling is the same everywhere, most words of this kind came from Latin, where the ending was spelled -or. They were first adopted into English from early Old French, after the Norman conquest of England, the ending became -our to match the Old French spelling. The -our ending was not only used in new English borrowings, however, -or was still sometimes found, and the first three folios of Shakespeares plays used both spellings before they were standardised to -our in the Fourth Folio of 1685. After the Renaissance, new borrowings from Latin were taken up with their original -or ending, Websters 1828 dictionary had only -or and is given much of the credit for the adoption of this form in the United States. Johnson, unlike Webster, was not an advocate of spelling reform and he preferred French over Latin spellings because, as he put it, the French generally supplied us. In Jeffersons original draft it is spelled honour, Honor and honour were equally frequent in Britain until the 17th century, honor still is, in the UK, the usual spelling as a persons name and appears in Honor Oak, a district of London. In derivatives and inflected forms of the words, British usage depends on the nature of the suffix used
3.
Wastewater
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Wastewater, also written as waste water, is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. Wastewater can originate from a combination of domestic, industrial, commercial or agricultural activities, surface runoff or stormwater, municipal wastewater is usually conveyed in a combined sewer or sanitary sewer, and treated at a wastewater treatment plant. Treated wastewater is discharged into receiving water via an effluent pipe, wastewaters generated in areas without access to centralized sewer systems rely on on-site wastewater systems. These typically comprise a septic tank, drain field, and optionally an on-site treatment unit, the management of wastewater belongs to the overarching term sanitation, just like the management of human excreta, solid waste and stormwater. Sewerage is the infrastructure, including pipes, pumps, screens. Soluble organic material such as urea, fruit sugars, soluble proteins, drugs, pharmaceuticals, inorganic particles such as sand, grit, metal particles, ceramics, etc. Soluble inorganic material such as ammonia, road-salt, sea-salt, cyanide, hydrogen sulfide, thiocyanates, thiosulfates, animals such as protozoa, insects, arthropods, small fish, etc. Macro-solids such as napkins, nappies/diapers, condoms, needles, childrens toys, dead animals or plants. Gases such as sulfide, carbon dioxide, methane, etc. Emulsions such as paints, adhesives, mayonnaise, hair colorants, emulsified oils, toxins such as pesticides, poisons, herbicides, etc. The result is that the content of the water will be decreased. Those biochemical reactions create what is measured in the laboratory as the oxygen demand. Such chemicals are also liable to be broken down using strong oxidizing agents, both the BOD and COD tests are a measure of the relative oxygen-depletion effect of a waste contaminant. Both have been adopted as a measure of pollution effect. The BOD test measures the demand of biodegradable pollutants whereas the COD test measures the oxygen demand of oxidizable pollutants. The so-called 5-day BOD measures the amount of oxygen consumed by oxidation of waste contaminants in a 5-day period. The total amount of consumed when the biochemical reaction is allowed to proceed to completion is called the Ultimate BOD. Because the Ultimate BOD is so time consuming, the 5-day BOD has been almost universally adopted as a measure of pollution effect
4.
Sink
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A sink—also known by other names including sinker, washbowl, hand basin and wash basin—is a bowl-shaped plumbing fixture used for washing hands, dishwashing, and other purposes. Sinks have taps that supply hot and cold water and may include a feature to be used for faster rinsing. They also include a drain to remove used water, this drain may itself include a strainer and/or shut-off device, Sinks may also have an integrated soap dispenser. When a sink becomes stopped-up or clogged, a person will often resort to use a chemical drain cleaner or a plunger, the washstand was a bathroom sink made in the United States in the late 18th century. The washstands were small tables on which were placed a pitcher, sometimes the table had a hole where the large bowl rested, which led to the making of dry sinks. From about 1820 to 1900 the dry sink evolved by the addition of a cabinet with a trough built on the top. This is where the bowls or buckets for water were kept, splashboards were sometimes added to the back wall, as well as shelves and drawers, the more elaborate designs usually placed in the kitchen. Sinks are made of different materials. These include, Stainless steel is used in kitchens and commercial applications because it represents a good trade-off between cost, usability, durability, and ease of cleaning. Most stainless steel sinks are made by drawing a sheet of steel over a die. Some very deep sinks are fabricated by welding, Stainless steel sinks will not be damaged by hot or cold objects and resist damage from impacts. Enamel over cast iron is a material for kitchen and bathroom sinks. Heavy and durable, these sinks can also be manufactured in a wide range of shapes. Aggressive cleaning will dull the surface, leading to more dirt accumulation, enamel over steel is a similar-appearing but far less rugged and less cost-effective alternative. Solid ceramic sinks have many of the characteristics as enamel over cast iron. Plastic sinks come in basic forms, Inexpensive sinks are simply made using injection-molded thermoplastics. These are often deep, free-standing sinks used in laundry rooms, subject to damage by hot or sharp objects, the principal virtue of these sinks is their low cost. High-end acrylic drop-in and undermount sinks are becoming popular, although they tend to be easily damaged by hard objects - like scouring a cast iron frying pan in the sink
5.
Shower
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A shower is a place in which a person bathes under a spray of typically warm or hot water. Indoors, there is a drain in the floor, most showers have temperature, spray pressure and adjustable showerhead nozzle. The simplest showers have a swivelling nozzle aiming down on the user and this allows the showerer to spray the water at different parts of their body. A shower can be installed in a shower stall or bathtub with a plastic shower curtain or door. Showering is common in Western culture due to the efficiency of using it compared with a bathtub and its use in hygiene is therefore common practice. A shower uses less water on average than a bath,80 litres for a shower compared with 150 litres for a bath, the original showers were neither indoor structures nor man-made, but were common natural formations, waterfalls. The falling water rinsed the bathers completely clean and was more efficient than bathing in a traditional basin, ancient people began to reproduce these natural phenomena by pouring jugs of water, often very cold, over themselves after washing. There has been evidence of upper class Egyptian and Mesopotamians having indoor shower rooms where servants would bathe them in the privacy of their own homes. However, these were rudimentary by modern standards, having rudimentary drainage systems and water was carried, not pumped, the ancient Greeks were the first people to have showers. Their aqueducts and sewage systems made of lead pipes allowed water to be pumped both into and out of large communal shower rooms used by elites and common citizens alike. These rooms have been discovered at the site of the city Pergamum, the depictions are very similar to modern locker room showers, and even included bars to hang up clothing. The ancient Romans also followed this convention, their famous bathhouses can be all around the Mediterranean. The Romans not only had these showers, but also believed in bathing multiple times a week, the water and sewage systems developed by the Greeks and Romans broke down and fell out of use after the fall of the Roman Empire. The first mechanical shower, operated by a pump, was patented in England in 1767 by William Feetham. His shower contraption used a pump to force the water into a vessel above the users head, the system would also recycle the same dirty water through every cycle. This early start was greatly improved in the anonymously invented English Regency shower design of circa 1810, the original design was over 10 feet tall, and was made of several metal pipes painted to look like bamboo. A basin suspended above the pipes fed water into a nozzle that distributed the water over the users shoulders, the water on the ground was drained and pumped back through the pipes into the basin, where the cycle would repeat itself. The original prototype was improved upon in the following decades
6.
Bathtub
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A bathtub, bath, or tub is a large or small container for holding water in which a person or a persons pet may bathe. Most modern bathtubs are made of thermoformed acrylic, porcelain enameled steel, fiberglass-reinforced polyester, a bathtub is usually placed in a bathroom either as a stand-alone fixture or in conjunction with a shower. Modern bathtubs have overflow and waste drains and may have taps mounted on them and they are usually built-in, but may be free-standing or sometimes sunken. Until recently, most bathtubs were roughly rectangular in shape but with the advent of acrylic thermoformed baths, bathtubs are commonly white in colour although many other colours can be found. The process for enamelling cast iron bathtubs was invented by the Scottish-born American David Dunbar Buick, two main styles of bathtub are common, Western style bathtubs in which the bather lies down. These baths are typically shallow and long, eastern style bathtubs in which the bather sits up. These are known as ofuro in Japan and are typically short, evidence of the earliest surviving personal sized bath tub was found on the Isle of Crete where a 1. 5-metre long pedestal tub was found built from hardened pottery. The design spread to England where it found much popularity among the aristocracy, early bathtubs in England tended to be made of cast iron, or even tin and copper with a face of paint applied that tended to peel with time. The Scottish-born inventor David Buick invented a process for bonding porcelain enamel to cast iron in the 1880s while working for the Alexander Manufacturing Company in Detroit. Far from the feet and luxury most associated with clawfoot tubs, an early Kohler example was advertised as a horse trough/hog scalder. The items use as hog scalder was considered an important marketing point than its ability to function as a bathtub. In the latter half of the 20th century, the once popular clawfoot tub morphed into a tub with a small apron front. This enclosed style afforded easier maintenance and, with the emergence of colored sanitary ware, more options for the homeowner. The Crane Company introduced colored bathroom fixtures to the US market in 1928, the clawfoot tub or claw-foot tub was considered a luxury item in the late 19th century, originally made from cast iron and lined with porcelain. Modern technology has contributed to a drop in the price of clawfoot tubs, clawfoot tubs usually require more water than a standard bathtub, because generally they are larger. Clawfoot tubs come in 4 major styles, Classic roll rim tubs, slipper tubs - where one end is raised and sloped creating a more comfortable lounging position. Double slipper tubs - where both ends are raised and sloped, double ended tubs - where both ends of the tub are rounded. Notice how one end of the tub is rounded and one is fairly flat
7.
