Electrically enhanced MBR system for total nutrient removal in remote northern applications

Thousands of sparsely populated communities scatter in the remote areas of northern Canada. It is economically preferable to adopt the decentralized systems to treat the domestic wastewater because of the vast human inhabitant distribution and cold climatic conditions. Electro-technologies such as electrofiltration, elctrofloatation, electrocoagulation and electrokinetic separation have been applied in water and conventional wastewater treatment for decades due to the minimum requirements of chemicals as well as ease of operation. The membrane bioreactor (MBR) is gaining popularity in recent years as an alternative water/wastewater treatment technology. However, few studies have been conducted to hyphenate these two technologies. The purpose of this work is to design a novel electrically enhanced membrane bioreactor (EMBR) as an alternative decentralized wastewater treatment system with improved nutrient removal and reduced membrane fouling. Two identical submerged membranes (GE ZW-1 hollow fiber module) were used for the experiment, with one as a control. The EMBR and control MBR were operated for 4 months at room temperature (20 ± 2 °C) with synthetic feed and 2 months at 10 °C with real sewage. The following results were observed: (1) the transmembrane pressure (TMP) increased significantly more slowly in the EMBR and the interval between the cleaning cycles of the EMBR increased at least twice; (2) the dissolved chemical oxygen demand (COD) or total organic carbon (TOC) in the EMBR biomass was reduced from 30 to 51%, correspondingly, concentrations of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), the major suspicious membrane foulants, decreased by 26-46% in the EMBR; (3) both control and EMBR removed >99% of ammonium-N and >95% of dissolved COD, in addition, ortho-P removal in the EMBR was >90%, compared with 47-61% of ortho-P removal in the MBR; and (4) the advantage of the EMBR over the conventional MBR in terms of membrane fouling retardation and phosphorus removal was further demonstrated at an operating temperature of 10 °C when fed with real sewage. The EMBR system has the potential for highly automated control and minimal maintenance, which is particularly suitable for remote northern applications.     

Evaluation of MBR effluent characteristics for reuse purposes.

One of the advantages of MBR is its excellent effluent quality, which is suitable for a wide range of reuse purposes. We investigated the characteristics of MBR effluent and evaluated them based on the Japanese guideline for the reuse of treated wastewater. As the result, MBR effluent showed qualitative coaracteristics that satisfy the requirement except chromaticity for recreational purpose. Further treatment, such as by oxone or activated carbon, will be required to remove the remaining color. MBR shows high removal efficiency of bacteria and other hazardous microorganisms such as Cryptosporidium. We investigated the removal efficiency of virus by MBR using coliphage as an alternative index. The results showed that high removal efficiency for coliphage could be obtained by MBR. The removal mechanism appears to be that coliphage are attached to the activated sludge and thus rejected by the membrane together with activated sludge particles. With regard to the endocrine disrupters, no significant differences were observed between MBR and CAS in the removal of main endocrine disrupters.     

Comparison of PPCPs removal on a parallel-operated MBR and AS system and evaluation of effluent post-treatment on vertical flow reed beds

The presence in the aquatic environment of xenobiotics such as Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) has emerged as an issue of concern. Upgrading sewage treatment quality with modern technologies such as Membrane Bioreactors (MBRs) and/or implementing a further posttreatment might mitigate the release of xenobiotics into surface waters. The performance of two processes treating municipal sewage, a MBR and an Activated Sludge (AS) unit, have been compared in terms of PPCPs removal. Moreover, their effluents were treated using vertical flow reed beds. Both systems were operated under similar conditions, more specifically Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT), maintained at 8 hours, and Sludge Retention Time (SRT) set at 6 and 20 days. Pharmaceuticals belong to therapeutic groups such as antiepileptics (carbamazepine) and analgesics (ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac), whereas the personal care products are musk fragrances (galaxolide and tonalide). Xenobiotics removals achieved in the MBR showed better results, particularly for the acidic drugs ibuprofen (87% vs. 50%) and naproxen (56% vs. 6%) operating at low SRT. After filtration through vertical flow reed-beds, PPCPs content in effluents was decreased, below 1 ppb in most cases, improving the effluent quality and confirming reed-beds as an interesting low cost alternative in order to attenuate xenobiotics contamination.     

