MOBILIZATION OF SLUDGE IN HORIZONTAL CYLINDRICAL TANKS WITH SUBMERGED NOZZLES

Over 378,000 m³ (100 million gal) of radioactive waste is being stored in hundreds of tanks at several U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites. The environment within the tanks is highly radioactive and chemically harsh. The waste typically consists of a heterogeneous sludge layer covered by a layer of supernatant. A few of the tanks have leaked to the environment, while others are corroding. Removing the waste from the tanks and processing it to a stable final form are desired to prevent any additional contamination of the environment. The tanks vary in size and geometric shape and do not have systems for removing the sludge waste.

Mobilization and mixing studies were conducted with a surrogate sludge (e.g., kaolin clay) using submerged jets in two sizes of horizontal tanks with nominal capacities of 0.87 m³ (230 gal) and 95 m³ (25,000 gal). Mobilization efficiencies and mixing times were determined for single and bidirectional jets in both tanks with the discharge nozzles positioned at various locations in the tanks. Approximately 80% of the surrogate sludge was mobilized in the 95-m³ tank using a fixed bidirectional jet (inside diameter = 0.035 m) and a jet velocity of 6.4m/s (21 ft/s). The effective cleaning length, which is defined as the distance between the jet and the edge of the remaining sludge bank, was approximately 3.2 m (10 ft) on each side of the bidirectional jet.     

Feasibility of Sludge Ozonation for Stabilization and Conditioning

A pilot-scale sludge treatment plant was built to investigate the feasibility of ozonation processes for waste activated sludge treatment. Ozonation of wastewater sludge resulted in mass reduction by mineralization as well as by supernatant and filtrate recycle. Another advantage of sludge ozonation is a significant improvement of settleability and dewaterability. Experimental results showed that mass reduction of 70% and volume reduction of 85% compared with the control sludge was achieved through the sludge ozonation at a dose of 0.5?gO₃/gDS. It is also interesting to note that the filterability deteriorates up to ozone dose of 0.2?gO₃/gDS and then improves considerably at a higher ozone dose. The filterability could be improved by chemical conditioning even at a low ozone dose. The economic feasibility by cost analysis reveals that ozonation processes can be more economical than other alternative processes for sludge treatment and disposal at small-sized wastewater treatment plants.     

Effect of clinoptilolite addition and solids retention time on the extracellular polymeric substances composition and soluble chemical oxygen demands in activated sludge

This study was carried out to compare EPS (Extracellular Polymeric Substances) composition between conventional activated sludge (AS) and activated sludge dosed with clinoptilolite (CAS). Additionally, those were compared with organic removal efficiency in the effluent in conjunction with EPS concentrations. The experiments were conducted at SRT (Solids Retention Time) ranging from 5 to 100 d. For the CAS, proteins were more readily observed for SRT 20 and 100 d compared to that of the AS. Polysaccharide concentration in the sludge was greatly increased for the CAS, but it was significantly diminished when the SRT was extended. The level of EPS concentration observed from the effluent had the same pattern of variation for the two different types of systems. Regardless of type of reactor, the ratio of proteins for sludge versus effluent was independent of SRT, but the ratio of polysaccharides diminished as SRT increased. In the long run, the degree of protein synthesis directly ascribed to concurrent enhancement of SCOD removal efficiency was slightly more in the CAS. It was decided that clinoptilolite added system could be more reliably retrofitted to a conventional activated sludge process.     

Combined Ozone Pretreatment and Anaerobic Digestion for the Reduction of Biological Sludge Production in Wastewater Treatment

The ever-increasing amount of solid waste generated by wastewater treatment plants highlights emerging economic and environmental issues. In order to develop new processes producing less sludge, the use of ozone combined with anaerobic digestion was investigated for waste activated sludge treatment. This paper was aimed at evaluating the impact of ozone pretreatment on anaerobic digestion and particularly the enhancement of biogas production. Sludge solubilization was estimated in terms of modification of chemical oxygen demand, solids and nitrogen. Batch anaerobic digestion highlighted the enhancement of ozonated sludge biodegradability. Ozonation led to an increase in biogas production. The ozone dose of 0.15 g O₃/g total solids resulted in a considerable increase in the soluble COD ratio from 4% to 37%. This ozone dose achieved the highest increase in biogas production: 2.4 times greater than without chemical pretreatment.     

