腐殖土改善活性污泥沉降与脱水性能的研究

考察了腐殖土对活性污泥沉降和脱水性能的改善效果.结果表明,投加腐殖土可显著改善污泥的沉降和脱水性能,随着腐殖土投量的增加,活性污泥的初沉速度、压缩比、泥饼含固率均明显提高,污泥容积指数(SVI)、污泥比阻(SRF)及毛细吸水时间(CST)均明显降低;当活性污泥浓度为2 300 mg/L、腐殖土的投加量为5.0 g/L时,污泥的初沉速度由原来的1.72 m/h增至3.01m/h,压缩比由原来的2.86增至7.14,SVI由原来的152 mL/g降至61 mL/g;当污泥浓度为7 300mg/L、腐殖土的投加量为5.0 g/L时,污泥比阻由原来的1.33×1012m/kg降至5.7×1011m/kg,CST由原来的20.3 s降至15.7 s,泥饼含固率由原来的13.4%增至33.0%.     

Effects of starvation and nutrient depletion on the settling properties of activated sludge

Nutrient starvation of aerated activated-sludge in a batch reactor without recycle, caused a rapid utilization of the intracellular storage polymer poly-3-hydroxy butyrate (PHB) and a decline in sludge respiration rate. During this period sludge settleability, as determined by SSVI and ease of dewatering, as measured by specific resistance to filtration, declined markedly. There was no change in sludge exopolysaccharide concentration or composition during the starvation period and loss of settling ability was attributed to extensive cell lysis, producing changes in floc structure from firm, round, flocs to pin-point flocs. Appearance of filamentous bacteria during starvation suggests that these organisms have a growth rate advantage at low nutrient concentrations; the implications of this in the control of bulking sludges is discussed. Starvation of activated sludges appears to offer an ideal laboratory model to study environmental factors implicated in sludge flocculation.     

Enhanced sludge dewatering by dual polyelectrolytes conditioning

Sludge dewatering by dual polyelectrolytes conditioning was investigated in this study. Single polyelectrolyte is utilized in sludge conditioning conventionally, in which charge neutralization and bridging are involved in the reactions. In the current study, both cationic and non-ionic polyelectrolytes were utilized simultaneously in the conditioning. Waste activated sludge was sampled from a synthetic fiber plant, and used in the experiment. Capillary suction time (CST), specific resistance to filtration (SRF), and settling rate were used to evaluate the sludge dewatering behaviors. Zeta potentials were also measured. Sludge dewatering behaviors resulting from single and dual polyelectrolytes conditioning were compared. It was found that sludge conditioned with dual polyelectrolytes performed better in fine particle capture and in the formation of larger flocs that resulted in a better dewaterability and less chance of overdosing. The dosing sequence in dual polyelectrolytes also affected the sludge dewaterability. Reaction mechanisms in dual polyelectrolyte conditioning were proposed based on enhanced flocculation of sludge particles.     

Physical characteristics of the sludge in a complete retention membrane bioreactor

Sludge physical characteristics play an important role in the operation of membrane bioreactors (MBR) due to their influence on filtration and their effects on handling of excess sludge. These systems are designed to maintain high solid concentrations, thus limiting sludge production and the related operational costs of the process. In this study, the sludge from a bench scale MBR operated for about 1 year with complete solid retention was investigated to assess its physical and rheological properties. Concentrations of mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) up to 24 gTSSL(-1) affected the diluted sludge volume index (DSVI), the capillary suction time (CST), the specific resistance to filtration (SRF) and the compressibility (s). The MBR sludge displayed similar dewatering properties of conventional waste activated sludge, suggesting that the upgrade of wastewater treatment plants with the MBR technology would not affect the behaviour of the dewatering equipment. The apparent viscosity was expressed as a function of the MLSS and the experimental data were interpreted by comparing different models. Ostwald model was chosen, and two equations for viscosity were proposed. The thixotropy of MBR sludge was also evaluated by measuring the reduced hysteresis area (rHa) and relating this parameter to the characteristics of the sludge. The evaluation of energy consumption for mixing evidenced that, under the tested conditions, the increase of solid concentration from 3 to 30 gTSSL(-1) resulted in a limited increase of energy requirements (25-30%).     

