Two-stage thermophilic-mesophilic anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge from a biological nutrient removal plant.

A two-stage thermophilic-mesophilic anaerobic digestion pilot-plant was operated solely on waste activated sludge (WAS) from a biological nutrient removal (BNR) plant. The first-stage thermophilic reactor (HRT 2 days) was operated at 47, 54 and 60 degrees C. The second-stage mesophilic digester (HRT 15 days) was held at a constant temperature of 36-37 degrees C. For comparison with a single-stage mesophilic process, the mesophilic digester was also operated separately with an HRT of 17 days and temperature of 36-37 degrees C. The results showed a truly thermophilic stage (60 degrees C) was essential to achieve good WAS degradation. The lower thermophilic temperatures examined did not offer advantages over single-stage mesophilic treatment in terms of COD and VS removal. At a thermophilic temperature of 60 degrees C, the plant achieved 35% VS reduction, representing a 46% increase compared to the single-stage mesophilic digester. This is a significant level of degradation which could make such a process viable in situations where there is no primary sludge generated. The fate of the biologically stored phosphorus in this BNR sludge was also investigated. Over 80% of the incoming phosphorus remained bound up with the solids and was not released into solution during the WAS digestion. Therefore only a small fraction of phosphorus would be recycled to the main treatment plant with the dewatering stream.     

Mesophilic-thermophilic-mesophilic anaerobic digestion of liquid dairy cattle manure.

The potential of a mesophilic-thermophilic-mesophilic anaerobic digestion system was investigated with respect to improvement of both digestion and sanitation efficiencies during treatment of liquid cattle manure. The pilot plant produced a high methane yield from liquid dairy cattle manure of 0.24 m3 (kg VSfed)(-1) Considering the low system loading rate of 1.4-1.5 kg VS (m3 d)(-1), digestion efficiency compared to conventional processes did not appear improved. The minimum guaranteed retention time in the tubular thermophilic reactor was increased compared to a continuously stirred tank reactor. Levels of intestinal enterococci in raw liquid manure as determined with cultivation methods were reduced by 2.5 -3 log units to a level of around 10(2) cfu/mL. This sanitizing effect was achieved both during mesophilic-thermophilic-mesophilic and thermophilic-mesophilic treatment, provided the thermophilic digester was operated at 53-55 degrees C. A change in feeding interval from 1 h to 4 h did not significantly alter methane yield and sanitation efficiency. It was proposed that a two-stage, thermophilic-mesophilic anaerobic digestion system would be able to achieve the same sanitizing effect and equal or better digestion efficiency at lower costs.     

Effect of thermal alkaline pretreatment on the anaerobic digestion of wasted activated sludge

The effect of alkaline pretreatment of waste-activated sludge, using two models to study the sequential hydrolysis rates of suspended (Sanders' surface model) and dissolved (Goel's saturation model) solids, on the mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion rate is evaluated. The pretreatment, which reduces the size of the solids, increases the reaction rate by increasing the surface area and the specific surface hydrolysis constant (K(SBK)); at thermophilic conditions from 0.45 x 10(-3) kg m(-2) d(-1) for the fresh sludge to 0.74 x 10(-3) kg m(-2) d(-1) for the pretreated sludge and at mesophilic conditions these values are 0.28 x 10(-3) kg m(-2) d(-1) and 0.47 x 10(-3) kg m(-2) d(-1) confirming the usefulness of a pretreatment for solids reduction. But for soluble solids, the thermoalkaline pretreatment decreases the reaction rates by inducing a competitive inhibition on the thermophilic anaerobic digestion rate while in the mesophilic range, a non-competitive inhibition is observed. A mathematical simulation of the consecutive reactions, suspended solids to dissolved solids and to methane in staged anaerobic thermophilic-mesophilic digestion, shows that with 4% suspended solids concentration it is better not to use a thermoalkaline pretreatment because overall solids reduction and total methane production are not as good as without pretreatment.     

Thermal pre-treatment of primary and secondary sludge at 70 degrees C prior to anaerobic digestion.

