attached growth airlift reactor (Agar) solution in South Africa

 

 

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/innovative-biological-wastewater-treatment-solution-extends-natures-capacity-2009-07-24

 

Israeli firm launches wastewater treatment solution in SA

 

By: Shannon O'Donnell

24th July 2009

 

Israeli wastewater treatment solutions provider Aqwise has launched its
patented attached growth airlift reactor (Agar) solution in South Africa,
exploring for opportunities in the promising local market.

Aqwise is an advanced wastewater treatment solutions provider for the
industrial and municipal markets.

The Agar technology integrates fixed filmed and suspended growth
technologies and is considered the next generation in biological wastewater
treatment methods. The Agar technology combines a distinctive, fully open
and fully protected moving biomass carrierwith a highly efficient aeration
and mixing design. This results in a greater effective surface area for
biomass growth and the best oxygen transfer efficiency.

If an industrial plant is required to produce a higher-quality effluent
owing to increased regulatory requirements or the implementation of
water-saving measures, the Agar solution alters the biological environment.

This creates optimal conditions for enhanced removal of a wide variety of
pollutants, including organic load and nitrogen.

Aqwise business development manager Idan Tendler tells Engineering News that
the Agar technology significantly increases the capacity and efficiency of
existing wastewater treatment plants, while reducing the size of new plant
deployments.

The Agar system also has a limited footprint, making it a good solution for
industrial plants or municipalities that have limited spaceand are unable to
expand. "The solution offers significant space efficiencies in the
implementation of new reactors with a 30% to 60% reduction in reactor volume
when compared with conventional systems," says Tendler.

He explains that, by using Aqwise's solutions, mines and municipalities can
cope with more stringent water-sector regulation, ageing infrastructure and
a growing population. Industrial plants can meet the strict regulatory
requirements for discharging wastewater into the environment or into
municipal collection systems, and solve typical industrial problems, such as
variable inflow, seasonal peaks and high organic loads.

"The solutions may additionally facilitate in-plant reuse of the treated effluent with up to zero liquid discharge," he says.

Tendler explains that the Aqwise range of solutions may be applied to any
type of bio-logical process upgrade, including existing oxidation ponds and
activated sludge.

Further, the Agar technology can avoid or significantly decrease sludge
circulation, reducing the ongoing operation attention needed. "This makes
the system ideal for industrial plants with limited wastewater treatment
operations resources and minimal ongoing attention," he says.

Aqwise's technology is also currently being tested in reducing the amount of
iron in ground-water being released by mines into the environment.

• O'Donnell visited Israel recently, courtesy of the trade and economic
office of the Israeli embassy in Pretoria

Edited by: Martin Zhuwakinyu

mechanical composting..its problems

Almost all the large cities of the developing countries in the region in the past installed imported mechanical composting plants (for instance, built six). Most are now defunct and the remaining ones are not operating at full capacity (e.g., Bangkok, Hanoi, Shanghai, and Tokyo). The reasons why centralized mechanical MSW composting plants are not functioning effectively, are underutilized, or are closed down include: (a) high operating and maintenance costs compared to open landfilling (including foreign exchange costs for replacement parts of imported plants); (b) the cost of compost is higher than commercial fertilizers (both cost to purchase, and labor cost to apply to the fields); (c) incomplete separation of materials such as plastic and glass, making the compost poor for agriculture application; and (d) poor operation and maintenance of the facilities.

There are many technical and aesthetic problems to be solved in the composting of MSW. As one small example, an important, privately run vermiculture experiment in Indonesia failed when toxics in the MSW killed the earthworms.

 

Composting can be viable, especially for smaller cities with intensive agricultural areas near cities. Many international agencies and environmental consulting firms are offering Asian cities technology for composting as the process is increasingly gaining importance in all parts of the world. An issue here is whether the equipment offered is appropriate for the wastes of that particular place

 

Although one of New Delhi's plants has been closed, another is still operating. The compost is absorbed by the city's parks department, an example of how city procurement policies can help the marketing problem. In Kathmandu, the compost from a municipal plant was in high demand by local farmers in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and the plant continued with a simple windrow system after the machinery broke down. It was forced to close recently when residents of new housing estates protested.

