Extending competition in network industries: Can input markets circumvent the need for an administered access regime?

Unbundling bottlenecks in the value chain of network industries has made it possible to introduce retail and some upstream competition into the sectors, but access to the unbundled assets, and to certain natural inputs, is generally achieved by a command and control administrative process which defines access products and sets administrative prices for them. Yet this mode of price setting and allocation is contentious, difficult and fallible. The paper explores the alternative approach of using input markets. Six examples are reviewed: three relating to natural resources (spectrum, water abstraction rights and natural gas), and three to manufactured inputs (airport landing slots, trail paths and access to pipes and wires). The analysis shows that market design is crucial; that achieving effective competition without structural measures is problematic; and that some markets have to be built on regulatory underpinnings. However, the potential benefits are large and lessons learnt can be applied elsewhere.     

THE ROLE OF PRICING ON INTEGRATED WATER MANAGEMENT AT THE INDUSTRIAL PARK LEVEL: A CASE OF TEDA

Increasing water shortage and water pollution issues have attracted people to seek an integrated water management approach. This paper presents an integrated water management model at the industrial park level by employing a case of TEDA. Such a model is an overall management model for optimizing water resources within an industrial park, seeking potential water reuse among industries, incorporating the size and cost of reclaimed wastewater delivery systems. The main focus of this paper is to test how pricing strategy can influence water reuse scenarios by doing a cost sensitivity analysis. The results Indicate that when being set at the correct level, increased water charges could help reduce freshwater use and wastewater discharge, while covering administrative costs, financing environmental improvements (e.g. cleaner production), or subsidizing the operation of the wastewater treatment plant and the maintenance of freshwater infrastructure, therefore, providing water reuse incentives for water users within an industrial park.     

Productivity and efficiency in the water industry

Over the past twenty years there has been increasing interest in the productivity and efficiency of, and the optimal structures for, the water supply and wastewater industries. In part this interest has manifested itself in the increased use of numerous statistical techniques to determine the productivity and efficiency of the water sector in a variety of countries. The purpose of this paper is threefold. First it briefly reviews the various measures that have been used to gauge the levels of productivity and efficiency in the water sector, with particular reference to input and output data requirements of these measures. Second it summarises the key structural findings that have been determined from this research, particularly with respect to economies of scale and scope, public versus private ownership and the impact of regulation. Third, it considers potential areas for potential future research, such as the effect of environmental management activities (including water conservation) and regulation on productivity and efficiency, the role of wastewater as a potential source of potable or ‘fit-for-purpose’ water and the relationship between water supply and urban planning.     

千万吨炼油厂污水处理场受冲击分析及控制对策

本文对南方某千万吨炼油厂高浓度甲醇污水冲击污水处理场进行了总结,分析了污水处理场受冲击的主要原因是储运罐区在甲醇泵检修过程中,因管理不到位导致甲醇泄漏进入罐区的污水预处理站六,污水预处理站六把含有高浓度甲醇的污水,排入污水处理场及加氢型酸性水汽提装置,引起含油污水和加氢型净化水COD异常升高,最终进入污水处理场并造成冲击。经过全面系统排查,作者梳理了炼油厂需要重点管控的甲醇、环丁砜、MDEA等废水污染物及产生部位,这些物质溶于水会导致污水COD数据异常升高并不易被发现,提出了通过开展检维修作业风险识别、完善污水排放监测和报告制度、强化污水处理操作人员培训、对各股污水设置在线监测等源头控制对策,加强过程污水排放管控,避免类似情况再次发生,对其他炼油厂具有一定的借鉴意义。     

Bacteriophages--potential for application in wastewater treatment processes

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect and lyse bacteria. Interest in the ability of phages to control bacterial populations has extended from medical applications into the fields of agriculture, aquaculture and the food industry. Here, the potential application of phage techniques in wastewater treatment systems to improve effluent and sludge emissions into the environment is discussed. Phage-mediated bacterial mortality has the potential to influence treatment performance by controlling the abundance of key functional groups. Phage treatments have the potential to control environmental wastewater process problems such as: foaming in activated sludge plants; sludge dewaterability and digestibility; pathogenic bacteria; and to reduce competition between nuisance bacteria and functionally important microbial populations. Successful application of phage therapy to wastewater treatment does though require a fuller understanding of wastewater microbial community dynamics and interactions. Strategies to counter host specificity and host cell resistance must also be developed, as should safety considerations regarding pathogen emergence through transduction.     

