The efficacy of ozone as a pre- and post-treatment option for UASB-treated food processing wastewaters.

The efficiency of ozone as a pre- and post-treatment to UASB treatment was investigated, followed by a study into UASB reactor performance with ozonated wastewater as substrate. Combinations of pre- and/or post-ozonation with UASB treatment gave better results than ozonation or UASB alone and COD reductions of 53.0-98.9% were achieved for treatment of canning and winery wastewaters. A UASB reactor was fed with pre-ozonated cannery wastewater for over 70 d. COD removal improved from between 58.8 and 64.4% to between 85.3 and 91.8% after pre-ozonated substrate feed commenced. Subsequent increases in organic loading rate (OLR) from 2.4 to 3.4 kgCOD m(-3) x d(-1) did not affect reactor performance. By including a final post-ozonation treatment to this UASB effluent a total COD reduction of 99.2% was achieved.     

Pretreatment of silk-dyeing industrial wastewater by UASB reactor.

The objective of this study was to investigate the performance of the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor as the pretreatment system for silk-dyeing wastewater. Two laboratory-scale UASB reactors, with working volume of 15.59 I, were used during May 1998 to June 1999. The actual wastewater was diluted to reduce ammonium ion toxicity on anaerobic bacteria. The experiments were conducted at the organic loading rates (OLRs) of 0.52, 1.01, 1.04, 1.54 and 2.56 kgCOD/(m3 x d), treating only wastewater generated from the acid-dye process of mixed-species raw silk. It took approximately 4 1/2 months to reach the steady-state conditions. It was found that the COD removal was in the ranges of 74.1-85.3%, except at OLR 2.56 kgCOD/(m3 x d) where efficiency significantly dropped to 55.2%. The apparent color removal was in the similar trend as COD. During the study periods, wastewater input had various color shades while the effluent generally looked pale yellowish. The methane generation rates ranged from 0.18-0.31 m3/kg COD removed, with methane composition 81.0-88.1% in biogas. The average granule size in the sludge bed had slowly increased to 0.73 mm in the last experiment. It can be concluded that the UASB reactor is suitable as a pretreatment system for silk-dyeing wastewater. An OLR of 1 kgCOD/(m3 x d) and an influent concentration diluted to 2,600 mgCOD/l are suggested while COD and apparent color removal efficiency of 80% and 70%, respectively, can be expected.     

Treatment of biologically treated leachate by oxidation and coagulation

This work aims to investigate removal efficiency of oxidation and coagulation/flocculation processes, to provide an effective method for the treatment of biologically pre-treated leachate. Leachate containing 985 mg L(-1) COD was treated by using three treatment schemes, i.e. oxidation, coagulation/flocculation and the combined process of coagulation/flocculation followed by oxidation. The application of single oxidation resulted in the effective removal of COD and color up to 80.4 and 83.2%, respectively. However, residual COD values lower than 200 mg L(-1) could only be achieved under intensive experimental conditions (high dosage of Ca(ClO)(2) and prolonged oxidation time). Coagulation/flocculation yielded residual COD values higher than 200 mg L(-1) even at the optimum coagulation conditions. The combined treatment by coagulation/flocculation followed by oxidation yielded final COD lower than 100 mg L(-1) at the following conditions: pre-coagulation with 250 mg L(-1) PFS (poly-ferric sulfate) and over 30-min post-oxidation, or pre-coagulation with 300 mg L(-1) PFS and over 20-min post-oxidation. Hence, pre-coagulation with PFS followed by oxidation with Ca(ClO)(2) was recommended for advanced treatment of biologically treated leachate.     

Treatment of organic synthesis wastewater using anaerobic packed bed and aerobic suspended growth bioreactors.

