Kinetic modeling microbial storage process in activated sludge under anoxic conditions

A new kinetic model is developed to describe the microbial storage process under anoxic conditions in activated sludge. The accumulation of nitrite in denitrification is taken into account in this model. The formation of storage polymers under anoxic conditions is coupled with energy generation and anoxic respiration, and their formation rate is found to be proportional to the substrate utilization rate. The sensitivity of the nitrogen uptake rate toward the stoichiometric and kinetic coefficients of the established model is analyzed by using an “absolute-relative” sensitivity function implemented in software AQUASIM. Batch denitrifying experiments were conducted to calibrate and validate the established model. The model is compared with ASM1 and ASM3, the two commonly used activated sludge models. Results show that the kinetic model established in this work is able to better describe the microbial storage processes under anoxic conditions.     

Model-based characterization of endogenous maintenance, cell death and predation processes of activated sludge in sequencing batch reactors

Maintenance, cell death and predation are endogenous processes of microorganisms and play an important role in governing the overall performance of biological wastewater treatment systems. However, in the previous studies on the activated sludge system, a widely used biological wastewater treatment process, the endogenous processes are summarized as a single process and the kinetics of all related processes are lumped into a single parameter set. In order to better understand the endogenous processes, efforts are made to quantify the maintenance, cell death and predation processes separately with both experimental and mathematical approaches in this work. A model-based analysis on endogenous processes of activated sludge is performed. Both oxygen uptake and biomass concentration gradually decrease with the increasing length of aerobic starvation. Model predictions are in accordance with experimental data. The active bacteria content is reduced to about 23% of the initial value after 10-day starvation, and the maintenance energy consumption rate under non-growth conditions is found to be about four times of that when the microbial growth is of its maximum level. The active microorganisms form the prey for the predator growth. The oxygen consumption related to the predation of active bacteria significantly contributes to the total oxygen consumption.     

An approach for modeling two-step denitrification in activated sludge systems

In the widely used Activated Sludge Models (ASMs) for biological wastewater treatment, denitrification is assumed as a single-step process, which is not true for some cases where a considerable amount of nitrite is build-up in system. This causes limitation to the application of ASMs. In this work, with a consideration of denitrification on both nitrite and nitrate, and an introduction of the simultaneous storage and growth concept, a two-step ASM3-based denitrification model is established. The sensitivity of the effluent chemical oxygen demand, and concentrations toward the stoichiometric and kinetic coefficients is analyzed. Model calibration is performed by comparing the measured and predicted values for model components. Thereafter, this model is evaluated with the experimental results of four different case studies on denitrification and compared with the original ASM3. The evaluation and comparison results demonstrate that the developed model is able to better and more mechanistically describe the denitrification process in the activated sludge systems.     

Flotation efficiency of activated sludge flocs using population balance model in dissolved air flotation

The activated sludge process is one of the most frequently used processes for biological wastewater treatment. Conventional gravity sedimentation (CGS), which is widely used as a secondary clarifier in activated sludge processes, has a routine problem due to floating tendency, called bulking, caused by filamentous microorganisms. Dissolved air flotation (DAF) has been applied as potential alternative to CGS as a secondary clarifier. A series of experiments were performed to measure physico-chemical characteristics and removal efficiency of activated sludge flocs. The removal efficiency of flocs corresponding in lag and exponential growth phases was lower, while that of flocs both in stationary and endogenous phases considerably increased. The rise velocity of floc/bubble agglomerates was calculated by using a population balance (PB) model explaining the distribution of floc/bubble agglomerates. The experimental results of flotation efficiency showed a similar tendency with the results predicted by PB model for the rise velocity and distribution of floc/bubble agglomerates. It was found from our study that the DAF process was very effective as a secondary clarifier in the activated sludge process.     