Relationship between floc composition and flocculation and settling properties studied at a full scale activated sludge plant

The variation in activated sludge floc composition, flocculation and settling properties was studied at a full scale plant over a 2-year period. A comprehensive set of process parameters was analysed and related to the floc properties to increase the understanding of the factors affecting floc formation. The composition of the activated sludge showed a seasonal change with higher concentrations of extractable extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) during the winter months. The protein content of the total sludge and EPS increased significantly during the winter. This coincided with higher effluent suspended solids concentrations and increased shear sensitivity of the sludge flocs. Only poor correlations between EPS contents and stirred sludge volume index (SSVI) could be observed. High iron concentrations in the sludge due to dosage of iron salt to precipitate phosphorus were found to have a negative impact on the settling and compaction properties of the sludge, whereas it had a positive impact on floc stability. Higher organic loading due to by-passed primary settlers leads to improved settling and compaction properties.     

Co-conditioning and dewatering of chemical sludge and waste activated sludge

The conditioning and dewatering behaviors of chemical and waste activated sludges from a tannery were studied. Capillary suction time (CST), specific resistance to filtration (SRF), and bound water content were used to evaluate the sludge dewatering behaviors. Zeta potentials were also measured. Experiments were conducted on each sludge conditioned and dewatered separately, and on the sludge mixed at various ratios. Results indicate that the chemical sludge was relatively difficult to be dewatered, even in the presence of polyelectrolyte. When the waste activated sludge was mixed with the chemical sludge at ratios of 1:1 and 2:1, respectively, the dewaterability of chemical sludge improved remarkably while the relatively better dewaterability of the waste activated sludge deteriorated only to a limited extent. As the mixing ratios became 4:1 and 8:1, the dewaterability of the mixed sludge was equal to that of the waste activated sludge. The optimal polyelectrolyte dosage for the mixed sludge was equal to or less than that of the waste activated sludge. It is proposed that the chemical sludges act as skeleton builders that reduce the compressibility of the mixed sludge whose dewaterability is enhanced. Bound water contents of sludge decreased at low polyelectrolyte dosage and were not significantly affected as polyelectrolyte dosage increased. Advantages and disadvantages of co-conditioning and dewatering chemical sludge and waste activated sludge were discussed.     

Ecological study of activated sludge settling property in the completely mixed system

The bulking problem associated with both nitrogen-rich and nitrogen-deficient activated sludges was thoroughly investigated under a DO sufficient condition in the completely-mixed continuous flow system. The reactor temperature was controlled at 27 ± 1°C and the pH was maintained at nearly equal to 7.0. The activated sludge cultures were acclimated under various organic loadings and their settling characteristics were determined by sludge volume index and zone settling velocity. The contents of sludge protein and carbohydrate along with the cell surface charge were examined for understanding the correlation between sludge composition and sludge settleability. Also, the major types of long-length filaments existed in the bulky activated sludge were identified. Moreover, the effect of sludge settleability on effluent quality was determined.     

