Iranian Journal of

Background and Objectives: A conventional treatment to stabilize the excess activated sludge is the aerobic digestion process but due to long aeration time, it requires large equipments as well as high investment cost. Because of high oxidation potential of ozone, sludge ozonation enhances stabilization rate and reduces sludge treatment equipment size and cost. Therefore, in this study, the combination of pretreatment with ozone and aerobic digestion processes were investigated.
Materials and Methods: The experimental set-up consisted of an ozone generator and ozonation reactor with the total volume of 2 L. Removal percentages of TSS, VS, total and soluble COD, HPC, fecal coliform and settable solids were measured in integrated process compared to the single ones.
Results: The results of this research indicated that the aerobic digestion of waste activated sludge during 10 days could reduce 38% of volatile solids and thus obtaining the EPA standard. Also, the results of combined ozonation and aerobic digestion revealed that the pre-ozonation at 0.25 g O3/g TS or 0.5 g O3/g TS with 6 or 3 days aeration, respectively, could achieve 38% reduction in VS and hence the requirement set by EPA. Therefore, integration of pre-ozonation with aerobic digestion can significantly reduce the digestion time to attain the standards.
Conclusion: The sludge pre-ozonation with low dose of ozone due to solids disintegration can enhance the efficiency of aerobic digestion in waste activated sludge stabilization, and consequently decrease size of equipments, air requirement, investment and probably operation cost.

Backgrounds and Objectives: Now a days modified activated sludge ways are used for standard removing nutrient substances from waste water that is named Enhanced biological phosphorus removal One of the most suitable ways is Anoxic-Oxic(A/O) process. The goal of this research is investigation and solving existing problems of Khoy power plant(P.P) waste water treatment plant(WWTP)and optimizing of phosphorus removal in it.
Materials and Methods: This research is done full scale in this treatment plant. The treatment plant was operating with extended aeration process, and some problems had, so in the first stage with in investigation of total efficiency, problems and their reasons determined. In the second stage after operational modifications existing problems was solved and real efficiency of treatment plant particularly for phosphorus(P) removal determined. In the third stage changes, system converted to A/O process and new system was tested with Changing parameters like food/microorganism(F/M), return sludge ratio(RAS)and sludge retention time(SRT)
Risults: In the first stage the most important problems were over concentration of BOD,TSS, and P in effluent of treatment plant and overgrows of alga observed in parts of treatment plant and effluent receiving conduit. The main reason of high concentration of P was considered releasing of sludge. In the second stage operating condition modification efficiency of P removal increased from 50to 62 percent. In the end of third stage value of P removal reached to %82 and the most suitable of anoxic contact time was determined 3to4 hours, SRT terry day and F/M ratio o.12,that the most effective change has been the decrease of SRT to three days.
Conclusion: Adjusting of operating factors like SRT,RAS, sludge processing way in WWTP can increase P removal in them with in total efficiency remaining, such as in this case it was %12. In waste water treatment particularly for P removal the A/O process is suitable so in this project its effect on P removal efficiency has been %20.

Background and Objectives: Phenolic compounds are presence in many industrial wastewaters, and have been classified as priority pollutants. Application of several conventional processes due to high cost and low efficiency has been limited. Thus, new methods such as enzymatic polymerization seem to be preferable and effective processes with high potential to substitute the conventional processes. This study was carried out to evaluate Raphanus sativus extract as a peroxides enzyme source for polymerization and removal of phenol from synthetic wastewater in the presence of hydrogen peroxide.
Materials and Methods: The study was performed in batch reactor at room temperature. Peroxidase enzyme was extracted from Raphanus sativus plant roots . Primary concentration of phenol in wastewater was 100 mgl-1. The concentration of phenol and enzymatic activity was been measuredby photometric assay.
Results: The results show that Raphanus sativus extract is a suitable source of peroxidase enzyme. Mean enzymatic activities in this extract was 3.107 Uml-1. Also, our results showed that elevation of extract volume lead to high efficiency of phenol removal, in which the increase in the extract volume from 5 to 50 ml, resulted in the efficiency of processes increased from 7.6 to 98.2 %. Also, sequencing addition of H2O2 and extract has improved the effects. The phenol removal efficiency of the reaction time after 3 h with single and three stages adding of reactants was 84.2 and 93.1% , respectively.
Conclusion:Enzymatic polymerization can be used as an appropriate process for the removal of phenolic compounds from wastewaters. To meet the optimized condition in process, the ratios of phenol/ enzyme and H2O2/ phenol and sequences of the adding of reactants should be considered.

