Part IV. Purification Capacity *
SURVEY OF RESEARCH PROJECTS UNDER INVESTIGATION AND REQUIRING
STUDY— 1945
Research Committee, Section B Federation of Sewage Works Associations
By II. He u k e l e k ia n, Chairman, B . H. Barton, A. E. Berry, F. J.
Brinley, C. H. Coberly, H. Ell, V. P. Enloe, A. L. Genter,
G. J. Ho pk in s, W. P. Hu g h e s, W. Q. Ke h r, K. C. Lauster,
G. Ma rtin, G. W. Marx, L. J. Mu r p h y, R. S. Ph il l ip s, R . Pomeroy, M. E. Rogers, R . J . Sm it h, Geo. E.
Sym o ns, P . S. Taylor, S. R . Weibel, J . Wil
liam so n, Jr., W . S. Wise, C. H. Young
Representatives of all the Member Associations were requested to furnish all of the information they could obtain from the members of their respective organizations regarding research and problems requir
ing investigation. Replies were received from eight groups. An at
tempt was made this year to bring the listings up to date by eliminating those projects which have been completed and temporarily or perma
nently discontinued. Thus, the present report includes only new proj
ects or old projects which are still active.
I. Problems Under Investigation
Eighty-two projects are reported this year in comparison with 94 reported in 1944. The breakdown under the various headings for 1944 and 1945 is as follows :
1944 1945
Sewage... ...35 21 Industrial waste... ...49 46 Stream pollution... ... 5 7
Analytical methods... 8
94 82
The decrease in the total number of projects under investigation during the present year is caused by a decrease in the number of prob
lems dealing with sewage. The number of problems dealing with in
dustrial wastes held firm and represents at present over twice the num
ber of sewage problems. The breakdown of industrial waste projects for the past two years is as follows:
770
Vol. 17, No. 4 SURVEY OF RESEARCH PROJECTS 771 Sugars and fermentation... ... 21944 19453
Paper wastes... ... 6 14 Textile and dyes... ... 7 4 Pickling liquors... ... 5 3 Acid wastes... ... 4 — Laundry wastes...... 1 1 Oil wastes... ... 5 3 Rubber wastes... ... 6 4 Food, canning, tannery... ...10 5 Explosives... ... . .— 4 Miscellaneous... — 5
The most important change in trend of research in industrial waste has been in a striking increase in problems under investigation in the paper waste field. This tendency has been catalyzed by the organiza
tion of this industry into the National Council for Stream Improvement.
The prominence displayed by the industrial waste research in gen
eral has led to the recognition of the need for more adequate methods for evaluation of the character and effects of these wastes on streams.
The adaptation of establishe'd methods such as the B.O.D. and the de
velopment of newer methods are awaited before great advances can be made in this field.
II. P r o b le m s R e q u ir in g I n v e s tig a tio n
Thirty-five problems were submitted for which investigators are needed as compared with 41 problems suggested last year. Fifteen of the problems requiring investigation deal with industrial waste. De
spite the amount of work done with the treatment of textile wastes, it appears that there are some unsolved problems still requiring attention in this field.
It is not claimed that the report includes a complete list of all the problems both under investigation and requiring investigation. It probably represents a fair cross-section of the trends and tendencies in research activities at this time. There are undoubtedly a number of problems the committee was unable to list because of restrictions in travel and pressure of time. Research activities in general have natu
rally been curtailed considerably during the war, but there has been a stimulation of research in connection with wastes produced in certain wartime industrial activities, such as in the manufacture of synthetic rubber, explosives and paper. With the cessation of hostilities and a greater availability of manpower, many ideas that have been dormant or placed in the background by other preoccupations will find expression.
The yearly publication of the report serves a useful purpose in giv
ing an advance notice of the problems that are under investigation in different organizations. It may happen, as it has in several instances in projects listed in the present report, that several similar problems are being worked on simultaneously and independently by different in
v e s tig a to r s . This is only natural and not necessarily objectionable if
772
Title of Project D escription Investigator, O rganization
A . Su rve y of Sewage Research Problems
Comparison of usefulness of vari
ous detention periods.