Washing machine
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A washing machine is a machine used to wash laundry, such as clothing and sheets. The term is applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning or ultrasonic cleaners. Laundry detergent is used to clean clothes, and is sold in either powdered or liquid form. Laundering by hand involves soaking, beating, scrubbing, and rinsing dirty textiles, Water for the laundry would be hand carried, heated on a fire for washing, then poured into the tub. That made the warm soapy water precious, it would be reused, first to wash the least soiled clothing, removal of soap and water from the clothing after washing was originally a separate process. First, soap would be rinsed out with clear water, after rinsing, the soaking wet clothing would be formed into a roll and twisted by hand to extract water. The entire process often occupied an entire day of hard work, Clothes washer technology developed as a way to reduce the manual labor spent, providing an open basin or sealed container with paddles or fingers to automatically agitate the clothing. The earliest machines were hand-operated and constructed from wood, while later machines made of metal permitted a fire to burn below the washtub, the earliest special-purpose mechanical washing device was the washboard, invented in 1797 by Nathaniel Briggs of New Hampshire. By the mid-1850s steam-driven commercial laundry machinery were on sale in the UK, technological advances in machinery for commercial and institutional washers proceeded faster than domestic washer design for several decades, especially in the UK. In the United States there was emphasis on developing machines for washing at home, though machines for commercial laundry services were widely used in the late 19th. The rotary washing machine was patented by Hamilton Smith in 1858, as electricity was not commonly available until at least 1930, some early washing machines were operated by a low-speed, single-cylinder hit-and-miss gasoline engine. After the items were washed and rinsed, water had to be removed by twisting, to help reduce this labor, the wringer/mangle machine was developed. As implied by the term mangle, these machines were quite dangerous, especially if powered. A users fingers, hand, arm, or hair could become entangled in the laundry being squeezed, resulting in injuries, unwary bystanders, such as children, could also be caught. Safer mechanisms were developed over time, and the more hazardous designs were eventually outlawed, the mangle used two rollers under spring tension to squeeze water out of clothing and household linen. Each laundry item would be fed through the wringer separately, the first wringers were hand-cranked, but were eventually included as a powered attachment above the washer tub. The wringer would be swung over the wash tub so that extracted wash water would fall back into the tub to be reused for the next load, the modern process of water removal by spinning did not come into use until electric motors were developed. Spinning requires a constant high-speed power source, and was originally done in a device known as an extractor
8.
Flush toilet
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Flush toilets can be designed for sitting or for squatting, in the case of squat toilets. The opposite of a toilet is a dry toilet, which uses no water for flushing. Flush toilets usually incorporate an S, U, J, or P shaped bend that causes the water in the bowl to collect and act as a seal against sewer gases. Since flush toilets are not designed to handle waste on site, their drain pipes must be connected to waste conveyance. When a toilet is flushed, the flows into a septic tank or sewage system. A flush toilet may be called a lavatory, water closet, loo, comfort room. A flush toilet is different from a urinal, which is designed to handle only liquid waste, or from a bidet, a typical flush toilet is a vitreous, ceramic bowl containing water, plus plumbing to rapidly fill it with more water. The water in the bowl is connected to a hollow drain pipe shaped like an upside-down U connecting the drain. One side of the U channel is arranged as a siphon tube longer than the water in the bowl is high. The siphon tube connects to the drain, the top of the upside-down U-shaped drain pipe limits the height of the water in the bowl before it flows down the drain. If water is poured slowly into the bowl it simply flows over the rim of the upside-down U, the standing water in the bowl acts as a barrier to sewer gas coming out of the sewer through the drain, and also as a receptacle for waste. Sewer gas is vented through a vent pipe attached to the sewer line. When a user flushes a toilet, a flapper valve opens. This rapid influx from the causes the swirling water in the bowl to rapidly rise. This full siphon tube starts the toilets siphonic action, the siphon action quickly “pulls” nearly all of the water and waste in the bowl and the on-rushing tank water down the drain — it flushes. When most of the water has drained out of the bowl, the toilet then gives its characteristic gurgle as the siphonic action ceases and no more water flows out of the toilet. After flushing, the valve in the water tank closes, water lines and valves connected to the water supply refill the toilet tank. Then the toilet is again ready for use, at the top of the toilet bowl is a rim with many angled drain holes that are fed from the tank, which fill, rinse, and induce swirling in the bowl when it is flushed
9.
Irrigation
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Irrigation is the method in which a controlled amount of water is supplied to plants at regular intervals for agriculture. It is used to assist in the growing of crops, maintenance of landscapes. Additionally, irrigation also has a few uses in crop production. In contrast, agriculture that only on direct rainfall is referred to as rain-fed or dry land farming. Irrigation systems are used for dust suppression, disposal of sewage. Irrigation is often studied together with drainage, which is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given area, Irrigation has been a central feature of agriculture for over 5,000 years and is the product of many cultures. Historically, it was the basis for economies and societies across the globe, archaeological investigation has found evidence of irrigation where the natural rainfall was insufficient to support crops for rainfed agriculture. Ancient Egyptians practiced Basin irrigation using the flooding of the Nile to inundate land plots which had surrounded by dykes. The flood water was held until the sediment had settled before the surplus was returned to the watercourse. The Ancient Nubians developed a form of irrigation by using a device called a sakia. Irrigation began in Nubia some time between the third and second millennium BCE and it largely depended upon the flood waters that would flow through the Nile River and other rivers in what is now the Sudan. In sub-Saharan Africa irrigation reached the Niger River region cultures and civilizations by the first or second millennium BCE and was based on wet season flooding, terrace irrigation is evidenced in pre-Columbian America, early Syria, India, and China. These canals are the earliest record of irrigation in the New World, traces of a canal possibly dating from the 5th millennium BCE were found under the 4th millennium canal. Large scale agriculture was practiced and a network of canals was used for the purpose of irrigation. Ancient Persia as far back as the 6th millennium BCE, where barley was grown in areas where the rainfall was insufficient to support such a crop. The Qanats, developed in ancient Persia in about 800 BCE, are among the oldest known irrigation methods still in use today and they are now found in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. The system comprises a network of wells and gently sloping tunnels driven into the sides of cliffs. The noria, a wheel with clay pots around the rim powered by the flow of the stream, was first brought into use at about this time
10.
Water supply
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Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. However, about 14% did not have access to a water source and had to use unprotected wells or springs, canals. A clean water supply - in particular water that is not polluted with fecal matter from lack of sanitation - is the single most important determinant of public health. Destruction of water supply and/or sanitation infrastructure after major catastrophes poses the threat of severe epidemics of waterborne diseases. Water supply systems get water from a variety of locations after appropriate treatment, including groundwater, surface water, the water treatment steps include, in most cases, purification, disinfection through chlorination and sometimes fluoridation. Treated water then flows by gravity or is pumped to reservoirs. In the U. S, the single family home uses about 69.3 gallons of water per day. This includes toilet use, washing machine use, showers, baths, tap use, many of the 3.5 billion people having access to piped water receive a poor or very poor quality of service, especially in developing countries where about 80% of the world population lives. Water supply service quality has many dimensions, continuity, water quality, pressure, and it is estimated that about half of the population of developing countries receives water on an intermittent basis. Drinking water quality has a micro-biological and a physico-chemical dimension, there are thousands of parameters of water quality. For more details, please see the entries on water quality, water treatment. Water pressures vary in different locations of a distribution system, Water mains below the street may operate at higher pressures, with a pressure reducer located at each point where the water enters a building or a house. In poorly managed systems, water pressure can be so low as to only in a trickle of water or so high that it leads to damage to plumbing fixtures. Typical UK pressures are 4–5 bar for an urban supply, however, some people can get over eight bars or below one bar. A single iron main pipe may cross a valley, it will have the same nominal pressure. So people at the bottom of a 100-foot hill will get about 3 bars more than those at the top, the effective pressure also varies because of the pressure loss due to supply resistance even for the same static pressure. An urban consumer may have 5 metres of 15 mm pipe running from the main, so the kitchen tap flow will be fairly unrestricted. A rural consumer may have a kilometre of rusted and limed 22 mm iron pipe, for this reason, the UK domestic water system has traditionally employed a cistern feed system, where the incoming supply is connected to the kitchen sink and also a header/storage tank in the attic
11.
Clean water
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Drinking water, also known as potable water or improved drinking water, is water that is safe to drink or to use for food preparation, without risk of health problems. Globally, in 2015, 91% of people had access to suitable for drinking. Nearly 4.2 billion had access to tap water while another 2.4 billion had access to wells or public taps,1.8 billion people still use an unsafe drinking water source which may be contaminated by feces. This can result in infectious diarrhea such as cholera and typhoid among others, the amount of drinking water required is variable. It depends on activity, age, health issues. It is estimated that the average American drinks about one litre of water a day with 95% drinking less than three litres per day, for those working in a hot climate, up to 16 liters a day may be required. Water makes up about 60% of weight in men and 55% of weight in women, infants are about 70% to 80% water while the elderly are around 45%. Typically in developed countries, tap water meets drinking water quality standards, other typical uses include washing, toilets, and irrigation. Greywater may also be used for toilets or irrigation and its use for irrigation however may be associated with risks. Water may also be due to levels of toxins or suspended solids. Reduction of waterborne diseases and development of water resources is a major public health goal in developing countries. Bottled water is sold for consumption in most parts of the world. The word potable came into English from the Late Latin potabilis, the amount of drinking water required is variable. It depends on activity, age, health, and environmental conditions. It is estimated that the average American drinks about one litre of water a day with 95% drinking less than three litres per day, for those working in a hot climate, up to 16 litres per day may be required. Some health authorities have suggested that at least eight glasses of eight fl oz each are required by an adult per day, the British Dietetic Association recommends 1.8 litres. However, various reviews of the evidence performed in 2002 and 2008 could not find any scientific evidence recommending eight glasses of water per day. An individuals thirst provides a guide for how much water they require rather than a specific
12.
Constructed wetland
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A constructed wetland is an artificial wetland created for the purpose of treating anthropogenic discharge such as municipal or industrial wastewater, or stormwater runoff. It may also be created for land reclamation after mining, refineries, constructed wetlands are engineered systems that use natural functions of vegetation, soil, and organisms to treat different water streams. Depending on the type of wastewater that has to be treated the system has to be adjusted accordingly which means that pre- or post-treatments might be necessary. Constructed wetlands can be designed to emulate the features of natural wetlands, some constructed wetlands may also serve as a habitat for native and migratory wildlife, although that is usually not their main purpose. The two main types of constructed wetlands are subsurface flow and surface flow wetlands, the planted vegetation plays a role in contaminant removal but the filter bed, consisting usually of a combination of sand and gravel, has an equally important role to play. Many terms are used to denote constructed wetlands, such as reed beds, soil infiltration beds, constructed treatment wetlands, treatment wetlands, beside engineered wetlands, the terms of man-made or artificial wetlands are often found as well. A biofilter has some similarities with a wetland, but is usually without plants. However, the term of constructed wetlands can also be used to describe restored and recultivated land that was destroyed in the past through draining and converting into farmland, ponds for wastewater treatment or water purification are not considered as constructed wetlands. They are referred to as ponds or treatment ponds, respectively. A constructed wetland is a sequence of water bodies designed to filter and treat waterborne pollutants found in sewage. Constructed wetlands are used for treatment or for greywater treatment. They can be used after a tank for primary treatment. Some CW designs however do not use upfront primary treatment, vegetation in a wetland provides a substrate upon which microorganisms can grow as they break down organic materials. This community of microorganisms is known as the periphyton, the periphyton and natural chemical processes are responsible for approximately 90 percent of pollutant removal and waste breakdown. The plants remove about seven to ten percent of pollutants, different species of aquatic plants have different rates of heavy metal uptake, a consideration for plant selection in a constructed wetland used for water treatment. Constructed wetlands are of two types, subsurface flow and surface flow wetlands. Many regulatory agencies list treatment wetlands as one of their recommended best management practices for controlling urban runoff, in most cases, the bottom is lined with either a polymer geomembrane, concrete or clay in order to protect the water table and surrounding grounds. The substrate can be either gravel—generally limestone or pumice/volcanic rock, depending on local availability, subsurface flow wetlands can be further classified as horizontal flow and vertical flow constructed wetlands
13.