In general, mesophilic anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge is more widely used compared to thermophilic digestion, mainly because of the lower energy requirements and higher stability of the process. However, the thermophilic anaerobic digestion process is usually characterised by accelerated biochemical reactions and higher growth rate of microorganisms resulting in an increased methanogenic potential at lower hydraulic retention times. Furthermore, thermal pre-treatment is suitable for the improvement of stabilization and could be realized at relatively low cost especially at low temperatures. The present study investigates the effect of the pre-treatment at 70 degrees C on thermophilic (55 degrees C) anaerobic digestion of primary and secondary sludge in continuously operated digesters. Thermal pre-treatment of primary and secondary sludge at 70 degrees C enhanced the removal of organic matter and the methane production during the subsequent anaerobic digestion step at 55 degrees C. It also greatly contributed to the destruction of pathogens present in primary sludge. Finally it results in enhanced microbial activities of the subsequent anaerobic step suggesting that the same efficiencies in organic matter removal and methane recovery could be obtained at lower HRTs.     

Relative kinetics of anaerobic digestion under thermophilic and mesophilic conditions

With several advantages over the conventional mesophilic anaerobic digestion, such as better sludge quality and higher biogas production, thermophilic anaerobic digestion is regarded as a promising alternative for sludge digestion. Primary and activated sludges are complex materials, and historically, analysis of kinetics has been largely on whole sludge, without analysis of individual components. This paper analyses relative digestion kinetics of pure substrates designed to target main stages of sludge digestion under thermophilic and mesophilic conditions. Hydrolysis rate of cellulose was significantly influenced by temperature with hydrolysis coefficients of--at 55 degrees C (0.7 +/- 0.1 day(-1)), 60 degrees C (0.8 +/- 0.2 day(-1)), 65 degrees C (1.1 +/- 0.2 day(-1)) and 70 degrees C (1.2 +/- 0.2 day(-1)) over 38 degrees C (0.4 +/- 0.1 day(-1)). This strongly follows the Arrhenius relationship, with an activation energy (E(A)) of 31 +/- 4 kJ mol(-1), corresponding to an increase of 1.5x for each 10 degrees C of temperature increase. Glucose uptake was rapid with a wide variety of fermentation products detected under mesophilic conditions, while uptake was slower under thermophilic conditions with acetate and propionate being dominant products. Propionate acetogenesis and acetate-utilizing methanogenesis kinetics were not influenced by temperatures. Hydrolysis is widely regarded as a rate-limiting step in sludge digestion, thus improvements in hydrolysis rates as measured during this study have the potential for significant improvements in overall apparent sludge digestion rates.     

An innovative sludge management system based on separation of primary and secondary sludge treatment.

An innovative sludge management system based on separation of treatment and disposal of primary and secondary sludge is discussed with reference to a sewage treatment plant of 500,000 equivalent person capacity. Secondary sludge, if treated separately from primary sludge, can be recovered in agriculture considering its relatively high content of nitrogen and phosphorus and negligible presence of pathogens and micropollutants. One typical outlet for primary sludge is still incineration which can be optimised by rendering the process auto thermal and significantly reducing the size of the incineration plant units (dryer, fluidised bed furnace, boiler and units for exhaust gas treatment) in comparison with those required for mixed sludge incineration. Biogas produced in anaerobic digestion is totally available for energy conversion when sludge treatment separation is performed, while in the other case a large proportion may be used as fuel in incineration, thus reducing the net electric energy conversion from 0.85-0.9 to 0.35-0.4 MW for the plant considered.     

Continuous thermal hydrolysis and energy integration in sludge anaerobic digestion plants.

A thermal hydrolysis pilot plant with direct steam injection heating was designed and constructed. In a first period the equipment was operated in batch to verify the effect of sludge type, pressure and temperature, residence time and solids concentration. Optimal operation conditions were reached for secondary sludge at 170 degrees C, 7 bar and 30 minutes residence time, obtaining a disintegration factor higher than 10, methane production increase by 50% and easy centrifugation In a second period the pilot plant was operated working with continuous feed, testing the efficiency by using two continuous anaerobic digester operating in the mesophilic and thermophilic range. Working at 12 days residence time, biogas production increases by 40-50%. Integrating the energy transfer it is possible to design a self-sufficient system that takes advantage of this methane increase to produce 40% more electric energy.     

Biodegradation of PAH and DEHP micro-pollutants in mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic sewage sludge digestion.

