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COURSE TITLE: Application of floating treatment wetlands in Pakistan for wastewater treatment

INSTRUCTORS Muhammad Afzal, Ph.D.
Muhammad Arslan

COURSE DESCRIPTION Application of floating treatment wetlands in Pakistan for wastewater treatment

Presented by Muhammad Afzal, Ph.D. and Muhammad Arslan Ph.D.
July 15, 2021

ABSTRACT:

Floating treatment wetlands are highly suitable alternatives for effective wastewater reclamation. The ecotechnologies employ natural processes, involving vegetation and its associated microbial assemblages to improve water quality. It is a solar energy-driven, low-cost, self-sustaining, and self-operating approach for the remediation of wastewater. Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) were developed using locally available plants, and floating mats. Specific wetland plants were tested for the efficient remediation of wastewater. Specific bacterial strains were screened, characterized, and enriched having plant-growth-promoting and pollutants degrading potential. The efficiency of the FTWs was enhanced by their augmentation with specific pollutant-degrading and plant growth-promoting bacteria. The aluminum foil, soil, sand, and gravel were used to protect the mat from solar radiation. The applied wetlands are working in the field and industry after several years of their application with minimum operational and maintenance costs. The National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE) has already applied these at the full-scale in the wastewater stabilization ponds of Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Faisalabad, in the wastewater pits of Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Toyota Car Wash Centers, and at the pilot-scale at various locations including the textile and beverage industries. More recently, these have been applied near Manak Village Lahore, and a residential colony for the remediation of their sewage wastewater. The application of this innovative indigenous technology in Pakistan is improving wastewater treatment, reducing in pollution levels, and improving the health of the people living around the wastewater stabilization ponds, pits, and drains.

PRESENTERS’ BIOS:

Muhammad Afzal (Ph.D.), Principal Scientist, Leading Wastewater Treatment and Phytoremediation Group, and director of an Environmental Monitoring Laboratory with over 22 years of experience in devising low cost, self-sustaining and environment-friendly technologies for the remediation of polluted soil and wastewater. After extensive R&D, an innovative indigenous technology “Floating Treatment Wetlands” was developed and successfully applied in the industry to treat wastewater. FTWs are nature-based solutions aimed to provide low-cost wastewater treatment options for communities. The technology has been applied in the wastewater stabilization ponds of Faisalabad, in the pits of OGDCL, Toyota Car Wash Stations Faisalabad, and at other industries such as Interloop Limited, and Haidari Beverages. Several national and international research grants were won to develop the technology for wastewater treatment. Several awards such as the Gold Medal by Pakistan Academy of Sciences, NIBGE Best Scientist of year Gold Medal, HEC Best Publication Award, and Research Productivity Awards by PCST, were awarded. Seventy-seven research articles are published in peer-reviewed journals with a total impact factor of 285, and a citation of 4100. Among them, two publications are in Nature Journals as a first and corresponding author, i.e., Nature Sustainability and NPJ Clean Water.

Co-presenter, Dr. rer. nat. Muhammad Arslan’s major professional efforts have focused on the reclamation of oil sands process water to reduce its toxicity. However, the exceptionally persistent nature of its constituents, particularly naphthenic acids, makes remediation challenging. This research focuses on the molecular microbial ecology of these systems to understand underlying mechanisms of pollutant degradation and/or transformation. The aim is to elucidate rates of genomic evolution and organismal adaptation which may help develop an improved bioremediation system through augmentation. Dr. Arslan is a microbial ecologist working on bio-/phyto-remediation of industrial wastewaters using constructed wetlands, bioreactors, and hybrid systems. His work focuses on the molecular microbial ecology of these systems, mainly to understand the underlying processes of pollutant degradation and/or transformation. He has over five years of research experience in bio-/phyto-remediation and water reclamation. His research findings have been disseminated through 40+ peer-reviewed articles in reputed journals.

Credit Points: 0.06

SYLLABUS/TOPICAL OUTLINE 1. Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) as suitable alternatives for wastewater reclamation (10 min.). 2. Development and refinement of FTW technology (15 min.). 3. Industrial and municipal applications of FTWs (10 min.). 4. The qualitative and quantifiable benefits of FTWs in Pakistan (10 min.) 5. Questions and answers (15 min.).

COURSE CONTACT

Louis Mantini
9225 CR 49, Live Oak, FL 32060
lfm@srwmd.org
P: 386.647.3144
F: 386.362.1056

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