Backgrounds and Objectives: in recent years, mobile bed biological reactors have been used progressively for municipal and industrial wastewaters treatment. Dissented experiment is a trial that significant changes will accrue for influent variables in the process, and generally used for identification of the effective factors and optimization of the process. The scope of this study was determination of the optimized conditions for the MBBR process by using of Taguchi method.
Materials and Methods: Reactor start up was done by using of the recycled activated sludge from Ahwaz wastewater treatment plant. After that and passing the acclimation period, with hydraulic residence time equal to 9 hours matched for 1000, 2000 and 3000 mg/l based on COD respectively, for optimization determination of the acclimated microbial growth, the variables change (pH, nitrogen source, chemical oxygen demand and salinity) were determined in 9 steps, and all of the results were analyzed by Qualitek -4 (w32b).
Results:In this study, organic load removal based on COD was 97% and best optimized condition for MBBR were (inf. COD=1000 mg/l, pH= 8, salinity = 5% and the Nitrogen source= NH4CL)
Conclusion: Based on our finding, we may conclude that Taguchi method is on of the appropriate procedure in determination the optimized condition for increasing removal efficiency of MBBR.

Backgrounds and Objectives: Dyes  are  organic  materials  with  complex structures, toxic,  carcinogenic, teratogenic,nonbiodegredable properties and!the most!important pollutants of textile industrial wastewaters. The goal of this study was to survey the feasibility application of bone char (BC) as a sorbent for the  of methylene blue (MB) from synthetic wastewater.The sub goals of the research!were to determine!the adsorption isotherm, !effects of primary concentration of dye, adsorbent!dose, contact!time, and pH for the adsorption of MB with BC.
Materials and Methods: BC was prepared under laboratory conditions by using of electrical furnace at 400°C for 2h. The prepared BC was crushed and pulverized by standard ASTM sieves with range of 10-16mesh(1.18-2mm).The  chemical composition  and  solid  structure  of BC was  analyzed using X-ray diffraction(XRD) and  scanning  electronic  microscopy (SEM). Measurement  of  the surface area was carried out by N2 gas via BET isotherm and Belsorb software. The concentration of dye was measured by photometric!method (663nm).
Results: Predominant!compositionof BC is calcium hydroxyl apatite (Ca5 (PO4)3OH with 14m2/g surface area. The results of this study showed that increasing of primary concentration of dye, adsorbent dose and pH (5 to12) would lead to increasing of adsorption/removal of MB dye.Equilibration of dye adsorption was reached at lapse of 2h andoptimum pH for adsorption of MB with BC found in the rage of 8.5-12.Adsorption of MB witht BC complies witht freundlich isotherm(R2:0.99).
Conclusion: Bone char is a cheap component that can be used as an adsorbent in water and wastewater treatment. Based on optimum pH of 8.5-12 found for the removal of MB and the fact that many of textile!industrial wastewaters have an alkaline pH, this adsorbent can be!used for the removal of dyes from these wastewaters.

