Bound water content of biological sludges in relation to filtration and dewatering

This paper presents the results of an extensive analytical investigation on the mechanisms involved in filtration of biological sludges by studying the changes in the “bound water” content of activated and mixed digested sludges when they were subjected to several physical, and chemical processes. A new method for determining bound water in sludges, based on differential thermal analysis (DTA), was developed which proved reliable and fast. Water in sludges exist in two states, as “free” or bulk water and as “bound” water which is held by the solid state either by sorption on specific sites, i.e. functional groups of the proteins and other macromolecules and/or restricted within pores and capillaries. Water binding by sludge displayed similar behaviour to the absorption of ions.All chemical coagulants (FeCl₃, AlCl₃, FeSO₄) and cationic polyelectrolytes resulted in a reduction of the specific resistance and the bound water content of the sludge which was due to the replacement of water molecules by the adsorbed coagulant. Heat treatment of activated and digested sludge at 130°C resulted in a reduction of bound water by 30% whereas freezing and thawing reduced bound water by 70%.     

Influence of salt, pH and polyelectrolyte on the pressure electro-dewatering of sewage sludge

This paper deals with the influence of pH, salt and polyelectrolytes on the electro-dewatering (EOD) of agro-industrial sludge at 3% w/w of dry matter. Initially, a selection of polyelectrolyte types and doses was carried out for mechanical dewatering tests. Subsequent EOD tests were carried out in a laboratory two sided filter press at constant electric current density of 80 A/m² and at pressure of 5 bar. It was found that whatever was the initial value of pH, salt content or polyelectrolyte type, the EOD progressed always towards the same equilibrium point at around 50% w/w of dry matter. EOD rate and energy input was not affected by the presence of polyelectrolyte whatever was its charge density and molecular weight. However, EOD rate and specific energy consumption and repartition of liquid at anode and cathode sides were strongly influenced by the salt content (adjusted by Na₂SO₄) or by the initial pH (adjusted with H₂SO₄ or NaOH). EOD performed better at lower salt content and at slightly acid pH. In optimum conditions, the process (EOD) required 2 h to reach dry matter of 40% w/w with specific energy consumption of 0.25 kWh/kg of water removed for the treatment of conditioned sludge. For comparison, compression without electric field at 5 bar required 11 h to reach 22% w/w of dry matter. This work emphasizes and demonstrates that the electrolytic hydroxide and hydronium ions formed at the electrodes have considerable influence in the course of EOD.     

Effect of dissolved organic material and cations on freeze-thaw conditioning of activated and alum sludges

Freeze-thaw conditioning effectively dewaters alum and activated sludges, but it works better on alum sludge than it does on activated sludge. The main difference between alum sludge and activated sludge is that activated sludge has high concentrations of both dissolved organic material and ions. Dissolved organic material and ions may possibly alter the freezing process and decrease the effectiveness of freeze-thaw conditioning on activated sludge. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of dissolved organic material and cations on freeze-thaw conditioning of sludges, and to improve the effectiveness of freeze-thaw conditioning on activated sludge. The results of this study show that although protein, carbohydrate and cation concentrations in activated sludge supernatant are initially high, they dramatically increase after freeze-thaw conditioning. The increase is likely to come from the release of extracellular and intracellular material to sludge supernatant. The observed increase in the DNA concentration in activated sludge supernatant after freeze-thaw conditioning indicates that freeze-thaw causes cell disruption. Alum sludge supernatant, on the other hand, initially contains low concentrations of proteins, carbohydrates and cations which do not noticeably change after freeze-thaw conditioning. When ECPs (extracellular polymers) and cations are extracted from activated sludge before freeze-thaw conditioning, the sludge settles and dewaters better after the freeze-thaw. The resulting aggregates are smaller and denser resembling the “coffee ground” aggregates of alum sludge.     

