Sustainable biological solutions for treatment of industrial wastewaters

该研究计划的长期目标是为加拿大工业废水的处理开发可持续的解决方案，专注于不易处理的小型系统。另一个重点是使用不仅处理废水、而且消耗更少能源、经济且将从废物中产生能源的技术。 在过去的30年里，市政和一些工业废水的处理有了显著的改进。这些处理过程中的大多数都需要添加氧气作为电子受体，并将废物中的有机材料转化为二氧化碳。在这项研究中，废水中存在的有机物质被认为是一种丰富的能源，而不是一种需要处理的废物。事实上，许多工业废气中含有高强度的有机化合物，应该被视为资源。例子包括大多数食品加工废水、酿酒废水和水果加工废水。 除了废水中的污染物外，季节性和可变或低流量也是为这些行业设计典型污水处理厂的障碍。在许多情况下，废水未经处理或排放到当地市政当局进行处理。市政当局难以处理这些废水，因为它们使用的是针对低浓度城市废水而不是针对高浓度工业废水设计的处理工艺。这项提议涵盖的短期目标包括研究开发将高浓度葡萄酒废水和水果加工废水转化为甲烷、氢气或电力形式的能源的工艺。 这项研究的独特之处在于，重点是与加拿大经济相关的小型工业废水的处理。研究内容包括指导这些系统的基本原理的基本发展和这些系统在废水处理中的应用。对这些废物产生的能源的关注也是独一无二的。产生的甲烷或氢气既可以由生产商用来为自己的发电机提供燃料，也可以用于取暖，也可以出售给燃料供应商。同样，所生产的电力也可以由该设施使用或出售给电网。 这项研究对加拿大经济和环境的好处是多方面的。举个例子，加拿大的葡萄酒行业为加拿大经济贡献了68亿美元的收入。它为3.1万名员工提供支持，每年吸引300多万游客。该行业的废水如果不加以处理，可能会对环境造成极大的危害，是一种未开发的能源。这项研究将帮助加拿大人将废物转化为资源，同时保护环境。至少20名HQP将接受这项研究的培训，其中包括2名博士生和3名硕士研究生。

The long-term objective of the research program is to develop sustainable solutions for the treatment of Canadian industrial wastewaters, focusing on small systems that are not easily treatable. An additional focus is using technologies that not only treat the wastewater, but consume less energy, are economical and will produce energy from the wastes. Over the last 30 years, there have been significant improvements in the treatment of municipal and some industrial wastewaters. The majority of these treatment processes require the addition of oxygen as an electron acceptor and convert the organic materials in the waste to CO2. In this research, the organic materials present in the wastewater are considered a rich source of energy rather than a waste to be disposed of. In fact, many industrial waste streams contain high strength organic compounds that should be viewed as resources. Examples include most food processing waste streams, winery wastewater and fruit processing wastewater. In addition to the contaminants in wastewaters, seasonality and variable or low flows are impediments to designing typical wastewater treatment plants for these industries. In many cases, the wastewaters are not treated or are discharged to a local municipality for treatment. Municipalities struggle to treat these wastewaters because they use treatment processes designed for low strength municipal wastewater and not for high strength industrial wastewater. The short-term objectives covered by this proposal involve studies for the development of processes for the conversion of high strength winery wastewater and fruit processing wastewater to energy in the form of methane, hydrogen or electricity. The research is unique in that the focus is on the treatment of small industrial wastewaters relevant to the Canadian economy. The research includes the fundamental development of the basic principles governing these systems and the application of the systems to wastewater treatment. The focus on energy production from these waste streams is also unique. The methane or hydrogen produced can either be used by the producers to fuel their own generators, for heating, or be sold to fuel providers. The electricity produced can similarly be used by the facility or sold to the grid. The benefits of this research to the Canadian economy and environment are multifold. As one example, the winery industry in Canada contributes $6.8 billion in revenues to the Canadian economy. It supports 31,000 employees and attracts more than 3 million tourist visitors each year. The wastewater from this industry can be extremely harmful to the environment if left untreated and is an untapped source of energy. This research will help Canadians change the waste into a resource, protecting the environment at the same time. At least 20 HQP will be trained in this research including 2 Ph.D. and 3 Masters students.