Sand filtration of trickling filter effluents at high rates to find satura
Vol. 17, No. 4 SURVEY OF RESEARCH PROJECTS
philic digestion together with other possible methods of treatment. pound of volatile garbage material when digested with sewage'solids.
Absorption capacity and removal of water from different types of sludges.
Effect of phosphates on coagula
tion, settling, digestion and dewater and synthetic rubber wastes and de
rivatives exert upon various organ
isms in streams.
774 SEWAGE WORKS JOURNAL
T a b l e I.—Continued
July, 1945
No. T itle of Project D escription Investigator, O rganization
27 Synthetic rubber manufacture of butadiene and sty
rene, used in the manufacture of syn
Treatment of plating wastes con
taining cyanides by means of chlorine.
Vol. sugars and other fermentable com
pounds.
Study of means for producing emul
sions.
Basic studies of fundamental factors involved in white water treatment.
Treatment of paper mill wastes
board mills by flocculation and sedi
mentation with and without chem
icals.
Five years of study on trickling filter methods of treating sulfite waste liquors are being followed up and fur
ther developed with existing pilot plants. filter, storage lagoon and regulated discharge.
776 and biological methods of treatment for the disposal of spent ferment wastes to meet certain requirements for disposal.
Vol. 17, No. 4 SURVEY OF RESEARCH PROJECTS
T a b l e I.—Continued
111
No. Title of Project Description Investigator, Organization
67 B.O.D. Utilization of B.O.D. determina
tion for the detection of inhibiting substances in industrial wastes and the dilutions necessary to overcome such inhibiting effects. waste liquor is being mechanically aerated on a commercial scale to ac
778 SEWAGE WORKS JOURNAL
T a b l e I.— Continued
July, 1945
No. T itle of Project D escription Investigator, Organization
77
A comparison of analytical proce
dures for the determination of D.O.
tion period by the addition of active biologic material.
Development of a technique for the B.O.D. determination suitable to measure the effect of concentrated wastes upon a stream. settling tanks and correlation with settling tank efficiencies.
Ol. factors in biological sewage or waste treatment processes? Are they pos
sibly toxins or other chemical com
pounds which can be eliminated or counteracted?
The possible use and effectiveness of DDT in the control of filter flies.
How will some of the weed killers work on intermittent sand filters; will they affect the efficiency of treat
ment? What is the economy of their application? izing equipment for application of lime and other chemicals to sewage. chlorine disinfection of sewage with variable chlorine demand and vari
able flows.
Merits of breakpoint chlorination of sewage for effective disinfection.
Recovery of pathogenic bacteria or parasitic organisms or eggs from agri
cultural soil treated with digested sewage sludge.
780 determine the efficiencies of removal of solids to permit maximum re-use of by the several processes acting upon wastes stored in impounding areas
Vol. 17, No. 4 SURVEY OF RESEARCH PROJECTS pure organic substances and estab
lishment of time-demand relation
the magnitude of the problem warrants it. Inherently different indi
vidual methods of approach may lead to corroboration or to entirely different results. At the same time, by giving such advance notice, un
necessary duplication may be avoided when a project is contemplated and attention may be diverted to other problems, equally pressing. It should also help to put the different investigators working on similar problems in closer contact with each other for the exchange of mutually profitable ideas. Furthermore, the report furnishes an opportunity to others confronted with practical problems in the field to communicate and obtain such information as may be immediately available and useful for the solution of their problems. The results of investigations are often either not published or are published a year or more after the completion of the project.
By compiling a list of projects upon which investigation is needed, the committee hopes to serve as a clearing house and an intermediary between the person making the suggestion and the available investi
gator. Such an arrangement can be made either through the committee or by the interested parties directly.