污水的内含能及污水处理过程的耗能与节能

污水处理是一个高能耗、低能效的复杂过程。改变传统认知,将污染物当作能量物质加以资源化,回用于水处理过程或者产品化,可改变污水处理的能耗。以城市污水与焦化废水为例,分析了水质中污染物具有的内含能形式,并探讨了两种计算方法,指出内含能利用的两类可能途径和最大限度。基于热力学基本定律与污水水质特征,辅以适当的当量假设,分析了污水处理过程中的不同形式能量消耗及其原因,运用能流图表达了两个具体案例的能量转化与分布规律。比较了污水处理两类节能评价方法的优异性,提出了未来水处理可能的节能新途径。在加深污水内含能认识的基础上,结合相关产业与工艺技术,分离回收有价值成分,如营养物(氮、磷)、重金属等,并获得水资源的再利用,以间接补偿处理过程的能耗,从而实现节能目标。     

水平潜流人工湿地在工业废水处理中的应用

水平潜流人工湿地作为一种非常有效的污水处理工艺,应用于工业废水的处理已经30多年。综述了近年来国内外水平潜流人工湿地在石油化工、食品、酿酒、造纸、制革、纺织,钢铁和制药等工业废水处理系统中的应用,指出了水平潜流人工湿地的应用前景和研究方向。     

Ammonia removal from aqueous solution by membrane distillation

Environmental regulation, increased pressure on water resources and rising cost for wastewater discharges make wastewater treatment for recycling an essential investment for many industries. Ammonia is a major pollutant in many industrial and agricultural wastewaters, and its elimination is essential for wastewater to be reused or meeting local discharge standards. In this study, the removal of ammonia from dilute aqueous solution has been investigated using sweep gas and vacuum membrane distillation (SGMD and VMD). Factors that affect the separation process such as feed and air flow rates, vacuum degree and feed temperature have been investigated. Overall, mass transfer coefficients (K_ov) were calculated, and the results indicated that K_ov for VMD is higher than that for SGMD under similar operation. Overall, ammonia mass transfer coefficient up to 12.06 × 10^?5 and 5.63 × 10^?5 m/s can be achieved for VMD and SGMD, respectively. The ammonia removal efficiency was enhanced by increasing sweep gas flow rate or by decreasing downstream pressure.     

Structural and regulatory reform in Turkey: Lessons form public utilities

Turkey is one of the countries that recently initiated regulatory reform in public utilities. Although Turkey tried to introduce competition to many industries through a liberalization movement that started in the 1980s, utilities remained as monopolies until the early 2000s. In the beginning of the 2000s, reforms restructured the utilities through deregulation and competition policies and established independent regulatory agencies. Whereas the reforms have been successful in some aspects, they remain insufficient in others. This paper anecdotally investigates the effects of (de)regulation on selected public utility industries and analyzes the pros and cons of the reform process. Also, it presents a comparative analysis to better understand the current institutional and governmental issues in the reform process. The findings suggest that the recently changing stance of government towards the (de)regulatory process could thwart the success of reform.     

Stockholm builds a “snake” tunnel to avoid flooding and improve water quality

Rainwater that falls on the city of Stockholm is led to the wastewater treatment facility at Henriksdal. The water is transported through a network of pipelines where domestic wastewater is mixed with rainwater. The existing network does not have sufficient capacity during heavy precipitation. To avoid flooding, the mixture of rainwater/wastewater is allowed to overflow into the nearest stretch of water. To reduce this overflow, a wastewater tunnel is being built where the “surplus” water can be temporarily stored until the pressure on the pipelines and the wastewater treatment works is reduced. This new tunnel, called “The Snake” because of its winding course, will have a capacity of approximately 35.000 m³. This will be sufficient to reduce the risk of flooding considerably, while simultaneously stopping the undesirable discharge into Brunnsviken completely. To achieve the best interaction between the tunnel and the system of water mains, the water level will be regulated and monitored with the help of computers.     