Oslo
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Oslo is the capital and the most populous city in Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality, founded in the year 1040, and established as a kaupstad or trading place in 1048 by Harald Hardrada, the city was elevated to a bishopric in 1070 and a capital under Haakon V of Norway around 1300. Personal unions with Denmark from 1397 to 1523 and again from 1536 to 1814, after being destroyed by a fire in 1624, the city was moved closer to Akershus Fortress during the reign of Christian IV of Denmark and renamed Christiania in his honour. It was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838, following a spelling reform, it was known as Kristiania from 1877 to 1925, at which time its original Norwegian name was restored. Oslo is the economic and governmental centre of Norway, the city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping. It is an important centre for industries and maritime trade in Europe. The city is home to companies within the maritime sector, some of which are among the worlds largest shipping companies, shipbrokers. Oslo is a city of the Council of Europe and the European Commission intercultural cities programme. Oslo is considered a city and ranked Beta World City in studies carried out by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group. It was ranked one in terms of quality of life among European large cities in the European Cities of the Future 2012 report by fDi magazine. A survey conducted by ECA International in 2011 placed Oslo as the second most expensive city in the world for living expenses after Tokyo. In 2013 Oslo tied with the Australian city of Melbourne as the fourth most expensive city in the world, as of January 1,2016, the municipality of Oslo has a population of 658,390, while the population of the citys urban area was 942,084. The metropolitan area had an population of 1.71 million. The population was during the early 2000 increasing at record rates and this growth stems for the most part from international immigration and related high birth rates, but also from intra-national migration. The immigrant population in the city is growing faster than the Norwegian population. As of January 1,2016, the municipality of Oslo has a population of 658,390, the urban area extends beyond the boundaries of the municipality into the surrounding county of Akershus, the total population of this agglomeration is 942,084. To the north and east, wide forested hills rise above the city giving the location the shape of a giant amphitheatre. The urban municipality of Oslo and county of Oslo are two parts of the entity, making Oslo the only city in Norway where two administrative levels are integrated
14.
Frankfurt
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The city is at the centre of the larger Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, which has a population of 5.8 million and is Germanys second-largest metropolitan region after Rhine-Ruhr. Since the enlargement of the European Union in 2013, the centre of the EU is about 40 km to the east of Frankfurts CBD. Frankfurt is culturally and ethnically diverse, with half of the population. A quarter of the population are foreign nationals, including many expatriates, Frankfurt is an alpha world city and a global hub for commerce, culture, education, tourism and traffic. Its the site of many global and European headquarters, Frankfurt Airport is among the worlds busiest. Automotive, technology and research, services, consulting, media, Frankfurts DE-CIX is the worlds largest internet exchange point. Messe Frankfurt is one of the worlds largest trade fairs, major fairs include the Frankfurt Motor Show, the worlds largest motor show, the Music Fair, and the Frankfurt Book Fair, the worlds largest book fair. Frankfurt is home to educational institutions, including the Goethe University, the UAS, the FUMPA. Its renowned cultural venues include the concert hall Alte Oper, Europes largest English Theatre and many museums, Frankfurts skyline is shaped by some of Europes tallest skyscrapers. In sports, the city is known as the home of the top football club Eintracht Frankfurt, the basketball club Frankfurt Skyliners, the Frankfurt Marathon. Its the seat of German sport unions for Olympics, football, Frankfurt is the largest financial centre in continental Europe. It is home to the European Central Bank, Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is one of the worlds largest stock exchanges by market capitalization and accounts for more than 90 percent of the turnover in the German market. Frankfurt is considered a city as listed by the GaWC groups 2012 inventory. Among global cities it was ranked 10th by the Global Power City Index 2011, among financial centres it was ranked 8th by the International Financial Centers Development Index 2013 and 9th by the Global Financial Centres Index 2013. Its central location within Germany and Europe makes Frankfurt a major air, rail, Frankfurt Airport is one of the worlds busiest international airports by passenger traffic and the main hub for Germanys flag carrier Lufthansa. Frankfurter Kreuz, the Autobahn interchange close to the airport, is the most heavily used interchange in the EU, in 2011 human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked Frankfurt as seventh in its annual Quality of Living survey of cities around the world. According to The Economist cost-of-living survey, Frankfurt is Germanys most expensive city, Frankfurt has many high-rise buildings in the city centre, forming the Frankfurt skyline. It is one of the few cities in the European Union to have such a skyline and because of it Germans sometimes refer to Frankfurt as Mainhattan, the other well known and obvious nickname is Bankfurt
15.
Fecal
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Feces or faeces are the solid or semisolid metabolic waste from an animals digestive tract, discharged through the anus or cloaca during a process called defecation. Urine and feces together are called excreta, collected feces has various uses, namely as fertilizer or soil conditioner in agriculture, as a fuel source, or for medicinal purposes. After an animal has digested eaten material, the remains of material are discharged from its body as waste. Although it is lower in energy than the food from which it is derived, feces may retain a large amount of energy and this means that of all food eaten, a significant amount of energy remains for the decomposers of ecosystems. Many organisms feed on feces, from bacteria to fungi to insects such as dung beetles, some may specialize in feces, while others may eat other foods as well. Feces serve not only as a food, but also as a supplement to the usual diet of some animals. Feces and urine, which reflect light, are important to raptors such as kestrels. Seeds also may be found in feces, animals who eat fruit are known as frugivores. An advantage for a plant in having fruit is that animals will eat the fruit and this mode of seed dispersal is highly successful, as seeds dispersed around the base of a plant are unlikely to succeed and often are subject to heavy predation. Provided the seed can withstand the pathway through the system, it is not only likely to be far away from the parent plant. This cycling of matter is known as the biogeochemical cycle, the distinctive odor of feces is due to bacterial action. Gut flora produce compounds such as indole, skatole, and thiols and these are the same compounds that are responsible for the odor of flatulence. Consumption of foods prepared with spices may result in the spices being undigested, the perceived bad odor of feces has been hypothesized to be a deterrent for humans, as consuming or touching it may result in sickness or infection. Human perception of the odor may be contrasted by an animals perception of it, for example. In humans and depending on the individual and the circumstances, defecation may occur daily, extensive hardening of the feces may cause prolonged interruption in the routine and is called constipation. Human fecal matter varies significantly in appearance, depending on diet, normally it is semisolid, with a mucus coating. The brown coloration comes from a combination of bile and bilirubin, in newborn babies, initially fecal matter is yellow-green after the meconium. This coloration comes from the presence of bile alone, throughout the life of an ordinary human, one may experience many types of feces
16.
Sewage
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Sewage is a water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as domestic or municipal wastewater, it is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical and toxic constituents and it consists mostly of greywater, blackwater, soaps and detergents, and toilet paper. Whether it also contains surface runoff depends on the design of sewer system, all sewage ends up back in the environment, by any of several routes. A basic distinction in its route is whether it undergoes sewage treatment to mitigate its effect on the environment before arriving there, Sewage usually travels from a buildings plumbing either into a sewer, which will carry it elsewhere, or into an onsite sewage facility. Whether it is combined with surface runoff in the sewer depends on the sewer design, before the 20th century, sewers usually discharged into a body of water such as a stream, river, lake, bay, or ocean. There was no treatment, so the breakdown of the waste was left to the ecosystem. Today, the goal is that sewers route their contents to a treatment plant rather than directly to a body of water. In many countries, this is the norm, in developing countries. Thus other goals of modern sewage routing include handling surface runoff separately from sewage, handling greywater separately from toilet waste, proper collection and safe, nuisance-free disposal of the liquid wastes of a community are legally recognized as a necessity in an urbanized, industrialized society. In many developing countries the bulk of domestic and industrial wastewater is discharged without any treatment or after primary treatment only, the term sewage is nowadays regarded as an older term and is being more and more replaced by wastewater. In general American English usage, the sewage and sewerage mean the same thing. Both words are descended from Old French assewer, derived from the Latin exaquare, in American technical and professional English usage, sewerage refers to the infrastructure that conveys sewage. Wastes that result from an industrial processes such as the production or manufacture of goods are classed as industrial wastewater, surface runoff, also known as storm flow or overland flow, is that portion of precipitation that runs rapidly over the ground surface to a defined channel. Sewage is a mixture of chemicals, with many distinctive chemical characteristics. These include high concentrations of ammonium, nitrate, phosphorus, high conductivity, high alkalinity, the organic matter of sewage is measured by determining its biological oxygen demand or the chemical oxygen demand. Sewage also contains the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus, Sewage can be monitored for both disease-causing and benign organisms with a variety of techniques. Traditional techniques involve filtering, staining, and examining samples under a microscope, sequencing DNA from an environmental sample is known as metagenomics. Sewage has also analyzed to determine relative rates of use of prescription
17.
