Analysing sludge balance in activated sludge systems with a novel mass transport model

In activated sludge systems the mechanically treated wastewater is biologically cleaned by biomass (activated sludge). The basic requirement of an efficient biological wastewater treatment is to have as a high biomass concentration in the biological reactor (BR) as possible. The activated sludge balance in activated sludge systems is controlled by the settling, thickening, scraper mechanism in the secondary settling tank (SST) and sludge returning. These processes aim at keeping maximum sludge mass in the BR and minimum sludge mass in the SST even in peak flow events (storm water flow). It can be, however, only reached by a high SST performance. The main physical processes and boundary conditions such as inhomogeneous turbulent flow, geometrical features of the SST, wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) load, return sludge flow, sludge volume index etc. all influence settling thickening and sludge returning. In the paper a novel mass transport model of an activated sludge system is presented which involves a 2-dimensional SST model coupled with a mixed reactor model of the biological reactor. It makes possible to investigate different sludge returning strategies and their influence on the sludge balance of the investigated activated sludge system, furthermore, the processes determining the flow and concentration patterns in the SST. The paper gives an overview on the first promising model results of a prevailing peak flow event investigation at the WWTP of Graz.     

New measurement techniques for secondary settlers: a review.

In activated sludge wastewater treatment research, most of the attention has been devoted to the biodegradation process. However, in terms of effluent quality, the final settling and clarification processes are at least as important because any particle carried over the overflow weir brings with it not only COD, but also nitrogen and phosphorus. In recent years we see indeed increased attention on this separation step, and alternatives such as membrane separation are increasingly introduced. Still, a large installed base of settlers exists, whose operation could/should be optimised. The measurement techniques presented in this contribution each focus on one of the key processes in the secondary settler: hydrodynamics, particle aggregation and breakage, hindered settling and compression. For each technique, the measuring principle is explained and a typical data set shown.     

On-line determination of sludge settling velocity for flux-based real-time control of secondary clarifiers.

The state diagram for operation of secondary clarifiers is used to design a control algorithm for the return sludge pumping and determination of the actual hydraulic capacity of the biological step of a wastewater treatment plant. On-line input for the control algorithm is derived from a sludge volume sensor and a suspended solids sensor in the form of software sensors giving values for the sludge settling characteristics - settling velocity, sludge volume index, initial settling velocity and the exponent in the Vesilind equation - allowing the control to accommodate the ever changing settling characteristics and thereby keep the suspended solids flux in the clarifiers in balance for both dry weather flows and during rain events. The control algorithm has been implemented, tested and set into normal operation on a full scale wastewater treatment plant.     

Wastewater modification processes assessment in a stabilization reservoir.

A semi-empirical mechanistic model able to simulate the dynamics of a stabilization reservoir was developed incorporating both settling of particulate components and chemical/biological processes. Several factors affecting the reservoir effluent quality were taken into account: hydraulics and hydrology, solar radiation, atmospheric reaeration, algae, zooplankton, organic matter, pathogen bacteria, and sediment-water interaction. The model quantifies the specific influence of each factor on effluent quality, evaluating the correlation between the different considered factors. State variables included in the model were: algae, dissolved oxygen, organic matter, zooplankton and indicator bacteria.The model was transferred into a computational code in order to provide a useful and versatile tool for water resource planning management issues. The model was verified by comparing simulated results with full-scale data collected from a small reservoir (Sicily, IT) filled with partially treated wastewater. The reservoir has a volume of 11,000 m(3), a maximum depth of 6.3 m and a mean depth of about 5 m. The monitoring period lasted four months during which the reservoir operated in different hydraulics conditions: as a standard batch reactor and as a continuous flow reactor. The model was able to reproduce the behaviour of the principal simulated parameters thus representing a potential tool for the management and performance optimization of these peculiar storage/treatment systems.     

Investigation on effects of aggregate structure in water and wastewater treatment.

