Phosphate release of sludges from enhanced biological p-removal during digestion

1994 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 281-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norbert Jardin ◽  
H. Johannes Pöpel

During the start-up phase of an enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) plant, the amount of eliminated phosphorus during wastewater treatment and the subsequent release during anaerobic sludge digestion was investigated. Different approaches were used to determine the mechanisms of enhanced phosphorus removal. From a comparison of the EBPR plant with a control, a strong correlation between the potassium, the magnesium and the phosphorus content of the sludge and the results gained from phosphorus fractionations we conclude that the major part of the eliminated phosphorus was stored in form of polyphosphate. During digestion of excess and a mixture of excess and primary sludge a complete release of the stored polyphosphate was found. The release of phosphorus was accompanied by a release of potassium and magnesium ions, from which only potassium remains in soluble form. Therefore, the soluble potassium concentration seems to be a good measure for the amount of phosphate released. Only a part of the released phosphate remains in soluble form. When digesting excess and mixed sludge this accounts for approximately 40% of the total phosphorus brought into the digester. The difference between the measured soluble phosphate concentration and the amount of released phosphorus was fixed, mainly due to chemical precipitation. It was found that a fixation in the form of magnesium ammonium phosphate (struvite) was likely to occur under the conditions of anaerobic sludge digestion. The amount of phosphate precipitation as struvite could be estimated using theoretical calculations at approximately 20% of the total phosphorus in the digester. Calcium dosing experiments show that calcium-phosphate precipitation plays only a minor role in phosphate fixation.

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 71-74
Author(s):  
Svetlana Ofverstrom ◽  
Ieva Sapkaitė ◽  
Regimantas Dauknys

The paper investigates the efficiency of the mixture of primary sludge and excess activated sludge in Vilnius WWTP with reference to the anaerobic digestion process. Sludge digestion was carried out under laboratory conditions using anaerobic sludge digestion model W8 (Armfield Ltd., UK). Laboratory analyses consist of two periods – the anaerobic digestion of the un-dosed and Fe-dosed sludge mixture. The results of digestion were processed using the methods of statistical analysis. The findings showed reduction in volatile solids approx. by 6% when dosing min FeCl3·6H2O and 15% when dosing max FeCl3·6H2O into feed sludge. Gas volume produced during the digestion of the un-dosed sludge was 90–160 ml/d and 60–125 ml/d in min Fe-dosed sludge and 45-95 ml/d. Also, correlation between VS loadings and biogas production was found. A rise in VS loading from 0,64 g/l/d to 1,01 g/l/d increased biogas production from 90 ml/d to 140–160 ml/d.


1999 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Chauret ◽  
Susan Springthorpe ◽  
Syed Sattar

The extent of reduction in selected microorganisms was tested during both aerobic wastewater treatment and anaerobic digestion of sludge at the wastewater treatment plant in Ottawa to compare the removal of two encysted pathogenic protozoa with that of microbial indicators. Samples collected included the raw wastewater, the primary effluent, the treated wastewater, the mixed sludge, the decanted liquor, and the cake. All of the raw sewage samples were positive for Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts, as well as for the other microorganisms tested. During aerobic wastewater treatment (excluding the anaerobic sludge digestion), Cryptosporidium and Giardia were reduced by 2.96 log10and 1.40 log10, respectively. Clostridium perfringens spores, Clostridium perfringens total counts, somatic coliphages, and heterotrophic bacteria were reduced by approximately 0.89 log10, 0.96 log10, 1.58 log10, and 2.02 log10, respectively. All of the other microorganisms were reduced by at least 3.53 log10. Sludge samples from the plant were found to contain variable densities of microorganisms. Variability in microbial concentrations was sometimes great between samples, stressing the importance of collecting a large number of samples over a long period of time. In all cases, the bacterial concentrations in the cake (dewatered biosolids) samples were high even if reductions in numbers were observed with some bacteria. During anaerobic sludge digestion, no statistically significant reduction was observed for Clostridium perfringens, Enterococcus sp., Cryptosporidium oocysts, and Giardia cysts. A 1-2 log10reduction was observed with fecal coliforms and heterotrophic bacteria. However, the method utilized to detect the protozoan parasites does not differentiate between viable and nonviable organisms. On the other hand, total coliforms and somatic coliphages were reduced by 0.35 log10and 0.09 log10, respectively. These results demonstrate the relative persistence of the protozoa in sewage sludge during wastewater treatment.Key words: Cryptosporidium, Giardia, indicators, wastewater, sludge.