Shear sensitivity of digested sludge: Comparison of methods and application in conditioning and dewatering

Shear sensitivity of digested sludge was evaluated by two methods: a CST shear test and a strain sweep rheological method of measuring yield stress. Sludge pretreatment by an enzyme formulation was used to alter the sludge's response to shear and, potentially, to improve dewaterability. Also varied were the polymer conditioning dose and the amount of shear applied by mixing. A bench-scale device was then used to simulate dewatering by belt press in order to assess the CST shear tests and the rheological test. CST-based shear tests showed that the optimum chemical conditioner doses with low shear levels became sub-optimal with increasing mixing times. For all three polymer conditioners, longer shear times increased the dose requirements. When the polymer dose was held constant, and the extent of mixing varied, the CST test was a poor indicator of effects on dewaterability. The benefits of enzyme treatment, apparent by actual dewatering, were not predicted by the CST results. In contrast, yield stress values were significantly correlated with cake solids values, and inversely correlated with filtrate solids. Yield stress is not adequate by itself to predict final cake solids after dewatering, because enzyme pretreatment gave higher solids concentrations when both shear extent and initial yield stress were held constant.     

Deswelling and flocculation of gel networks: application to sludge dewatering

Organic sludge dewatering, chemically induced by a complexation mechanism with oppositely charged reagents, was investigated through chemical modelization using low charged density anionic gels. Flocculation, which allows an easy removal of interparticular water by filtration, proceeds through specific surface interactions. Initially negatively charged, an aggregation of the porous beads can be achieved by complexation with oppositely charged polycations, either around full complexation (global balance of original negative sites on the gel by positive charges added) with low molecular weight species (LaCl₃ or cationic polymers of low molecular weight) or at low complexation extent when specific surface interactions are favoured with high molecular weight species. On the other hand, the collapsed state of the particles can be reached only at full complexation of the anionic charges whatever is the size of the polycation. This complexation study, based upon electrostatic interactions, was transposed to organic colloids contained in wastewater sludge after characterization of their charge content. The results obtained with a set of municipal sludges, issued from different steps of the wastewater treatment, evidence that flocculation proceeds through a similar mechanism to the one depicted with the anionic network model.     

Compression dewatering of municipal activated sludge: effects of salt and pH

Even after mechanical dewatering, activated sludge contains a large amount of water. Due to its composition and biological nature this material is usually highly compressible and known to be difficult to dewater. In the present work, two treatments (salt addition and pH modification) are proposed to highlight some aspects which could explain the poor dewaterability of activated sludge. Dewatering tests are carried out in a pressure-driven device in order to well examine both, filtration and compression stages. Physico-chemical parameters, such as surface charge, hydrophobicity, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) content and filtrate turbidity are measured on the tested sludge, for a better analysis of dewatering results.The dewatering ability of the sludge is widely linked to the cohesion of the flocculated matrix and the presence of fine particles. Both treatments alter the flocculated matrix and release fine particles. The release of fine particles tends to clog both, the filter cake and the filter medium. Consequently, the filtration rate decreases due to higher resistances to the flow. On another hand, the polymeric matrix breakdown enables to release some water trapped within the floc to the bulk liquid phase and thus facilitates its removal, which tends to decrease the moisture content of the filter-cake. It also impacts the compression dewatering step. The more destroyed structures lead to less elastic cakes and thus a slower primary consolidation stage. At the opposite, the mobility of the broken aggregates within the filter-cake does not seem to be improved by size reduction (the kinetics of the secondary consolidation stage are not significantly modified).     

A critical comparison of systematic calibration protocols for activated sludge models: a SWOT analysis

Modelling activated sludge systems has gained an increasing momentum after the introduction of activated sludge models (ASMs) in 1987. Application of dynamic models for full-scale systems requires essentially a calibration of the chosen ASM to the case under study. Numerous full-scale model applications have been performed so far which were mostly based on ad hoc approaches and expert knowledge. Further, each modelling study has followed a different calibration approach: e.g. different influent wastewater characterization methods, different kinetic parameter estimation methods, different selection of parameters to be calibrated, different priorities within the calibration steps, etc. In short, there was no standard approach in performing the calibration study, which makes it difficult, if not impossible, to (1) compare different calibrations of ASMs with each other and (2) perform internal quality checks for each calibration study. To address these concerns, systematic calibration protocols have recently been proposed to bring guidance to the modeling of activated sludge systems and in particular to the calibration of full-scale models. In this contribution four existing calibration approaches (BIOMATH, HSG, STOWA and WERF) will be critically discussed using a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis. It will also be assessed in what way these approaches can be further developed in view of further improving the quality of ASM calibration. In this respect, the potential of automating some steps of the calibration procedure by use of mathematical algorithms is highlighted.     