Anaerobic digestion for the treatment of sludge in wastewater treatment plants has been reported to produce a low organic loaded effluent with an acceptable economic cost. But in the last years, new regulations and the increasing sludge production invite us to find an alternative and/or to improve the process efficiency. Moreover, the use of the effluent as fertilizer in agriculture imposes more restrictions on digestion process product and its micropollutant contents to protect the environment. In this study, a performance of the anaerobic digestion under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions at different hydraulic retention times (HRT) is assessed and the removal efficiencies of two important compounds or family compounds (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, PAH, and Di-2-(Ethyl-Hexyl)-Phthalate, DEHP) are evaluated. A positive effect of thermophilic temperature was observed on both micropollutants' biodegradation. However, HRT effect also had an important role for DEHP and low molecular weighted PAH removal.     

Sludge as source of energy and revenue.

Sludge is a residue/product from wastewater treatment plants and contains most of the contaminants released during human activities. Some stringent environmental regulations on sludge treatment and disposal exist in many countries. This has resulted in increasing interest in sludge treatment methods that encourage sludge reduction and improvement in biogas production during anaerobic digestion processes. This work demonstrates the first exploitation of valuable energy from homogenised sludge at technical scale with mass reduction. The optimal combination of sludge homogenisation at relatively low pressures using a modified high-pressure homogeniser led to the success of this unique project. Results showed that about 30% more energy could be obtained from thickened and disrupted sludge than from untreated samples. The energy produced was higher than that invested during disruption and digestion processes. About 23% sludge reduction was also observed with no increase in chemical oxygen demand. This new process can produce extra energy for local electrification and heating the digester while the sludge reduction provides economic benefits. Concentration of sludge causes reduction in investment cost on digester as well as reduction in operational time for sludge dewatering.     

Digestion of sludge and organic waste in the sustainability concept for Malm?, Sweden.

Anaerobic digestion of sludge has been part of the treatment plant in Malm? for many years and several projects on optimisation of the digestion process have been undertaken in full scale as well as in pilot scale. In order to facilitate a more sustainable solution in the future for waste management, solid waste organic waste is sorted out from households for anaerobic treatment in a newly built city district. The system for treatment of the waste is integrated in a centralised solution located at the existing wastewater treatment plant. A new extension of the digester capacity enables separate as well as co-digestion of sludge together with urban organic waste from households, industry, restaurants, big kitchens, food stores, supermarkets, green markets etc. for biogas production and production of fertiliser. Collection and pre-treatment of different types of waste are in progress together with examination of biogas potential for different types of organic waste. Collection of household waste as well as anaerobic digestion in laboratory and pilot scale has been performed during the last year. It is demonstrated that organic household waste can be digested separately or in combination with sludge. In the latter case a higher biogas yield is found than should be expected from digestion of the two materials separately. Household waste from a system based on collection of organic waste from grinders could be digested at mesophilic conditions whereas digestion failed at thermophilic conditions.     

Identification of mesophilic and thermophilic fermentative species in anaerobic granular sludge.

Large quantities of biodegradable food waste in the form of fruit and vegetables are still being deposited in landfill sites in Ireland. The development of an anaerobic digestion process using fermentative species which degrade the carbohydrate-rich waste could divert the food waste from landfills. We identified fermentative species grown on glucose and sucrose at mesophilic and thermophilic temperatures using molecular biology techniques. The dominating fermentative bacteria of the mesophilic sludge were of the Bacteroidetes and Spirochaetes classes. Although both groups of bacteria are typically fermentative their substrate range appears to be limited. The dominating fermentative bacteria in the thermophilic sludge was Thermoanaerobacterium aotearoense of the Clostridia class. The indications are that Thermoanaerobacterium aotearoense may be highly suitable to biodegrade a carbohydrate-rich influent feed due to its possibly very rapid growth rate and also an extensive substrate range.     