The performance of an anaerobic mesophilic packed bed reactor, with a mixture of GAC and tezontle, followed by an aerobic suspended growth system was studied for the treatment of organic chemical wastewater with a high COD concentration (22-29 g/L). The testing of the anaerobic-aerobic system was conducted in an experimental set-up for almost 2.5 years. Different operational conditions were evaluated. The anaerobic reactor showed performance stability and COD removals higher than 80% were obtained with loads up to 16.6 kg x m(-3) x d(-1). The acclimation of the aerobic biomass to the substrate in the anaerobic effluent was very quick and COD removals higher than 94% were obtained even at high organic loads. The combined anaerobic-aerobic system allowed total COD removals higher than 99.5% and the accomplishment of the discharge requirements of 200 mgCOD/L when the anaerobic reactor was operated with loads of 8-11 kg x m(-3)x d(-1) and the aerobic reactor with 0.33 kg x kg(-1) x d(-1), being the total HRT of 4.4. The average TKN removal in the anaerobic-aerobic system was 97%, the average for the anaerobic reactor being 52% and that one for the aerobic system being 94%.     

Combined biological and physico-chemical treatment of baker's yeast wastewater including removal of coloured and recalcitrant to biodegradation pollutants.

The UASB reactor (35 degrees C) was quite efficient for removal of bulk COD (62-67%) even for such high strength and recalcitrant wastewater as the cultivation medium from the first separation process of baker'syeasts (the average organic loading rates varied from 3.7 to 10.3 g COD/l/d). The aerobic-anoxic biofilter (20 degrees C) can be used for removal of remaining BOD and ammonia from strong nitrogenous anaerobic effluents; however, it suffered from COD-deficiency to fulfil denitrification requirements. To balance the COD/N ratio, some bypass of raw wastewater should be added to the biofilter feed. The application of iron chloride coagulation for post-treatment of aerobic effluents may fulfil the discharge limits (even for colour mainly exerted by hardly biodegradable melanoidins) under iron concentrations around 200 mg/l.     

Anaerobic reactor/high rate pond combined technology for sewage treatment in the Mediterranean area.

Two high-rate, anaerobic/aerobic units were used to treat the sewage of the Institut Agronomique st Vétérinaire Hassan II (Morocco) campus in a 1,100 m2-plant designed for 1,500 e.p. and receiving 63 m3 per day. The anaerobic pre-treatment consisted of a two-step up-flow anaerobic reactor (TSUAR) comprising two reactors and one external settler all in series. The aerobic line, or post-treatment, consisted of a high-rate algal pond (HRAP) and one maturation pond in series. The system totalized a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 9 days. A gravel filter (GF) was constructed behind the TSUAR to trap low-density particles. The TSUAR removed 80% of COD and 90% of SS within 48 h. Solids retention time in the reactors averaged 32 d with a specific sludge production of 0.28 g SS g(-1) COD removed. Almost 93% of the sludge evacuated from the settler was stabilized. Specific biogas production from both reactors was 0.25m3 kg(-1) COD removed. Used in this configuration, the HRAP lost its BOD removal activity and increased its nutrients and pathogens removal capabilities (tertiary treatment). Results showed that 85% of total nitrogen and 48% of total phosphorus were removed by the HRAP. Land area requirement of this combination was less than 1 m2 per capita and filtered final effluent was of excellent quality (COD, 82 mg/l; TKN, 8.3 mg/l; total P, 2.7 mg/l, faecal coliforms, 2.4 10(3)/100 ml and zero helminths eggs).     

Pretreatment and biotreatment of saline industrial wastewaters.

Wastewater from an Akzo Nobel production site contains more than 50 g/l total dissolved salts, mainly chlorides and sulphates, and is currently being treated after 10-20 x dilution. Biological treatment of undiluted or less diluted wastewater is very desirable for environmental and economic reasons. Possibilities were investigated in laboratory scale reactors to treat this highly saline and high strength wastewater aerobically, either after long adaptation or after removing part of the salts by a pretreatment. Adaptation and selection from mixed activated sludge populations took approximately 40 days to finally achieve a COD removal in aerobic treatment of 55-65% at two times dilution (11-16 g/l chloride and 5-7 g/l sulphate). Undiluted wastewater was not treatable. A higher removal percentage (> 80%) was possible at the original high salt concentration only when the sludge load was limited to approximately 0.4-0.5 kg COD/kg sludge/day. A longer adaptation time was required. Nanofiltration (NF) and crystallization could be used as a pretreatment to remove and recover up to 80% of the sulphate in the form of crystallized Glauber salt. Recovery strongly depended on the sulphate and chloride concentration in the NF concentrate and on crystallization temperature. The salt (sulphate) reduction through the NF improved the removal efficiency of a consecutive biotreatment only at a relatively low chloride level, demonstrating that the combination of nanofiltration-crystallization-aerobic biodegradation is less feasible for very saline wastewaters. Anaerobic pretreatment of saline waters turned out to be rather sensitive to high salinities. Only wastewater diluted to 10 g/l chloride could be treated well: sulphate concentration decreased by 80% and COD by 40%. Removal efficiencies of the combined anaerobic-aerobic treatment were approximately 80-85%, proving that this was a feasible route for 2-3 x diluted wastewater. The study has shown that several alternatives are available for treatment of the very saline wastewaters at a much lower degree of dilution than currently practiced.     