Advanced phosphorus removal for secondary effluent using a natural treatment system

Mechanisms for low concentrations phosphorus removal in secondary effluent were studied, and a process was developed using limestone filters (LF), submerged macrophyte oxidation ponds (SMOPs) and a subsurface vertical flow wetland (SVFW). Pilot scale experimental models were applied in series to investigate the advanced purification of total phosphorus (TP) in secondary effluent at the Chengjiang sewage treatment plant. With a total hydraulic residence time (HRT) of 82.52 h, the average effluent TP dropped to 0.17 mg L(-1), meeting the standard for Class III surface waters. The major functions of the LF were adsorption and forced precipitation, with a particulate phosphorus (PP) removal of 82.93% and a total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) removal of 41.07%. Oxygen-releasing submerged macrophytes in the SMOPs resulted in maximum dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH values of 11.55 mg L(-1) and 8.10, respectively. This regime provided suitable conditions for chemical precipitation of TDP, which was reduced by a further 39.29%. In the SVFW, TDP was further reduced, and the TP removal in the final effluent reached 85.08%.     

BNR—MBR组合工艺处理生活污水研究进展

目前城市污水处理工艺多采用生物营养盐去除工艺(BNR),引入膜生物反应器(MBR)组成BNR—MBR组合工艺,可以提高出水水质,实现水资源的回用。与传统的BNR工艺相比,组合工艺的某些运行条件和工艺参数发生了改变。概述了BNR—MBR工艺应用在生活污水处理中的工艺特征,分析和探讨了组合工艺对氮、磷的去除特性以及膜污染控制。     

Low effluent nutrient technologies for wastewater treatment.

The USEPA (2001) water quality nutrient criteria will have a significant impact on water pollution control industry due to stringent N and P requirements. This paper presents an update of findings on successful total N (TN) and total P (TP) technologies being implemented at existing wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) to achieve low TN and TP effluents and some key challenges in achieving lower levels. Plants consistently achieving <5 mg TN/L and < 0.5 mg TP/L were identified from a worldwide literature search and plant data collection. Technology gaps and research needs to improve successful technologies to achieve very low TN and TP effluents are summarised in this paper. The dissolved and colloidal organic N have been identified as major challenges in achieving very low levels of TN. Technical and economic challenges to achieve very low TP effluents include alkalinity deficiency, high chemical usage, high sludge production and lack of sufficient influent BOD for biological P uptake.     

Temperature effects on biological nutrient removal system with weak municipal wastewater

The wastewater characteristics of low organic strength coupled with low temperature would be considerable variables for design and operation of biological nutrient removal (BNR) systems. But temperature studies have mostly been focused on individual process with biological phosphorus removal, nitrification and denitrification, respectively. Overall temperature effects on BNR system may not be fully represented by sum of results of separated studies on biological nutrient removal steps. The operating result of a retrofitted full scale unit along with laboratory-scale BNR unit indicated 90% of nitrification was possible at temperature as low as 8°C. However, the denitrification was turned out to be a key step to regulate the overall nutrient removal efficiencies. When the operating temperature dropped down, a rapid decrease of phosphorus removal efficiencies was observed by the nitrate in return sludge. If nitrification was not well developed, phosphorus removal returned to the normal efficiency even at low temperature of 5°C. The phosphorus removal mechanism was not influenced at this low temperature.     

Strategy for nutrient control in modern effluent treatment plants.

The fate of nutrients in the modern effluent treatment plant depends on several factors, for example type of treatment plant, availability of nutrients in the specific effluent, dosing of nutrients and sludge age/production. New technologies with the aim to increase the efficiency and stability of the conventional activated sludge process have strongly affected the possibilities to control discharge of nutrients in pulp and paper effluents. A paradox is that a reduction of organic material may often lead to an increase of nutrient discharges. It is of the utmost importance that the operators have good knowledge of the factors affecting nutrient uptake and release in order to minimise nutrient discharge and obtain optimal plant performance. Dosing of nitrogen and phosphorus is one key factor in the sensitive balance in most pulp and paper effluent treatment plants. Correct dosing is crucial as high or low doses might lead not only to increased discharge of nutrients but also to severe operational problems with poor sludge quality, which in turn affects the plant performance for longer periods.     