Operating Conditions Corresponding to Optimal Final Properties of Activated Sludge Using the DOE and RSM Techniques

Abstract

This paper presents the influence of four relevant factors on the flocculation behavior in the activated sludge process: organic loading rate (COD), solid retention time (SRT), dissolved oxygen (DO), and calcium ion concentration, and links them to a selected set of process responses: sludge volume index (SVI), turbidity, organic removal rate (COD), and suspended solids (SS) removal. The “Design of Experiments” (DOE) and the “Response Surface Methods” (RSM) approaches are used to establish the operating conditions corresponding to optimal final properties of the activated sludge. Using these techniques, the results show that it is indeed feasible to locate the operating conditions which optimize the flocculation process and the sludge settling properties. The study represents a first attempt to evaluate the flocculation process in activated sludge using the DOE/RSM approach.     

好氧颗粒污泥降解有机物的数学模拟

利用好氧颗粒污泥在不同F/M值条件下进行有机底物的批式降解试验,监测降解过程中底物的利用及溶解氧的消耗,采用活性污泥3号模型(ASM3)对降解过程进行数学模拟,利用Aquasim对模型的主要参数进行估计,得到异养菌的最大比生长速率(uH)为17.17 d-1,异养菌产率(YH)为0.74g[COD]/g[COD],储存物质产率(YSTO)为0.85g[COD/]g[COD];模型验证表明模型能够很好地描述好氧颗粒对有机物的降解过程。     

MODELING DISSOLVED OXYGEN CONCENTRATION FOR OPTIMIZING AERATION SYSTEMS AND REDUCING OXYGEN CONSUMPTION IN ACTIVATED SLUDGE PROCESSES: A REVIEW

Aeration accounts for 30% to 75% of the total energy consumption in activated sludge processes (ASPs). This percentage can be significantly reduced since most aeration systems are not optimized for unsteady influent flow rates and oxygen requirements. Reconfiguration, replacement, and the application of optimal dissolved oxygen (DO) control strategies for current aeration systems within the facility and model-based optimization of DO in wastewater treatment plants can lead to impressive increased energy efficiency and savings and improved stability of the system. These measures increase the operational lifetime of the aeration equipment and improve effluent and activated sludge quality. This article provides a review of two critical nonlinear time-varying parameters that characterize the DO concentration dynamics in an ASP: the oxygen uptake rate (OUR), related to microorganism activity, and the volumetric oxygen mass transfer function, represented by the oxygen transfer rate (OTR). Second, the physico-chemical, geometric, and dynamic factors and aerator type affecting the oxygen mass transfer coefficient (K _L a) are thoroughly discussed. The article concludes with model-based optimization, explaining the usefulness of accurate DO models in wastewater treatment, and provides examples for plant-wide or water chain cycle–focused optimizations.     

五箱一体化活性污泥工艺的数学模拟与校正

对五箱一体化活性污泥工艺进行了数学模拟研究, 针对模型中的动力学参数提出了一种迭代计算的校正方法。该方法结合了6个批式实验模拟(氨氮吸收速率AUR、硝氮吸收速率NUR、耗氧速率OUR、厌氧释磷速率PRR、好氧吸磷速率PUR_aerobic和缺氧吸磷速率PUR_anoxic)、灵敏度分析以及数学优化方法(遗传算法):通过迭代计算确定合适的污泥组分比例, 完成对6个批式实验的模拟;灵敏度分析可以分别确定各个批式实验模拟中参数对模拟结果的影响程度, 挑选待优化参数, 完成参数识别;数学优化方法可以自动对参数进行校正。结果显示, 校正后的模型对五箱一体化活性污泥工艺的模拟效果较好:6个批式实验的模拟值与测量值之间的平均相对误差(ARD)分别为5.65%、17.27%、6.02%、7.11%、13.07%和6.98%;30 d动态出水COD、NH₄⁺-N、TN和TP的ARD值分别为4.72%、18.87%、9.45%和38.11%。研究结果表明, 提出的迭代方法可以用来对活性污泥模型进行校正, 而且校正效果较好。     

Incidence of an Ozonation Stage on the Treatment of Cherry Stillage by Activated Sludge