Blackwater (waste)
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Blackwater is used to describe wastewater containing feces, urine and flushwater from flush toilets along with anal cleansing water or toilet paper. Blackwater is to be distinguished from greywater which is the wastewater generated from washing food, clothes and dishware, as well as from bathing, according to a one source, Blackwater is the mixture of urine, faeces and flushwater along with anal cleansing water and/or dry cleansing materials. Blackwater contains the pathogens of faeces and the nutrients of urine that are diluted in the flushwater, Blackwater is a term dating to at least the 1970s. Water coming from domestic equipment other than toilets is called greywater, separation of blackwater and greywater nowadays happens with all ecological buildings. Especially in autonomous buildings, the separation is always present and it is also commonly used on recreational vehicles which feature a greywater holding tank and a blackwater holding tank. Blackwater contains pathogens that must decompose before they can be released safely into the environment and it is difficult to process blackwater if it contains a large quantity of excess water, or if it must be processed quickly, because of the high concentrations of organic material. However, if blackwater does not contain water, or if it receives primary treatment to de-water. The heat produced by naturally occurring thermophilic microorganisms, will heat the compost to over 60 °C, Blackwater generation can be avoided by making use of composting toilets and vermifilter toilets. In certain autonomous buildings, such as earthships, this is almost always present, besides saving water, composting toilets allow the user to reuse the nutrients found therein
18.
Excreta
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Excretion is the process by which metabolic wastes and other non-useful materials are eliminated from an organism. In vertebrates this is carried out by the lungs, kidneys. This is in contrast with secretion, where the substance may have specific tasks after leaving the cell, excretion is an essential process in all forms of life. For example, in urine is expelled through the urethra. In unicellular organisms, waste products are discharged directly through the surface of the cell, green plants produce carbon dioxide and water as respiratory products. In green plants, the carbon dioxide released during respiration gets utilized during photosynthesis, oxygen is a by product generated during photosynthesis, and exits through stomata, root cell walls, and other routes. Plants can get rid of water by transpiration and guttation. These latter processes do not need added energy, they act passively, however, during the pre-abscission phase, the metabolic levels of a leaf are high. Plants also excrete some waste substances into the soil around them, in animals, the main excretory products are carbon dioxide, ammonia, urea, uric acid, guanine and creatine. The liver and kidneys clear many substances from the blood, aquatic animals usually excrete ammonia directly into the external environment, as this compound has high solubility and there is ample water available for dilution. In terrestrial animals ammonia-like compounds are converted into other materials as there is less water in the environment. Birds excrete their nitrogenous wastes as uric acid in the form of a paste and this is metabolically more expensive, but allows more efficient water retention and it can be stored more easily in the egg. Many avian species, especially seabirds, can also excrete salt via specialized nasal salt glands, in insects, a system involving Malpighian tubules is utilized to excrete metabolic waste. Metabolic waste diffuses or is actively transported into the tubule, which transports the wastes to the intestines, the metabolic waste is then released from the body along with fecal matter. The excreted material may be called dejecta or ejecta, in pathology the word ejecta is more commonly used. UAlberta. ca, Animation of excretion Brian J Ford on leaf fall in Nature
19.
Human feces
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Human feces are the feces of the human digestive system, including bacteria. They vary significantly in appearance, according to the state of the system, diet. Normally human feces are semisolid, with a mucus coating, small pieces of harder, less moist feces can sometimes be seen impacted on the distal end. This is a normal occurrence when a prior bowel movement is incomplete, and feces are returned from the rectum to the intestine, in the medical literature, the term stool is more commonly used than feces. Human feces together with human urine are collectively referred to as waste or human excreta. Containing human feces, and preventing spreading of pathogens from human feces via the route, are the main goals of sanitation. The Bristol stool scale is a medical aid designed to classify the form of human feces into seven categories. Sometimes referred to in the UK as the Meyers Scale, it was developed by K. W. Heaton at the University of Bristol and was first published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology in 1997. The form of the stool depends on the time it spends in the colon, entirely Liquid Types 1 and 2 indicate constipation. Types 3 and 4 are optimal, especially the latter, as these are the easiest to pass, Types 5–7 are associated with increasing tendency to diarrhea or urgency. Meconium is a babys first feces. Human fecal matter varies significantly in appearance, depending on diet, Human feces ordinarily has a light to dark brown coloration, which results from a combination of bile, and bilirubin derivatives of stercobilin and urobilin, from dead red blood cells. Normally it is semisolid, with a mucus coating, another cause of yellowing is a condition known as Gilberts Syndrome. Yellow stool can also indicate that food is passing through the digestive tract relatively quickly, yellow stool can be found in people with gastroesophageal reflux disease. Stool that is pale or grey may be caused by insufficient bile output due to such as cholecystitis, gallstones, giardia parasitic infection, hepatitis, chronic pancreatitis. Bile salts from the liver give stool its brownish color, if there is decreased bile output, stool is much lighter in color. Feces can be due to the presence of red blood cells that have been in the intestines long enough to be broken down by digestive enzymes. This is known as melena, and is due to bleeding in the upper digestive tract
20.
Effluent
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Effluent is an outflowing of water or gas from a natural body of water, or from a manmade structure. Effluent, in engineering, is the stream exiting a chemical reactor, effluent is defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as wastewater - treated or untreated - that flows out of a treatment plant, sewer, or industrial outfall. Generally refers to wastes discharged into surface waters, the Compact Oxford English Dictionary defines effluent as liquid waste or sewage discharged into a river or the sea. Effluent in the sense is in general considered to be water pollution. An effluent sump pump, for instance, pumps waste from toilets installed below a main sewage line, similar to wastewater produced in different establishments, industries, and facilities. This cleaner effluent is used to feed the bacteria in biofilters. In the context of a power station, the output of the cooling system may be referred to as the effluent cooling water. Effluent only refers to liquid discharge, in sugar beet processing, effluent is often settled in water tanks that allow the mud-contaminated water to settle. The mud sinks to the bottom, leaving the top section of water clear, free to be pumped back into the river or be reused in the process again. The Mississippi Rivers effluent of fresh water is so massive that a plume of water is detectable by the naked eye from space, even as it rounds Florida
21.
Dry well
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A dry well or drywell is an underground structure that disposes of unwanted water, most commonly surface runoff and stormwater, and in some cases greywater. It is a covered, porous-walled chamber that allows water to soak into the ground. Such structures are called a soakaway in the UK, a soakwell in Australia. A sump in a basement can be built in drywell form, a French drain can resemble a horizontal dry well that is not covered. A larger open pit or artificial swale that receives storm water, in places where the amount of water to be dispersed is not as large, a rain garden can be used instead. A dry well is a passive structure, water flows through it under the influence of gravity. When a dry well is above the table, most of its internal volume will contain air. Such a dry well can accept an initial inrush of water very quickly, after that, the dry well can only accept water as fast as it can dissipate water. A dry well maintains the connection between its inflow and outflow openings by resisting collapse and resisting clogging, simple dry wells consist of a pit filled with gravel, riprap, rubble, or other debris. Such pits resist collapse, but do not have storage capacity because their interior volume is mostly filled by stone. A more advanced dry well defines a large storage volume by a reinforced concrete cylinder with perforated sides. These dry wells are usually buried completely, so that they do not take up any land area, the dry wells for a parking lots storm drains are usually buried below the same parking lot. A covered pit that disposes of the component of sewage by the same principle as a dry well is called a cesspool. A septic drain field operates on the same principle as an infiltration basin. A modern innovation in the industry is using polypropylene material to create a soakwell or dry well structure
22.
Arba Minch
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Arba Minch is a city and separate woreda in southern Ethiopia, the first common name for this city was Ganta Garo. Located in the Gamo Gofa Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and it is the largest town in Gamo Gofa Zone and the second town in SNNPR next to Awassa. It is surrounded by Arba Minch Zuria woreda, Arba Minch received its name for the abundant local springs which produce a groundwater forest. On the eastern side of Sikela is the gate to Nechisar National Park, buses and taxis connect the uptown and downtown parts, both parts have schools. Kulfo River flows through the town, and drains into Lake Chamo, Arba Minch is known as a source for fruit, including mango, banana, orange, apple, guava and pineapple, and is also known for its fish farms. Indicating its richness of fish a local singer named Abile Chedo sang the song Nu Dere Gamo Gofa Oycha Arbaminche muziri kalsi yedes Abaya-Chamo mole and it is the home of Arba Minch University and the Southwest Synod of the Mekane Yesus Church. The town also is served by Arba Minch Airport, Arba Minch was founded in the early 1960s by then Fitawrari Aemeroselasie Abebe and the city succeeded Chencha as the provincial capital of Gamu-Gofa. The oral tradition has it that Fitawrari Aemiro Selassie Abebe had to fight with prominent figures of Chencha to move the capital from Chencha to Arbaminch. Roads were built linking the new town to Soddo and making Arba Minch only a journey by road to the capital. A telephone line connecting the town to the capital, costing E$250,000, was turned up on 15 July 1967. The Norwegian Lutheran Mission opened a station at Arba Minch in 1970, which included a trade school, at the beginning of the Ethiopian Revolution public demonstrations occurred in the town, and four people were killed in clashes with the police on 28 March 1974. Following the revolution privately held plantations were made into state farms, the 193 million birr Arba Minch Textile Mill was opened on 6 May 1992 in the presence of Ethiopian Prime Minister Tamirat Layne. The mill would produce polyester mixed with cotton grey fabrics, according to the SNNPRs Bureau of Finance and Economic Development, as of 2003 other amenities in Arba Minch include postal service, 24-hour electrical service, a bank and a hospital. May 2010, the Ethiopian Roads Authority awarded a contract worth 563 million E$ to the firm of Brehane Hagos to build a road 60 kilometers in length from this town to Belta. The United States military operated a facility at Arba Minch from 2011 until September 2015, the facility served as the base for several General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles. Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the CSA, this town has a population of 74,879. The majority of the inhabitants practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 56. 04% of the reporting that belief,38. 47% were Protestants. In the same year, around the town of Arba Minch, in the Arba Minch District, there were 164,529 people, of whom 82,199 were male and 82,330 were female
23.