Integrated biological (anaerobic-aerobic) and physico-chemical treatment of baker's yeast wastewater.

The UASB reactor (35 degrees C) was quite efficient for removal of bulk COD (52-74%) from simulated (on the basis of cultivation medium from the first separation process) general effluent of baker's yeast production (the average organic loading rates varied from 8.1 to 16 g COD/l/d). The aerobic-anoxic biofilter (19-23 degrees C) can be used for removal of remaining BOD and ammonia from anaerobic effluents; however, it suffered from COD-deficiency to fulfil denitrification requirements. To balance COD/N ratio, some bypass (approximately 10%) of anaerobically untreated general effluent should be added to the biofilter feed. The application of iron (III)-, aluminium- or calcium-induced coagulation for post-treatment of aerobic-anoxic effluents can fulfil the limits for discharge to sewerage (even for colour mainly exerted by hardly biodegradable melanoidins), however, the required amounts of coagulants were relatively high.     

Sequenced anaerobic-aerobic treatment of high strength, strong nitrogenous landfill leachates.

As a first step in treatment of high strength, strong nitrogenous landfill leachates (total COD--9.66-20.56 g/l, total nitrogen 780-1,080 mg/l), the performance of laboratory UASB reactors has been investigated under sub-mesophilic (19+/-3 degrees C) and psychrophilic (10+/-2 degrees C) conditions. Under hydraulic retention time (HRT) of around 1.2 days, when the average organic loading rate (OLR) was around 8.5 g COD/l/day, the total COD removal accounted for 71% (on average) for sub-mesophilic regime. The psychrophilic treatment conducted under the average HRT of 2.44 days and the average OLR of 4.2 g COD/l/day showed an average total COD removal of 58% giving effluents more suitable for subsequent biological nitrogen removal. Both anaerobic regimes were quite efficient for elimination of heavy metals by concomitant precipitation in the form of insoluble sulphides inside the sludge. The subsequent submesophilic aerobic-anoxic treatment of submesophilic anaerobic effluents led to only 75% of total inorganic N removal due to COD deficiency for denitrification created by too efficient anaerobic step. On the contrary, psychrophilic anaerobic effluents (richer in COD compared to the submesophilic ones) were more suitable for subsequent aerobic-anoxic treatment giving the total N removal of 95 and 92% at 19 and 10 degrees C, respectively.     

Winery and distillery wastewater treatment by anaerobic digestion.

Anaerobic digestion is widely used for wastewater treatment, especially in the food industries. Generally after the anaerobic treatment there is an aerobic post-treatment in order to return the treated water to nature. Several technologies are applied for winery wastewater treatment. They are using free cells or flocs (anaerobic contact digesters, anaerobic sequencing batch reactors and anaerobic lagoons), anaerobic granules (Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket--UASB), or biofilms on fixed support (anaerobic filter) or on mobile support as with the fluidised bed. Some technologies include two strategies, e.g. a sludge bed with anaerobic filter as in the hybrid digester. With winery wastewaters (as for vinasses from distilleries) the removal yield for anaerobic digestion is very high, up to 90-95% COD removal. The organic loads are between 5 and 15 kgCOD/m3 of digester/day. The biogas production is between 400 and 600 L per kg COD removed with 60 to 70% methane content. For anaerobic and aerobic post-treatment of vinasses in the Cognac region, REVICO company has 99.7% COD removal and the cost is 0.52 Euro/m3 of vinasses.     