Enhancement of the conventional anaerobic digestion of sludge: comparison of four different strategies

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is the preferred option to stabilize sludge. However, the rate limiting step of solids hydrolysis makes it worth modifing the conventional mesophilic AD in order to increase the performance of the digester. The main strategies are to introduce a hydrolysis pre-treatment, or to modify the digestion temperature. Among the different pre-treatment alternatives, the thermal hydrolysis (TH) at 170 degrees C for 30 min, and the ultrasounds pre-treatment (US) at 30 kJ/kg TS were selected for the research, while for the non-conventional anaerobic digestion, the thermophilic (TAD) and the two-stage temperature phased AD (TPAD) were considered. Four pilot plants were operated, with the same configuration and size of anaerobic digester (200 L, continuously fed). The biogas results show a general increase compared to the conventional digestion, being the highest production per unit of digester for the process combining the thermal pre-treatment and AD (1.4 L biogas/L digester day compared to the value of 0.26 obtained in conventional digesters). The dewaterability of the digestate became enhanced for processes TH + AD and TPAD when compared with the conventional digestate, while it became worse for processes US + AD and TAD. In all the research lines, the viscosity in the digester was smaller compared to the conventional (which is a key factor for process performance and economics), and both thermal pre-treatment and thermophilic digestion (TAD and TPAD) assure a pathogen free digestate.     

Membrane-coupled anaerobic digestion of municipal sewage sludge.

Membrane-coupled anaerobic digestion utilizes a concept of simultaneous sludge digestion and thickening. Membranes may successfully be applied to eliminate the need for thickening polymers and avoid their likely inhibitory effect on anaerobic biomass. A 550 L completely mixed anaerobic digester was operated under mesophilic conditions (35 degrees C). Two ultrafiltration membrane systems were evaluated for their potential in membrane-coupled anaerobic digestion: vibrating and cross flow. A volatile solids reduction of 590% was achieved at an average mixed liquor suspended solids concentration of 1.8%. The substrate utilization rate was 1.3 d(-1). The vibrating membrane operated at a flux of 1.6-2.0 m3/m2-d and the tubular membrane fluxes in the range 3.4-3.6 m3/m2-d.     

The main wastewater treatment plant of Vienna: an example of cost effective wastewater treatment for large cities.

Two-stage activated sludge plants succeed in stable treatment efficiency concerning carbon removal and nitrification with far less reactor tank volume than conventional single stage systems. In case of large treatment plants this fact is of great economic relevance. Because of the very small specific volume of these two-stage treatment plants in comparison with low loaded single-stage plants, internal cycles have to be applied to ensure sufficient nitrogen removal. Due to these internal cycles two stage activated sludge plants offer many possibilities in terms of process management which results in new process optimisation procedures as compared to conventional single-stage nutrient removal treatment plants. The proposed extension concept for the Main Treatment Plant of Vienna was validated with pilot plant investigations especially with regard to nitrogen removal where it proved to comply with the legal requirements. The operation of the treatment plant can easily be adapted to changes in temperature and sludge volume index occurring in full scale practice. Sludge retention time and aerobic volume in the second stage are controlled in order to secure sufficient nitrification capacity and to optimise nitrogen removal by means of the variation of the loading conditions for the two stages. The investigations confirmed that the specific two-stage activated sludge concept applied in Vienna is an economically advantageous alternative for large wastewater treatment plants with stringent requirements for nitrification and nutrient removal.     

Comparison of different thickening methods for active biomass recycle for anaerobic digestion of wastewater sludge

The effect of returning solids to the digester, after one of three thickening processes, on volatile solids reduction (VSR) and gas production was investigated. Three different thickening methods were compared: centrifugation, flotation and gravitational sedimentation. The amount and activity of retained biomass in thickened recycled sludge affected the efficiency of digestion. Semi-continuous laboratory digesters were used to study the influence of thickening processes on thermophilic sludge digestion efficiency. Centrifugation was the most effective method used and caused an increase of VSR from 43% (control) up to 70% and gas generation from 0.40 to 0.44 L g(-1) VS. Flotation and gravitational sedimentation ways of thickening appeared to be less effective if compared with centrifugation. These methods increased VSR only by up to 65 and 51%, respectively and showed no significant increase of gas production. The dewatering capacity of digested sludge, as measured by its specific resistance to filtration, was essentially better for the sludge digested in the reactors with centrifugated and settled recycle. The VS concentration of recycle (g L(-1)), as reflecting the amount of retained biomass, appeared to be one of the most important factors influencing the efficiency of sludge digestion in the recycling technology.     

