Methods, apparatus, and systems are provided for detecting and removing microplastics from wastewater effluent. Both, automatic/remote and manual monitoring and sampling components are included to detect the presence of microplastics. The automatic monitoring and sampling component includes a TSS sensor and associated apparatus calibrated to account for non-plastic solids present in the wastewater and, thereby, more accurately determine the presence of microplastics. Efficient separation and removal of microplastics from wastewater effluent is performed by a specialized capture net apparatus having multiple sized mesh components and optional diffuser devices which perform size exclusion filtration of microplastics from the water. In an exemplary embodiment, the methods generally include diverting treated wastewater effluent from a wastewater treatment facility's main line into a wastewater sampling mechanism via an intake pipe, and then into a solids monitoring and separation mechanism which includes the specialized capture net apparatus.

A method for the decontamination of water containing one or more PFAS, having the steps of generating colloidal gas aphrons (CGAs) by mixing a gas, water, and one or more surfactants together with high shear forces, introducing the CGAs and a PFAS-containing water in an enclosed space where the CGAs move upwards through the water due to their inherent buoyancy, allowing the plurality of CGAs to extract PFAS from the water, and separating the PFAS-containing CGAs from the surface of the water in the enclosed space for further treatment or disposal, leaving the water with lower PFAS concentrations in the vessel. The aphrons may be anionic or cationic and created by mixing speeds or surfactant concentration, and treatment may be with gas bubbles to remove PFAS from water gas bubbles or destruction of PFAS by plasma reactor or deployed in situ through wells into geologic ground formations.

An apparatus and process are provided for concentrating oil and gas production brine. The apparatus comprises a brine feed system, a hot air generation system, a concentrated brine collection and recirculation system, and an evaporation tower. The evaporation tower includes a brine inlet coupled to the brine feed system, a hot air inlet coupled to the hot air generation system and positioned below the brine inlet, a steam discharge, a concentrated brine outlet, a plurality of distillation trays, and a concentrated brine reservoir in the lower portion of the tower. The evaporation tower also has a distributor at the brine inlet adapted to distribute brine onto the trays and may have a plurality of spray nozzles disposed above the hot air inlet to distribute a spray of recirculated concentrated brine. Water evaporates from the brine and the entering hot air temperature is modulated by evaporation.

A liquid treatment loop system for dissociating and removing brine compositions found in wastewater and producing clean water for freshwater and potable water applications. The system includes an acoustic source process cell stage (SPCS) operatively in communication with a continuous stream from a fluid source. The SPCS is configured to eviscerate contaminants in the continuous fluid stream in at least one treatment process. The SPCS is also configured to separate the eviscerated contaminants from the continuous fluid stream to provide permeated water in the at least one treatment process. The system includes at least one mining process cell stage (MPCS) operatively in communication with SPCS. The at least one MPCS is adapted to receive the eviscerated contaminants from the SPCS. The system includes at least one permeate outlet operatively in communication with SPCS, wherein the at least one permeate outlet is adapted to receive the permeated water from the SPCS.

A solar powered sediment capture system is disclosed for collecting sediment at environment sites such as lakes and rivers. A mechanical pump directs water from a containment basin to an upper tank and an antistatic pressure tank, both which are elevated. Gravity flow from the upper tank generates vacuum to establish a syphon for drawing a flowable sediment slurry from an environmental borrow site to a filter. Effluent from the filter passes down to the containment basin, which has water level at a lower elevation than that of the borrow site. Anti-static and driller conduits permit gravity flow from the anti-static tank to suspend the sediment and to maintain the slurry at the syphon inlet in a flowable state.

A system, a method and a process is provided for removing selenium from coal mine wastewater. The method and system include the steps of providing a quantity of ferric chloride in a predetermined relative ratio to a volume of mine wastewater, using sodium hydroxide to adjust the pH of the mine wastewater between 7.5 and 8, introducing the volume of mine wastewater into a sediment pond or tank having turbidity curtains.

The present invention discloses an immersed active infrared self-cleaning secondary sedimentation tank sludge blanket induction device and an application method thereof, the induction device comprises an upper sleeve and a lower sleeve that are connected up and down and form a communicated inner cavity, a set of infrared emitters and infrared receivers that are located on an inner wall of the upper sleeve and are oppositely arranged, a transparent hard ring that is annularly adhered to front sides of the infrared emitters and the infrared receivers, and a push rod assembly that can move up and down in the inner cavity and is used for cleaning the transparent hard ring; wherein a sludge outlet hole and a water outlet hole located below the sludge outlet hole are arranged on the upper sleeve, a bearing plate is arranged in the inner cavity of the lower sleeve.

A cooperative learning system usable for process monitoring in which a monitoring model is provided for each of plural processes arranged in chronological order at predetermined transition time period intervals. The system stores, in chronological order, first monitoring data in a first process, second monitoring data in a second process, and at least one monitoring result from the first process output from a first monitoring model using the first monitoring data as an input parameter. The system performs parent model learning processing for the first monitoring model using the first monitoring data and the monitoring result from the first monitoring model, and performs child model learning processing for a second monitoring model using a monitoring result from the first monitoring model at a first time as teacher data and using the second monitoring data at a second time shifted from the first time by a transition period as an input parameter.

A vehicle (6) apparatus for removing material from the seabed is disclosed. The vehicle comprises first thrusters (10) for moving the vehicle vertically and second thrusters (12) for moving the vehicle horizontally. A collector unit (16) removes material from the seabed, and a latching mechanism (42) is adapted to be connected to a riser to enable removed material to be transported to a vessel on the surface.

A separator unit includes a tank defining an internal volume and having an inlet and an outlet. An insert separates the tank into an upper chamber and a lower chamber. The insert includes a weir at an upper side to define an intake area for receiving an influent liquid, a first opening in the intake area for delivering liquid down into the lower chamber and a second opening on an opposite side of the weir for delivering liquid from the lower chamber back up into the upper chamber. The separator may include one or more of the first opening being of arcuate shape, a perforated shroud extending downward from the insert within the lower chamber and/or an upflow pipe extending downward from the second opening into the lower chamber, a bottom of the upflow pipe covered, and a slot opening in a sidewall of the upflow pipe.