Sewage treatment
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Sewage treatment is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater, primarily from household sewage. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove these contaminants, a by-product of sewage treatment is usually a semi-solid waste or slurry, called sewage sludge, that has to undergo further treatment before being suitable for disposal or land application. Sewage treatment may also be referred to as treatment, although the latter is a broader term which can also be applied to purely industrial wastewater. If the sewer system is a combined sewer then it will also carry urban runoff to the treatment plant. The term sewage treatment plant is often replaced with the term wastewater treatment plant. Sewage can be treated close to where the sewage is created, alternatively, sewage can be collected and transported by a network of pipes and pump stations to a municipal treatment plant. This is called a centralized system, sewage is generated by residential, institutional, commercial and industrial establishments. It includes household waste liquid from toilets, baths, showers, kitchens, in many areas, sewage also includes liquid waste from industry and commerce. Sewage may include stormwater runoff or urban runoff, sewerage systems capable of handling storm water are known as combined sewer systems. This design was common when urban sewerage systems were first developed, in the late 19th, combined sewers require much larger and more expensive treatment facilities than sanitary sewers. Heavy volumes of storm runoff may overwhelm the sewage treatment system, sanitary sewers are typically much smaller than combined sewers, and they are not designed to transport stormwater. Backups of raw sewage can occur if excessive infiltration/inflow is allowed into a sewer system. As rainfall travels over roofs and the ground, it may pick up various contaminants including soil particles and other sediment, heavy metals, organic compounds, animal waste, some jurisdictions require stormwater to receive some level of treatment before being discharged directly into waterways. Examples of treatment processes used for stormwater include retention basins, wetlands, buried vaults with various kinds of media filters and this process is called industrial wastewater treatment. The same does not apply to many developing countries where industrial effluent is more likely to enter the sewer if it exists, or even the water body. Industrial wastewater may contain pollutants which cannot be removed by conventional sewage treatment, also, variable flow of industrial waste associated with production cycles may upset the population dynamics of biological treatment units, such as the activated sludge process. Sewage collection and treatment is subject to local, state and federal regulations. Sewage treatment generally involves three stages, called primary, secondary and tertiary treatment, Primary treatment consists of temporarily holding the sewage in a quiescent basin where heavy solids can settle to the bottom while oil, grease and lighter solids float to the surface
24.
Reclaimed water
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Reclaimed or recycled water is the process of converting wastewater into water that can be reused for other purposes. Reuse may include irrigation of gardens and agricultural fields or replenishing surface water and groundwater, reused water may also be directed toward fulfilling certain needs in residences, businesses, and industry, and could even be treated to reach drinking water standards. This last option is called either direct potable reuse or indirect potable reuse, colloquially, the term toilet to tap also refers to potable reuse. Reclaiming water for reuse applications instead of using freshwater supplies can be a water-saving measure, Wastewater reuse is a long-established practice used for irrigation, especially in arid countries. Simply stated, reclaimed water is water that is used more than one time before it passes back into the water cycle. Advances in wastewater treatment technology allow communities to reuse water for different purposes. The water is treated differently depending upon the source and use of the water, Water recycling and reuse is thus of increasing importance, not only in arid regions but also in cities and contaminated environments. Already, the aquifers that are used by over half of the world population are being over-drafted. Large quantities of freshwater can be saved by wastewater reuse and recycling, reducing environmental pollution, Reuse can be an alternative water supply option. Where applicable, systems run a dual piping system to keep the recycled water separate from the potable water, for example, a wastewater treatment plant from one city may be discharging effluents to a river which is used as a drinking water supply for another city downstream. Unplanned Indirect Potable Use has existed for a long time, large towns on the River Thames upstream of London discharge their treated sewage into the Thames, which supplies water to London downstream. In the United States, the Mississippi River serves as both the destination of sewage treatment plant effluent and the source of potable water, unrestricted, The use of reclaimed water for non-potable applications in municipal settings, where public access is not restricted. When reclaimed water is used for irrigation in agriculture, the nutrient content of the wastewater has the benefit of acting as a fertilizer. This can make the reuse of excreta contained in sewage attractive, the irrigation water can be used in different ways on different crops, Food crops to be eaten raw, crops which are intended for human consumption to be eaten raw or unprocessed. Processed food crops, crops which are intended for consumption not to be eaten raw. Non-food crops, crops which are not intended for human consumption, the use of reclaimed water to create, enhance, sustain, or augment water bodies including wetlands, aquatic habitats, or stream flow. The use of reclaimed water to recharge aquifers that are not used as a water source. Planned potable reuse is publicly acknowledged as a project to recycle water for drinking water
25.
Ecological sanitation
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Ecological sanitation, commonly abbreviated to ecosan, is an approach which is characterized by a desire to safely close the loop between sanitation and agriculture. Ecosan systems safely recycle excreta resources to crop production in such a way that the use of resources is minimised. The definitions of ecosan have varied in the past and these systems have a strong potential to be sustainable sanitation systems if technical, institutional, social and economic aspects are managed appropriately. Traditionally, ecosan has often been associated with urine diversion and in particular with urine-diverting dry toilets, for this reason, the term ecosan toilet is widely used when people mean a UDDT. However, the concept should not be limited to one particular type of toilet. Also, UDDTs can be used without having any reuse activities in which case they are not in line with the ecosan concept, the term ecosan was first used in about the 1990s by an NGO in Ethiopia called Sudea. They used it for UDDTs coupled with reuse activities, in the ecosan concept, human excreta and wastewater is regarded as a potential resource – which is why it has also been called resource oriented sanitation. The term productive sanitation has also been in use since about 2006, the definition of ecosan is focusing on the health, environment and resource aspect of sustainable sanitation. The statement in the definition of ecosan to safely recycle includes hygienic, thus, the recycled human excreta product, in solid or liquid form, shall be of high quality both concerning pathogens and all kind of hazardous chemical components. The statement use of resources is minimised means that the gain in resources by recycling shall be larger than the cost of resources by recycling. It does not favour a specific technology, but is rather a certain philosophy in handling substances that have so far been seen simply as wastewater. Disease reduction was meant to be achieved not only by reducing infections transmitted via the fecal-oral route but also by reducing malnutrition in children. This link between WASH, nutrition, a disease called environmental enteropathy as well as stunted growth of children has risen to the top of the agenda of the WASH sector since about 2013. Agricultural trials around the world have shown measurable benefits of using treated excreta in agriculture as a fertilizer and this applies in particular to the use of urine. Reuse trials in Zimbabwe showed positive results for using urine on green, another study in Finland indicated that the use of urine and the use of urine and wood ash could produce 27% and 10% more red beet root biomass. Urine has been proven in studies to be a valuable, relatively easy to handle fertilizer, containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium. Another aspect that ecosan systems are trying to address is the possible upcoming shortage of phosphorus, phosphorus has an important role for plant growth, and therefore in fertilizer production, but is a limited mineral resource. The situation is similar for potassium, known mineral phosphate rock reserves are becoming scarce and increasingly costly to extract – this is also called the peak phosphorus crisis
26.
Fat
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Fat is one of the three main macronutrients, along with carbohydrate and protein. Fats, also known as triglycerides, are esters of three fatty acid chains and the alcohol glycerol, the terms oil, fat, and lipid are often confused. Oil normally refers to a fat with short or unsaturated fatty acid chains that is liquid at room temperature, lipid is the general term, as a lipid is not necessarily a triglyceride. Fats, like lipids, are generally hydrophobic, and are soluble in organic solvents. Fat is an important foodstuff for many forms of life, and they are a necessary part of the diet of most heterotrophs. Some fatty acids that are set free by the digestion of fats are called essential because they cannot be synthesized in the body from simpler constituents, there are two essential fatty acids in human nutrition, alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid. Other lipids needed by the body can be synthesized from these, fats and other lipids are broken down in the body by enzymes called lipases produced in the pancreas. Fats and oils are categorized according to the number and bonding of the atoms in the aliphatic chain. Fats that are saturated fats have no double bonds between the carbons in the chain, unsaturated fats have one or more double bonded carbons in the chain. The nomenclature is based on the end of the chain. This end is called the end or the n-end. Thus alpha-linolenic acid is called an omega-3 fatty acid because the 3rd carbon from that end is the first double bonded carbon in the counting from that end. Some oils and fats have double bonds and are therefore called polyunsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats can be divided into cis fats, which are the most common in nature, and trans fats. Unsaturated fats can be altered by reaction with hydrogen effected by a catalyst and this action, called hydrogenation, tends to break all the double bonds and makes a fully saturated fat. However, trans fats are generated during hydrogenation as contaminants created by a side reaction on the catalyst during partial hydrogenation. Saturated fats can stack themselves in a closely packed arrangement, so they can easily and are typically solid at room temperature. For example, animal fats tallow and lard are high in saturated fatty acid content and are solids, olive and linseed oils on the other hand are unsaturated and liquid
27.
Oil
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An oil is any neutral, nonpolar chemical substance that is a viscous liquid at ambient temperatures and is both hydrophobic and lipophilic. Oils have a carbon and hydrogen content and are usually flammable. The general definition of oil includes classes of compounds that may be otherwise unrelated in structure, properties. Oils may be animal, vegetable, or petrochemical in origin and they are used for food, fuel, medical purposes, lubrication, and the manufacture of many types of paints, plastics, and other materials. Specially prepared oils are used in religious ceremonies and rituals as purifying agents. First attested in English 1176, the oil comes from Old French oile, from Latin oleum, which in turn comes from the Greek ἔλαιον, olive oil, oil. The earliest attested forms of the word are the Mycenaean Greek
28.
Yellow grease
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Yellow grease, also termed used cooking oil, used vegetable oil, recycled vegetable oil, or waste vegetable oil is recovered from businesses and industry that use the oil for cooking. It is used to feed livestock, and to manufacture soap, make-up, clothes, rubber, due to competition from these other industrial sectors, the EIA estimates that less than a third of yellow grease could be spared for biodiesel production annually. It is distinct from brown grease, yellow grease is typically used frying oils from deep fryers, Yellow grease can also refer to lower-quality grades of tallow from animal rendering plants. The term has been in use for some time, a source from 1896 describes it as follows, Yellow grease is made by packers. All the refuse materials of the houses go into the yellow grease tank. Bioliquids Biodiesel Vegetable oil fuel Cooking oil Vegetable oil economy Vegetable oil recycling Gutter oil Grease Rustlers by Susan McCarthy, Yellow Grease Market Information The Jacobsen Publishing
29.
