Traitement des eaux usées par coagulation-floculation avec recirculation des boues chimiques : Évaluation et validation à grande échelle
Two sequences of tests were carried out at the Centre d'épuration Rive-Sud wastewater treatment plant (Longueuil, Que.) to evaluate the performances of a coagulation-flocculation process with chemical sludge recycling. The tests consisted in following the evolution of the quality of the treated water when two flowsheets are supplied simultaneously in parallel with the same wastewater, one flowsheet incorporating the sludge recycling process. Results showed that the recycled sludge contributes significantly to water degradation compared with a classical coagulation-flocculation system. These results do not corroborate the previous work done by Monette et al. (F. Monette et al. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 27: 702-718, 719-734, 2000). The problems observed are explained by inadequate plant installations for sludge recycling. High coagulant concentrations also limit the gains in efficiency associated with recyling. The process reacts rapidly to wastewater loading and reagent modifications. The recycled sludge conditioning is slightly more difficult because of the small particles created by recycling pump turbulence. Finally, turbidity measurements in the flocculator water tank could be used as an excellent indicator for sludge recycling load estimation.Key words: recycling, sludge, coagulation-flocculation, treatment, wastewater, full scale.