红山嘴油田稠油污水回注效果跟踪评价

红山嘴油田于1990年投入注水开发,在注水开发中,由于注入水水质不稳定,注水配伍性差,注水开发过程中注水系统结垢严重,注水井井况恶化,修井频繁,注水井测调合格率低。经过对红浅稠油污水可行性评价及论证,实现了红浅稠油净化污水回注红山嘴油田,污水回注后需对污水回注地层后储层伤害、腐蚀结垢趋势进行动态跟踪评价,确定净化污水对注水指标的影响程度及影响因素。通过对污水回注效果动态跟踪表明,污水回注后红山嘴油田水质得到明显改善,消除了注水系统结垢,污水回注地层后储层伤害得到有效控制,年可节约油田清水用量73万方。不仅如此,还在合理利用外排污水,减少环保压力方面,为稠油污水回注提供技术储备和技术示范奠定良好基础。     

Economic valuation of environmental benefits from wastewater treatment processes: An empirical approach for Spain

Economic research into the design and implementation of policies for the efficient management of water resources has been emphasized by the European Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC). The efficient implementation of policies to prevent the degradation and depletion of water resources requires determining their value in social and economic terms and incorporating this information into the decision-making process. A process of wastewater treatment has many associated environmental benefits. However, these benefits are often not calculated because they are not set by the market, due to inadequate property rights, the presence of externalities, and the lack of perfect information. Nevertheless, the valuation of these benefits is necessary to justify a suitable investment policy and a limited number of studies exist on the subject of the economic valuation of environmental benefits. In this paper, we propose a methodology based on the estimation of shadow prices for the pollutants removed in a treatment process. This value represents the environmental benefit (avoided cost) associated with undischarged pollution. This is a pioneering approach to the economic valuation of wastewater treatment. The comparison of these benefits with the internal costs of the treatment process will provide a useful indicator for the feasibility of wastewater treatment projects.     

Performance of IFAS wastewater treatment processes for biological phosphorus removal

Integrated fixed film activated sludge (IFAS) is a promising process for the enhancement of nitrification and denitrification in conventional activated sludge systems that need to be upgraded for biological nutrient removal (BNR), particularly when they have space limitations or need modifications that will require large monetary expenses. Several studies have reported successful implementations of IFAS at temperate zone wastewater treatment facilities, typically by placement of fixed film media into aerobic zones. However, nearly all of the implementations have not included enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) in the upgraded systems. This is possibly because the treatment plants have been operated at low mixed liquor mean cell residence times (MCRTs), and EBPR would wash out of the systems at the low temperatures encountered, making it difficult to maintain EBPR. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the incorporation of EBPR into IFAS systems, and study the interactions between the fixed biomass and the mixed liquor suspended solids with respect to substrate competition and nutrient removal efficiencies. Three pilot-scale UCT/VIP configuration systems were used, one as a control and the other two with Bioweb media integrated into some of the anoxic and aerobic reactors. The systems were operated at different MCRTs, and influent COD/TP ratios, and with split influent flows. The experimental results confirmed that EBPR could be incorporated successfully into IFAS systems, but the redistribution of biomass resulting from the integration of fixed film media, and the competition of organic substrate between EBPR and denitrification would affect performances. Also, the integration of fixed film media into the anoxic reactors affected performances differently from media in aerobic reactors.     

浅谈强化企业质量管理的有效途径

面对全球经济一体化进程的加速及中国加入WTO后面临的巨大机遇与挑战,该文提出了注重质量管理是企业在激烈的市场竞争中立于不败之地的关键,是企业可持续发展的有力措施之一,并从质量管理理念的转变、提高质量管理的措施及企业的质量文化建设等几个方面对质量管理的有效途径进行了探讨。     

车辆段含油废水处理工艺设计及分析

车辆段含油废水需进行处理后，才能排至市政废水或者雨水管网。本文对南京某车辆段含油废水处理工艺进行了分析和介绍，并提出了自己的见解。     

Persistent chemicals in pulp mill effluents: Occurrence and behaviour in an activated sludge treatment plant