Backgrounds and Objectives: A great part of organic compounds cause more pollution in natural  waters meet, are chemical dye material. Azo dyes have more usage in different industries. Azo dyes not only give undesirable dye to the water but also have mutation potential and carcinogenesis effects in human and cause the production of toxic substances in water environments.The purpose of this study is investigation of iron powder, hydrogen peroxide and iron powder-hydrogen peroxide processes in removal of acid yellow 36 dye from aqueous solutions.
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in laboratory scale. At this experiment synthetic solution was made from acid yellow 36 dye, and the removal of acid yellow 36 dye was studied by iron powder, hydrogen peroxide and iron powder- hydrogen peroxide processes .Also effect of dye concentration, pH solution, hydrogen peroxide concentration, iron powder concentration and the time of contact on decolorization, were evaluated.
Results: The results showed that iron powder - hydrogen peroxide process, compared to two other  process has high decolorization power. Removal efficacy of iron powder-hydrogen peroxide process with H2O2 =23.33 ml / L, pH =3, iron powder 2000 mg/L and 60 minute ,was about 97.9%
Conclusion:In general this investigation showed that , this method (Iron powder-hydrogen peroxide process) has high efficiency for removal of Azo dyes. But application this method in the industry, should be economically evaluated.

Backgrounds and Objectives:Propylene glycol is applied in many industries as raw material and can be released to the environment through wastewater of such industries. The biological treatment of solutions containing high concentration of propylene glycol is difficult and some problems can be observed during this process. The main objective of this study was the investigation of electrochemical degradation of propylene glycol and the parameters influencing on improving removal efficiency.
Materials and Methods: In this study the degradation of propylene glycol was made by passing an electrical current though the synthetic wastewater containing propylene glycol. In order to investigate this process several types of electrode with applied voltage ranging between 5 to 50 V was used. Due to the effect of NaCl concentration on removal efficiency which was mentioned in the literature, the experiment was performed for different NaCl concentrations.
Results: In optimum condition, the maximum removal efficiency of propylene glycol (based onCOD) was obtained equal to 90%. The results showed that rising applied voltage, NaCl concentrationand retention time increase the removal efficiency. The optimum retention time was obtained equalto 50 min. The maximum removal was obtained when aluminum electrode was used. It can beattributed to the production of coagulant material such as Al+3 during this process.
Conclusion: The results revealed that this process can be useful for treating the industrial wastewatercontaining propylene glycol.

Backgound and Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate water consumption, domestic wastewater generation and organic matter concentration, based on both, economical income and meteorological temperature.
Materials and Methods: The method of this study is descriptive and analytical. A checklist was used to collect data on economical income. Water consumption was obtained based on water bills. Wastewater generation and organic matter such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) per capita/ day were measured every four hours, during a day in three regions of Kermanshah city: Kasra, Ellaheiah and Taavon.
Results: Comparing water consumption in winter and summer showed significant difference in three regions, mentioned above. The water consumption was (398 ± 75, 291 ± 48 and 188 ± 50) for warm climate and (200 ± 25, 188 ± 35 and 140 ± 41) for three regions respectively in cold weather. In spite of an apparent difference in BOD in three regions, it was not significant statistically. Water consumption has strongly considerable relationship with economical income (r =0.988, P_value <0.001), while the generated wastewater in these regions were not different, statistically for warmclimate (220 ± 60, 204 ± 15 and 170 ±34), and in cold weather (170 ± 21, 158 ± 31 and 112 ±29), also the generated wastewater did not have considerable difference in cold climate. This study confirms that, the effects of these two parameters, i.e.monthly economical income and environmental temperature on water consumption, generated wastewater and biodegradable organic loading per capita/day is considerable. It was concluded that water consumption and wastewater generations were much more in warm climate than in cold weather.
Conclusion: Finally through this study the estimation of water consumption, wastewater generation and BOD concentration becomes possible, which is beneficial for establishment of water consumption.