Life cycle assessment of an intensive sewage treatment plant in Barcelona (Spain) with focus on energy aspects

Life Cycle Assessment was used to evaluate environmental impacts associated to a full-scale wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Barcelona Metropolitan Area, with a treatment capacity of 2 million population equivalent, focussing on energy aspects and resources consumption. The wastewater line includes conventional pre-treatment, primary settler, activated sludge with nitrogen removal, and tertiary treatment; and the sludge line consists of thickening, anaerobic digestion, cogeneration, dewatering and thermal drying. Real site data were preferably included in the inventory. Environmental impacts of the resulting impact categories were determined by the CLM 2 baseline method. According to the results, the combustion of natural gas in the cogeneration engine is responsible for the main impact on Climate Change and Depletion of Abiotic Resources, while the combustion of biogas in the cogeneration unit accounts for a minor part. The results suggest that the environmental performance of the WWTP would be enhanced by increasing biogas production through improved anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge.     

我国城市污水处理厂污泥产沼气的前景分析

污泥厌氧消化具有稳定污泥和回收能量以及处理后污泥可作农肥的突出优点.我国城市污水处理厂污泥多,污泥厌氧消化的推广空间巨大.污泥厌氧消化推广的主要问题是规模较小、投资高、技术复杂、维修量大等,而沼气利用不理想大大削弱了该工艺的优势.必须降低投资、简化运行和提高沼气利用的效益,加速研究配套政策,才能改变投入高、产出低的现状,才能使污泥厌氧消化成为污泥处理的首选工艺.     

Improvement of anaerobic digestion of sludge.

Anaerobic digestion improvement can be accomplished by different methods. Besides optimization of the process conditions, pretreatment of input sludge and increase of process temperature is frequently used. The thermophilic process brings a higher solids reduction and biogas production, a high resistance to foaming, no problems with odour, better pathogens destruction and an improvement of the energy balance of the whole treatment plant. Disintegration of excess activated sludge in a lysate centrifuge was proved to cause increase of biogas production in full-scale conditions. The rapid thermal conditioning of digested sludge is an acceptable method of particulate matter disintegration and solubilization.     

Cost-effective solutions for sewage treatment in developing countries--the case of Brazil.

Cost-effective solutions are a must in developing countries, not only regarding investment costs, but also in respect to technology and operating practices. With these two goals in mind, in Brazil a particular effort has been directed for the development and application of the Chemical Enhanced Primary Treatment (CEPT) process and of the Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) process, both followed by complementary secondary treatment. Both technologies are under current expansion in Brazil. Large CEPT plants have been designed and built, up to 3.7 m3/s average design flow, as well as large UASB reactors, up to 3.0 m3/s average design flow. The applied technologies are cost-effective: they present low investment and efficiencies of BOD removal of up to 50% to 70%. They allow the plant construction in steps, an initial phase with efficiency over the usual primary treatment, and in order to achieve best effluent quality and meet legal water quality standards, a logic upgrade post-treatment can later on be implemented. The higher initial reduction of BOD and TSS also permits savings in construction and operational costs of secondary treatment, due to lower organic load and lower energy consumption. Sludge represents a particular point of attention: in the cases when the CEPT was used, Chemical Stabilisation of the Sludge (CSS) has also been practiced, eliminating the high construction costs of the digesters, all the plant staying chemically operated. In the cases when the UASB is used preceding secondary treatment, sludge can easily return to the anaerobic vessel, the costly sludge digestion unit being avoided. UASB reactors have practically no equipment in the anaerobic vessel, no energy consumption, low sludge production, and when applied in hot climates as in Brazil, heating devices are not required. The Brazilian experience, some particular cases, special comments on design and different secondary treatment processes are presented in this paper, as a contribution to the discussion of cost and benefits, a prime point to be considered.     

Potentials and limits of anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge: energy self-sufficient municipal wastewater treatment plant?

Anaerobic digestion is the only energy-positive technology widely used in wastewater treatment. Full-scale data prove that the anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge can produce biogas that covers a substantial amount of the energy consumption of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). In this paper, we discuss possibilities for improving the digestion efficiency and biogas production from sewage sludge. Typical specific energy consumptions of municipal WWTPs per population equivalent are compared with the potential specific production of biogas to find the required/optimal digestion efficiency. Examples of technological measures to achieve such efficiency are presented. Our findings show that even a municipal WWTP with secondary biological treatment located in a moderate climate can come close to energy self-sufficiency. However, they also show that such self-sufficiency is dependent on: (i) the strict optimization of the total energy consumption of the plant, and (ii) an increase in the specific biogas production from sewage sludge to values around 600 L per kg of supplied volatile solids.