JWSS - Journal of Water and Soil Science

The reuse of treated wastewater in countries such as Iran that suffers from drought is considered an important challenge in water management programs. The application of modern wastewater treatment systems particularly attached growth systems, owing to the short time required for start-up, low land requirements, and the absence of problems associated with sludge handling may be a resolution. The objective of this study is to investigate the performance of the Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) in treating synthetic municipal wastewater and selecting an appropriate model. In this way, a bench-scale reactor possessing an effective volume of 15 liters, and synthetic wastewater with influent COD of 500 mg/l (similar to typical municipal wastewater) has been used and the experiments with media filling percentages of 30%, 50%, and 70% and hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 4, 8, and 12 hours have been carried out. The observed data show that the optimum bulk density and hydraulic retention time are 50% and 4 hours, respectively. Also, the kinetic study of reactor performance indicates that Grau second-order model has better conformation with Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor results. In addition, a regression model for predicting effluent COD based on the filling percentage and retention time is presented.

In the past years, by increasing population and water consumption, as well as the high cost of developing surface water resources, the exploitation of groundwater resources has increased significantly. In the current situation, a significant part of the country's water consumption in all sectors of consumption is provided by groundwater sources. On the other hand, the development of industry and the entry of pollutants, including heavy metals, into the groundwater endanger the health of humans. The present research has investigated the non-cancerous risk caused by heavy metals in the groundwater of Urmia plain for both children and adults. This research is based on a descriptive-analytical method based on the available data, in which the concentration of polluting metals obtained from the studies conducted in the fall and winter of 2016 from the number of 12 wells supplying rural drinking water in the Urmia plain has been analyzed. Also, human health risk assessment was measured using the United States Environmental Protection Agency index. The results showed that there are six heavy metals including cadmium, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, and lead in the region's groundwater, among which two of the wells have cadmium and lead values higher than national and international standards. Also, the total non-cancer risk index through ingestion and skin absorption for both children and adults groups was found to be 0.23 and 0.096, respectively, which is less than one, and this indicates that the water quality of the region is suitable for drinking.