Backgrounds and Objectives:Much attention has been recently paid on using waste materials as adsorbents for removal of contaminants from water and wastewater. A new low cost waste was examined for its capacity to adsorb RR198, an azo reactive model dye, from an aqueous solution.
Materials andMethods: The waste was dried, powdered and characterized before being used as an adsorbent. The effects of pH (3-10), adsorbent dose (0.2-3 g), dye concentration and contact time on the adsorption efficiency were investigated. Equilibrium study data were modeled using Langmuir and Freundlich models.
Results: The characterization analysis indicated that itwas composedmainly of ferric hydroxide. The powder had a BET and average pore size of 107 m2/g and 4.5 nm, respectively. The results showed that dye removal was highest at a solution pH of 7 to 8 and a powder dose of 2 g/L. The RR198 removal percentage decreased from 100& to 43& at 140 min contact time when the concentration of dye was increased from 25 mg/L to 100 mg/L, at optimum pH and dosage. The Langmuir equation provided the best fit for the experimental data. The maximum adsorption capacity was calculated to be 34.4 mg/g.
Conclusion: According to the obtained results, the water coagulation waste sludge appears to be a suitable low cost and effcient adsorbent for removing reactive azo dyes from waste streams.

Backgrounds and Objectives: One of environmental outcomes in industrial towns is developing environmental pollution such as production of industrial wastewaters. These industrial wastewaters should be appropriately treated before entering to receiving waters. However we can't solve environmental anxieties by establishing of wastewater treatment plants alone but permanent and regular assessment of these treatment plants performance is necessary for achieving environmental standards. Thus, this research has been done in order to investigation of activated sludge performance in wastewater treatment of Agghala industrial town in Golestan province.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study implemented in sewage treatment plant laboratory of Agghala industrial town in Golestan within 12 months at 2007. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) parameter determined twice in week, But Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) test accomplished weekly. pH measured by pH meter daily. Experiment of total suspended solids (TSS) and total dissolved solids (TDS) carried out every 10 days. All tests accomplished according to standard method for water and wastewater examination (2005). Then data analyzed using excel 2007.
Results: The average of BOD, COD and TSS in influent was 11196.17, 1854.58, 1232.25 mg/L respectively.Maximum influent organic loading rate was related to Shahrivar andMehr months. The total average of removal efficiency for BOD, COD and TSS was calculated 99.66, 98.2, and 97.6% respectively.
Conclusion:Quality of this treatment plant effluent was according to effluent disposal standards all over year. In sum, efficiency of this treatment plant (activated sludge system) was very good ininfluent pollutant removing. However occasionally effluent was not adapted with environmental standards but these deficiencies is solvable by accurate management and supervision on flow rate and influent organic loading rate easily.

Backgrounds and Objectives: Shortage of available water resource and deficiency of rainfall, increasing in population growth and industrial development, suitable use of water resources and pollution prevention is an essential issue in accord with sustainable development and environmental protection. Present study shows the qualitative status ofMehran River and determines its pollution or non pollution tomunicipal wastewater and to assess qualitative characteristics of the water according to international water quality index.
Materials and Methods:Padding strand of MEHRAN River from source to end has been done for wistful determination of branches, runoff and wastewater entrances, etc. Necessary decisions were made for determining sampling points and critical and effective points on water quality then water samples were analyzed to determine chemical and microbiological characteristics.
Results: Results showed the average of BOD5, COD, TSS, NO3, DO, pH, Turbidity and color are about 80±30, 155±58, 1013±637, 7.3±2, 4.5±3.5 mg/l, 7.2 ±1, 385±238 NTU, 122±70 TCU respectively.
Conclusion: It could be concluded that the Mehran River is completely polluted with municipal sewage and is unsanitary.Water quality index varies in the range of 41-52 and the water is classified as number 4. At present the river is in a dangerous ore toxic state and could not be considered as drinking water resource or needs more advanced water treatment units.

