Known in the water treatment world as the “Father of BNR” – biological nutrient removal – Dr. James Barnard recently retired from Black & Veatch after a long, distinguished career as an expert in his field. Over the years, his numerous contributions included developing cutting-edge technologies to improve water quality and reduce pollution. The biological process he designed for removing nitrogen and phosphorus from used water facilities now are applied around the world. In this Q&A, Dr.In recent years, Dr. James Barnard has reflected on and improved the traditional biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal technology of sewage, and has collaborated with colleagues and several research institutions to further develop the promotion and engineering application of sidestream activated sludge fermentation technology in the United States. Barnard shares his insights and reflections on his career, his accomplishments, and the future of water treatment technology.
在水处理领域被称为“生物去除营养物之父”的詹姆斯·巴纳德博士最近从博科威奇公司退休，此前他是该领域长期杰出的专家。多年来，他的众多贡献包括开发改善水质和减少污染的尖端技术。他设计的从污水设施中去除氮和磷的生物过程现在在世界各地得到应用。近些年来James Barnard 博士对传统污水生物脱氮除磷技术进行反思与改进，与同事及一些研究机构合作，进一步发展了活性污泥发酵技术（S2EBPR)在美国的推广和工程应用。在本期的问答中，巴纳德博士分享了他对自己的职业生涯、成就和水资源未来的见解和思考。
What inspired you to focus your career on nutrient removal?
是什么激励你专注于去除营养物质?
After finishing my Ph.D. at Vanderbilt in 1971, I returned to the National Water Research Institute in Pretoria (South Africa). The discovery of rich gold deposits more than a century ago resulted in a population of more than 12 million around Johannesburg on the continental divide and Pretoria only 35 miles to the north. This large population concentration at a high altitude where water was pumped from long distances to the emerging cities and while effluents were treated to high standards and returned to the reservoirs that also served as water supply, water treatment standards did not include nitrogen and phosphorus removal. This was causing severe eutrophication (i.e. algae growth oxygen depletion). When observing the green pea-soup overflowing one of these reservoirs, I decided to pursue biological means of removing these nutrients. At the time, practices like chemical treatment and stripping and ammonia were the standard. Biological treatment was still only lab scale.
1971年在范德比尔特大学读完博士学位后，我回到了位于比勒陀利亚(南非)的国家水资源研究所。一个多世纪前，南非发现了丰富的金矿，使得位于大陆分界线上的约翰内斯堡和北部仅35英里处的比勒陀利亚周围的人口超过了1200万。人口集中在高海拔地区，水从很远的地方被泵送到新兴城市，虽然污水经过高标准处理并返回水库，但水处理标准不包括氮和磷的去除。这造成了严重的富营养化(即藻类生长缺氧)。这造成了严重的富营养化(即藻类生长缺氧)。当我观察到其中一个水库的青豆汤溢出时，我决定采用生物方法去除这些营养物质。当时，化学处理、剥离和氨气等做法是标准做法。生物处理仍然只是实验室规模。
What has been your proudest moment/accomplishment in your career?
你职业生涯中最自豪的时刻/成就是什么?
This is difficult to say, but two moments stand out. The first is that the city of Johannesburg decided to apply the four-stage process that I developed in the laboratory for the 750,000 PE Goudkoppies Plant; the second was my discovery of biological phosphorus removal in a pilot plant, which Johannesburg also adopted during the construction of the plant. Many were to follow, such as receiving the Water Environment Federation Camp Award, the gold medal of the South African Academy of Science and Arts, the International Water Association Medal (handed over by Princess Anne), and other recognitions.
这很难说，但有两个时刻很突出。首先是约翰内斯堡市决定采用我在实验室为75万PE古德科比工厂开发的四阶段工艺;第二个是我在一个试验工厂中发现了生物除磷，约翰内斯堡在工厂建设期间也采用了这种方法。许多人都紧随其后，例如获得水环境联合会营地奖，南非科学与艺术学院金奖，国际水协会奖章(由安妮公主颁发)以及其他认可。
What excites you about where the industry is headed?
