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.
在水處理領域被稱為“生物去除營養物之父”的詹姆斯·巴納德博士最近從博科威奇公司退休，此前他是該領域長期杰出的專家。多年來，他的眾多貢獻包括開發改善水質和減少污染的尖端技術。他設計的從污水設施中去除氮和磷的生物過程現在在世界各地得到應用。近些年來James Barnard 博士對傳統污水生物脫氮除磷技術進行反思與改進，與同事及一些研究機構合作，進一步發展了活性污泥發酵技術（S2EBPR)在美國的推廣和工程應用。在本期的問答中，巴納德博士分享了他對自己的職業生涯、成就和水資源未來的見解和思考。
What inspired you to focus your career on nutrient removal?
是什么激勵你專注于去除營養物質?
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年在范德比爾特大學讀完博士學位后，我回到了位于比勒陀利亞(南非)的國家水資源研究所。一個多世紀前，南非發現了豐富的金礦，使得位于大陸分界線上的約翰內斯堡和北部僅35英里處的比勒陀利亞周圍的人口超過了1200萬。人口集中在高海拔地區，水從很遠的地方被泵送到新興城市，雖然污水經過高標準處理并返回水庫，但水處理標準不包括氮和磷的去除。這造成了嚴重的富營養化(即藻類生長缺氧)。這造成了嚴重的富營養化(即藻類生長缺氧)。當我觀察到其中一個水庫的青豆湯溢出時，我決定采用生物方法去除這些營養物質。當時，化學處理、剝離和氨氣等做法是標準做法。生物處理仍然只是實驗室規模。
What has been your proudest moment/accomplishment in your career?
你職業生涯中最自豪的時刻/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.
這很難說，但有兩個時刻很突出。首先是約翰內斯堡市決定采用我在實驗室為75萬PE古德科比工廠開發的四階段工藝;第二個是我在一個試驗工廠中發現了生物除磷，約翰內斯堡在工廠建設期間也采用了這種方法。許多人都緊隨其后，例如獲得水環境聯合會營地獎，南非科學與藝術學院金獎，國際水協會獎章(由安妮公主頒發)以及其他認可。
What excites you about where the industry is headed?
你對這個行業的發展趨勢感到興奮的是什么?
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.
令我興奮的是，最新的研究結果表明，生物營養物去除(BNR)有可能產生快速沉淀的顆粒污泥，這可以使現有工廠的產能翻倍，同時提高硝化和反硝化的速度，也可以達到非常低的總氮水平。然后，有可能將懸浮生長與附著生長結合起來，以獲得更好的結果。我們的應用研究團隊已經取得了一些非常有希望的成果，我認為博萊克威奇將在未來引領這個行業。
What advice do you have for your peers for the future challenges in the industry?
對于行業未來的挑戰，你對同行們有什么建議?
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，永遠記住沒有任何事情是沒有原因的。不停地問“為什么”。我就是這么做的。每當我看到一些事情發生，我就不斷地問“為什么”，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.
有人想說能源自給，但這在很大程度上取決于污水需求和地理位置。但資源回收應優先考慮。特別是在寒冷的氣候中，可以回收的能量是相當可觀的，而且氮的回收將是有益的，因為從大氣中固定氮所需的能量非常高。我覺得我們應該更多地關注資源回收，特別是從食物垃圾中回收蛋白質，然后自然地再利用最終產品。
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.
再次強調，保持好奇心，質疑一切。不要只是接受盒子里的東西是最終的。
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?
是否有一個特別的時刻，當你反思的時候，你覺得你幫助你建立了一個不同的世界?
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.
這樣的例子有很多，但最近的一次是在我聽說薩克拉門托地區污水處理廠升級后的出色表現之后。這是一個緊湊的設計，一切都運行得很好。這些設施幾乎消除了氨，并大大減少了排放中的氮。另一個是我被愛荷華州立大學授予博士學位的時候。
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.
博萊克威奇全體員工衷心感謝James Barnard博士在過去的25年里與我們的團隊和客戶分享了他寶貴的見解和專業知識。他在水處理和減少污染領域的貢獻是巨大的，并幫助改變了這個行業。他對改善水質的奉獻和熱情激勵了無數專業人士繼續推進這一領域的工作。我們祝愿他在他當之無愧的退休生活中一切順利，并知道他的遺產將繼續激勵后代的水處理專家。
文章轉發自B&V網站信息，并經過水進展補充修訂和翻譯。
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