The effects of starvation on physical characteristics of flocs in SBR for treating saline wastewater.

This study focused on the effects of starvation on physical characteristics of flocs in SBR for treating saline wastewater. Feeding was stopped for 5 and 15 days. A time response of the floc to these starvation periods was monitored as well as the removal efficiencies of pollutants. Correlation between the physical characteristics of flocs and settling of sludge was conducted. As the starvation periods were increased, there was a shift in the floc size distribution from a high proportion of large flocs to the development of small size flocs. The fractal dimension of flocs also decreased, as starvation periods were increased. From the results, the effect of starvation on SBR treating saline wastewater can be ordered as follows: COD Mn removal < floc size and fractal dimension < T-N removal < T-P removal.     

Bacterial composition of activated sludge--importance for floc and sludge properties.

Activated sludge flocs consist of numerous constituents which, together with other factors, are responsible for floc structure and floc properties. These properties largely determine the sludge properties such as flocculation, settling and dewaterability. In this paper we briefly review the present knowledge about the role of bacteria in relation to floc and sludge properties, and we present a new approach to investigate the identity and function of the bacteria in the activated sludge flocs. The approach includes identification of the important bacteria and a characterization of their physiological and functional properties. It is carried out by use of culture-independent molecular biological methods linked with other methods to study the physiology and function, maintaining a single cell resolution. Using this approach it was found that floc-forming properties differed among the various bacterial groups, e.g. that different microcolony-forming bacteria had very different sensitivities to shear and that some of them deflocculated under anaerobic conditions. In our opinion, the approach to combine identity with functional analysis of the dominant bacteria in activated sludge by in situ methods is a very promising way to investigate correlations between presence of specific bacteria, and floc and sludge properties that are of interest.     

Effects of potassium ion on sludge settling,dewatering and effluent properties

Potassium ions appear to play an important role in determining the nature of activated sludge flocs. Relative to sodium, the concentration of potassium ions in most industrial activated sludge is typically low. Laboratory and field studies were conducted to examine the influence of potassium on activated sludge properties. The concentration of potassium affected the concentration of readily extractable (slime) proteins in the floc and the proteins in the surrounding solution. In laboratory tests, an increase in this cation's concentration beyond nutrient requirements impeded sludge dewatering properties as measured by capillary suction time (CST) and specific resistance to filtration (SRF) and associated with an increase in soluble protein. An increase in effluent total organic carbon and effluent turbidity was observed at higher concentrations of this ion. Conversely, an increase in concentration of potassium ion improved the settling properties of sludge with low equivalent monovalent to divalent cation ratio.     

Characterization of the activated sludge and of the operating conditions of six SBR treating dairy effluent and operated at industrial scale.

The sludge from six SBRs treating dairy effluent and located at same geographical location, in North East of France, were collected to study their characteristic behavior. The six plants were designed and constructed by the same manufacturer and are working under quite similar operating conditions. The objective of the study was to observe if any similarity existed in the characteristics of the sludge collected from the SBRs. The sludge was characterized for morphological properties (filament index, floc size), settling, compressibility, suspended solids (SS) concentration. The sludge from each plant was different from the others in most of the characteristics. One sludge out of six (sludge G) was completely different from the others with a very degraded structure and low discrete settling and compression. This reactor was not working fully satisfactorily with a too high COD at outlet, probably because this SBR was undergoing repetitive overloading linked to a very bad recovery of the whey by the cheese maker. The five other SBRs were working fully satisfactorily but the characteristics of the five sludges were quite different from one sludge to another. The size of the flocs seemed to be the only parameter measured which could be correlated to the settling characteristics of the sludge. The sludge characteristics and the parameter correlations were also compared with that of municipal activated sludge and were found to be very different.     

絮凝体的分形特性研究

试验现象及电镜照片研究表明,絮凝体表面和内部具有高度不规则性,絮凝体的结构及其形成过程具有分形特征。从絮凝体的密度、孔隙率,絮凝体的粒径分布,絮凝体的强度、沉速,絮凝条件与分数维的关系并结合黄河泥沙试验,概述了絮凝体的分形特性及结构特征,同时对影响絮凝体分形特性的因素进行了分析。     

Influence of flocculation and settling properties of activated sludge in relation to secondary settler performance.

Floc characteristics were studied at a full scale activated sludge treatment plant with a unique process solution incorporating pre-denitrification with post-nitrification in nitrifying trickling filters. Since greater nitrogen removal is achieved when more secondary settled wastewater is recirculated to the trickling filters, the secondary settlers are always operated close to their maximal capacity. The flocculation and settling properties are therefore crucial and have an effect on the overall plant performance. Since the plant is operated at a short sludge age, these properties change quickly, resulting in variable maximal secondary settler capacity. The dynamics in floc structure and microbial community composition were studied and correlated to the secondary settler performance. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation was used to investigate the microbial community structure and their spatial distribution. The floc structure could to some extent be related to the flocculation and settling properties of the sludge. Even small differences had an influence suggesting that colloidal properties also play a significant role in determining the floc properties. No correlation between microbial community composition and settling properties could be established with the group-specific probes investigated.     