The fractal structure and particle size of flocs are generally recognized as the two most crucial physical properties having impact on the efficiency of operation of several unit processes in water and wastewater treatment. In this study, an experimental investigation is undertaken on the effect of aggregate structure in water and wastewater treatment in Hong Kong. The fractal dimension of the resulting aggregate is employed as a measure of the aggregate structure. Small angle light scattering technique is used here. Different amounts of polymers are mixed to bacterial suspensions and the resulting structures are examined. The addition of polymer may foster aggregate formation by neutralization of the bacterial surface charge and enhance inter-particle bridging. The aggregation behavior may affect the efficiency of certain water and wastewater treatment processes such as dewatering and coagulation. The impacts of aggregate structure on two representative processes, namely, ultra-filtration membrane fouling and pressure filter dewatering efficiency, are studied. It is found that the looser flocs yield a more porous cake and less tendency to foul whilst more porous filter cakes yield more ready biosolids dewatering.     

济南市分散式污水处理站典型工艺及运行管理分析

以济南市政府投资建设的8座分散式污水处理站为例,介绍了两级生物滤池、ETS生态处理、KIC生物接触氧化3种典型工艺,分析了污水处理站的运行成本,提出了运行管理中的问题和建议。     

Optimizing sequencing batch reactor (SBR) reactor operation for treatment of dairy wastewater with aerobic granular sludge

The biological wastewater treatment using aerobic granular sludge is a new and very promising method, which is predominantly used in SBR reactors which have higher volumetric conversion rates than methods with flocculent sludge. With suitable reactor operation, flocculent biomass will accumulate into globular aggregates, due to the creation of increased substrate gradients and high shearing power degrees. In the research project described in this paper dairy wastewater with a high particle load was treated with aerobic granular sludge in an SBR reactor. A dynamic mathematical model was developed describing COD and nitrogen removal as well as typical biofilm processes such as diffusion or substrate limitation in greater detail. The calibrated model was excellently able to reproduce the measuring data despite of strongly varying wastewater composition. In this paper scenario calculations with a calibrated biokinetic model were executed to evaluate the effect of different operation strategies for the granular SBR. Modeling results showed that the granules with an average diameter of 2.5 mm had an aerobic layer in between 65-95 microm. Density of the granules was 40 kgVSS/m3. Results revealed amongst others optimal operation conditions for nitrogen removal with oxygen concentrations below 5 gO2/m3. Lower oxygen concentrations led to thinner aerobic but thicker anoxic granular layers with higher nitrate removal efficiencies. Total SBR-cycle times should be in between 360-480 minutes. Reduction of the cycle time from 480 to 360 minutes with a 50% higher throughput resulted in an increase of peak nitrogen effluent concentrations by 40%. Considering biochemical processes the volumetric loading rate for dairy wastewater should be higher than 4.5 kgCOD/(m3*d). Higher COD input load with a COD-based volumetric loading rate of 9.0 kgCOD/(m3*d) nearly led to complete nitrogen removal. Under different operational conditions average nitrification rates up to 5 gNH/(m3*h) and denitrification rates up to 3.7 gNO/(m3*h) were achieved.     

城市污水生物除磷脱氮工艺中的矛盾关系及对策

目前 ,城市污水处理厂的处理对象包括COD、BOD5、SS和氮、磷等营养物质。就氮磷脱除而言 ,一般需涉及硝化、反硝化、微生物释磷和吸磷等过程。由于各过程的要求不同 ,在同一污水处理工艺系统中就不可避免地产生了各过程间的矛盾关系。针对泥龄问题、碳源问题、硝酸盐问题、系统的硝化和反硝化容量问题、释磷吸磷的容量问题进行了探讨     

曝气生物滤池(BAF)用于建筑中水处理试验研究

曝气生物滤池是一种介于生物接触氧化法与生物流化床之间的生物膜污水处理工艺,其紧凑性、能耗及运行维护亦介于两者之间,非常适合用于建筑中水处理。为检验曝气生物滤池处理建筑中水的性能,分别采用人工配水和洗浴废水进行了试验测定和实际验证。验证试验表明,经曝气生物滤池处理后的洗浴废水几乎不需任何后续处理(混凝、沉淀、过滤)便可满足中水回用标准要求。     

A comparison of BNR activated sludge systems with membrane and settling tank solid-liquid separation.

