The performance of a disinfection system in wastewater secondary effluents is typically evaluated by measuring the response of a targeted organism to various doses of the applied disinfectant. Coliform bacteria are the most widely used indicator of disinfection performance in the United States and their surviving numbers form the basis for most discharge permits. At low doses of the applied disinfectant, the response of the targeted organism (typically coliform) follows first-order kinetics. Deviations from first-order kinetics are commonly observed in secondary or tertiary wastewater effluents at moderate to high doses of the applied disinfectant. Deviations at moderate to high doses, herein referred to as tailing, are characterized by a reduced rate of inactivation of the targeted organism with increasing values of the applied disinfectant.
The number of particles containing coliform bacteria has recently been demonstrated as a significant parameter influencing the performance of a disinfection system in the tailing region (Emerick et al ., 1999b). For coliform bacteria to be a suitable indicator of the inactivation of other targeted organisms (e.g., bacterial and viral pathogens), the other targeted organism of interest would have to be associated at roughly the same frequency and in the same location within wastewater particles as coliform bacteria. Additionally, the comparative efficiencies of various disinfectants are dependent on the ability of a particular disinfectant to penetrate into wastewater particles.
The overall objective of this proposal is to couple novel and innovative research in public health engineering with a comprehensive educational program.
The strategic plan for the integration of research and education is a multi-faceted approach that couples research with outreach and educational activities, as well as outreach activities with education. Outreach activities will focus on developing collaborative partnerships with research centers, national laboratories, industry, and government agencies for participating in educational endeavors, exchanging research ideas, and the field implementation of research findings. Findings from the proposed research will be transferred to the appropriate industry counterparts, including municipalities and their consultants, to aid in the design and optimization of upstream treatment processes to improve the performance of downstream disinfection systems. The recipients of the outreach activities will then be brought into the classroom to provide a practical and hands-on perspective of how research activities are incorporated by local, state, and national agencies and organizations into current industrial and environmental problems. In this manner, the recipients of outreach from the proposed research will serve in an advisory role to evaluate the success of the strategic plan implemented by the PI for the integration of research and education. The educational plan will be continually updated and modified based on comments received from the advisory panel.