In wastewater effluents of a Swiss pulp mill more than 50 organic chemicals were identified including chlorinated phenols, chloroform, chlorinated terpenoids and chlorinated resin acids. Quantitative determinations were carried out to investigate the behaviour of the most abundant constituents during wastewater treatment in an activated sludge process. In particular, the chlorinated compounds were only partly eliminated. The lipophilic chlorinated phenols were physically absorbed to some extent into the activated sludge biomass. The importance of this nonbiological elimination mechanism was evaluated by applying distribution coefficients between activated sludge particles and water which were determined for a series of chlorinated phenols. Chloroform and other purgeable compounds were removed mainly by transfer into the ambient air. The impact of the persistent wastewater constituents on the water quality in the receiving River Aare was assessed. It was estimated that the concentrations of chlorinated phenols in the river caused by the discharge of the treated pulp mill wastewater are about 10 times lower than the levels of pentachlorophenol which typically occur in Swiss rivers receiving effluents from municipal wastewater treatment plants.     

Modified polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membrane for the treatment of tannery wastewater

A large amount of water can be recycled from the effluent generated by tannery industries. In this work, the treatment of tannery wastewater was investigated using polyethersulfone (PES) membranes modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and calcium chloride (CaCl₂). Membranes were prepared through the phase inversion method by adding various amounts of CaCl₂ to PES and PEG respectively. The effect of CaCl₂ on the characteristics of blend membranes such as morphology, water uptake, porosity, pure water permeability and hydrophilicity was investigated. Studies indicated that CaCl₂ addition had modified the membrane properties considerably. Tannery wastewater was efficiently treated using the modified PES membranes. Permeability of wastewater was considerably increased while the CaCl₂ was incorporated in the PES polymer matrix. All modified PES membranes showed moderate removal of biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total dissolved solids, chlorides, sulphates, oil and grease for the tannery effluents.     

The long-term reform of the water and wastewater industry: The case of Melbourne in Australia

Since the 1980s, one of the most important parts of Australian microeconomic reform has been the restructuring of the country’s government owned utilities - including water supply and wastewater disposal. This process was encouraged by the perception that the state owned authorities performed poorly in the 1970s and 1980s. This paper analyses economic performance of the Melbourne water and wastewater industry from the early 1970s. Over the longer term, the industry has improved its economic performance in terms of productivity and returns to the shareholder, however, consumers have not substantially benefited from this process in terms of lower prices.     

Potential effects of desalinated water quality on the operation stability of wastewater treatment plants

Desalinated water is expected to become the major source of drinking water in many places in the near future, and thus the major source of wastewater to arrive at wastewater treatment plants. The paper examines the effect of the alkalinity value with which the water is released from the desalination plant on the alkalinity value that would develop within the wastewater treatment process under various nitrification-denitrification operational scenarios. The main hypothesis was that the difference in the alkalinity value between tap water and domestic wastewater is almost exclusively a result of the hydrolysis of urea (NH₂CONH₂, excreted in the human urine) to ammonia (NH₃), regardless of the question what fraction of NH_3(aq) is transformed to NH₄⁺. Results from a field study show that the ratio between the alkalinity added to tap water when raw wastewater is formed (in meq/l units) and the TAN (total ammonia nitrogen, mole/l) concentration in the raw wastewater is almost 1:1 in purely domestic sewage and close to 1:1 in domestic wastewater streams mixed with light industry wastewaters. Having established the relationship between TAN and total alkalinity in raw wastewater the paper examines three theoretical nitrification-denitrification treatment scenarios in the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The conclusion is that if low-alkalinity desalinated water constitutes the major water source arriving at the WWTP, external alkalinity will have to be added in order to avoid pH drop and maintain process stability. The results lead to the conclusion that supplying desalinated water with a high alkalinity value (e.g. ≥ 100 mg/l as CaCO₃) would likely prevent the need to add costly basic chemicals in the WWTP, while, in addition, it would improve the chemical and biological stability of the drinking water in the distribution system.     

高浓度油田压裂废水降低CODCr的预处理方法

针对高浓度油田压裂废水黏度高、浊度大、含油量高等特点,强化预处理工艺,降低CODCr值.文章通过实验证明了强氧化剂(Fenton试剂)与混凝剂PAC+PAM相结合的工艺可有效降低高浓度含油废水CODCr值,进而通过Fenton试剂与混凝剂的投药量、pH值等因素对高浓度油田压裂废水的影响进行分析,得出采用该化学预处理方法出水水质清澈,可直接进入生化处理系统进行后续处理.