Installing membranes for solid-liquid separation into biological nutrient removal (BNR) activated sludge (AS) systems makes a profound difference not only to the design of the membrane bio-reactor (MBR) BNR system itself, but also to the design approach for the whole wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). In multi-zone BNR systems with membranes in the aerobic reactor and fixed volumes for the anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic zones (i.e. fixed volume fractions), the mass fractions can be controlled (within a range) with the inter-reactor recycle ratios. This zone mass fraction flexibility is a significant advantage of MBR BNR systems over BNR systems with secondary settling tanks (SSTs), because it allows changing the mass fractions to optimise biological N and P removal in conformity with influent wastewater characteristics and the effluent N and P concentrations required. For PWWF/ADWF ratios (fq) in the upper range (fq approximately 2.0), aerobic mass fractions in the lower range (f(maer) < 0.60) and high (usually raw) wastewater strengths, the indicated mode of operation of MBR BNR systems is as extended aeration WWTPs (no primary settling and long sludge age). However, the volume reduction compared with equivalent BNR systems with SSTs will not be large (40-60%), but the cost of the membranes can be offset against sludge thickening and stabilisation costs. Moving from a flow unbalanced raw wastewater system to a flow balanced (fq = 1) low (usually settled) wastewater strength system can double the ADWF capacity of the biological reactor, but the design approach of the WWTP changes away from extended aeration to include primary sludge stabilisation. The cost of primary sludge treatment then has to be offset against the savings of the increased WWTP capacity.     

Treatment of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) wastewater by internal electrolysis--biological contact oxidation process

Surfactant wastewater is usually difficult to treat due to its toxicity and poor biodegradability. A separate physico-chemical or biochemical treatment method achieves a satisfactory effect with difficulty. In this study, treatment of the wastewater collected from a daily chemical plant by the combination processes of Fe/C internal electrolysis and biological contact oxidation was investigated. For the internal electrolysis process, the optimal conditions were: pH = 4-5, Fe/C = (10-15):1, air-water ratio = (10-20):1 and hydraulic retention time (HRT)= 2 h. For the biological contact oxidation process, the optimal conditions were: HRT = 12 h, DO = 4.0-5.0 mg/L. Treated by the above combined processes, the effluent could meet the I-grade criteria specified in Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard of China (GB 8978-1996). The results provide valuable information for full-scale linear alkylbenzene sulfonate wastewater treatment.     

延缓膜生物反应器膜污染的技术措施探讨

膜生物反应器(MBR)是膜分离技术和污水生物处理技术有机结合产生的一种新型污水处理工艺,与传统污水处理工艺相比具有很多优点,但膜污染是限制膜生物反应器广泛应用的关键因素.介绍了膜污染的定义,系统论述了膜污染的研究进展,着重从改良膜的性质,改善污泥混合液的特性和优化膜分离操作条件3个方面介绍了国内外有效延缓膜污染的技术措施.     

Biological wastewater treatment by a bioreactor with repeated coupling of aerobes and anaerobes aiming at on-site reduction of excess sludge.