活性污泥法中的生物作用

活性污泥是由细菌、微型动物为主的微生物与悬浮物质、胶体物质混杂在一起所形成的絮凝体,通过微生物所产生的酶,氧化分解有机物,从而使水得到净化。在实际应用时要发挥其积极有利的作用,控制活性污泥膨胀,使微生物在污水处理中发挥更好的作用。     

The impact of reduced phosphorus levels on microbial floc properties during biological treatment of pulp and paper wastewaters.

The effect of limiting P in activated sludge was investigated in laboratory scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) fed effluent from a container board mill. Floc characterization included measurement of hydrophobicity, surface charge, and analysis of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Reactor performance was assessed by monitoring COD and inorganic P removal, MLSS, and sludge settleability (SVI and batch settling flux) over a period of eight months. Control reactors (BOD:N:P of 100:5:1) were compared to reactors run under P-limited conditions (100:5:0.3; 100:5:0.1). Reactor performance at lower temperatures (14 degrees C; control = 26 degrees C) was also studied to assess the impact of P-limitation. Changes in floc structure and the composition of EPS occurred within 1 to 3 days following a reduction in P levels. There was an insignificant increase in SVI; however, gravitational settling velocity and batch settling flux values for low P floc were consistently higher than for floc generated under control conditions. Lower temperatures (14 degrees C) resulted in a deterioration in floc settling properties at a BOD:N:P of 100:5:1. This impact on settling was significantly reduced at a BOD:P of 100:0.1. Reducing P concentrations in the wastewater treatment system has the potential to improve sludge settleability and reduce final P discharges.     

The duplicity of floc strength.

The breakage of flocs is dependent upon the strength of the bonds holding the aggregate together. The present work describes the breakage and re-growth behaviour of three different types of floc, these were: 1) coagulant precipitate flocs, 2) turbidity flocs and 3) organic matter flocs. Floc aggregates were exposed to increased levels of shear on a conventional jar tester and the sizes of the flocs were observed dynamically using a laser diffraction instrument. The organic flocs showed most resistance to breakage across the whole range of shears under investigation. The dynamic procedure provided detailed information on particle size distributions (PSD). Large and small scale degradation events could be identified from analysis of the PSD data. All of the flocs under investigation showed little re-growth potential after breakage. The precipitate and organic flocs showed slightly better re-aggregation of the small floc sizes.     

Nutrient conditions and reactor configuration influence floc size distribution and settling properties

Floc formation and settleability is critical for effective solid-liquid separation in many wastewater treatment processes. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between particle size distribution and nutrient conditions in different bioreactor configurations. Size distribution profiles of flocs that formed in continuous (B1), continuous with clarifier and return sludge (B2) and SBR (B3) reactors were investigated in parallel under identical nutrient conditions. An eight-fold dilution of the influent COD of a synthetic dairy processing wastewater resulted in a 'feast and famine' regime that triggered significant effects on the biomass and flocculation characteristics. Floc size analysis of reactor MLSS revealed a shift in floc sizes when reactors were fed with the minimum (famine) COD wastewater feed (0.61 g L(-1)). Increasing floc size distributions were detected for all reactors during the minimum COD feed although different size patterns were observed for different reactor configurations. These increases corresponded with variations in aggregation and EPS quantities. The SBR yielded comparatively larger flocs when operated under both COD feeds as indicated by d(0.9) values (90% of particles ≤ d in size). Overall the results indicated that floc formation and floc size are mediated by nutrient concentrations and represents an important step towards improved solid-liquid separation.     

