title: Descriptive and multivariate analyses of four Tunisian wastewater treatment plants: A comparison between different treatment processes and their efficiency improvement.
abstract: This study was undertaken to evaluate the performance of four wastewater treatment plants/processes over a 4 year period. The wastewater flow evolution, energy consumption, and quality indicator parameters (BOD5, COD and TSS) at the inlet and outlet sites of the plants were determined. In comparing three domestic WWTPs with different wastewater treatment processes, the multivariate analyses (RDA and ANOVA) showed that although the Agareb plant received the highest pollution load, it displayed a high level of removal efficiency especially for COD, BOD, TSS, TKN and NH4+. It also revealed that the fluctuations in the wastewater composition and its contamination by varied industrial discharge could lead to the decrease in performance of the WWTP with activated sludge process as observed for the Southern Sfax plant. However, the electrolysis of the outlet water of Southern Sfax plant showed a significant improvement in COD removal.
authors.affiliation: Unité Biodiversité et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques Environnementaux (UR11ES/72), Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax, B.P. 1173, 3038 Sfax, Tunisia; Office National de l'Assainissement (ONAS), Rue Ahmed Aloulou, 3028 Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Boujelben
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche Toxicologie Microbiologie Environnementale et Santé (UR11ES70), Faculté des Sciences, Université de Sfax, B.P. 1173, 3038 Sfax, Tunisia. Electronic address: youssef.samet@fss.rnu.tn.
authors.forename: Youssef
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Samet
authors.affiliation: Office National de l'Assainissement (ONAS), Rue Ahmed Aloulou, 3028 Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Mouna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Messaoud
authors.affiliation: Office National de l'Assainissement (ONAS), Rue Ahmed Aloulou, 3028 Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ben Makhlouf
authors.affiliation: Unité Biodiversité et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques Environnementaux (UR11ES/72), Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax, B.P. 1173, 3038 Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maalej
mesh_terms: D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis; D014416:Tunisia; D064091:Waste Disposal Facilities; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*; D060753:Water Quality
chemical_list: D009584:Nitrogen; D010758:Phosphorus; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: ANOVA; COD; Electrochemical; Electrolysis; RDA; Sludge; Wastewater