Backgrounds and Objectives: True cholera with typical clinical features nearly always occurs by serologic groups O1 and O139 but the non-O1 group can produce a disease with same clinical characteristic sporadically. According to the important of climate and environmental conditions in the distribution and abundance of Vibrio cholera, in this study, the distribution of the serologic group was evaluated in different parts of Qom city with relation to the affected patients.
Materials and Methods: In this study 5220 environmental specimens were taken from 12 parts of Qom city and during different seasons of the year 1325, 60 clinical specimens were taken from the patients and all were evaluated for Vibrio cholera with standard methods. The study was of Descriptive and cross sectional and the results were analyzed with statistical soft ware (Epi-info).
Results: The most abundance of Nag strains were related to Emamzadeh Ebrahim and Sheikhabad parts and Shahed Street from Khak faraj and Niroogah area and the least abundance were related to Salariyeh area. The abundance distribution of Nag strain, 7 different specimens was most in hogwash, sewerage and vegetables and least in pipe water which reveal a significant difference (P< 0.05) according to statistical goodness of fit test. The frequency distribution of the patients in each part of area 4 with relevance to sex revealed that the most contamination percentage was attributed to Emamzadeh Ebrahim and Sheikhabad and Shahed from Niroogah area and no positive specimen was taken from Haftado-do-tan and Shahrdary areas.
Conclusion: According to high occurrence of the disease in same areas, and results from other researchers based on increased frequency of non-O1 strains in the environment during the epidemic, so can release a connection between Vibrio cholera O1 strains and non-O1 strains to conclude. On the other hand, none of the clinical and environmental samples, Vibrio cholera O1 was isolated, so probably human carriers in Qom, not the main factor is the emergence of this disease.

Backgrounds and Objectives: Formaldehyde and phenol are key precursors in the industrial manufacture of resins. Toxicity of these compounds prevents function of microbial populations, so they affect the biological treatments. The aim of this study was investigation of TOC removal from phenol-formaldehyde resin manufacturing wastewater by electrocoagulation using Al- electrodes.
Materials and Methods: This study is the laboratory scale experiment was conducted as a pilot. Wastewater sample was adjusted in the desired pH, electrical conductivity and current density, then it was placed in to the reactor contains four electrodes in aluminum. The electrodes were connected to a DC power supply (0-40V, 0-3A). Samples were collected for TOC determination in the middle of cell at regular time intervals. Collected samples were analyzed using TOC analyzer.
Results:The results indicated that the optimum conditions for the removal of TOC were current density 75 A/m2, solution pH 4 and Conductivity 3 mS/cm. In this condition energy consumption was found 22.5 kWh m-3 after 60 min reaction.
Conclusion: This study shows that electrocoagulation of wastewater from phenol-formaldehyde resin manufacturing can be used as a pretreatment process.

Backgrounds and Objectives: Oil pollution can be generated as a result of spillage, leakage, discharge, exploration, production, refining, transport and storage of crude oil and fuels in the environment. Consequently, many researchers have developed and studied the chemical, physical and biological methods to degrade crude oil. Among them, the biological treatments are the most interesting as they are simple and economical methods. The aim of this study was to determine biokinetic coefficients of crude oil degradation by pseudomonas aerogenusa. This microorganism was isolated in our previous work.
Materials and Methods: In this study the bio-kinetic coefficients of crude oil biodegradation were evaluated. Pseudomonas aerogenusa bacteria which had been isolated from the soil sample taken from a gas station in our previous work were used in this study. This microorganism was cultured in the liquid medium containing crude oil as sole carbon source. Finally with determining the amount of microorganisms and crude oil concentration during biodegradation process, the bio-kinetic coefficients based on modified Monod equation were calculated.
Results: bio-kinetic coefficients obtained from laboratory studies are vital factors in industrial applications. As a result, the bio-kinetic study was performed to find bio-kinetic coefficients for biodegradation of crude oil using the isolated bacteria. The results showed that ,Y, k and were equal 0.107 , 0.882 , 9.39 and 169.3 respectively.
Coculusion:Our results showed that pseudomonas aerogenusa is usable for treatment of oily wastewaters in the full scale facility. Results of this study indicated bio kinetics confections.

