Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/K007424/1
Mitigation of pollutant emissions from the steel industry
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Professor T Stephenson, Cranfield University, School of Water, Energy and Environment
- Grant held at:
- Cranfield University, School of Water, Energy and Environment
- Science Area:
- Atmospheric
- Freshwater
- Overall Classification:
- Freshwater
- ENRIs:
- Pollution and Waste
- Science Topics:
- None
- Abstract:
- The steel industry has a long manufacturing tradition in the UK and it produced 10.1 million tons of steel in 2009 and employs 20300 people. Like in any complex manufacturing industry the potential to cause negative impacts on the environment through pollution is of great concern. Tata Steel, one of the key steel producers in the UK and in the world, and has adopted state-of-the-art energy efficient technologies and pollution control measured which resulted in significant mitigation of greenhouse gases in the entire product chain. Tata Steel is among one of the few steel plants in the world, where all manufacturing and service facilities are certified under ISO 14001:2004 (EMS). The aim of the project is to optimise bioaugmentation as a technique to improve the quality of treated coke oven effluents to ensure compliance with. without collateral environmental harm, i.e A problem facing the entire European steel industry is treating the coke making effluents to the more stringent standards required by the recent EU Industrial Emissions (IED) and Water Framework (WFD) Directives. Coke making effluents are usually treated by activated sludge (AS) technology that are a well-established technology and generally operate efficiently. These plants are capable of removing a wide range of organic compounds such as phenols and thiocyanates,that form a major part of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the effluent. However, activated sludge plants are not as efficient for the treatment of priority substances such as the heavy-molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPAHs) (e.g. benzo [a] pyrene) and also ammonia; the latter present at concentrations in the 100s of mg/L. Hence, existing coke oven effluent treatment plants will now prove insufficient to meet the new environmental quality standards (EQS) of priority substances imposed by the WFD and the emission limit values (ELVs) for nitrogen emissions (ie. ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) consented at 15 to 50 mg/L by the IED. Research is needed to investigate technological solutions for reducing PAHs and ammonia concentrations in coke making effluents in such a way that (i) greenhouse gas emissions from the process is minimised, in particular formation of nitrous oxide during nitrogen removal (ii) existing assets are utilized (minimising the needs for new build and construction) and (iii) the treatment effluent complies the current legislation reducing the impact of the emissions of hazardous substances from the steel industry on water catchments: in line with the 2012 objectives of NERC. Bioaugmentation has been utilised in full-scale treatment plants as a technological feasible solution to enhance the biodegradation of recalcitrant pollutants, such as PAHs, in industrial wastewaters offering the advantages such as improved treatment capacity and resilience as well as easy adaptation to existing process units. Nevertheless bioaugmentation involves the addition of new microbial specifies to BET plants and the eventual release of the species to the aquatic environment should be investigated in detail to avoid negative environmental impacts. Hence the specific project objectives are: (i) to carry out applied research in a activated sludge pilot-plant to select the appropriate augmentation strategy to enhance the biodegradation of PAHs in coke oven effluents; (ii) establish optimal pilot plant operation to minimise greenhouse gas emissions (eg; nitrous oxide) whist obtaining full effluent compliance and nitrogen removal (nitrification / denitrification) through application of intermittent aeration; (iii) assess the environmental impact of the bioaugmentation process by tracking the existence, viability and resilience of the specific bacteria; (iv) propose a list of recommendations for implementation at full-scale on existing assets.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/K007424/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- DTG - directed
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Open CASE
This training grant award has a total value of £68,671
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Fees | Total - RTSG | Total - Student Stipend |
|---|---|---|
| £13,978 | £5,499 | £49,193 |
If you need further help, please read the user guide.