Anaerobic processes in activated sludge

We found anoxic zones in aerated activated sludge flocs, and demonstrated denitrification under normal operating conditions. Sulfate reduction was not found. Micro-environments and microbial conversions in flocs from bulking and non-bulking activated sludge were determined with microsensors for H₂S, O₂, NO₂₋ and NO₃₋. Denitriftcation and sulfate reduction rates were measured with ¹⁵N- and ³⁵S-tracer techniques. We showed that under normal reactor conditions (ca. 20% air saturation) anoxic zones develop within flocs allowing denitrification. The denitrtftcation rates amounted to 40% of the rates under anoxic conditions. At 100% air saturation no anoxic zones were found and no denitrification occurred. However, in flocs from bulking sludge (at 20% air saturation) anoxic zones were absent and denitrification did not occur. In bulking sludge only at total anoxia was denitrification found. Confocal microscopy showed that flocs from bulking sludge were much looser than those from non-bulking sludge. The absence of anoxic zones and of denitrification was attributed to the open floc structure, allowing advective oxygen transport.Sulfate reduction was not detected in any of the sludges tested by microsensors or by tracer techniques even under anoxic conditions. This indicates that the sulfur cycle (sulfate reduction and sulfide oxidation) does not play a role in mineralization processes and bulking in activated sludge. Preliminary molecular work (in situ hybridization with the 16S-rRNA probe SRB385) indicated the presence of small amounts of sulfate reducing bacteria in all sludges. Either the probe is not specific or the sulfate reducers present are not active under reactor conditions.     

Comparison of some characteristics of aerobic granules and sludge flocs from sequencing batch reactors.

Physical, chemical and biological characteristics were investigated for aerobic granules and sludge flocs from three laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs). One reactor was operated as normal SBR (N-SBR) and two reactors were operated as granular SBRs (G-SBR1 and G-SBR2). G-SBR1 was inoculated with activated sludge and G-SBR2 with granules from the municipal wastewater plant in Garching (Germany). The following major parameters and functions were measured and compared between the three reactors: morphology, settling velocity, specific gravity (SG), sludge volume index (SVI), specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR), distribution of the volume fraction of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and bacteria, organic carbon and nitrogen removal. Compared with sludge flocs, granular sludge had excellent settling properties, good solid-liquid separation, high biomass concentration, simultaneous nitrification and denitrification. Aerobic granular sludge does not have a higher microbial activity and there are some problems including higher effluent suspended solids, lower ratio of VSS/SS and no nitrification at the beginning of cultivation. Measurement with CLSM and additional image analysis showed that EPS glycoconjugates build one main fraction inside the granules. The aerobic granules from G-SBR1 prove to be heavier, smaller and have a higher microbial activity compared with G-SBR2. Furthermore, the granules were more compact, with lower SVI and less filamentous bacteria.     

活性炭为载体的好氧颗粒污泥培养及性能研究

好氧颗粒污泥是一种应用于废水生化处理中的新型活性污泥技术,具有结构致密,沉降性能优越,生物处理能力强等特点.通过在气升式内循环间歇反应器启动阶段,接种活性污泥的同时添加活性炭颗粒(AC)的方法,缩短好氧颗粒污泥颗粒化时间,成功培养出了沉降速率大,结构稳定,除氮效果好的活性炭好氧颗粒污泥.并考察了活性污泥絮体-出现颗粒污泥-成熟颗粒污泥-储存-解体-修复的过程,验证了载体强化型好氧颗粒污泥处理低碳氮比废水的可行性.实验结果证明:活性炭好氧颗粒污泥反应器稳定运行时,COD、氨氮、总氮去除率分别可以达到80％ ～ 90％、99％、80％.将成熟活性炭好氧颗粒污泥储存12个月,经过恢复培养,物理特性及脱氮性能能够完全恢复到储存前的水平.     

The role of carbohydrate and protein parts of extracellular polymeric substances on the dewaterability of biological sludges.

There are many factors affecting the biological sludge dewaterability such as particle size distribution, floc structure, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), etc. In this research, the role of the protein and carbohydrate parts of EPS (EPS(carbohydrate), and EPS(protein)) on the dewaterability of biological sludges was investigated. The sludge EPS composition was altered by feeding the sludges of same origin, in different reactors, with synthetic media having carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratios of 8, 19 and 30 (in terms of COD/NH3-N), respectively. EPS in sludge samples were extracted by a cation exchange resin (CER). The characteristics of EPS were investigated by analytical methods and by using FT-IR spectroscopy. The dewaterability of the sludges was determined in terms of filterability and compactibility. Filterability, as filterability constant (X), and compactibility, as cake solids concentration, of sludges were determined by using the capillary suction time (CST) test and the centrifugation, respectively. The floc structure of sludge samples was also observed microscopically. Filterability and compactibility of the sludge samples were improved considerably with the increasing carbohydrate part and the decreasing protein part of the sludge EPS. EPS(protein) was inversely related to the cake solids concentration, which might be explained by the water holding capacity of EPS(protein). Filterability and compactibility of sludges improved by the increase of the size and strength of the flocs.     

Effect of chlorination bulking control on water quality and phosphate release/uptake in an anaerobic-oxic activated sludge system.