Sanitary sewer
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A sanitary sewer or foul sewer is an underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings through pipes to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers are part of a system called sewerage or sewage system. Sewage may be treated to water pollution before discharge to surface waters. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater, separate sanitary sewer systems are designed to transport sewage alone. In municipalities served by sewers, separate storm drains may be constructed to convey surface runoff directly to surface waters. Sanitary sewers are distinguished from combined sewers, which combine sewage with stormwater runoff in the same pipe, sanitary sewer systems are considered beneficial because they avoid combined sewer overflows. To overcome these disadvantages, some cities built separate sanitary sewers to collect only municipal wastewater, the decision between a combined sewer system or two separate systems is mainly based on need for sewage treatment and cost of providing treatment during heavy rain events. Many cities with combined sewer systems built prior to sewage treatment have not replaced those sewer systems, in the developed world, sewers are pipes from buildings to one or more levels of larger underground trunk mains, which transport the sewage to sewage treatment facilities. Vertical pipes, usually made of precast concrete, called manholes, depending upon site application and use, these vertical pipes can be cylindrical, eccentric or concentric. The manholes are used for access to the pipes for inspection and maintenance. They also facilitate vertical and horizontal angles in otherwise straight pipelines, pipes conveying sewage from an individual building to a common gravity sewer line are called laterals. Branch sewers typically run under streets receiving laterals from buildings along that street, larger cities may have sewers called interceptors receiving flow from multiple trunk sewers. Design and sizing of sanitary sewers considers the population to be served over the life of the sewer, per capita wastewater production. Commercial and industrial flows are considered, but diversion of surface runoff to storm drains eliminates wet weather flow peaks of inefficient combined sewers. Pumps may be necessary where gravity sewers serve areas at lower elevations than the treatment plant. A lift station is a gravity sewer sump with a pump to lift accumulated sewage to a higher elevation, the pump may discharge to another gravity sewer at that location or may discharge through a pressurized force main to some distant location. Most of the solids are removed by the tanks, so the treatment plant can be much smaller than a typical plant. In addition, because of the vast reduction in solid waste, because the wastestream is pressurized, they can be laid just below the ground surface along the lands contour
30.
Potable
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Drinking water, also known as potable water or improved drinking water, is water that is safe to drink or to use for food preparation, without risk of health problems. Globally, in 2015, 91% of people had access to suitable for drinking. Nearly 4.2 billion had access to tap water while another 2.4 billion had access to wells or public taps,1.8 billion people still use an unsafe drinking water source which may be contaminated by feces. This can result in infectious diarrhea such as cholera and typhoid among others, the amount of drinking water required is variable. It depends on activity, age, health issues. It is estimated that the average American drinks about one litre of water a day with 95% drinking less than three litres per day, for those working in a hot climate, up to 16 liters a day may be required. Water makes up about 60% of weight in men and 55% of weight in women, infants are about 70% to 80% water while the elderly are around 45%. Typically in developed countries, tap water meets drinking water quality standards, other typical uses include washing, toilets, and irrigation. Greywater may also be used for toilets or irrigation and its use for irrigation however may be associated with risks. Water may also be due to levels of toxins or suspended solids. Reduction of waterborne diseases and development of water resources is a major public health goal in developing countries. Bottled water is sold for consumption in most parts of the world. The word potable came into English from the Late Latin potabilis, the amount of drinking water required is variable. It depends on activity, age, health, and environmental conditions. It is estimated that the average American drinks about one litre of water a day with 95% drinking less than three litres per day, for those working in a hot climate, up to 16 litres per day may be required. Some health authorities have suggested that at least eight glasses of eight fl oz each are required by an adult per day, the British Dietetic Association recommends 1.8 litres. However, various reviews of the evidence performed in 2002 and 2008 could not find any scientific evidence recommending eight glasses of water per day. An individuals thirst provides a guide for how much water they require rather than a specific
31.
Green wall
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A green wall is a wall partially or completely covered with greenery that includes a growing medium, such as soil or a substrate. Most green walls also feature a water delivery system. Green walls are known as living walls or vertical gardens. These give insulation to keep the house/building warm. It is useful to distinguish green walls from green facades, Green walls may be indoors or outside, freestanding or attached to an existing wall, and come in a great variety of sizes. In 2005, he created the landmark vegetal exterior wall of the building of the Musée du quai Branly with architect Jean Nouvel. Green walls subsequently saw a surge in popularity. Of the 61 large-scale outdoor green walls listed in a database provided by greenroof. com, 80% were constructed in or after 2009. Many iconic green walls have been constructed by institutions and in places such as airports and are now becoming common. Green walls are constructed of modular panels that hold a growing medium and can be categorized according to the type of growth media used, loose media, mat media. Loose medium walls tend to be soil-on-a-shelf or soil-in-a-bag type systems, loose medium systems have their soil packed into a shelf or bag and are then installed onto the wall. These systems require their media to be replaced at least once a year on exteriors, loose soil systems are not well suited for areas with any seismic activity. Most importantly, because these systems can easily have their medium blown away by rain or heavy winds. Loose-soil systems without physical media erosion systems are best suited for the home gardener where occasional replanting is desired from season to season or year to year, loose-soil systems with physical media erosion systems are well suited for all green wall applications. Mat type systems tend to be either coir fiber or felt mats, the method of reparation of these systems is to replace large sections of the system at a time by cutting the mat out of the wall and replacing it with new mat. This process compromises the root structures of the plants on the wall. This inefficiency often requires that these systems have a water re-circulation system put into place at an additional cost, mat media are better suited for small installations no more than eight feet in height where repairs are easily completed. Semi-open cell polyurethane sheet media utilising an egg crate pattern has successfully used in recent years for both outdoor roof gardens and vertical walls. The water holding capacity of these engineered polyurethanes vastly exceeds that of coir, polyurethanes do not biodegrade, and hence stay viable as an active substrate for 20+ years
32.
Activated sludge
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The activated sludge process is a process for treating sewage and industrial wastewaters using air and a biological floc composed of bacteria and protozoa. The general arrangement of an activated sludge process for removing carbonaceous pollution includes the following items, settling tank to allow the biological flocs to settle, thus separating the biological sludge from the clear treated water. Treatment of nitrogenous matter or phosphate involves additional steps where the liquor is left in anoxic condition. Other important constituents include motile and sedentary Rotifers and this material is often described as sewage fungus but true fungal communities are relatively uncommon. The combination of wastewater and biological mass is known as mixed liquor. Part of the material, the sludge, is returned to the head of the aeration system to re-seed the new wastewater entering the tank. This fraction of the floc is called activated sludge. The space required for a treatment plant can be reduced by using a membrane bioreactor to remove some wastewater from the mixed liquor prior to treatment. This results in a concentrated waste product that can then be treated using the activated sludge process. Many sewage treatment plants use axial flow pumps to transfer nitrified mixed liquor from the zone to the anoxic zone for denitrification. These pumps are often referred to as mixed liquor recycle pumps. The raw sewage, the RAS, and the mixed liquor are mixed by submersible mixers in the anoxic zones in order to achieve denitrification. Activated sludge is also the given to the active biological material produced by activated sludge plants. Excess sludge is called activated sludge or waste activated sludge and is removed from the treatment process to keep the ratio of biomass to food supplied in the wastewater in balance. The amount of sludge produced from the activated sludge process is directly proportional to the amount of wastewater treated. The total sludge production consists of the sum of sludge from the primary sedimentation tanks as well as waste activated sludge from the bioreactors. The activated sludge process produces about 70–100 kg/ML of waste activated sludge, a value of 80 kg/ML is regarded as being typical. In addition, about 110–170 kg/ML of primary sludge is produced in the sedimentation tanks which most -
33.
Sand filter
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Sand filters are used as a step in the water treatment process of water purification. There are three types, rapid sand filters, upward flow sand filters and slow sand filters. All three methods are used extensively in the industry throughout the world. Sand filters can, apart from being used in treatment plants. The history of separation techniques reaches far back, as materials were already in use during ancient periods. Rushes and genista were used to fill sieving vessels that separated solid and liquid materials, furthermore, the Egyptians utilized porous clay vessels to filter drinking water, wine and other liquids. A sand bed filter is a kind of depth filter, in addition, there are passive and active devices for causing solid-liquid separation such as settling tanks, self-cleaning screen filters, hydrocyclones and centrifuges. There are several kinds of depth filter, some employing fibrous material, sand bed filters are an example of a granular loose media depth filter. They are usually used to small amounts of fine solids from aqueous solutions. In addition, they are used to purify the fluid rather than capture the solids as a valuable material. Therefore they find most of their uses in liquid effluent treatment, sand bed filters work by providing the particulate solids with many opportunities to be captured on the surface of a sand grain. As fluid flows through the sand along a tortuous route. They can be captured by one of several mechanisms, Direct collision Van der Waals or London force attraction Surface charge attraction Diffusion. In addition, particulate solids can be prevented from being captured by surface charge repulsion if the charge of the sand is of the same sign as that of the particulate solid. Furthermore, it is possible to dislodge captured particulates although they may be re-captured at a greater depth within the bed, finally, a sand grain that is already contaminated with particulate solids may become more attractive or repel addition particulate solids. In some applications it is necessary to pre-treat the effluent flowing into a bed to ensure that the particulate solids can be captured. They can be operated either with upward flowing fluids or downward flowing fluids the latter being much more usual, for downward flowing devices the fluid can flow under pressure or by gravity alone. Pressure sand bed filters tend to be used in industrial applications, gravity fed units are used in water purification especially drinking water and these filters have found wide use in developing countries
34.
Lava filter
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A lava filter is a biological filter that uses lavastone pebbles as support material on which microorganisms can grow in a thin biofilm. This community of microorganisms, known as the break down the odor components in the air. The biodegradation processes that occurs is provided by the bacteria themselves, in order for this to work, sufficient oxygen as well as water and nutrients is to be supplied. Contaminated air enters the system at the bottom of the filter, water is supplied through the surface of the biofilter and trickles down over the lava rock to the bottom, where it is collected. Constant water provisioning at the surface prevents dry-out of the bacteria in the biofilm. It also functions to make available to the bacteria. Percolating water collected at the bottom contains odour components as well as sulfuric acid from the biological oxidation of hydrogen sulfide. Depending on the design the collected water is recirculated or subjected to further treatment. At present,2 types of systems are used, constantly submerged lava filters not-submerged lava filters These are constructed out of 2 layers of lava pebbles, on top, water-purifying plants are placed. Usually, around 1/4 of the dimension of lavastone is required to purify the water and just like slow sand filters, the water-purifying plants used with constantly submerged, planted, lavafilters include a wide variety of plants, depending on the local climate and geoographical location. Plants are usually chosen which are indigenous in that location for environmental reasons, in addition to water-purifying plants, plants that supply oxygen, and shade are also added in ecologic water catchments, ponds. This to allow a complete ecosystem to form, Finally, in addition to plants, locally grown bacteria and non-predatory fish are also added to eliminate pests. The bacteria are grown locally by submerging straw in water. The plants used are divided in 4 separate water depth-zones, knowingly, A water-depth zone from 0–20 cm, Iris pseudacorus, Sparganium erectum. May be placed here A water-depth zone from 40–60 cm, Stratiotes aloides, Hydrocharis morsus-ranae. may be placed here A water-depth zone from 60–120 cm and my be placed here A submerged water-depth zone, Myriophyllum spicatum. May be placed here Finally, three types of fish are chosen and this of course to ensure that the fish may get along
35.