This article presents a laboratory study of the ozonation of diluted cherry stillage, a high-strength wastewater. Influence of variables, kinetics, and the effects of an ozonation stage coupled with the biological treatment by activated sludge are addressed. Single activated sludge processing was shown effective to remove biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) but polyphenols were reduced to a lesser extent. On the other hand, direct wastewater ozonation did not reduce COD and total organic carbon (TOC) appreciably, and foaming problems were experienced when a high gas flow rate was applied. However, polyphenols and UV₂₅₄ absorbance decreased substantially by means of ozonation. To best achieve complete cherry stillage purification, two ways of coupling ozonation with activated sludge are proposed. Ozonation prior to activated sludge is advised for high-concentration wastewater to reduce polyphenol concentration, thus removing inhibiting effects. For wastewater with low polyphenol concentration the sequence activated sludge–ozonation–activated sludge is preferred to enhance the overall process performance in terms of oxidation efficiency and sludge settling.     

Two types of organophosphate pesticides and their combined effects on heterotrophic growth rates in activated sludge process

BACKGROUND: Pesticides are sometimes non‐biodegradable and, moreover, toxic to microorganisms. If pesticides exceed the tolerance of microorganisms, failure of the activated sludge process (ASP) occurs. Therefore the effects of two types of organophosphate pesticides on heterotrophic growth rate constant in sludge from ASP were investigated. Oxygen uptake rate was employed to measure the rate constants. RESULTS: The results indicated that the value of heterotrophic growth rate constant decreased from 3.88 d^?1 to 1.46 d^?1 or by 62% when 0.5 mg L^?1 of glyphosate was added. When adding 0.5 mg L^?1 of malathion, the value of heterotrophic growth rate constant decreased to 1.33 d^?1 or by 66%. The value of heterotrophic growth rate constant decreased to 1.98 d^?1 or by 49% when 0.5 mg L^?1 of pesticide combination (50% for each) was added. CONCLUSIONS: The inhibitory effects of glyphosate and malathion were in good agreement with non‐competitive inhibition kinetics, but pesticide combination did not follow non‐competitive kinetics. The inhibition coefficient values for glyphosate, malathion and their combination were 0.29, 0.29 and 0.58 mg L^?1, respectively. For comparison, linear and exponential types of models were derived by regression. According to non‐competitive kinetics, and linear and exponential models, the inhibitory effects of glyphosate and malathion were almost consistent. Finally, the degree of inhibition was simulated using different types of model. It was found that the toxicity of the two pesticides agreed with the antagonism well. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Combined Ozone Pretreatment and Anaerobic Digestion for the Reduction of Biological Sludge Production in Wastewater Treatment

The ever-increasing amount of solid waste generated by wastewater treatment plants highlights emerging economic and environmental issues. In order to develop new processes producing less sludge, the use of ozone combined with anaerobic digestion was investigated for waste activated sludge treatment. This paper was aimed at evaluating the impact of ozone pretreatment on anaerobic digestion and particularly the enhancement of biogas production. Sludge solubilization was estimated in terms of modification of chemical oxygen demand, solids and nitrogen. Batch anaerobic digestion highlighted the enhancement of ozonated sludge biodegradability. Ozonation led to an increase in biogas production. The ozone dose of 0.15 g O₃/g total solids resulted in a considerable increase in the soluble COD ratio from 4% to 37%. This ozone dose achieved the highest increase in biogas production: 2.4 times greater than without chemical pretreatment.     

Membrane filtration characteristics in membrane-coupled activated sludge system - the effect of physiological states of activated sludge on membrane fouling

The effect of sludge physiology on membrane fouling was investigated in a membrane-coupled activated sludge (MCAS) system. A series of ultrafiltrations were performed to assess the flux behaviors according to foaming potential, solids retention time (SRT), growth phase and nutrient condition of the activated sludge. The foaming sludge showed greater flux decline than the non-foaming sludge. The extraordinary increase, that is, more than 100 times in membrane fouling for the foaming sludge, was attributed to the hydrophobic and waxy nature of the foaming sludge surface, which was confirmed by a comparison with relative hydrophobicity. Membrane fouling tendency was increased as SRT decreased. A greater flux decline was observed at the endogenous phase than at the log growth phase. The activated sludge acclimated to the nitrogen deficient substrates produced less extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and exhibited higher flux than the control activated sludge. The quantitative measurements of EPS content in order to estimate the extent of membrane fouling in various activated sludges showed that, in any physiological states of activated sludge, the higher the content of EPS the activated sludge had, the greater the membrane fouling proceeded. The EPS content of activated sludge is suggested as a probable index for the membrane fouling in a MCAS system.     