2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernd Heinzmann ◽  
Gerd Engel

In 1994 for the first time massive incrustations in the centrifuges treating the digested sludge were detected in some wastewater treatment plants (WWTP’s) of the Berliner Wasserbetriebe, which were, as was found out later, mainly due to the precipitation of white MAP (magnesium ammonium phosphate = struvite) deposits with small portions of different calcium phosphate compounds. The reason for this was the over saturation of the digested sludge and the process water (from the separated centrate of the digested sludge) with carbon dioxide, the spontaneous release of or degassing of carbon dioxide, causing the pH to increase, thus altering the solubility equilibrium, and facilitating crystallisation, resulting in deposits (incrustations) on the walls. Obviously, the wastewater purification process used, with enhanced biological phosphorus removal and concentrated streams of digesting sludge, favours the formation of incrustations during sludge treatment. These incrustations were the cause of a lot of operational problems. To prevent incrustations, modifications in the process engineering technology have been applied after several studies and trials. Deliberate extraction of the CO2, e.g. by air injection through a fine-bubble surface aeration system at the bottom of the digested sludge storage tank just before the centrifuges, causes the pH to rise to approx. 8 and thus to cause induced struvite precipitation. This technology enables a precipitation product suitable for recycling to be generated and separated from the anaerobic sludge using a hydro-cyclone. A subsequent second hydro-cyclone stage allowed a further increase in the P-concentration to approx. 40 kg/m3, giving a yield of phosphorus of 20 %. This corresponds with P-load of approx. 316 kg/day and amounts to 18 % of the P inlet load in the WWTP Waßmannsdorf. It was shown that this experimental process is in principle suitable for the separation of the MAP precipitation product in the anaerobic sludge. A complete washing process for the raw MAP is not yet installed, and furthermore, to find the best sizes of nozzles in the hydro-cyclones and most effective pressures tests will have to be carried out soon at pilot level. A comparison with the minimum nutrients content for different kinds of fertiliser (super-phosphate, dicalcium-phosphate with magnesium, NP-fertiliser) defined by the German Fertiliser Regulations, shows that the precipitated MAP is within the range of other legally certified fertilisers. The MAP showed contaminant levels 5 times or more below the limit values of the German Sewage Sludge Ordinance. The MAP precipitation product is very soluble in different solvents (from ammonium chloride to hydrochloric acid). This implies that the precipitation product can be used as a long term fertilizer. In two test soils having a pH value of 6.6 and 7.1, the MAP precipitation solid was tested using standard ryegrass and showed good phosphorus availability from this material leading to a good grass growth.


2020 ◽  
Vol 167 ◽  
pp. 01010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boonchai Wichitsathian ◽  
Jareeya Yimratanabovorn ◽  
Watcharapol Wonglertarak

The excess sludge problem from a wastewater treatment plant is a great concerned due to the high cost of sludge management accounting for about 20% to 50% of the total operating cost. Therefore, sludge reduction is critical. Currently, aerobic and/or anaerobic sludge digestions are widely used in the industries for treating the excess sludge. The objective of this research was to study the effects of aeration rate and temperature on the excess sludge reduction by using the aerobic-anaerobic digestion system in the laboratory. The aeration rates of 1.0, 0.5, and 0.1 volume air per volume slurry per minute (vvm) at the room temperature and the thermophilic temperature (55 ± 2°C) were investigated. The results showed that the highest removal efficiency of aerobic sludge digestion was obtained at the thermophilic temperature and aeration rate of 1.0 vvm. The removal efficiency of organic matter in terms of COD, total solids (TS) and volatile solids (VS) were 34.76%, 33.01% and 43.45%, respectively. Consequently, the highest specific growth rate of microorganisms was 0.39 per hour and the substrate removal rate was 0.55 milligram CODremoved per milligram VSS per hour. Furthermore, slowly biodegradable organic matter was hydrolyzed to readily biodegradable organic matter and inert soluble organic matter. When the sludge effluent from aerobic sludge digestion was feed to the anaerobic sludge digestion, the removal efficiency of organic matter in terms of COD, TS and VS were increased by 25%, 17% and 28%, respectively. Moreover, the obtained methane production rate in the anaerobic sludge digestion was approximate 0.234 m3/kg COD removed.


2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Wu ◽  
P. L. Bishop ◽  
T. C. Keener ◽  
J. Stallard ◽  
L. Stile

Anaerobic sludge digestion is a widely adopted process for sludge stabilization. Phosphate removal from anaerobic supernatant is necessary to limit the phosphate returned to the head of the treatment plant, thereby improving the overall treatment efficiency. In this study, magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2) was used to improve the sludge digestion efficiency and to remove phosphorus from anaerobic supernatant. The anaerobic sludge digestion experiment was conducted at a pilot scale, and the results showed that applying Mg(OH)2 to anaerobic sludge digester resulted in a larger reduction in SS and COD, a higher biogas production rate, a lower level of phosphate and ammonia nitrogen concentrations in the sludge supernatant and an improved sludge dewaterability. Research results at both lab scale and pilot scale on phosphorus removal from anaerobic supernatant using Mg(OH)2 showed that a high removal of phosphorus can be achieved through the addition of Mg(OH)2. The required reaction time depends on the initial phosphorus concentration and the Mg(OH)2 dosage.


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