Lignite aided dewatering of digested sewage sludge

Mechanical dewatering is commonly used to increase the solids content of municipal sludge prior to its disposal. However, if the rate of filtration is slow, mechanical dewatering can be expensive. In this study, the use of lignite to improve the sludge dewatering is investigated. The effectiveness of lignite conditioning of polyelectrolyte-flocculated sludge is examined using mechanical compression tests. Results show that lignite conditioning in conjunction with polyelectrolyte flocculation gives much better dewatering than the polyelectrolyte flocculation alone. Using Darcy's filtration theory, the specific cake resistance and permeability of the compressed cakes are obtained. Both of these parameters are significantly improved after lignite conditioning. Mercury porosimetry tests on compressed cakes show that the porosity of the lignite-conditioned sludge cake is much higher than that of the polyelectrolyte-flocculated sludge and it increases with increasing doses of lignite. The mercury porosimetry results show that the lignite pore volume of pores greater than 0.5 μm are reduced with increasing sludge ratio indicating that sludge is trapped within these pores, whereas smaller pores are unaffected. The yield stress curves for sludge, lignite and sludge-lignite mixtures show that the sludge filter cake is very compressible, but the lignite-conditioned cake has a range of compressibility which although more than lignite indicate that the cake is relatively incompressible at low pressures. Thus, lignite conditioning acts to maintain the permeability of the filter cake during compression dewatering by resisting cake compression. This leads to a trade-off between the rate of dewatering and the solids content of the compressed cake. With lignite conditioning, the dewatering rate can be increased by a factor of five for the same degree of water removal.     

Dewatering characteristics of sludge conditioned by surfactant with bioleaching pretreatment

In view of the merits of bioleaching and surfactant for sludge treatment, the possibility of surfactant with bioleaching pretreatment applied to improve sludge dewaterability was investigated in this work. The results showed that cetyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (CTAC) with bioleaching pretreatment was highly efficient in dewatering sludge. The optimal CTAC dosage and bioleaching pH for this combination were 120 mg/g (dry solids) and 3.55, respectively, under which the water content of filtrated cake was 68.94% and the specific resistance to filtration was 0.12 × 10¹³ m/kg with a reduction of 94.92%. Although CTAC and bioleaching both had positive effects on sludge dewatering, their combination was more efficient. The significant enhancement of sludge dewaterability was mainly contributed from the breakage and charge neutralization of sludge flocs, and the release of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). In addition, the positive correlation between supernatant EPS concentration and sludge dewaterability was observed under experimental conditions.     

高压静电场促进活性污泥絮体沉淀的试验研究

将带有绝缘层的金属电极接通高压静电后置入沉淀筒中，通过对比试验考察了施加高压静电场对活性污泥絮体沉淀的影响。结果表明，施加高压静电场能够明显促进活性污泥絮体的沉淀，但促沉效果受污泥浓度（SS）、电极入水长度（L）、电压（U）等因素影响。促沉效果随SS的增大而变差；SS不同则最佳的L也不同，L值过大或过小时促沉效果都不好；当电压≤20kV时，促沉效果随电压的增加而提高，20kV时的总体促沉效果较好。当SS〈2．5g／L（SVI为300～400mL／g）和SS〈4．5g／L（SVI为100mL／g左右）时，施加高压静电场可使SV减小20％～30％。此外，经高压静电场处理后对COD、浊度的去除速度加快，而DO值下降，电导率和pH值则变化不大。     

Compression and swelling of activated sludge cakes during dewatering

A drainage/filtration apparatus was developed for automatically determining sedimentation velocity and dewatering rate. Pressure-step testing was used to study filter cake compressibility, resistance, and swelling. Activated sludge was analysed, and the data indicate that the sludge is highly compressible even at low pressures (10 kPa). Furthermore, compressed sludge cakes swell if the pressure is released. Hence, the average specific cake resistance decreases if the pressure is released, though the resistance is higher after the compression cycle than before. Sludge must be dewatered under low pressure, because higher pressure only compresses the cake and does not improve the dewatering rate.     

Effect of acid and surfactant treatment on activated sludge dewatering and settling.

The effect of pretreating activated sludge with sulfuric acid and surfactant on its exocellular polymer(ECP), dewaterability and settleability was investigated. It was observed that the centrifugal dewatering efficiency was increased with the decrease of sludge pH value, and which was further improved if the surfactant was simultaneously applied. However, to the filtration dewatering, the water content reached the minimum in the case of pH 2.5, and the additional use of surfactant was also favorable. The water content of sludge dewatered with filtration reached 73.99% when a pH 2.5 and a 0.1 g surfactant were employed, which was reduced by around 2% as compared with surfactant unused. Experimental results indicated that the sludge sedimentation rate was significantly accelerated under pH 2.5 condition, and which was increased once more by the utilization of surfactant. Further studies revealed that treating activated sludge with sulfuric acid at pH 2.5 or combined with surfactant was an effective method to remove the polymers from sludge surface and induced the decrease of ECP, which resulted in the improvement of dewaterability and settleability. This study suggested the potentiality of improving activated sludge mechanical dewaterability by the use of sulfuric acid to control its pH at 2.5 or together with a surfactant.     