The Influence of Ozone,Oxygen and Chlorine on Biolocical Activity on Biological Activated Carbon

A laboratory study was conducted into the effects of the treatment of activated sludge effluent with different oxidants on the biodegradability of the organic substances. It was found that, under the experimental conditions described, ozone increased the biodegradability, whereas chlorine had no apparent significant effect. The effect of continuous oxidative pretreataent of activated sludge effluent on microbial populations and the biological activated carbon used subsequently in the process also was studied. It was found that ozone, particularly at a dosage of about 5 mg/L promoted biological activity, while chlorine and oxygen (in addition to the dissolved oxygen already in the effluent) had no significant effect on the biological population size.     

Model-evaluation of the erosion behavior of activated sludge under shear conditions using a chemical-equilibrium-based model

The primary particles would erode from the sludge surface under shear conditions. As the primary particles have significant effects on the solid–liquid separation process, the erosion behaviors of activated sludge in biological wastewater treatment processes under shear conditions were investigated using a chemical-equilibrium-based model. The equilibrium dispersed mass concentration of the primary particles in the sludge solution was found to nonlinearly increase with the solid content and shear intensity, and could be well described by the model. Compared with other sludge reported in literatures, the activated sludge used in this study was found to be more stable during the shear test, with a high equilibrium constant K⁰ of 30.2 and a low Gibbs’ free energy of adhesion (ΔG⁰) of −3.41 at a shear intensity of 800 s⁻¹. The two parameters could be used to evaluate the strength of the sludge. The negative value of ΔH indicates the energy demand for the erosion process. The low value of ΔH for the activated sludge used in this study indicates that the erosion process was more energy demanding and the erosion process was less shear dependent for the activated sludge used in this study.     

膜生物反应器中有机营养物对污泥活性的影响特性

试验研究了以葡萄糖为代表的典型非毒性有机营养物对硝化过程的影响,结果表明：在低浓度葡萄糖驯化活性污泥条件下,硝化茵富集效果明显,污泥中硝化茵的活性逐渐上升;而高浓度葡萄糖驯化环境下,硝化茵的活性受到高浓度有机营养物的抑制作用,但异养茵的活性逐步提高．说明：在连续MBR驯化条件下,由于有机营养物可以迅速为异养茵所分解利用,异养茵的快速增殖将对硝化茵的活性形成竞争性的抑制作用;但随着时间的延长,由于膜对溶解性难降解的有机大分子的有效截留和污泥长时间没有更新,污泥中无论硝化茵还是异养茵,其活性都将逐渐地降低．     

Effect of Ozone on Viability of Activated Sludge Detected by Oxygen Uptake Rate (OUR) and Adenosine-5′-triphosphate (ATP) Measurement

The current study focused on treatment of phenolic wastewater using an integrated process – dosing of ozone directly to activated sludge. The main goal was to analyze the effect of ozonation on viability of activated sludge in different systems – activated sludge in distilled water and activated sludge in wastewater. Two viability detection methods, oxygen uptake (OUR) rate and adenosine-5'-triphosphate measurement (ATP), were compared. The linear correlation between ATP and OUR measurements in studied range was found to be good (r² = 0.90). In case of ozonation of activated sludge in wastewater, ozone doses up to 42 mgO₃·gMLVSS^?1 did not influence the viability of sludge. In addition, contrary to ozonation of sludge in distilled water, soluble COD was reduced by 15.6% (at ozone dose of 42 mgO₃·gMLVSS^?1).     