Backgrounds and Objective: In arid and semi-arid regions of the world, urban runoff as a source of water restoration and is considered valuable. Wastewater treatment, while preserving the environment, it can be considered as water source. The aim of this study to evaluate the possibility of using powder grain Peregrina in wastewater treatment in comparing with Alum and PloyAluminum Chloride (PAC).
Materials and Methods: Flocculation and coagulation tests were done by Jar test. Wastewater quality parameters were measured according to standard method.
Results: Studies have been showed that in optimum Peregrina concentration, efficiency of turbidity reduction, total hardness, calcium hardness, magnesium hardness, total E. Coli are 95.11, 38, 55.5, 46.6, 97 and 97 percent respectively. It is noted that turbidity reducing directly related with coli form reduction. As, with increasing turbidity reduction, coliform reduction is increased. The most reduction of E. coli with combination of Alum, Ploy Aluminum Chloride and Peregrina was 100 percent. In optimum concentration of Alum, Ploy Aluminum Chloride and Peregrina, the quality of treated wastewater would be in the range of environmental standards. Therefore, treated wastewater can be entering to surface water and reuse as irrigation water.
Conclusion: The results derived from this study showed that the treated wastewater can be use in a variety of irrigation except sprinkler irrigation due to burn the leaves of plants. (high electrical conductivity).Also, the low cost of seed Peregrina and good performance in the refining operations, it is suggested that Peregrina as a replacement for poly aluminum chloride and an alum to be used for wastewater treatment.

Backgrounds and Objectives:Owing to the fact that the major environmental problem is production of surplus sludge in wastewater treatment plant, reducing the volume of produced sludge was objective of this research.
Materials and Methods: An anaerobic-aerobic SBR with working volume of 10 L was used to make micro-organism adapted and a polymer production reactor (PPR) with working volume of 1.5 L was used for producing polymer munisipal wastewater which contained different concentration of volatile fatty acids was consodered as the feed source (acetate and propionate) and this system was evaluated with SRT of 5, 7 and 10 days.
Results: The maximum polymer production efficiency observed within 5 days (SRT=5 days) though this efficiency was not significant in comparison with the two others time courses study. In this research the maximum polymer production efficiency at optimum condition was 25% of the sludge dry weight.
Conclusion: Experiment revealed that producing polymer from activated sludge reduced the volume of sludge and the maximum reduced sludge volume was obtained 19%.

Backgrounds and Objective: Surfactants are one of the largest pollutants which exist in urban and industrial wastewaters. Large quantities of surfactants have entered to the environment since last decade due to increased use of synthetic detergent in industrial and home consumptions.In this study, the efficiency of UV/H2O2 process in removal of linear alkylbenzane sulfonate (LAS) from aqueous solutions was investigated.
Materials and Methods: In this study methylene blue active substane(MBAS)method and spectrometery were used to determine anion and residual surfactant respectively. In this study important variables were H2O2 concentration, initial concentration of surfactant, pH and duration of UV radiation. The effect of UV/H2O2 process on the degradation of LAS was analyzed statistically by using Multiple Linear Regression test.
Results: The resulted showed that after 20 minute, ultraviolet radiation solely removed 38.44 percent of Anionic detergent, Hydrogen peroxide showed no significant removal of detergent solution in the time course study. The efficiency of UV/H2O2 process in 10, 20 and 30 minute were to 86.2, 90 and 96.5 %, respectively.
Conclusion: The results showed that the efficiency of ultraviolet radiation and hydrogen peroxide process in anionic detergent was not significant thoogh it was considerable in combination process (UV/H2O2).