SBR-PBR串联体系对城镇生活污水的深度脱氮除磷

提出一种序批式活性污泥反应器(SBR)与微藻反应器(PBR)串联的工艺,利用SBR-PBR 串联体系进行生活污水的深度脱氮除磷.试验结果表明,当SBR在模式B(厌氧程序120 min;好氧程序170 min;缺氧程序120 min)下运行,PBR的水力停留时间为2d时,SBR-PBR串联体系能达到最优的工况,其出水中的...     

Automatic control of external carbon source addition for nitrogen removal in sewage with low C/N ratios.

For cost-effective nitrogen removal from sewage with low C/N ratios, an automatic control system for the addition of external carbon based on oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) data in an anoxic reactor has been developed. In this study, it was carried out with a pilot-scale modified Bardenpho process. This consisted of anoxic1, aerobic1, anoxic2 and aerobic2 stages with an external recycle ratio of 150% (Q/Qinf), and a media packing ratio of 2.4%-2.9% (v/v) in the aerobic reactor. As a result of applying the automatic control system for the minimization of the external carbon source dosage, the dosage was decreased by about 20%. This estimate was based on ORP compared with a stable dosage of 75 mg/L based on the C/NOx-N ratio of the anoxic influent. It was necessary that the ORP set-value be regulated from -120 mV to -80 mV because influent NH4+-N concentration varied from 12 to 15 mg/L due to rainfall. Correspondingly, the demanded dosages were decreased. Drift of the the real-time value in control system was more stable after changing the ORP set-value from -120 mV to -80 mV.     

CaF2——CaCO3去除生活污水总磷研究

通过静态和动态试验,分析CaF_2—CaCO_3对生活污水中TP去除机理。试验结果表明:反应初期要求较高的CaF_2—CaCO_3投加量;20min后,TP去除率可达97%以上,并且CaF_2投加量与一些指标呈现幂次相关的特点,这些指标包括:CaF_2的使用寿命、总磷去除量、处理总污水量、氟磷通量比、TP<1mg/L出水体积;渗滤介质与氟化钙、碳酸钙的最佳配比为:1000:25.2:22.5;出水中氟离子浓度对出水水质结果影响不大。     

Re-use of winery wastewaters for biological nutrient removal.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of the re-use of the winery wastewater to enhance the biological nutrient removal (BNR) process. In batch experiments it was observed that the addition of winery wastewater mainly enhanced the nitrogen removal process because of the high denitrification potential (DNP), of about 130 mg N/g COD, of the contained substrates. This value is very similar to that obtained by using pure organic substrates such as acetate. The addition of winery wastewater did not significantly affect either phosphorus or COD removal processes. Based on the experimental results obtained, the optimum dosage to remove each mg of N-NO3 was determined, being a value of 6.7 mg COD/mg N-NO3. Because of the good properties of the winery wastewater to enhance the nitrogen removal, the viability of its continuous addition in an activated sludge pilot-scale plant for BNR was studied. Dosing the winery wastewater to the pilot plant a significant increase in the nitrogen removal was detected, from 58 to 75%. The COD removal was slightly increased, from 89 to 95%, and the phosphorus removal remained constant.     

Ozonation parameter for removal of oestrogenicity from secondary effluent without by-products.

The purposes of this study are to investigate ozonation characteristics, to evaluate oestrogenicity and to confirm behaviours of by-products during ozonation of secondary effluent. For the ozonation of secondary effluent, TOC was decreased only 10% when 4 (mgO3/mgC) of ozone consumption per initial TOC. However, UV254 and SUVA was decreased approximately 65% until ozone consumption of 2 (mgO3/mgC). Ozonation was also shown to be very effective for decrease of oestrogenicity in secondary effluent. Bromate ion started to form obviously when the ozone consumption per initial TOC exceeded 2 (mgO3/mgC) and increased while the time of ozonation became longer. From these results, ozone consumption per initial TOC was shown to be an appropriate operation parameter to reduce SUVA effectively and E2 equivalent concentration to less than 0.1 nM without significant formation of bromate ion, and its value was determined to be 2 (mgO3/mgC) in ozonation of secondary effluent.     

A/O-MBR工艺处理低碳源污水中试研究

将膜生物反应器(MBR)与A/O工艺相结合,构建A/O-MBR中试处理系统.考察其处理低碳源污水脱氮除磷效果.结果表明:在水温为12～16℃、HRT为10 h、污泥浓度为4 000～7 000 mg/L、好氧池DO为0.3～0.8 mg/L、回流比为200％～300％条件下,出水平均CODCr、TN、NH3-N、TP浓...     