Influence of process loading intensity on sludge clarification and thickening characteristics

The separation of microbial mass in an activated sludge system depends on the formation of large settleable sludge flocs. Microbial cells agglomerate into small clumps and subsequently into sludge flocs by a natural bioflocculation process. The resulting biological mass may exist as individual cells, small aggregates, or large flocs in the aeration basin effluent. In the secondary clarifier, only large flocs are separated by sedimentation while individual cells and small aggregates are washed out as effluent suspended solids.

In the present study, the separation of sludge by sedimentation was shown to be closely related to the surface roughness of the resulting flocs. Normal sludges were observed to have relatively smooth surfaces while filamentous and zoogloeal bulking sludges were noted to have rough and diffused surfaces. The filamentous growths and the non-filamentous protuberances on the bulking sludge surface serve to increase the frictional drag between the moving solid and the liquid. This contributes to a lower settling velocity and associated dewatering rate of bulking sludges.

Conversely, the quantity of non-settleable solids was shown to be related to the quantity of extracellular biopolymers excreted by the microorganisms. The quantity of biopolymers produced decreased for higher Process Loading Intensity or lower sludge age levels thereby resulting in poor aggregation of cells into clumps and subsequently into flocs. This contributes to low clarification efficiencies of the activated sludge process.     

Filtration properties of aerobic stabilized primary and mixed primary-chemical (alum) sludge

The filtration properties of aerobic stabilized primary and mixed primary-chemical (alum) sludges have been studied in terms of capillary suction time (CST), specific resistance to filtration and coefficient of compressibility. The sludges were taken from “continuous” flow laboratory aerobic digesters, with detention times ranging from 5 to 35 days held at 7, 12, 18 and 25°C.Specific resistance to filtration and capillary suction time for both primary and mixed primary-chemical sludge generally improved with increasing detention times in the digester, except for the sludges stabilized at 7°C which remained almost unchanged. Mixed primary-chemical sludge showed better filtration properties than primary sludge alone. A fairly good correlation was found between specific resistance to filtration and CST divided by percentage of suspended solids in the sludge sample. The sludge compressibility increased with increasing detention time in the digester for both types of sludges investigated. Anoxic storage of aerobically stabilized sludges caused an increase in specific resistance to filtration.     

Characterization of activated sludge flocs by confocal laser scanning microscopy and image analysis

In this study we present a new approach to determine volumes, heterogeneity factors, and compositions of the bacterial population of activated sludge flocs by 3D confocal imaging. After staining the fresh flocs with fluorescein-isothiocyanate, 75 stacks of images (containing approx. 3000 flocs) were acquired with a confocal laser scanning microscope. The self-developed macro 3D volume and surface determination for the KS 400 software package combined the images of one stack to a 3D image and calculated the real floc volume and surface. We determined heterogeneity factors like the ratio of real floc surface to the surface of a sphere with the respective volume and the fractal dimension (D(f)). According to their significant influence on floc integrity and quality, we also investigated the chemical composition of flocs and quantified their bacterial population structure by using group-specific rRNA-targeted probes for fluorescence in situ hybridization. By a settling experiment we enriched flocs with poor settling properties and determined the above-mentioned parameters. This approach revealed shifts in floc volume, heterogeneity, and bacterial and chemical composition according to the settling quality of the flocs.     

An experimental study of low concentration sludge settling velocity under turbulent condition

Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was used to study the settling of activated sludge flocs under turbulent flow conditions. Experimental results showed that a larger particle diameter led to a higher settling velocity while the higher turbulence intensity led to lower settling velocity. Based on the measurements a mathematical relation has been derived which correlates the settling velocity for individual sludge flocs under turbulent conditions through a modified Vesilind equation. Settling velocity shows a power-type relation to sludge particle diameter and an exponential-type relation with turbulence intensity and sludge concentration.     

