of the cones drawing new sewage liquor from the base of the tank. In many works, each cone is located in a separate cell that can be isolated from the remaining cells if required for maintenance. Some works may have two cones to a cell and some large works may have 4 cones per cell. Pure oxygen aeration Pure oxygen activated sludge aeration systems are sealed-tank reactor vessels with surface aerator type impellers mounted within the tanks at the oxygen carbon liquor surface interface. The amount of oxygen entrainment, or DO (Dissolved Oxygen), can be controlled by a weir adjusted level control, and a vent gas oxygen controlled oxygen feed valve. Oxygen is generated on site by cryogenic distillation of air, pressure swing adsorption, or other methods. These systems are used where wastewater plant space is at a premium and high sewage throughput is required as high energy costs are involved in purifying oxygen. Recent developments A new development of the activated sludge process is the Nereda process which produces a granular sludge that settles very well (the sludge volume index is reduced from ). A new process reactor system is created to take advantage of this quick settling sludge and is integrated into the aeration tank instead of having a separate unit outside. About 30 Nereda wastewater treatment plants worldwide are operational, under construction or under design, varying in size from 5,000 up to 858,000 person equivalent. Issues Process upsets Sludge bulking can occur which makes activated sludge difficult to settle and frequently has an adverse impact on final effluent quality. Treating sludge bulking and managing the plant to avoid a recurrence requires skilled management and may require full-time staffing of a works to allow immediate intervention. The discharge of toxic industrial pollution to treatment plants designed primarily to treat domestic sewage can create process upsets. Costs and technology choice The activated sludge process is an example for a more high-tech, energy intensive or "mechanized" process that is relatively expensive compared to some other wastewater treatment systems. It can provide a very high level of treatment. Activated sludge plants are wholly dependent on an electrical supply to power the aerators to transfer settled solids back to the aeration tank inlet, and in many cases to pump waste sludge and final effluent. In some works untreated sewage is lifted by pumps to the head-works to provide sufficient fall through the