Sorption and biodegradation of sulfonamide antibiotics by activated sludge: experimental assessment using batch data obtained under aerobic conditions

This study investigated the adsorption, desorption, and biodegradation characteristics of sulfonamide antibiotics in the presence of activated sludge with and without being subjected to NaN₃ biocide. Batch experiments were conducted and the relative contributions of adsorption and biodegradation to the observed removal of sulfonamide antibiotics were determined. Three sulfonamide antibiotics including sulfamethoxazole (SMX), sulfadimethoxine (SDM), and sulfamonomethoxine (SMM), which had been detected in the influent and the activated sludge of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in Taiwan, were selected for this study. Experimental results showed that the antibiotic compounds were removed via sorption and biodegradation by the activated sludge, though biodegradation was inhibited in the first 12 h possibly due to competitive inhibition of xenobiotic oxidation by readily biodegradable substances. The affinity of sulfonamides to sterilized sludge was in the order of SDM > SMM > SMX. The sulfonamides existed predominantly as anions at the study pH of 6.8, which resulted in a low level of adsorption to the activated sludge. The adsorption/desorption isotherms were of a linear form, as well described by the Freundlich isotherm with the n value approximating unity. The linear distribution coefficients (K_d) were determined from batch equilibrium experiments with values of 28.6 ± 1.9, 55.7 ± 2.2, and 110.0 ± 4.6 mL/g for SMX, SMM, and SDM, respectively. SMX, SMM, and SDM desorb reversibly from the activated sludge leaving behind on the solids 0.9%, 1.6%, and 5.2% of the original sorption dose of 100 μg/L. The sorbed antibiotics can be introduced into the environment if no further treatments were employed to remove them from the biomass.     

Systematic study of the effect of operating variables on reactor performance and microbial diversity in laboratory-scale activated sludge reactors

Biological treatment processes are “complex systems” where many different kinds of microbes grow and interact in a dynamic manner. Understanding the relationship between microbial diversity and bioreactor performance could facilitate the optimisation of bioreactor design and enable the solution of bioreactor-related problems. However, systematic studies of the effects of operating variables on microbial diversity and reactor performance are rare. In this study, we determined the effects of different operating conditions and system configurations on the performance of laboratory-scale activated sludge reactors and microbial diversity, based on experiments designed using the factorial design approach. We found that the overall system performance and the diversity of the microbial communities in the reactors were affected by changes in the operating parameters. However, the relationship between diversity and performance was sometimes counterintuitive, as increases in system performance were not always associated with increased community diversity. Reactor configuration and addition of soil had the biggest effects on reactor performance, while the effects of organic loading rates and feed composition were less marked. Of all these parameters, reactor configuration was the only one that had a consistent effect on reactor community diversity.     

Gravity drainage of activated sludge: new experimental method and considerations of settling velocity, specific cake resistance and cake compressibility

A laboratory scale setup was used for characterization of gravitational drainage of waste activated sludge. The aim of the study was to assess how time of drainage and cake dry matter depended on volumetric load, SS content and sludge floc properties. It was demonstrated that activated sludge forms compressible cakes, even at the low pressures found in gravitational drainage. The values of specific cake resistance were two to three orders of magnitude lower than those obtained in pressure filtration. Despite the compressible nature of sludge, key macroscopic parameters such as time of drainage and cake solid content showed simple functional dependency of the volumetric load and SS of a given sludge. This suggests that the proposed method may be applied for design purposes without the use of extensive numerical modeling. The possibilities for application of this new technique are, among others, the estimation of sludge drainability prior to mechanical dewatering on a belt filter, or the application of surplus sludge on reed beds, as well as adjustments of sludge loading, concentration or sludge pre-treatment in order to optimize the drainage process.     

Effects of chromium on activated sludge and on the performance of wastewater treatment plants: A review