Experimental and numerical investigations of sedimentation of porous wastewater sludge flocs

The paper studies the properties and sedimentation characteristics of sludge flocs, as they appear in biological wastewater treatment (BWT) plants. The flocs are described as porous and permeable bodies, with their properties defined based on conducted experimental study. The derivation is based on established geometrical properties, high-speed camera data on settling velocities and non-linear numerical model, linking settling velocity with physical properties of porous flocs. The numerical model for derivation is based on generalized Stokes model, with permeability of the floc described by the Brinkman model. As a result, correlation for flocs porosity is obtained as a function of floc diameter. This data is used in establishing a CFD numerical model of sedimentation of flocs in test conditions, as recorded during experimental investigation. The CFD model is based on Euler-Lagrange formulation, where the Lagrange formulation is chosen for computation of flocs trajectories during sedimentation. The results of numerical simulations are compared with experimental results and very good agreement is observed.     

Transfer of organic matter between wastewater and activated sludge flocs

The organic matter of wastewater was fractionated into settleable (i.e., particulate) and non-settleable (i.e., colloidal + soluble) fractions by settling followed by 0.22 micron filtration. Particulate, colloidal and soluble proportions were found to be relatively constant (45, 31 and 24% of the total COD, respectively). Transfer of soluble fraction always occurred from the wastewater to the activated sludge flocs, whereas bidirectional transfer occurred for the colloidal fraction. The transfer of soluble and colloidal matter reached a steady state after 40 min-mixing and 20 min-mixing, respectively. Desorption of a part of the colloidal organic matter pre-sorbed on the activated sludge flocs was evidenced. The biosorption capacity of activated sludge was around 40-100 mgCODg-1TSS. The biosorbable fraction of wastewater represented on average 45% of the non-settleable fraction.     

阳离子表面活性剂改善污泥脱水性能的机理研究

研究了两种含有不同长度疏水链的阳离子表面活性剂CSG—1和CSG-2对活性污泥脱水性能的影响，探讨了两种活性剂在活性污泥体系中的作用机理。结果表明，投加约为干污泥质量10％的CSG-1可使滤饼的含水率降至78％左右，此时污泥的沉降效果较好，污泥毛细吸水时间（CST）也较短（约为62s）；与CSG-1相比，CSG-2虽可使滤饼含水率降至约74％，但其对污泥过滤性能和沉降效果的改善均较差。对CSG—1和CSG-2改善污泥脱水性能的机理研究表明，阳离子表面活性剂通过静电引力和范德华力而被吸附于污泥表面，改变了活性污泥絮体的特性，并引起胞外聚合物（EPS）的分布发生变化，从而改善了污泥的脱水性能，同时也导致了絮体颗粒粒径发生了显著变化。     

SMSBR处理焦化废水的膜污染机理研究

在采用SMSBR处理焦化废水的过程中，通过对污泥进行终端过滤来反映膜污染机理，着重考察了过滤过程中的阻力分布，并通过标准堵塞过滤定律和沉积过滤定律来拟合膜过滤过程，从而确定了膜污染的控制因素。污泥的阻力分布试验表明，沉积阻力占总阻力的90％以上，并随压力的升高而增大，而内部污染阻力所占比例最小；污泥的终端过滤过程严格符合沉积过滤定律，即使在过滤初期也不受堵塞过滤的控制，这与阻力分布的结果相对应；污泥在严格符合沉积过滤定律，即使在过滤初期也不受堵塞过滤的控制，这与阻力布的结果相对应；污泥在终端过滤过程中膜的相对通量随过滤时间呈指数衰减趋势，并在几分钟内就达到相对稳定值，且低压对应较高的相对通量，但通量衰减指数和压力之间没有相关性；污泥的压密指数为0．7015。