Using metazoa to reduce sludge production

1997 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 171-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. Rensink ◽  
W. H. Rulkens

Pilot plant experiments have been carried out to study the mineralization of sludge from biological wastewater treatment plants by worms such as Tubificidae. Trickling filters filled with lava slags were continuously fed with a certain quantity of excess activated sludge of a Dutch brewery wastewater treatment plant (Bavaria) by recirculation during 10 to 14 days. At the starting point of each experiment the trickling filters were inoculated with Tubificidae. Recirculation of sludge showed that use of Tubificidae resulted in a COD reduction of the sludge (mixed liquor) of 18–67–. Without worms this reduction was substantially lower. The sludge production in a pilot activated sludge system for treating settled domestic wastewater reduced from 0.40 to 0.15 g MLSS/g COD removed when Tubificidae were added to the system. The lower amounts of sludge were always accompanied by an increase of nitrate and phosphate concentration in the wastewater. There was no disturbance of the nitrification process. Application of Tubificidae or other worms may have interesting potential for practical application.

2004 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 251-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.S. Moussa ◽  
A.R. Rojas ◽  
C.M. Hooijmans ◽  
H.J. Gijzen ◽  
M.C.M. van Loosdrecht

Computer modelling has been used in the last 15 years as a powerful tool for understanding the behaviour of activated sludge wastewater treatment systems. However, computer models are mainly applied for domestic wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Application of these types of models to industrial wastewater treatment plants requires a different model structure and an accurate estimation of the kinetics and stoichiometry of the model parameters, which may be different from the ones used for domestic wastewater. Most of these parameters are strongly dependent on the wastewater composition. In this study a modified version of the activated sludge model No. 1 (ASM 1) was used to describe a tannery WWTP. Several biological tests and complementary physical-chemical analyses were performed to characterise the wastewater and sludge composition in the context of activated sludge modelling. The proposed model was calibrated under steady-state conditions and validated under dynamic flow conditions. The model was successfully used to obtain insight into the existing plant performance, possible extension and options for process optimisation. The model illustrated the potential capacity of the plant to achieve full denitrification and to handle a higher hydraulic load. Moreover, the use of a mathematical model as an effective tool in decision making was demonstrated.


1994 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 181-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
René Dupont ◽  
Ole Sinkjær

The objective of the work presented is to demonstrate how computer based models can be used to improve the effluent quality from wastewater treatment plants by optimisation of the operation. The investigation was carried out in connection with pilot plant investigations at Damhusllen Wastewater Treatment Plant in order to establish the design basis for upgrading the treatment plants in the city of Copenhagen. Calibration of the model was done with thorough characterisation of the wastewater and the activated sludge as the primary calibration tool. Special attention was paid to the nitrification process, which by previous investigations was shown to be occasionally inhibited. Model constants for the nitrification process were detennined from experiments. Default constants were used for nearly all other constants. The pilot plant was optimized with the calibrated model. Different operational strategies for improvement of the denitrification process were tested. The denitrification process was operated relatively poorly at the time for the optimisation. The calibration showed that it was possible to calibrate the model using the characterization of the wastewater and the activated sludge as the primary calibration tool. Further it was shown that the calihrated model could be used as a tool for optimising the operation of the pilot plant. The suggested operation correlated well with the practical realisable operation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1461
Author(s):  
Jorge Sancho Martínez ◽  
Yadira Bajón Fernández ◽  
Paul Leinster ◽  
Mónica Rivas Casado

Wastewater treatment plants are essential for preserving the water quality of freshwater and marine ecosystems. It is estimated that, in the UK, as much as 11 billion liters of wastewater are treated on a daily basis. Effective and efficient treatment of wastewater requires treatment plants to be maintained in good condition. Recent studies have highlighted the potential of unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and image processing to be used in autonomous and automated monitoring systems. However, the combined use of UASs and image processing for wastewater treatment plant inspections has not yet been tested. This paper presents a novel image processing-UAS framework for the identification of failures in trickling filters and activated sludge facilities. The results show that the proposed framework has an accuracy of 95% in the detection of failures in activated sludge assets, with the accuracy ranging between 55% and 81% for trickling filters. These results are promising and they highlight the potential use of the technology for the inspection of wastewater treatment plants.


