Iranian Journal of

Backgrounds and Objectives: Selection of  proper coagulants for turbidity removal and determination of effective methods to reduce coagulants dose and related costs in water treatment plants is of critical importance. The present study investigates the effect of returned sludge on improving the performance of poly-aluminum chloride (PAC) in turbidity, coliform bacteria, heterotrophic bacteria removal from drinking water during rapid mixing phase.
Materials and Methods: In order to determine the optimal returned sludge volume injected during rapid mixing with PAC for turbidity, total coliform and hetrophic bacteria, experiments were conducted based on variables such as injected silt volume (from 0 - 125 ml), and varying turbidities from 58 - 112 NTU. At the end of each JAR experiments, remaining turbidity , microbial parameters of samples were measured . Coagulant efficiency in turbidity removal and microbial parameters were determined by Covariance, Duncan analyses and graphs were drawn by MS Excel . The results statistically showed significant among variables (P<0.05).
Results: The results showed that the maximum turbidity removal efficiency of 98.92 at 30 ppm was 10 ml while the maximum turbidity removal efficiency of 98.31 at 10 ppm was 4 ml. The maximum total coliform removal efficiency  of 95.68 obtained for 10 ppm in 10 cc injected sludge volume.
Conclusion: This study shows that addition of returned sludge to flash mixing can reduce the turbidity of samples.

Background and Objectives: Soil polluted with total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPHs) is a great threat to human health. Phytoremediation, the use of vegetation for treatment of contaminated soils, is an attractive and cost-effective alternative to reduce pollutant from soil. This paper evaluates the effects of the plant and nutrients on the removal of TPHs from soil. Material and methods: Soils were collected at depth of 0-30 cm, and then polluted with 1 and 2.5 % w/w of crude oil. After preparing the experimental pots, Rhizosphere microbial number, plant biomass, and residual TPHs were determined. TPHs and heterotrophic bacterial number were measured by GC and HPC method respectively. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 17 for Windows) software and Excel. Results: It was found that the average percent of TPH removal in planted soil (28.42%) was higher than that in unplanted soil (12.2%) (p<0.05). Moreover, the average percent of TPH removal in treatments received nutrient and free nutrient treatments was 35.5and 17.7% respectively. Conclusion: Generally compared with the other studies, high clay and salinity of the experimental soil had a negative effect on phytoremediation efficiency. Finally, regarding to the high clay and salinity of the experimental soil, the phytoremediation efficiency was relatively desirable.