Chromium is a heavy metal of commercial importance, thus significant amounts are released in wastewaters. Chromium in wastewaters and in the aquatic environment is primarily encountered in oxidation stages +3 (Cr^(III)) and +6 (Cr^(VI)). Recent publications suggest that Cr^(VI) compounds are more toxic than Cr^(III) ones, while Cr^(III) has been identified as trace element, at least for complex organisms. With respect to chromium species mobility, Cr^(VI) can cross cellular membranes, which then may be oxidized to Cr^(III) and react with intracellular biomolecules. Clear conclusions cannot be derived about the critical chromium concentrations that affect activated sludge growth, as the latter is a function of a number of factors. Broadly, may be supported that activated sludge growth is stimulated at Cr^(III) concentrations up to 15 mg L⁻¹, above which is inhibited, with lethal doses lying above 160 mg Cr^(III) L⁻¹. On the other hand, literature data on Cr^(VI) effects on activated sludge are even more controversial. A number of reports support that Cr^(VI) is toxic to activated sludge at concentrations above 5 mg L⁻¹, while others report growth stimulation at concentrations up to 25 mg L⁻¹. However, all reports agree that Cr^(VI) is definitely an activated sludge growth inhibitor at higher concentrations, while 80 mg Cr^(VI) L⁻¹ have been identified as lethal dose. A number of factors have been identified to influence chromium toxicity on activated sludge, such as, pH, biomass concentration, presence of organic substances or other heavy metals, acclimation process, exposure time, etc. Naturally, the presence of chromium species in wastewaters may affect the performance of wastewater treatment plants often causing malfunctions, particularly for industrial wastewaters containing relatively high chromium concentrations. The present work reviews in a critical way the published literature on chromium effects on activated sludge, and on the operation of wastewater treatment plants.     

Aerobic batch degradation of 17-beta estradiol (E2) by activated sludge: effects of spiking E2 concentrations, MLVSS and temperatures

Aerobic batch degradation of 17beta estradiol (E2) spiked into the activated sludge liquor from a sewage treatment plant was studied; and the likely impacts of E2's initial concentrations (C0), microbial population densities (MLVSS) and temperatures (TEMPT) were examined for a variety of combinations of these three factors: C0 = 10, 30 and 50 microgl(-1); MLVSS = 1750, 875 and 435 mgl(-1); and TEMPT = 5, 20 and 35 degrees C. The results, together with those obtained through two control runs performed using a killed sludge sample, demonstrated clearly that E2 was eliminated from the aqueous phase readily under appropriate MLVSS and temperature levels, with the role of sorption by biomass being less significant. By fitting observed concentration data with a first-order rate expression, the degradation rate constants (k) under all experimental conditions were estimated. The magnitude of k changed markedly in the range of 0.23-4.79 h(-1), following a general order that the higher the MLVSS was, the higher the rate constant, and that the higher the temperature, the higher the rate constant. An obvious increasing trend of the biomass-modified average rate constant (k') with increases in the temperature was also presented: the k' values at 5, 20 and 35 degrees C were 0.79, 1.77 and 3.29l MLVSS g(-1)h(-1), respectively. Furthermore, based upon the estimated k values, the temperature coefficients (theta) over the ranges of 5-20 and 20-35 degrees C were determined. In similarity with the magnitude of theta reported for ordinary BOD-based organic matrices in domestic wastewater, the theta values of E2 varied in the range of 1.026-1.09, suggesting that the temperature impacts on the degradation rates of E2 and BOD constituents are probably similar.     

Parameter and state estimation of the activated sludge process: On-line algorithm

The Linearized Maximum Likelihood (LML) method for the simultaneous estimation of activated sludge states and parameters from noisy process measurements (Kabouris and Georgakakos, 1996a, Wat. Res., 30, 2853–2865) is simplified, in terms of its memory storage and computational requirements, for efficient on-line implementation. This is achieved by processing only the four most recent sets of 5-min on-line measurements at each estimation instance, along with the utilization of simplified estimation equations for tracking state and parameter variations, following the initial convergence period. The algorithm is tested in a computational case study involving a nitrifying activated sludge process, modelled by the IAWQ Activated Sludge Model 1 and incorporating a dynamic settling and clarification model. The on-line LML algorithm is capable of tracking the process states and parameters under dynamic conditions of process inputs and model parameters.     