Ultraviolet
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Ultraviolet is an electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength from 10 nm to 400 nm, shorter than that of visible light but longer than X-rays. UV radiation constitutes about 10% of the light output of the Sun. It is also produced by electric arcs and specialized lights, such as lamps, tanning lamps. Consequently, the effects of UV are greater than simple heating effects. Suntan, freckling and sunburn are familiar effects of over-exposure, along with risk of skin cancer. Living things on dry land would be damaged by ultraviolet radiation from the Sun if most of it were not filtered out by the Earths atmosphere. More-energetic, shorter-wavelength extreme UV below 121 nm ionizes air so strongly that it is absorbed before it reaches the ground, Ultraviolet is also responsible for the formation of bone-strengthening vitamin D in most land vertebrates, including humans. The UV spectrum thus has both beneficial and harmful to human health. Ultraviolet rays are invisible to most humans, the lens in a human eye ordinarily filters out UVB frequencies or higher, and humans lack color receptor adaptations for ultraviolet rays. Under some conditions, children and young adults can see ultraviolet down to wavelengths of about 310 nm, near-UV radiation is visible to some insects, mammals, and birds. Small birds have a fourth color receptor for ultraviolet rays, this gives birds true UV vision, reindeer use near-UV radiation to see polar bears, who are poorly visible in regular light because they blend in with the snow. UV also allows mammals to see urine trails, which is helpful for animals to find food in the wild. The males and females of some species look identical to the human eye. Ultraviolet means beyond violet, violet being the color of the highest frequencies of visible light, Ultraviolet has a higher frequency than violet light. He called them oxidizing rays to emphasize chemical reactivity and to them from heat rays. The terms chemical and heat rays were eventually dropped in favour of ultraviolet and infrared radiation, in 1878 the effect of short-wavelength light on sterilizing bacteria was discovered. By 1903 it was known the most effective wavelengths were around 250 nm, in 1960, the effect of ultraviolet radiation on DNA was established. The discovery of the ultraviolet radiation below 200 nm, named vacuum ultraviolet because it is absorbed by air, was made in 1893 by the German physicist Victor Schumann
36.
Constructed wetlands
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A constructed wetland is an artificial wetland created for the purpose of treating anthropogenic discharge such as municipal or industrial wastewater, or stormwater runoff. It may also be created for land reclamation after mining, refineries, constructed wetlands are engineered systems that use natural functions of vegetation, soil, and organisms to treat different water streams. Depending on the type of wastewater that has to be treated the system has to be adjusted accordingly which means that pre- or post-treatments might be necessary. Constructed wetlands can be designed to emulate the features of natural wetlands, some constructed wetlands may also serve as a habitat for native and migratory wildlife, although that is usually not their main purpose. The two main types of constructed wetlands are subsurface flow and surface flow wetlands, the planted vegetation plays a role in contaminant removal but the filter bed, consisting usually of a combination of sand and gravel, has an equally important role to play. Many terms are used to denote constructed wetlands, such as reed beds, soil infiltration beds, constructed treatment wetlands, treatment wetlands, beside engineered wetlands, the terms of man-made or artificial wetlands are often found as well. A biofilter has some similarities with a wetland, but is usually without plants. However, the term of constructed wetlands can also be used to describe restored and recultivated land that was destroyed in the past through draining and converting into farmland, ponds for wastewater treatment or water purification are not considered as constructed wetlands. They are referred to as ponds or treatment ponds, respectively. A constructed wetland is a sequence of water bodies designed to filter and treat waterborne pollutants found in sewage. Constructed wetlands are used for treatment or for greywater treatment. They can be used after a tank for primary treatment. Some CW designs however do not use upfront primary treatment, vegetation in a wetland provides a substrate upon which microorganisms can grow as they break down organic materials. This community of microorganisms is known as the periphyton, the periphyton and natural chemical processes are responsible for approximately 90 percent of pollutant removal and waste breakdown. The plants remove about seven to ten percent of pollutants, different species of aquatic plants have different rates of heavy metal uptake, a consideration for plant selection in a constructed wetland used for water treatment. Constructed wetlands are of two types, subsurface flow and surface flow wetlands. Many regulatory agencies list treatment wetlands as one of their recommended best management practices for controlling urban runoff, in most cases, the bottom is lined with either a polymer geomembrane, concrete or clay in order to protect the water table and surrounding grounds. The substrate can be either gravel—generally limestone or pumice/volcanic rock, depending on local availability, subsurface flow wetlands can be further classified as horizontal flow and vertical flow constructed wetlands
37.
Cyperaceae
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The Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses and rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera and these species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group occurring in tropical Asia and tropical South America. While sedges may be growing in almost all environments, many are associated with wetlands. Ecological communities dominated by sedges are known as sedgelands, features distinguishing members of the sedge family from grasses or rushes are stems with triangular cross-sections and leaves that are spirally arranged in three ranks. Some well-known sedges include the chestnut and the papyrus sedge. This family also includes cotton-grass, spike-rush, sawgrass, nutsedge or nutgrass, and white star sedge
38.
Juncaceae
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Juncaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the rush family. It consists of eight genera and about 464 known species of slow-growing and they often grow on infertile soils in a wide range of moisture conditions. The best-known and largest genus is Juncus, most of the Juncus species grow exclusively in wetland habitats. A few rushes, such as Juncus bufonius are annuals, the leaves are evergreen and well-developed in a basal aggregation on an erect stem. Only in the genus Distichia are the leaves distichous, the rushes of the genus Juncus have flat, hairless leaves or cylindrical leaves. The leaves of the wood-rushes of the genus Luzula are always flat, the plants are hermaphroditic or, rarely, dioecious. The small flowers are arranged in inflorescences of loose cymes, and this family typically has reduced perianth segments called tepals. These are usually arranged in two whorls, each containing three thin, papery tepals and they are not bright or flashy in appearance, and their color can vary from greenish to whitish, brown, purple, black, or hyaline. The three stigmas are in the center of the flowers, as is characteristic of monocots, all of the flower parts appear in multiples of three. The fruit is usually a nonfleshy, three-sectioned dehiscent capsule containing many seeds, the dried pith of plants of this family were used to make a type of candle known as a rushlight. The soft rush is called igusa in Japanese and is used to weave the soft surface cover of tatami mats, in medieval Europe, loose fresh rushes would be strewn on earthen floors in dwellings for cleanliness and insulation. Particularly favored for such a purpose was Acorus calamus, but despite its vernacular name sweet rush, it is a plant from a different monocot order. Information and pictures Rush, the name for species of juncus
39.
Resource recovery
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Resource recovery differs from the management of waste by using life-cycle analysis to offer alternatives to landfill disposal of discarded materials. Similarly, in the context of sanitation, the resource recovery is used to denote sanitation systems that aim to recover and reuse the resources that are contained in wastewater. These include, nutrients, organic matter, energy and water and this concept is also referred to as ecological sanitation or productive sanitation. Recycling is a resource recovery practice that refers to the collection, the materials from which the items are made can be reprocessed into new products. Material for recycling may be collected separately from general waste using dedicated bins and collection vehicles, PVC, LDPE, PP, and PS are also recyclable. These items are composed of a single type of material. The recycling of complex products is more difficult, due to the additional dismantling, the type of recycling material accepted varies by city and country. Each city and country have different recycling programs in place that can handle the various types of recyclable materials, the resulting organic material is then recycled as mulch or compost for agricultural or landscaping purposes. In addition, waste gas from the process can be captured and used for generating electricity, the intention of biological processing is to control and accelerate the natural process of decomposition of organic matter. Methods of biological decomposition are differentiated as being aerobic or anaerobic methods, the resulting biogas though must be used for cogeneration and can be used with a little upgrading in gas combustion engines or turbines. With further upgrading to synthetic natural gas it can be injected into the gas network or further refined to hydrogen for use in stationary cogeneration fuel cells. Its use in fuel cells eliminates the pollution from products of combustion, methods of biological decomposition are differentiated as being aerobic or anaerobic methods, though hybrids of the two methods also exist. In many countries, source-separated curbside collection is one method of resource recovery, to encourage recycling, municipalities provide large recycle bins, which are larger than general waste bins. Many American localities have dual-stream recycling, with paper collected in bags or boxes, in either case, the recovered materials are trucked to a materials recovery facility for further processing. Municipal, commercial and industrial, construction and demolition debris is dumped at landfills, household disposal materials are segregated, recyclables sorted and made into new products, and unusable material is dumped in landfill areas. In 2002–03 30% of materials from municipalities, 45% from commercial and industrial generators, Resource recovery is a key component in a business ability to maintaining ISO14001 accreditation. Companies are encouraged to improve their environmental efficiencies each year, the Talloires Declaration is a declaration for sustainability concerned about the unprecedented scale and speed of environmental pollution and degradation, and the depletion of natural resources. Several universities have implemented the Talloires Declaration by establishing environmental management, university and vocational education are promoted by various organizations, e. g. WAMITAB and Chartered Institution of Wastes Management
40.