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal in RBC with SBR modification.

The rotating biological contactor (RBC) system was operationally modified with a sequencing batch reactor to achieve biological phosphorus removal from a weak domestic sewage along with nitrogen removal. This study utilized three RBC units, of which two units were the main units to remove phosphorus and NH4N and the third RBC unit was used as the storage of wastewater for its minimal effect to the PAO activities in the anaerobic stage during the operation. It was noticed that the biofilm thickness in RBC must be controlled to be less than 1.8 mm in order to achieve more than 70% of P removal with about 60% of N removal. With a settled sewage representing 200 mg/L of COD and 5 mg/L of P, the predicted P content in biofilm was more than 3% and the effluent P concentration was about 1 mg/L. The %P content in biofilm decreased with an increase of influent COD/TP ratios. The COD requirement for anaerobic P release was similar to reported values for the suspended growth system, however, the overall requirement increased with thicker biofilm.     

Automatic control and remote monitoring system for biological nutrient removal on small wastewater treatment plants in Korea.

Many small-size wastewater treatment plants in Korea's rural communities are designed to remove organic and suspended matter only, and they generally show a large fluctuation in the influent loading compared to municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWWTPs). They also have no professional engineers stationed for efficient operation against mechanical breakdown. For those reasons, the wastewater treatment plants have low efficiency in treatment of nitrogen and phosphorus as well as organic matter. In order to solve those problems, this study developed an automatic control system and RMS (remote monitoring system), which can keep efficiency stable despite any change in the small plants' loading rates and are capable of removing nutrient materials such as nitrogen or phosphorus. According to the results of the Experimental SBR system of the automatic control program, complete nitrification was made under oxic conditions and denitrification occurred as NO3-N concentration decreased by 0.5 mg/l in anoxic conditions and excellent nitrogen removal efficiency was seen generally. The Experimental SBR system created "phosphate release and uptake" effectively and displayed phosphate-removing efficiency up to more than 80% as the concentration of effluent was kept low by 0.4 mg/l. RMS developed in this study transmits a plant's data and operation states to clients in remote locations in real-time interval through the Internet. Therefore, although you are in a remote location, it allows you to see if a plant is properly operated or there is any breakdown.     

A mechanistic model for fate and removal of estrogens in biological nutrient removal activated sludge systems

Two estrogen fate and transformation models were integrated with a comprehensive activated sludge model (ASM) to predict estrogen removal based on biomass and solids production. Model predictions were evaluated against published full-scale plant data as well as results from a laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) fed synthetic wastewater. The estrogen fate model relating the rate of total estrogen degradation to soluble estrogen concentrations successfully predicted estrogen removals when compared with measured concentrations. Model fit 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) biodegradation rate constant was 19 to 43% of the estrone (E1) value and 31 to 72% of the 17β-estradiol (E2) value.     

Energy saving system with high effluent quality for municipal sewage treatment by UASB-DHS

An up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) - down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) was applied to Japanese municipal sewage treatment, and its treatability, energy consumption, and sludge production were evaluated. The designed sewage load was 50 m(3)/d. The sewage typically had a chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 402 mg/L, a suspended solids (SS) content of 167 mg/L, and a temperature of 17-29 °C. The UASB and DHS exhibited theoretical hydraulic retention times of 9.7 and 2.5 h, respectively. The entire system was operated without temperature control. Operation was started with mesophilic anaerobic digested sludge for the UASB and various sponge media for the DHS. Continuous operational data suggest that although the cellulose decomposition and methanogenic process in the UASB are temperature sensitive, stable operation can be obtained by maintaining a satisfactory sludge volume index and sludge concentration. For the DHS, the cube-type medium G3-2 offers superior filling rates, biological preservation and operational execution. The SS derived from the DHS contaminated the effluent but could be removed by optional sand filtration. A comparison with conventional activated sludge (CAS) treatment confirmed that this system is adequate for municipal sewage treatment, with an estimated energy requirement and excess sludge production approximately 75 and 85% less than those of CAS, respectively.     

MBR工艺机械性预处理系统的选择与设计

污水预处理对污水处理厂的正常运行起着重要的作用。结合无锡市城北污水处理厂设计实例,详细介绍了MBR工艺的整套机械性预处理系统的组成及各种预处理机械设备的工作原理、选型要求、安装位置和主要技术参数。