Recently, however, private firms, alone or in public-private partnership, have revived centralized composting in a few places. Bangalore's windrow compost plant is reported to be cost-effective since privatization, although there are now NIMBY ("Not In My Back Yard") pressures at the site. There are experiments with new techniques for producing compost by processing partly decomposed wastes at dump sites (being done by a private company subsidized by the Bombay and Ahmedabad municipal corporations).

The subcontinent has wide experience with anaerobic digestion of cattle dung, and it was assumed that similar digesters could be adapted to ferment MSW, but producing animal-dung-like slurries from urban organic waste proved energy-intensive and the product was poor. A major problem with anaerobic digestion is that MSW used as feedstock tends to float. A number of design changes have to be achieved to produce small-scale digesters. Research is being done in Bangalore at the Indian Institute of Science, but there are no reports of successful large-scale anaerobic digestion.

Finding it hard to conceive? Try Gourmet Sex

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/LIFE-STYLE/Relationships/Man-Woman/Finding-it-hard-to-conceive-Try-Gourmet-Sex-/moviereview/4807256.cms

Have you been trying to conceive, but ended up feeling completely demoralised at the non results? For a lot of couples desperate to have a child,

More Movie Reviews

9 bedroom boo-boos Hooked to your opposite? Walking out is complex for abused women When he says no to sex"

sex has been reduced to a high stress zone where the goal is ovulation rather than sexual pleasure.

Recent research is however saying that the best way to get pregnant is to adopt the old-fashioned approach - wild passionate sex like you did it when you first dated. Fertility experts have coined the term 'gourmet sex' - where the couple focuses on a satisfying experience, rather than just getting pregnant as the ultimate fertility treatment.

Experts feel that the sex should be as wild and thrilling as it was when the couple first got together, when they weren't obsessed with conceiving. An extra five minutes of foreplay before ejaculation can produce an extra 25 million sperm, according to experts. The more excited sperm will also be of a higher standard, meaning there is a greater chance of the sperm and egg fusing to create a new life.
Here's how you can enjoy gourmet sex:

1. Stop focusing only on sex; rather make time out to improve the quality of your relationship. Share fantasies and issues that you may have with each other. Communication is key in enjoying a happy relationship. Unleashing a fantasy adds a new dimension to your relationship, heightening the novelty-factor. Always discuss your sexual desires and don't ridicule a partner's fantasies. This will help in feeling more liberated in your relationship. Don't take each other for granted, compliment each other and try and overlook each others' short-comings. If your partner is looking fat in a sexy nightie, don't shun them, tell her how you love her curves and then gently say, 'honey, let's join a gymn together.' It will not shatter her confidence.

2. Preparation is integral before a satisfying sex romp. Always have a sensuous shower before you have sex. Pamper yourself so that you are feeling your best making love knowing. Also, invest in sexy lingerie, opting for silky innerwear that feels soft against the skin. A recent survey claimed most men found their women sexiest in a football or rugby shirt, so it's not so much what you wear, but how you put a look together with confidence that turns on a man. Move sensuously, because a woman's gait and eye contact is vital in making a man want him.

3. Before your big night, avoid a huge meal, lots of alcohol or any gas-inducing foods. Too much alcohol mars performance and spicy or too much food might give you gas.

4. Focus on foreplay. Read each other erotic stories. Dim the lights and switch off your cell phones and then whisper lines from the book into your lover's ear. They are sure to feel turned on as they hear you relate the scenario. It's bound to pre-empt the sexual high. Or try and pen your own erotic story to read to your beau. Act out certain imaginary chapters.

5. Make foreplay as adventurous as possible. Concentrate on the less obvious body parts. Make time to explore erogenous zones, such as the neck, nipples, back of the knees. Stroke with a feather, fingers, tongue or other body parts.

6. Blindfold your lover or let them blindfold you and dab some honey or chocolate sauce, somewhere on your body. Let your partner lick off the sweet juices using only their tongue. Exploring your body gives then a great opportunity to know you intimately.

7. Decorate your body in a variety of tasty foods, such as sliced strawberries, ice cream or melting chocolate. Invite your lover to dine out on you, starting with your sensitive areas such as the neck and your ankles.

8. Gourmet sex is about having fun , so both of you should give directions and be directed. Tell your partner exactly what you want them to do. Try out new sex moves, new places that lie beyond the bedroom that help you achieve a sexual high better than you have even imagined.