Exploring the relationship between viscous bulking and ammonia-oxidiser abundance in activated sludge: A comparison of conventional and IFAS systems

This study investigated the nature of viscous sludge bulking within a molasses-fed integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) and conventional activated sludge (AS) plant by routinely measuring the total carbohydrate and protein fractions of the mixed liquor (ML). The impacts of sludge settleability and plant performance on the relative abundance of ammonia-oxidising bacteria (AOB) (Nitrosomonas oligotropha-cluster) were also investigated using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Results showed that sludge volume index (SVI) correlated positively with the amount of ML total carbohydrate in both the IFAS and traditional AS plants, highlighting the influential role that ML polysaccharide concentration plays on sludge settleability in these reactors. Results also revealed a negative relationship between the AOB/total Bacteria ratio and SVI, demonstrating that a poor settling sludge generally coincided with periods of relatively low AOB abundance. The existence of these relationships suggests that readily available organic carbon (molasses) was likely to have been present in excess in these systems. Our qPCR results also showed that concentrations of both AOB and total Bacteria genomic copies detected within the ML of the IFAS and conventional AS plants were remarkably similar. For the IFAS system, results showed that the ML supported an equivalent number of AOB (per gram of biomass) to that detected on the plastic IFAS media carriers, suggesting that the suspended biomass fraction plays an equally important role in the overall nitrification performance of these systems. Interestingly, large observed variations in AOB and AOB/total Bacteria ratio measured within both the ML and IFAS media carriers had no measurable impact on the apparent nitrification performance of these systems; indicating the presence of some excess or ‘reserve’ nitrifying capacity above that which is required for effective plant performance. Results presented here also constitute the first known side-by-side comparison of the distribution of AOB in IFAS and conventional racetrack-like AS plants at the full-scale level.     

A combined approach for a better understanding of wastewater treatment plants operation: statistical analysis of monitoring database and sludge physico-chemical characterization

Biological wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are complex systems to assess. Many parameters are recorded daily in WWTP to monitor and control the treatment process, providing huge amounts of registered data. A combined approach of extracting information from the WWTP databases by statistical methods and from the sludge physico-chemical characterization was used here for a better understanding of the WWTP operation. The monitored parameters were analysed by multivariate statistical methods: Principal Components Analysis and multiple partial linear regression. The WWTP operational conditions determine the sludge characteristics. The bacterial activity of the sludge in terms of extra-cellular polymeric substances (EPS) production was assessed using size exclusion chromatography and the internal structure of sludge flocs was observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The diagnosis of three paper mill WWTP enabled the identification of an important EPS production, the presence of the nitrification process and the presence of PO₄³⁻ nutrient in WWTP-A. These three main characteristics of WWTP-A were related with a systematically good sludge settling. In WWTP-B and C with bad settling, the bacterial activity was weak.     

Production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) by activated sludge treating municipal wastewater: effect of pH,sludge retention time (SRT), and acetate concentration in influent

In this paper, the production of biodegradable plastics polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) by activated sludge treating municipal wastewater was investigated. The effect of three operational factors, i.e. the acetate concentration in influent, pH, and sludge retention time (SRT) were studied. Sludge acclimatized with municipal wastewater supplemented with acetate could accumulate PHA up to 30% of sludge dry weight, while sludge acclimatized with only municipal wastewater achieved 20% of sludge dry weight. It was found that activated sludge with an SRT of 3 days possessed better PHA production capability than sludge with an SRT of 10 days. Sludge acclimatized under pH 7 and 8 conditions in sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) exhibited similar PHA production capability. However, in PHA production batch experiments, pH value influenced significantly the PHA accumulation behavior of activated sludge. When pH of batch experiments was controlled at 6 or 7, a very low PHA production was observed. The production of PHA was stimulated when pH was kept at 8 or 9.     

Growth, maintenance and product formation of autotrophs in activated sludge: taking the nitrite-oxidizing bacteria as an example

The autotrophs in activated sludge play an important role in biological wastewater treatment, especially in the nitrification process. Compared with the heterotrophs in activated sludge, information about the growth, maintenance, and product formation of the autotrophs is still sparse. In this work both experimental and modeling approaches are used to investigate the growth, nitrite inhibition, maintenance, and formation of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and soluble microbial products (SMP) of the autotrophs, with nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in activated sludge as an example. The unified theory for EPS and SMP is integrated into our model to describe the microbial product formation of the NOB. Extensive experiments were carried out using the NOB-enriched in a sequencing batch reactor for the calibration and validation of the developed model. Results show that the NOB spend a considerable amount of energy on maintenance processes. Their apparent growth yield is estimated to be 0.044 mg COD biomass mg⁻¹ N. The model simulations reveal that the concentrations of EPS and SMP in the NOB-enriched culture initially increase, but later decrease gradually, and that the SMP formed in the nitrite oxidation process are biodegradable.