This study evaluates the effect of chlorination bulking control on water quality and phosphate release/uptake in an anaerobic-oxic activated sludge system. A series of batch experiments with different specific NaOCl mass dose were conducted to determine the sludge settling properties, supernatant water quality and phosphate metabolism behavior of filamentous bulking sludge. The harvested sludge was from a continuous-flow anaerobic-oxic (A/O) activated sludge pilot-plant, i.e., enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) system, operated with 15 days of sludge retention time. The filamentous bacteria in the A/O pilot plant were identified to be Thiothrix according to Eikelboom's classification techniques, which was in accordance with the high influent sulfate concentration of this study (50 mg/L sulfate). Increasing NaOCI concentration, as revealed by experimental results, obviously decreased the sludge settling properties (SVI values and zone settling velocities) and meanwhile significantly reduced supernatant water quality (COD, SS, TP) mainly due to higher suspended solids caused by floc disruption. Moreover, the nine-hour batch experiments indicated that high NaOCI dosage (40 mg/gMLSS) completely deteriorated phosphate metabolism of EBPR sludge. Such a high dosage of chlorination further confirmed overdosing through disappearance of intracellular PHB and death of protozoa by microscopic investigation. Still, phosphate release/uptake behavior of EBPR sludge properly functions at low NaOCl dosage (5 mg/g MLSS). Besides, phosphate metabolism worsens rapidly before the SVI value reaches its lowest level. These findings imply that determining NaOCI requirement with merely SVI values can readily result in chlorination overdosing. Proper NaOCI dosage requires a delicately balanced consideration between sludge settling improvement, water quality demand and phosphate metabolism. Batch test of phosphate release/uptake is apparently a prerequisite to conclude an appropriate NaOCl dosage for bulking control.     

Modeling the activated sludge floc microenvironment

Integrated modeling of activated sludge systems will only be complete when settling characteristics can be determined within the model. These characteristics are fundamentally related to the size, shape and porosity of both the sludge flocs and their component microcolonies. Microcolony porosity is of particular interest since it may both influence, and be influenced by, the substrate and electron acceptor gradients that establish competitive microenvironments. A model was developed to explore the relationship between biomass growth, death, and hydrolysis; soluble component diffusion and microcolony porosity. A key element of the model is the assumed distribution of daughter cells following replication. Preliminary results indicate rapid progression toward minimum porosity with relatively slow expansion of the microcolony surface. Although little is documented on porosity variation within flocs, these results contrast with observations for biofilms and may emphasize the difference between the mechanisms involved in the structural development of microcolonies and larger scale aggregates.     

Monitoring activated sludge settling properties using image analysis.

The goal of this study is to develop a monitoring system for activated sludge properties, as this is an essential tool in the battle against filamentous bulking. A fully automatic image analysis procedure for recognising and characterising flocs and filaments in activated sludge images has been optimised and subsequently used to monitor activated sludge properties in a lab-scale installation. The results of two experiments indicate that the image information correlates well with the Sludge Volume Index. It is shown that, at the onset of filamentous bulking, there is an increase in total filament length on the one hand, and a change in floc shape on the other hand.     

HYDRODYNAMICS OF FRACTAL FLOCS DURING SETTLING

The settling and hydrodynamic properties of 3-D fractal flocs in quiescent water are investigated with a numerical model based on the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM), with considering the settling velocity, hydrodynamic drag force and infra-floc flow. The comparisons of floc settling velocities and effective densities indicate that the numerical results present good agreements with observations in field and at laboratory. The results show that the drag force FD increases with the floc size df according to the relationship FD∝df3. Moreover, the intra-floc flow field and movement of the pore water provide a better understanding of the intra-floc flow from the microscopic viewpoint. The results also indicate that the lattice Boltzmann method is a promising approach to reveal the mechanisms of the flocculation in aquatic environments.     

Cost-effective upgrading of a biological wastewater treatment plant by using lamella separators with bypass operation.

Based on a comprehensive cost analysis for the expansion of the Finnentrop WWTP, integration of lamella separators in the biological treatment stage was given priority as optimal solution to increase the solids concentration. The overall expansion project included the reconstruction of the former primary clarifier into a primary settling tank with short retention times and the use of the remaining volume for pre-denitrification. Four lamella separators were positioned in the existing carousel-type activated sludge tank. With the lamella assemblies ensuring it was possible to continue operation of the existing secondary settling tanks. To control an adequate solids concentration in the activated sludge tank and to avoid any overloading of the secondary settling tank, a newly developed bypass strategy was applied. With a controlled mixing of direct effluent from the lamella separators and the contents of the activated sludge tank, the solids concentration of the influent to the secondary settling tank could be maintained at a value of 2.2 kg/m(3). The lamella separator concept did not account for any significant changes in the sludge characteristics, and the overall elimination of nutrients and organic carbon was found to be excellent upon optimisation of the operational lamella strategy.