Activated sludge has been widely used in wastewater treatment throughout the world. However, the biggest disadvantage of this method is the by-production of excess sludge in a large amount, resulting in difficulties in operation and high costs for wastewater treatment. Technological innovations for wastewater treatment capable of reducing excess sludge have thus become research topics of interest in recent years. In our present research, we developed a new biological wastewater treatment process by repeated coupling of aerobes and anaerobes (rCAA) to reduce the excess sludge during the treatment of wastewater. During 460-day continuous running, COD (300-700 mg/L) and TOC (100-350 mg/L) were effectively removed, of which the removal rate was above 80 and 90%, respectively. SS in the effluent was 13 mg/L on average in the rCAA bioreactor without a settling tank. The on-site reduction of the excess sludge in the rCAA might be contributed by several mechanisms. The degradation of the grown aerobes after moving into the anaerobic regions was considered to be one of the most important factors. Besides, the repeatedly coupling of aerobes and anaerobes could also result in a complex microbial community with more metazoans and decoupling of the microbial anabolism and catabolism.     

High COD wastewater treatment in an aerobic SBR: treatment of effluent from a small farm goat's cheese dairy.

In France, small goat's cheese dairies using traditional craft methods often have no profitable solution for dealing with the whey byproduct of their cheesemaking activity: it is usually mixed with the cleaning wastewater which, in the absence of other possibilities, is then discharged directly into the environment. The volume of such wastewater is small but it has a high COD of around 12-15 g/L. An aerobic SBR was proposed as a method for treating the mixture of wastewater and whey and the first installation was set up on a farm with 170 goats. Its operations were monitored for 7.5 months, particularly in order to measure any excess volume of sludge and to check that such excess remained within acceptable limits, given the high COD of the effluent requiring treatment. The results obtained show that the treated wastewater was of excellent quality, well within the most rigorous discharge norms. With this type of wastewater, excess sludge was produced in only very low amounts with 0.2 g of SS/g of COD. Moreover, the sludge proved to be quick settling which made it possible to: i) maintain a high level of SS in the reactor (up to 15 g/L); ii) withdraw sludge with concentrations reaching 30 g/L after 2 hours of settling. This resulted in a low volume of excess sludge (less than 5% of treated volume), making such aerobic biological treatment in an SBR competitive when compared to the straightforward spreading of all the wastewater.     

Characterization of bacterial biofilm communities in tertiary treatment processes for wastewater reclamation and reuse

The concern with wastewater reuse as a sustainable water resource in urban areas has been growing. For the reclamation and distribution of wastewater, biofilm development deserves careful attention from the point of view of its promotion (e.g. biofiltration) and inhibition (e.g. clogging and hygiene problems). As the first step to control biofilm development, bacterial biofilm communities in tertiary treatment processes were characterized by using molecular biological methods. The result of clone library analysis showed that Nitrospirae-related (nitrite-oxydizing bacteria) and Acidobacteria-related (probably oligotrophic bacteria) groups were dominant. The ratio of the Nitrospirae-related group to the Acidobacteria-related group was associated with ammonia load, whereas other operational conditions (process, media, temperature, salt) did not clearly affect the phylum-level community or the dominant sequence of nitrifying bacteria. The result of real-time PCR also indicated that high ammonia load promotes the proliferation of nitrite- and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. Regarding water supply systems, some researchers also have suggested the dominance of Nitrospirae- and Acidobacteria-related groups in biofilm formed on water distribution pipes. In tertiary wastewater treatment, therefore, it is concluded that oligotrophic and autotrophic bacteria are the dominant groups in biofilm samples because assimilable organic carbon is too poor to proliferate various heterotrophic bacteria.     

Application of vibration milling for advanced wastewater treatment and excess sludge reduction

As a new sludge reduction technology with a phosphorus removal mechanism, a vibration milling technology that uses iron balls have been applied to the wastewater treatment process. Three anaerobic-aerobic cyclic activated sludge processes: one without sludge disintegration; one disintegrated sludge by ozonation; and the other disintegrated sludge with the vibrating ball mill were compared. Ozonation achieved the best sludge reduction performance, but milling had the best phosphorus removal. This is because iron was mixed into the wastewater treatment tank due to abrasion of the iron balls, leading to settling of iron phosphates. Thus, the simple means of using iron balls as the medium in a vibrating ball mill can achieve both a sludge reduction of half and excellent phosphorus removal. Material balances in the processes were calculated and it was found that carbon components in disintegrated sludge were more resistant to biological treatment than nitrogen.     