你对这个行业的发展趋势感到兴奋的是什么?
What excites me is how the latest findings are pointing at the possibility of biological nutrient removal (BNR) leading into producing rapid-settling granular sludge which could double the capacity of existing plants while increasing the rate of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification to also achieve very low total nitrogen levels. Then there is the possibility of combining suspended growth with attached growth to get even better results. Our Applied Research team has had some very promising results and I think Black & Veatch will be leading the industry in the future with this.
令我兴奋的是，最新的研究结果表明，生物营养物去除(BNR)有可能产生快速沉淀的颗粒污泥，这可以使现有工厂的产能翻倍，同时提高硝化和反硝化的速度，也可以达到非常低的总氮水平。然后，有可能将悬浮生长与附着生长结合起来，以获得更好的结果。我们的应用研究团队已经取得了一些非常有希望的成果，我认为博莱克威奇将在未来引领这个行业。
What advice do you have for your peers for the future challenges in the industry?
对于行业未来的挑战，你对同行们有什么建议?
Be curious and, in the biological world, always remember that nothing happens without a reason. Keep asking 'why.' That's what I did. Whenever I saw something happening, I kept asking 'why' to understand the underlying reason.
保持好奇心，在生物界，永远记住没有任何事情是没有原因的。不停地问“为什么”。我就是这么做的。每当我看到一些事情发生，我就不断地问“为什么”，以了解其中的原因。
What breakthroughs would you still most like to see?
你最希望看到的突破是什么?
One is tempted to say being energy neutral, but that depends a lot on the effluent requirement and geography. But recovery of resources should get preference. The energy that can be recovered especially in colder climates is considerable, and the recovery of nitrogen would be rewarding since the energy required to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere is very high. The one thing that I feel we should look at more is resource recovery, especially protein recovery from food waste and then naturally re-use of the final product.
有人想说能源自给，但这在很大程度上取决于污水需求和地理位置。但资源回收应优先考虑。特别是在寒冷的气候中，可以回收的能量是相当可观的，而且氮的回收将是有益的，因为从大气中固定氮所需的能量非常高。我觉得我们应该更多地关注资源回收，特别是从食物垃圾中回收蛋白质，然后自然地再利用最终产品。
What advice would you give to early-career engineers?
Again, be curious and question everything. Don’t just accept that what’s in the box is final.
再次强调，保持好奇心，质疑一切。不要只是接受盒子里的东西是最终的。
Is there a particular moment you recall when you reflected in the moment and felt that you have helped you in Building a World of Difference?
是否有一个特别的时刻，当你反思的时候，你觉得你帮助你建立了一个不同的世界?
There were a number of such instances, but the most recent is after I heard about the great performance of the upgraded Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant. It was such a tight design with everything working so well. The facilities have all but eliminated ammonia and significantly reduced nitrogen in the discharge. Another was when I was honored with a Ph.D. from Iowa State University.
这样的例子有很多，但最近的一次是在我听说萨克拉门托地区污水处理厂升级后的出色表现之后。这是一个紧凑的设计，一切都运行得很好。这些设施几乎消除了氨，并大大减少了排放中的氮。另一个是我被爱荷华州立大学授予博士学位的时候。
All of us at Black & Veatch would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Dr. James Barnard for sharing his valuable insights and expertise with our team and our clients these past 25 years. His contributions to the field of water treatment and pollution reduction have been immense and have helped transform the industry. His dedication and passion for improving water quality have inspired countless professionals to continue the work of advancing the field. We wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement and know that his legacy will continue to inspire future generations of water treatment experts.
博莱克威奇全体员工衷心感谢James Barnard博士在过去的25年里与我们的团队和客户分享了他宝贵的见解和专业知识。他在水处理和减少污染领域的贡献是巨大的，并帮助改变了这个行业。他对改善水质的奉献和热情激励了无数专业人士继续推进这一领域的工作。我们祝愿他在他当之无愧的退休生活中一切顺利，并知道他的遗产将继续激励后代的水处理专家。
文章转发自B&V网站信息，并经过水进展补充修订和翻译。
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