Background and Objectives: widely use of antibiotics as therapy and uncontrolled discharge of them to receiving waters increased the percentages of antibiotic resistant bacteria in various environments which may cause problems in therapy. The aim of this study was to investigate the antibiotic resistance of E. coli, K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa bacteria isolated from urban and hospital wastewaters. Nine antibiotics namely Chloramphenicol, Ciprofloxacin, Trimethoprim Sulfamethoxazol, Gentamycin, Ceftizoxime, Nalidixic Acid, Ceftazidime, Ceftriaxon and Cefalexin were investigated in this study.
Materials and Methods: through a cross-sectional descriptive study the isolation of bacteria from hospital and urban wastewater samples was performed by microbiological identification techniques. The resistance to nine antibiotics was tested by application of the standard disc diffusion technique and zone-size interpretation chart of Kirby-Baeur. Non-parametric Mann-Whitney test was used to assessing two environments differences.
Results: The resistance percentage of E. coli to studied antibiotics was significantly less (ranged from 1.81 to 51.02%) than the resistance percentage of P. aeroginosa (ranged from 3.57 to 61.76) and K. pneumoniae (ranged from 6.45 to 91.83%). the highest resistance to antibiotics studied was for K. pneumonia in comparison with others. E. coli, K. pneumonia and P. aeroginosa bacteria showed the highest resistance to CAZ, SXT and CN, respectively. The study showed the resistance rate in hospital wastewater is more than urban wastewater.
Conclusion: Easy access and uncontrolled usage of antibiotics cause discharge of antibiotics to wastewaters and consequently diminish the drugs' effectiveness. High concentration of antibiotic and diversity in wastewater of hospital in comparison with urban wastewater causes to transfer resistant agents between bacteria and increased the multiple resistances.

Background and Objectives: Linear alkyl benzene sulfonates are widely used as surfactants in formulated detergent products. Because of their use in household and industrial detergents, LAS is discharged into wastewater collection systems and subsequently entered to wastewater treatment plants. Therefore, it is important to determine the concentration of LAS with accuracy. They are usually determined by standard method which is time-consuming,tedious and requires great quantities of chloroform. IN 2006 E.Jurado et al proposed a simplified method for measurement of LAS. In the present work the standard method and E.Jurado simplified method was compared economically.
Material and Methods: In this work NPV method was used for accounting the cost of initial investment, consumable material, non-consumable equipment and annual cost of staff and finally Net Present Value was calculated for them separately. The rate of interest was considered 15%.
Results: calculation showed initial investment, annual cost of staff and materials for standard method 13351981, 499968 and 1710981 RLS, respectively. And these costs for simplified method were 12048202, 83328 and 58202 RLS, respectively. Finally NPV for standard method and simplified method were equal to 30360709 and 14681848 RLS.
Conclusion: The method proposed by E.Jurdo et al is simple, time consuming and more economical than standard method .This technique can be suggested applying to the routine measurement of LAS in wastewater treatment plants.

Background and Objectives: One of the complete treatment processes for industrial and municipal wastewater treatment is membrane bioreactor process which has dominant potential in process and operation sections. This study was conducted to compare the performance of extended aeration activated sludge (EAAS) with submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) systems in the treatment of strength wastewater, in the same condition.
Materials and Methods: The initial activated sludge was brought from the Plascokar Saipa wastewater plant. The Plexiglas reactor with effective volume of 758 L was separated by a baffle into the aeration and secondary sedimentation parts with effective volumes of 433 L and 325 L, respectively. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration of the influent wastewater of the EAAS and SMBR systems were between 500-2700 and 500-5000 mg/L, respectively.
Results: Results showed that the SMBR system produced a much better quality effluent than EAAS system in terms of COD, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), total suspended solids (TSS) and ammonium. By increasing the COD concentration, the concentration of mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) and the removal efficiency of organic matter in the SMBR system, were increased regularly, however the removal efficiency of COD in the EAAS system was irregular. 
Conclusion: The average BOD5/COD ratio of effluent in the EAAS and SMBR systems were 0.708±0.18 and 0.537±0.106, respectively. These show that the organic matters in the effluent of the SMBR system was less degradable and thereupon more biological treatment was achieved. Nitrification process was completely done in the SMBR system while the EAAS system could not achieve to complete nitrification.