Aquifer
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An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, rock fractures or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be extracted using a water well. The study of flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology. Related terms include aquitard, which is a bed of low permeability along an aquifer, and aquiclude, if the impermeable area overlies the aquifer, pressure could cause it to become a confined aquifer. Aquifers may occur at various depths and those closer to the surface are not only more likely to be used for water supply and irrigation, but are also more likely to be topped up by the local rainfall. Many desert areas have limestone hills or mountains within them or close to them that can be exploited as groundwater resources, overexploitation can lead to the exceeding of the practical sustained yield, i. e. more water is taken out than can be replenished. The beach provides a model to help visualize an aquifer, if a hole is dug into the sand, very wet or saturated sand will be located at a shallow depth. This hole is a well, the wet sand represents an aquifer. In 2013 large freshwater aquifers were discovered under continental shelves off Australia, China, North America and they contain an estimated half a million cubic kilometers of “low salinity” water that could be economically processed into potable water. The reserves formed when ocean levels were lower and rainwater made its way into the ground in areas that were not submerged until the ice age ended 20,000 years ago. The volume is estimated to be 100x the amount of extracted from other aquifers since 1900. The above diagram indicates typical flow directions in a view of a simple confined or unconfined aquifer system. The system shows two aquifers with one aquitard between them, surrounded by the bedrock aquiclude, which is in contact with a gaining stream, the water table and unsaturated zone are also illustrated. An aquitard is a zone within the earth that restricts the flow of groundwater from one aquifer to another, an aquitard can sometimes, if completely impermeable, be called an aquiclude or aquifuge. Aquitards are composed of layers of clay or non-porous rock with low hydraulic conductivity. Groundwater can be found at every point in the Earths shallow subsurface to some degree. Saturated means the head of the water is greater than atmospheric pressure. The definition of the table is the surface where the pressure head is equal to atmospheric pressure. Unsaturated conditions occur above the table where the pressure head is negative
41.
Septic tank
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Other components may include pumps, alarms, sand filters, and clarified liquid effluent disposal methods such as a septic drain field, ponds, natural stone fiber filter plants or peat moss beds. Septic systems are a type of onsite sewage facility, in North America, approximately 25 percent of the population relies on septic tanks, including some suburbs and small towns as well as rural areas. Indianapolis is one example of a city where many of the citys neighborhoods still rely on separate septic systems. In Europe, septic systems are limited to rural areas. Since septic systems require large drainfields, they are not suitable for densely built cities, the term septic refers to the anaerobic bacterial environment that develops in the tank which decomposes or mineralizes the waste discharged into the tank. Septic tanks can be coupled with other onsite wastewater treatment units such as biofilters or aerobic systems involving artificially forced aeration, periodic preventive maintenance is required to remove solids that remain and gradually fill the tank, reducing its efficiency. Maintenance requires regular pumping to remove these, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency, in the United States it is the home owners responsibility to maintain their septic systems. Anyone who disregards this requirement will eventually be faced with costly repairs when solids escape the tank and clog the clarified liquid effluent disposal system. A septic tank consists of one or more concrete or plastic tanks of between 4000 and 7500 liters, one end is connected to a wastewater pipe and the other to a septic drain field. Generally these pipe connections are made with a T pipe, allowing liquid to enter, wastewater enters the first chamber of the tank, allowing solids to settle and scum to float. The settled solids are anaerobically digested, reducing the volume of solids, the liquid component flows through the dividing wall into the second chamber, where further settlement takes place. A percolation test is required prior to installation to ensure the porosity of the soil is adequate to serve as a drain field, a piping network, often laid in a stone-filled trench, distributes the wastewater throughout the field with multiple drainage holes in the network. The size of the field is proportional to the volume of wastewater. The entire septic system can operate by gravity alone or, where topographic considerations require, certain septic tank designs include siphons or other devices to increase the volume and velocity of outflow to the drainage field. These help to fill the pipe more evenly and extend the drainage field life by preventing premature clogging or bioclogging. An Imhoff tank is a septic system where the sludge is digested in a separate tank. This avoids mixing digested sludge with incoming sewage, also, some septic tank designs have a second stage where the effluent from the anaerobic first stage is aerated before it drains into the seepage field. A properly designed and normally operating septic system is odor-free and, besides periodic inspection and emptying of the septic tank, a well designed and maintained concrete, fiberglass, or plastic tank should last about 50 years
42.
Water treatment
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Water treatment is any process that makes water more acceptable for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses. Water treatment removes contaminants and undesirable components, or reduces their concentration so that the water becomes fit for its desired end-use. Substances that are removed during the process of drinking water treatment include suspended solids, bacteria, algae, viruses, fungi, measures taken to ensure water quality not only relate to the treatment of the water, but to its conveyance and distribution after treatment. It is therefore common practice to keep residual disinfectants in the water to kill bacteriological contamination during distribution. World Health Organization guidelines are a set of standards intended to apply where better local standards are not implemeted. More rigorous standards apply across Europe, the USA and in most other developed countries, followed throughout the world for drinking water quality requirements. Disinfection for killing bacteria viruses and other pathogens, technologies for potable water and other uses are well developed, and generalized designs are available from which treatment processes can be selected for pilot testing on the specific source water. In addition, a number of companies provide patented technological solutions for treatment of specific contaminants. Automation of water and waste-water treatment is common in the developed world, source water quality through the seasons, scale and environmental impact can dictate capital costs and operating costs. End use of the treated water dictates the necessary quality monitoring technologies, biological processes can be employed in the treatment of wastewater and these processes may include, for example, aerated lagoons, activated sludge or slow sand filters. To be effective, sewage must be conveyed to a treatment plant by appropriate pipes and infrastructure, some wastewaters require different and sometimes specialized treatment methods. At the simplest level, treatment of sewage and most wastewaters is carried out through separation of solids from liquids, by progressively converting dissolved material into solids, usually a biological floc, which is then settled out, an effluent stream of increasing purity is produced. Two of the processes of industrial water treatment are boiler water treatment. A lack of water treatment can lead to the reaction of solids and bacteria within pipe work. Steam boilers can suffer from scale or corrosion when left untreated, scale deposits can lead to weak and dangerous machinery, while additional fuel is required to heat the same level of water because of the rise in thermal resistance. Poor quality dirty water can become a ground for bacteria such as Legionella causing a risk to public health. With the proper treatment, a significant proportion of industrial on-site wastewater might be reusable, corrosion in low pressure boilers can be caused by dissolved oxygen, acidity and excessive alkalinity
43.
Groundwater recharge
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Groundwater recharge or deep drainage or deep percolation is a hydrologic process where water moves downward from surface water to groundwater. Recharge is the method through which water enters an aquifer. This process usually occurs in the zone below plant roots and is often expressed as a flux to the water table surface. Recharge occurs both naturally and through anthropogenic processes, where rainwater and or reclaimed water is routed to the subsurface, groundwater is recharged naturally by rain and snow melt and to a smaller extent by surface water. Recharge may be impeded somewhat by human activities including paving, development and these activities can result in loss of topsoil resulting in reduced water infiltration, enhanced surface runoff and reduction in recharge. Use of groundwaters, especially for irrigation, may lower the water tables. Recharge can help move excess salts that accumulate in the zone to deeper soil layers. Tree roots increase water saturation into groundwater reducing water runoff, flooding temporarily increases river bed permeability by moving clay soils downstream, and this increases aquifer recharge. Artificial groundwater recharge is becoming important in India, where over-pumping of groundwater by farmers has led to underground resources becoming depleted. Another environmental issue is the disposal of waste through the water such as dairy farms, industrial. Wetlands help maintain the level of the table and exert control on the hydraulic head. This provides force for groundwater recharge and discharge to other waters as well, the extent of groundwater recharge by a wetland is dependent upon soil, vegetation, site, perimeter to volume ratio, and water table gradient. Groundwater recharge occurs through mineral soils found primarily around the edges of wetlands The soil under most wetlands is relatively impermeable, a high perimeter to volume ratio, such as in small wetlands, means that the surface area through which water can infiltrate into the groundwater is high. Groundwater recharge is typical in small wetlands such as prairie potholes, researchers have discovered groundwater recharge of up to 20% of wetland volume per season. If water falls uniformly over a field such that capacity of the soil is not exceeded. If instead water puddles in low-lying areas, the water volume concentrated over a smaller area may exceed field capacity resulting in water that percolates down to recharge groundwater. The larger the relative contributing runoff area is, the more focused infiltration is, the recurring process of water that falls relatively uniformly over an area, flowing to groundwater selectively under surface depressions is depression focused recharge. Water tables rise under such depressions, depression focused groundwater recharge can be very important in arid regions
44.
Surface water
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Surface water is water on the surface of the planet such as in a river, lake, wetland, or ocean. It can be contrasted with groundwater and atmospheric water, non-saline surface water is replenished by precipitation and by recruitment from ground-water. Surface and groundwater are two entities, so they must be regarded as such. However, there is an ever-increasing need for management of the two as they are part of a system that is paramount when the demand for water exceeds the available supply. Depletion of surface and ground water sources for public consumption is caused by over-pumping, aquifers near river systems that are over-pumped have been known to deplete surface water sources as well. Research supporting this has found in numerous water budgets for a multitude of cities. Response times for an aquifer are long, however, a total ban on ground water usage during water recessions would allow surface water to retain better levels required for sustainable aquatic life. By reducing ground water pumping, the water supplies will be able to maintain their levels, as they recharge from direct precipitation, surface runoff. Environmental persistent pharmaceutical pollutant Meltwater Optimum water content for tillage Applied Hydrogeology, Fourth Edition by C. W. Fetter
45.
Groundwater
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Groundwater is the water present beneath Earths surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or a deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock become completely saturated with water is called the water table. Groundwater is recharged from, and eventually flows to, the naturally, natural discharge often occurs at springs and seeps. Groundwater is also withdrawn for agricultural, municipal, and industrial use by constructing and operating extraction wells. The study of the distribution and movement of groundwater is hydrogeology, Groundwater is hypothesized to provide lubrication that can possibly influence the movement of faults. It is likely that much of Earths subsurface contains some water, Groundwater may not be confined only to Earth. The formation of some of the landforms observed on Mars may have influenced by groundwater. There is also evidence that water may also exist in the subsurface of Jupiters moon Europa. Groundwater is often cheaper, more convenient and less vulnerable to pollution than surface water, therefore, it is commonly used for public water supplies. For example, groundwater provides the largest source of water storage in the United States. Underground reservoirs contain far more water than the capacity of all surface reservoirs and lakes in the US, many municipal water supplies are derived solely from groundwater. Polluted groundwater is less visible, but more difficult to clean up, than pollution in rivers, Groundwater pollution most often results from improper disposal of wastes on land. An aquifer is a layer of substrate that contains and transmits groundwater. When water can flow directly between the surface and the zone of an aquifer, the aquifer is unconfined. The deeper parts of unconfined aquifers are more saturated since gravity causes water to flow downward. The upper level of this layer of an unconfined aquifer is called the water table or phreatic surface. Below the water table, where in general all pore spaces are saturated with water, is the phreatic zone, substrate with low porosity that permits limited transmission of groundwater is known as an aquitard
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