Microbial sulphate reduction during anaerobic digestion: EGSB process performance and potential for nitrite suppression of SRB activity.

The present study investigated mesophilic anaerobic treatment of sulphate-containing wastewater in EGSB reactors and assessed the inclusion of nitrite in the reactor influent as a method for control of biological sulphate reduction. Two EGSB reactors, R1 and R2, were operated for a period of 581 days at varying volumetric loading rates, COD/SO4(2-) ratios and influent nitrite concentrations (R2 only). COD removal efficiencies of > 93% were achieved in both reactors at influent sulphate concentrations of up to 3,000 mg l(-1). A two-fold increase in the influent sulphate concentration, giving an influent COD/SO4(2-) ratio of 2, resulted in a reduction in reactor COD removal efficiency to 84% and 89%, in R1 and R2, respectively. Despite inclusion of nitrite in the R2 influent at concentrations up to 500 mg NO2-N l(-1), sulphate reduction proceeded similarly in R2 and R1, suggesting the ineffectiveness of nitrite as a potential inhibitor of SRB     

Treatment of wastewater from a cotton dyeing process with UV/H2O2 using a photoreactor covered with reflective material

Wastewater containing several dyes, including sulfur black from the dyeing process in a textile mill, was treated using a UV/H2O2 process. The wastewater was characterized by a low BOD/COD ratio, intense color and high acute toxicity to the algae species Pseudokirchneriella subcaptata. The influence of the pH and H2O2 concentration on the treatment process was evaluated by a full factorial design 22 with three replicates of the central experiment. The removal of aromatic compounds and color was improved by an increase in the H2O2 concentration and a decrease in pH. The best results were obtained at pH 5.0 and 6 g L(-1). With these conditions and 120 min of UV irradiation, the removal of the color, aromatic compounds and COD were 74.1, 55.1 and 44.8%, respectively. Under the same conditions, but using a photoreactor covered with aluminum foil, the removal of the color, aromatic compounds and COD were 92.0, 77.6 and 59.4%, respectively. Moreover, the use of aluminum foil reduced the cost of the treatment by 40.8%. These results suggest the potential application of reflective materials as a photoreactor accessory to reduce electric energy consumption during the UV/H2O2 process.     

Combined biological and physico-chemical treatment of baker's yeast wastewater.

The UASB reactor (35 degrees C) was quite efficient for removal of bulk COD (52-74%) from the raw and diluted cultivation medium from the first separation process of baker's yeasts (the average organic loading rates varied in the range 3.7-16 g COD/I/d). The aerobic-anoxic biofilter (19-23 degrees C) can be used for removal of remaining BOD and ammonia from anaerobic effluents; however, it had insufficient COD to fulfil the denitrification requirements. To balance COD/N ratio, some bypass of raw wastewater (approximately 10%) should be added to the biofilter feed. The application of iron (III)-, aluminium- or calcium-induced coagulation for post-treatment of aerobic effluents can fulfil the limits for discharge to sewerage (even for colour mainly exerted by hardly biodegradable melanoidins), however, the required amounts of coagulants were relatively high.     

Performance evaluation of physicochemical processes for biologically pre-treated livestock wastewater.

The use of a combination of biological and physicochemical methods is a promising technique to reduce highly concentrated pollutants in livestock wastewater: firstly, biodegradable organic matters, nitrogen and a part of phosphorus should be removed in a biological treatment process and then residual non-biodegradable organic matters, color and phosphorus be eliminated by physicochemical methods. In this study, therefore, the integrations of chemical coagulation, activated carbon adsorption, Fenton oxidation and ozonation were evaluated to provide an appropriate post-treatment process for biologically pre-treated livestock wastewater. With applying a single method such as coagulation and Fenton oxidation, a yellowish brown color and COD still remained. According to the experimental result, the quality of treated wastewater including color was enough to be discharged after chemical coagulation followed by ozonation or Fenton oxidation process. Among these, ozonation was the most effective technology for decolorization. Neither simple biological nor physicochemical process provides an adequate treatability for the sufficient depletion of organics and decolorization when treating livestock wastewater. Considering only the removal efficiency, the integration of Fenton oxidation and ozonation would be an efficient alternative as a post-treatment.     