Performance intensification of Prague wastewater treatment plant.

Prague wastewater treatment plant was intensified during 1994--1997 by construction of new regeneration tank and four new secondary settling tanks. Nevertheless, more stringent effluent limits and operational problems gave rise to necessity for further intensification and optimisation of plant performance. This paper describes principal operational problems of the plant and shows solutions and achieved results that have lead to plant performance stabilisation. The following items are discussed: low nitrification capacity, nitrification bioaugmentation, activated sludge bulking, insufficient sludge disposal capacity, chemical precipitation of raw wastewater, simultaneous precipitation, sludge chlorination, installation of denitrification zones, sludge rising in secondary settling tanks due to denitrification, dosage of cationic polymeric organic flocculant to secondary settling tanks, thermophilic operation of digestors, surplus activated sludge pre-thickening, mathematical modelling.     

Development and exploitation of a multipurpose CFD tool for optimisation of microbial reaction and sludge flow.

A numerical analysis technique for optimisation of microbial reaction and sludge flow has been developed in this study. The technique is based on the 3D multiphase Navier-Stokes solver with turbulence models. In order to make numerical analyses of the total processes in wastewater treatment plants possible, four numerical models, the microbial reaction model, a sludge settling model, oxygen mass transfer model from coarse bubbles, and a model from fine bubbles, are added to the solver. All parameters included in those models are calibrated in accordance with experimental results, and good agreements between calculated results and experimental results are found. Finally, this study shows that the numerical technique can be used to optimise wastewater treatment plants with an example of the operational optimisation of an intermittent agitation in anoxic reactors by coarse bubbles. With a proper appreciation of its limit and advantages, the exploitation of the CFD efficiently leads us to the right direction even though it is not quantitatively perfect.     

Commissioning and operational experiences for the 160ML/d Woodman Point Sequencing Batch Reactor--control of settleability and denitrification using bioselectors.

Achieving and maintaining good biomass settling characteristics is a critical process design objective for any activated sludge wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), whether intermittent or continuous technology. One way of ensuring good sludge settleability in intermittent WWTPs is the incorporation of bioselectors in the process. A bioselector is essentially a small discrete reactor volume designed primarily for carbon absorption, in which activated sludge organisms are exposed to a high substrate concentration for a relatively short time. It is normally very much smaller than an anoxic zone and the activated sludge recycle is only a fraction of that typically adopted in continuous plants. With proper conditioning, recycled biomass rapidly absorbs and stores soluble organic wastewater components before transfer to the main treatment basin. This absorption and storage mechanism, and careful management of aeration throughout the intermittent treatment cycle, plays a crucial role in many subsequent growth and treatment processes, including sludge floc formation, denitrification and biological phosphorus removal. This paper examines some design considerations, and reviews the benefits of bioselectors by reference to the commissioning and initial operation of the new 160ML/d Woodman Point Sequencing Batch Reactor in Perth, Western Australia. The applicability of bioselectors in continuous plants is discussed.     

多级串联接触氧化法处理漂染废水

漂染废水处理的主体工艺流程可以采用气浮法预处理→水解酸化 接触氧化法生化处理→氧化脱色后处理工艺 ,出水水质可以达到《纺织染整工业水污染物排放标准》(GB4 2 87- 92 )一级标准。工程实践与工艺分析表明 ,多级串联接触氧化法中 ,各级微生物数量及形态保持相对独立 ,表现出类似于AB工艺的特征 ,结合预处理及后处理措施处理漂染废水具有效果好、运行稳定、投资少及占地面积省等优点。在具体工艺设计上 ,依水流方向 ,各级接触氧化池负荷由高至低分布 ,宜采取较低的有机负荷及较长的反应时间