Sludge Pre-Treatment through Ozone Application: Alternative Sludge Reuse Possibilities for Recirculating Aquaculture System Optimization

Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) reduce water consumption by efficient filtration to maintain appropriate levels of accumulating compounds and sludge. Sludge is mechanically separated by drum filters and disposed of to the detriment of overall system water budgets. Dissolved nitrogen compounds are reduced via nitrification–denitrification filters, requiring commercial external carbon sources. The reuse of sludge after ozone pre-treatment may represent the next step in RAS optimization. The present study analyzes the content of sludge from RAS and tests ozonation as a pre-treatment for recycling as carbon source. The dissociative effect of ozone and the physicochemical changes due to ozonation lead to a significant increase in soluble carbon availability. Predominantly long-chain fatty acid (FA) (saturated and unsaturated) with 16 and 18 carbon atoms independently of the treatment were found in the profiles. Saturated FA concentrations in solution increased after 20, 40, and 60 min ozonation. The solid content of the sludge was practically unaffected by ozonation in terms of FA profile: only saturated FA slightly increases after 40 min treatment. The implications of these findings for denitrifying bacteria are discussed.

Abbreviations: Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS); Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs)     

化肥厂造气污水处理新装置

介绍了一套新型造气污水处理装置，该装置具有处理工艺流程合理，设备布置紧凑，装置自动化运行的特点，造气污水经处理后重复循环使用，污泥送沸腾炉作燃料燃烧，实现了污水零排放的目的。     

A fuzzy neural network approach for online fault detection in waste water treatment process

In this paper, an effective strategy for fault detection of sludge volume index (SVI) sensor is proposed and tested on an experimental hardware setup in waste water treatment process (WWTP). The main objective of this fault detection strategy is to design a system which consists of the online sensors, the SVI predicting plant and fault diagnosis method. The SVI predicting plant is designed utilizing a fuzzy neural network (FNN), which is trained by a historical set of data collected during fault-free operation of WWTP. The fault diagnosis method, based on the difference between the measured concentration values and FNN predictions, allows a quick revealing of the faults. Then this proposed fault detection method is applied to a real WWTP and compared with other approaches. Experimental results show that the proposed fault detection strategy can obtain the fault signals of the SVI sensor online.     

Performance evaluation of electrodewatering system for sewage sludges

A laboratory-scale electrodewatering system, incorporating an electric field as an additional driving force to conventional pressure dewatering, has been developed to decrease the water content of sludges generated in wastewater treatment. Consisting of a piston-type filter press, a power supply and a data acquisition system, the electrodewatering system’s performance was evaluated as a function of applied pressure, applied voltage, sludge type and filtration time. Experiments were carried out using sewage sludges with the electric field up to 120 V/cm and pressure ranging from 98.1 to 392.4 kPa. Electrodewatering involving a combination of electric field and pressure enhances both the dewatering rate and final dewatered volume. The final water content of sewage sludges in the electrodewatering system can be reduced to 62 wt%, as compared to 78 wt% achieved with the pressure filtration alone. The electrodewatering system shows the potential to be an effective method for reducing the water content in sludges.     

活性污泥法处理污水两个重要参数的理论探讨

负荷、泥龄是活性污泥法处理城市污水设计、运行中的重要参数.给出了有机负荷的动力学表达形式(称之为动力学负荷),并对有机负荷和泥龄的关系,有机负荷和泥龄对水质、污泥沉降性能影响进行了理论探讨.     

Performance evaluation of saponin over other organic acid and tap water for removal of chromium in tannery sludge by electrokinetic enhancement

The performance of Saponin over different electrolyte-mediated electrokinetic (EK) process for removal of Cr(III) from tannery sludge was assessed. Saponin exhibited maximum Cr(III) removal efficiency, i.e. 67.6–80.75% as compared to other groups of processing fluids. The possible mechanistic approach for the highest removal efficiency of saponin over other electrolytes may be attributed to synchronized effect of micelle formation and subsequent complexation and sorption of chromium ions. The highest electroosmotic flow rate of saponin indicated low electroosmotic resistance during EK process, which validates the observed trend. Therefore, saponin can be considered as a promising electrolyte for EK treatment of tannery sludge.

Abbreviation: CA: Citric acid; LA: lactic acid; OA: oxalic acid; BOD: biochemical oxygen demand; COD: chemical oxygen demand; EK: electokinetic.