Development of an ecologically sustainable wastewater treatment system

The present study aimed mainly for the development of a wastewater treatment system incorporating enhanced primary treatment, anaerobic digestion of coagulated organics, biofilm aerobic process for the removal of soluble organics and disinfection of treated water. An attempt was also made to study the reuse potential of treated water for irrigation and use of digested sludge as soil conditioner by growing marigold plants. Ferric chloride dose of 30 mg/l was found to be the optimum dose for enhanced primary treatment with removals of COD and BOD to the extent of 60% and 77%, respectively. Efficient anaerobic digestion of ferric coagulated sludge was performed at 7 days hydraulic retention time (HRT). Upflow aerobic fixed film reactor (UAFFR) was very efficient in removals of COD/BOD in the organic loading rate (OLR) range of 0.25 to 3 kg COD/m(3)/day with COD and BOD removals in the range 65-90 and 82-96, respectively. Photo-oxidation followed by disinfection saved 50% of chlorine dose required for disinfection of treated effluent and treated water was found to be suitable for irrigation. The result also indicated that anaerobically digested sludge may be an excellent soil conditioner. From the results of this study, it is possible to conclude that the developed wastewater treatment system is an attractive ecologically sustainable alternative for sewage treatment from institutional/industrial/residential campuses.     

Optimization of subsurface vertical flow constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment.

Constructed wetlands (CWs) use the same processes that occur in natural wetlands to improve water quality and are used worldwide to treat different qualities of water. This paper shows the results of an Austrian research project having the main goals to optimize vertical flow beds in terms of surface area requirement and nutrient removal, respectively. It could be shown that a subsurface vertical flow constructed wetland (SSVFCW) operated with an organic load of 20 g COD x m(-2) x d(-1) (corresponding to a specific surface area demand of 4 m2 per person) can fulfil the requirements of the Austrian standard regarding effluent concentrations and removal efficiencies. During the warmer months (May - October), when the temperature of the effluent is higher than 12 degrees C, the specific surface area might be further reduced. Even 2 m2 per person have been proven to be adequate. Enhanced nitrogen removal of 58% could be achieved with a two-stage system (first stage: grain size for main layer 1-4 mm, saturated drainage layer; and second stage: grain size for main layer 0.06-4 mm, free drainage) that was operated with an organic load of 80 g COD x m(-2) x d(-1) for the first stage (1 m2 per person), i.e. 40 g COD x m(-2) x d(-1) for the two-stage system (2 m2 per person). Although the two-stage system was operated with higher organic loads a higher effluent quality compared to a single-stage SSVFCW (grain size for main layer 0.06-4 mm, free drainage, organic load 20 g COD x m(-2) x d(-1)) could be reached.     

Anaerobic treatment of Hong Kong leachate followed by chemical oxidation.

Landfill leachate of Hong Kong was first treated by the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) process. At 37 degrees C, pH 7.1-8.5 and a HRT of 5.1-6.6 days, the process removed 66-90% of COD in the leachate for loading rates of 1-2.4 g-COD/l day depending on the strength of landfill leachate. The final effluent contained 1440-1910 mg-COD/l and 70-91 mg-BOD/l. About 92.5% of the total COD removed was converted to methane and the rest was converted to biomass with an average net growth yield of 0.053 g-VSS/g-COD-removed. The granules developed in the UASB reactor were 0.5-1.5 mm in size and exhibited good settleability. The UASB effluent was then further polished by two oxidation processes. The UASB-ozonation process removed 93.0% of the 12900 mg/l of COD from the raw leachate. The UASB-Fenton-ozonation process improved the COD removal efficiency to 99.3%. The final effluent had only 85 mg/l of COD and 10 mg/l of BOD5. Ozonation was most effectively conducted at pH 7-8 with the addition of 300 mg/l of H2O2 and for the duration of 30 min. Ozonation also significantly improved the biodegradability of the organic residues. Nearly 50% of these residues could be used as carbon source in denitrification.     

Treatment of wine distillery wastewater by high rate anaerobic digestion.

