Advanced wastewater treatment

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Canadians are vitally interested in protecting the quality of surface and groundwater for current and future beneficial uses.  Advances in wastewater treatment technology are one of the primary means of ensuring continued improvement in water quality.  This application proposes research to achieve improved wastewater treatment for municipal and pulp and paper mill wastewaters.  One research project is intended to develop simple techniques for monitoring the composition of biological wastewater treatment plant biomass, so that plant designers and operators can exert optimal control of treatment plant efficiency.  A second project is directed at the removal of potential endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) that may be present in pulp and paper effluent.   EDCs of this type are of concern because they have been linked to observations of abnormalities in fish that inhabit receiving waters for some pulp mill effluents.  A third project will seek to develop an improved understanding of the impacts of a new approach to wastewater treatment involving membrane bioreactors - a technology in which Canada leads the world.  Finally, an interesting approach to colour removal from pulp and paper mill effluents will be investigated.  Preliminary experiments with a combination of electrocoagulation and ozonation have suggested that this combined approach may successfully couple wastewater treatment to energy recovery.