The use of 3,3′,4′,5‐tetrachlorosalicylanilide as a chemical uncoupler to reduce activated sludge yield

To determine whether chemical additions can be used to reduce sludge production in biological wastewater treatment, 3,3′,4′,5‐tetrachlorosalicylanilide (TCS) was added to activated sludge cultures as a metabolic uncoupler. Batch tests confirmed that TCS is an effective chemical uncoupler in reducing the sludge yield at concentrations greater than 1.0 mg dm^?3; a TCS concentration of 1.0 mg dm^?3 reduced sludge yield by approximately 50%. Substrate removal capability and effluent nitrogen concentration were not affected adversely by the presence of TCS when dosed every other day in a range of 2.0–3.6 mg dm^?3 during the 40‐day operation of activated sludge batch cultures. Such sludge growth reduction was associated with the enhancement of microbial activities in terms of the specific oxygen uptake rate and dehydrogenase activity. Sludge settleability of the treated and control samples was qualitatively comparable and not significantly different. Filamentous bacteria continued to grow in sludge flocs only in the control reactor at the end of the 40‐day trial. These results suggest that TCS treatment of activated sludge systems may reduce excess sludge yield. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Systematic Analysis of the Biochemical Characteristics of Activated Sludge During Ozonation for Lowering of Biomass Production

Properties of activated sludge during ozonation were analyzed. The structure and surface characteristics altered with the increase of ozone dosage. At low ozone dosage, the floc structure was completely dismantled. Floc fragments reformed through reflocculation at an ozone dosage greater than 0.20 g O₃·g^?1 mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS). Inactivation of microorganisms in the activated sludge mixture was caused by ozonation. Microbial growth decreased by up to 65% compared to the control. Simultaneously, 92.5% of nucleotide and 97.4% of protein in microbial cells of the sludge were released. Organic substance, nitrogen and phosphorus were released from the sludge during the ozonation process. The initial value of soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) was 72 mg·L^?1. When the ozone dosage was 0.12 g O₃·g^?1 MLSS, the value of SCOD rapidly reached 925 mg·L^?1, increased by almost 12-fold. Simultaneously, 54.7% of MLSS was reduced. The composition of MLSS was changed, indicating that the inner water of cells and volatile organic substance decreased during the ozonation process.     

Population balance modelling of activated sludge flocculation: Investigating the size dependence of aggregation, breakage and collision efficiency

This paper describes the application of population balance models to activated sludge flocculation. It presents the development and selection of appropriate expressions for aggregation and breakage mechanisms within the population balance framework to describe the evolution of mean size and mass distribution of flocs under shear-induced conditions. To describe the flocculation process, 16 models with different size dependent aggregation and breakage expressions were compared and the kinetic parameters of aggregation rate constant and selection rate constant were extracted by fitting each model to the experimental data. Of the 16 models, the shear-induced aggregation and size-dependent selection model was found to best describe the experimental data, however there were some discrepancies between the model and experimental results at long experimental times. A size dependent collision efficiency was introduced into the aggregation expression and this improved the fitting of the model with the experimental data. However, the relationship between the kinetic parameters and shear rate did not follow expected physical relationships. Further improvements to the model were made by setting the aggregation rate constant proportional to shear rate and the selection rate size independent whilst still including the size-dependent collision efficiency. The aggregation rate constant, selection rate constant and critical size were extracted by fitting the model to the experimental data. This model was able to follow the change in mean size and evolution of mass and was used to predict other experimental data successfully. The modelling results indicated that the population balance model is a useful tool to describe the dynamics of activated sludge flocculation.     

Feasibility of Sludge Ozonation for Stabilization and Conditioning

A pilot-scale sludge treatment plant was built to investigate the feasibility of ozonation processes for waste activated sludge treatment. Ozonation of wastewater sludge resulted in mass reduction by mineralization as well as by supernatant and filtrate recycle. Another advantage of sludge ozonation is a significant improvement of settleability and dewaterability. Experimental results showed that mass reduction of 70% and volume reduction of 85% compared with the control sludge was achieved through the sludge ozonation at a dose of 0.5?gO₃/gDS. It is also interesting to note that the filterability deteriorates up to ozone dose of 0.2?gO₃/gDS and then improves considerably at a higher ozone dose. The filterability could be improved by chemical conditioning even at a low ozone dose. The economic feasibility by cost analysis reveals that ozonation processes can be more economical than other alternative processes for sludge treatment and disposal at small-sized wastewater treatment plants.