Wine distillery wastewaters (WDW) are acidic and have a high content of potential organic pollutants. This causes high chemical oxygen demand (COD) values. Polyphenols constitute a significant portion of this COD, and limit the efficiency of biological treatment of WDWs. WDW starting parameters were as follows: pH 3.83, 4,185 mg/l soluble COD (COD(s)) and 674.6 mg/l of phenols. During operation, amendments of CaCO3 and K2HPO4, individually or in combination, were required for buffering the digester. Volatile fatty acid concentrations were < 300 mg/l throughout the study, indicating degradation of organic acids present. Mean COD(s) removal efficiency for the 130 day study was 87%, while the mean polyphenol, removal efficiency was 63%. Addition of 50 mg/l Fe(3+) between days 86 and 92 increased the removal efficiencies of COD(s) to 97% and of polyphenols to 65%. Addition of Co(3+) improved removal efficiencies to 97% for COD(s) and 92% for polyphenols. Optimization of anaerobic treatment was achieved at 30% WDW feed strength. Removal efficiencies of 92% and 84% were recorded at increased feed strength from days 108 to 130. High removal efficiencies of COD(s) and polyphenols after day 82 were attributed to the addition of macronutrients and micronutrients that caused pH stability and thus stimulated microbial activity.     

Rethinking sewage treatment by enhancing primary settling with low-dosage lime.

This work presents a thorough fractionation of COD in raw sewage, followed by pilot plant coagulation tests with low-dosage lime (pH 9). Through a physical separation (sieving and crossflow filtration) total COD in the raw sewage was partitioned among eight size fractions in the range of 150-0.02 microm. In addition, respirometric tests were performed to measure the biodegradability of the different size fractions. More than 60% of COD was associated with settleable and supracolloidal particles (size > 1 microm), which are characterised by slow biodegradability. Coagulation with lime increased COD removal efficiencies in the primary treatment from typical 30-35%, up to 65-70%, suggesting that lime may induce the almost complete removal of the slowly settling, slowly biodegradable supracolloidal particles in the primary treatment. On the basis of these results a non-conventional sewage treatment scheme is proposed, considering that there is plenty of space for improving primary treatment efficiency through sewage coagulation. Higher primary treatment efficiency may present several advantages, including lower aeration energy in the subsequent biological unit and higher energy recovery from sludge digestion.     

Optimization of the performance of an integrated anaerobic-aerobic system for domestic wastewater treatment

A promising system consisting of Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) and Down-Flow Hanging Sponge (DHS) system was investigated for removal of COD, BOD(5) fractions, ammonia and faecal coliform from domestic wastewater. The combined system was operated at different HRTs of 16, 11 and 8 h. The results indicate that increasing the total HRT from 8 to 16 h significantly (p < 0.05) improves the COD(total) and BOD(5 total) removal mainly as a result of a higher removal of COD(soluble), BOD(soluble), COD(particulate) and BOD(particulate). The main part of coarse suspended solids was removed in the UASB reactor (76.4+/-18%) and the remaining portion was adsorbed and/or enmeshed and degraded in the biomass of the DHS system. The combined system achieved a substantial reduction of total suspended solids (TSS) resulting in an average overall percentage removal of 94+/-6% (HRT = 16 h) and 89.5+/-7.8% (HRT = 8 h). Faecal coliform reduction was significantly improved when increasing the total HRT from 8 to 16 h. Residual counts of faecal coliform were 3.1 x 10(3)/100 ml at a total HRT of 16 h, and 2.8 x 10(4)/100 ml at total HRT of 8 h, corresponding to overall removal efficiency of 99.97+/-0.03 and 99.6+/-0.3% respectively. Despite the increase of ammonia concentration as a result of protein hydrolysis in the UASB reactor, a substantial removal of ammonia was achieved in the DHS system. The results obtained show that decreasing the OLR imposed to DHS system from 2.6 to 1.6 kg COD/m(3).d significantly (p < 0.05) improves the removal efficiency of ammonia by a value of 29%. However, the removal efficiency of ammonia is not further increased when decreasing the OLR from 1.6 to 1.3 kg COD/m(3).d. The discharged sludge from UASB + DHS system exerts a good settling property and partially stabilized.DHS profile results have shown that the major part of COD, BOD(5), and TSS was removed in the upper part of the system, consequently, the nitrification process was occurring in the lower part of the DHS system.