Biological removal of nitrogen species from metal-processing wastewater
- Authors: Kasia, J M , Duncan, John R , Burgess, Jo E
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6482 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006256
- Description: Although several nitrification/denitrification processes are established for the removal of ammonia and nitrate from municipal and industrial wastewaters, there are few reported results on the removal of these ions from metal-processing and finishing wastewaters. Unlike municipal wastewater, there is very little organic content in metal-processing wastewaters. Sources of ammonia and nitrate in the wastewater include the use of ammonium-nitrate-fuel oil as a blasting agent, and the use of other nitrogen-containing reagents during processing. The objective of this work was to investigate a biological process for the removal of nitrogenous compounds from real metal-processing wastewater. The system comprised an aerobic continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) followed by an anaerobic packed column and was run using real wastewater from a metal-processing operation. The system was inoculated using humus sludge from a municipal trickling filter and a period of approximately four weeks was required for a denitrifying biofilm to develop. Results showed that ammonia removal occurred readily in the CSTR while nitrite oxidation was slower to develop. The CSTR was found to be suitable for ammonia oxidation; up to 89% ammonia removal was achieved. By employing an integrated process comprising nitrification and denitrification, high ammonia removal efficiencies can be obtained. An effluent that is low in ammonia can be obtained with this system with additional carbon introduced after the CSTR. The gravel-packed column reactor was found to be unsuitable for the removal of nitrate in the configuration used (maximum 15% removal efficiency). The critical parameters for denitrification are nitrate concentration, temperature, influent flow rate and mean cell retention time. Nitrate removal did not meet the expectations projected by previous authors' work using synthetic wastewater.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
A continuous process for the biological treatment of heavy metal contaminated acid mine water
- Authors: Van Hille, Robert P , Boshoff, G A , Rose, Peter D , Duncan, John R
- Date: 1999
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6464 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005793 , dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0921-3449(99)00010-5
- Description: Alkaline precipitation of heavy metals from acidic water streams is a popular and long standing treatment process. While this process is efficient it requires the continuous addition of an alkaline material, such as lime. In the long term or when treating large volumes of effluent this process becomes expensive, with costs in the mining sector routinely exceeding millions of rands annually. The process described below utilises alkalinity generated by the alga Spirulina sp., in a continuous system to precipitate heavy metals. The design of the system separates the algal component from the metal containing stream to overcome metal toxicity. The primary treatment process consistently removed over 99% of the iron (98.9 mg/l) and between 80 and 95% of the zinc (7.16 mg/l) and lead (2.35 mg/l) over a 14-day period (20 l effluent treated). In addition the pH of the raw effluent was increased from 1.8 to over 7 in the post-treatment stream. Secondary treatment and polishing steps depend on the nature of the effluent treated. In the case of the high sulphate effluent the treated stream was passed into an anaerobic digester at a rate of 4 l/day. The combination of the primary and secondary treatments effected a removal of over 95% of all metals tested for as well as a 90% reduction in the sulphate load. The running cost of such a process would be low as the salinity and nutrient requirements for the algal culture could be provided by using tannery effluent or a combination of saline water and sewage. This would have the additional benefit of treating either a tannery or sewage effluent as part of an integrated process.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1999
Adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetric determination of gold (III) in the presence of yeast mannan
- Authors: Lack, Barbara , Duncan, John R , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 1999
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/293151 , vital:57060 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-2670(98)00736-3"
- Description: Adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetric (AdCSV) studies of gold(III) on a glassy carbon electrode and in the presence of yeast mannan are reported. These studies give evidence of the formation of a complex between gold(III) and mannan in acid media as judged by the enhancement in the AdCSV currents and shift in the reduction peak of gold(III) in the presence of mannan. The AdCSV currents were linearly dependent on gold(III) concentrations ranging from 7.0 × 10−7 to 3.0 × 10−4 mol dm−3. A detection limit of 6.0 × 10−8 mol dm−3 was obtained. Interferences of copper(II) were observed in the presence of mannan, but there was no significant interference of silver(I).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1999
Cancer: science and society
- Authors: Duncan, John R
- Date: 1991-08-14
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/54280 , vital:26450 , ISBN 0-86810-227-X
- Description: [From introduction] The first question which needs to be answered is “What is Cancer?” This is in fact a very difficult question as, in many respects, cancer is a group of diverse diseases since it can affect every tissue in the body with different manifestations depending on the type of cancer. Can we therefore define this disease? I have synthesised a definition which I think covers the salient points. “Cancer is the uncontrolled or asynchronous growth of abnormal cells arising from a change in the cells DNA”. Let me explain this. Normal cells grow in a very controlled and synchronous manner. In going from a child to an adult hormones and other factors control the rate of growth of bones, muscles, etc.. They do this in a very controlled way by influencing the genetic material in the cell, viz. DNA. In adults there is also constant cell growth in, for example, skin and blood cells where new cells are replacing dead or old cells, again in a very controlled fashion. Many factors, which I will be discussing shortly, can disrupt this controlled cell growth and can further cause cells which normally are static or grow very slowly to enter into a state of high rates of cell growth. These cells which arc now growing in an uncontrolled fashion have been changed by these factors so that they no longer resemble the normal cells in the tissue in which they are found. They can therefore be regarded as abnormal cells.
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- Date Issued: 1991-08-14
A possible relation between dietary zinc and cAMP in the regulation of tumour cell proliferation in the rat
- Authors: Skeef, Noel S , Duncan, John R
- Date: 1988
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6473 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006154 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1079/BJN19880052
- Description: The possibility of an effect of zinc on the rate of tumour cell division, mediated through a regulation of cellular cAMP concentration, was investigated in the present study in rats. Dietary Zn deficiency (< 1·5 mg Zn/kg) but not Zn excess (500 mg Zn/kg) resulted in an increased cAMP concentration in transplanted hepatoma cells. Neither treatment had any effect on the cAMP concentration in regenerating liver or normal resting liver. Both the deficient and excess Zn diets resulted in a small reduction in tumour growth (not statistically significant). The results seem to indicate that the relation investigated in the present study does not apply in the cell line used.
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- Date Issued: 1988