2010 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Matulova ◽  
P. Hlavinek ◽  
M. Drtil

This paper evaluates the results from a 12-month study of a single-household wastewater treatment plant with submerged membrane module (household MBR plant) that was monitored from winter to winter season. The samples were collected at least twice a week (an intensive research study at real conditions). The household MBR (membrane bioreactor) plant was linked to a family house with 4 residents. In this study the treatment plant was fed by real domestic wastewater. In contrast to most other experiments with small-scale WWTPs (wastewater treatment plants) carried out in laboratories and facilities of large municipal WWTPs (polygons) which guarantee stable and flexible operation but the characteristics of wastewater and activated sludge in these studies usually differ from those that occur in real small-scale/single-household WWTPs. One of the main goals of this research was to test the response of membrane and activated sludge to different conditions during real operation of the household MBR plant, such as a long period of zero influent/load, or vice versa the presence of a large amount of concentrated wastewater (e.g. during the weekend), very low winter temperatures (water temperature below 5–6°C), high pH values, and the presence of domestic detergents.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-418
Author(s):  
Aušra Mažeikienė ◽  
Julita Starenko

It is important to control not only the large wastewater treatment plants work, but also the work of individual small wastewater treatment plants for the protection of environment. Individual small wastewater treatment plants can become the local sources of pollution, when they are not functioning properly. Sewage purification indicators are not always the same as declared at wastewater treatment plants documentation in real conditions, so it is important to control the properly work of individual small wastewater treatment plants. The work of the small wastewater treatment plant AT-6 was analyzed by the treated sewage results (BDS7, SM, NH4-N, NO3-N, NO2-N, PO4-P), the quality of activated sludge, biological indicators and enzymatic activity in this article. The nitrification process was not going very well by the results of research, because there was the 72 mg/l concentration of ammonium nitrogen remaining in the cleaned wastewater. The morphological study of the activated sludge has confirmed the hypothesis that the necessary conditions for nitrification process were not established. The oxygen supply was increased and the small wastewater treatment plant functioning become more efficient, because nitrification process started working properly – there was less than 1 mg/l of ammonium nitrogen remaining in the cleaned wastewater.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 372-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kareem Hatam-Nahavandi ◽  
Mehdi Mohebali ◽  
Amir-Hossein Mahvi ◽  
Hossein Keshavarz ◽  
Khadijeh Khanaliha ◽  
...  

Five municipal and domestic wastewater treatment plants, most of which had secondary treatment systems formed by activated sludge, were studied during 2013–2014 in Tehran. The study was done in order to evaluate their efficiency in terms of removal of Cryptosporidium and Giardia by (oo)cyst recovery in effluent samples using immunofluorescence with monoclonal antibodies. Results showed that mean concentrations of cysts in the influent samples always outnumbered mean concentrations of oocysts (883.3 ± 4,16.7–3,191.7 ± 1,067.2 versus 4.8 ± 6.2–83.8 ± 77.3 (oo)cysts/L), and that lower concentrations of (oo)cysts were recorded in summer, and higher levels in autumn, and that the difference was statistically significant (t-test, P <0.05) only in wastewater from slaughterhouses. Results for removal percentages of all the plants ranged from 76.7 to 92.1% for cysts and from 48.9 to 90.8% for oocysts. There was more reduction of (oo)cysts at the urban treatment plant by activated sludge-A2O-sand filtration than at plants with conventional activated sludge and activated sludge-trickling filter, however, this difference was not statistically significant for cysts and oocysts (ANOVA, P > 0.05). Infections in mice inoculated with cysts obtained from urban wastewater effluent demonstrated presence of infectious Giardia cysts. Results demonstrate limited efficiency of conventional wastewater treatment processes at physico-chemical removal of (oo)cysts.


1991 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 233-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nik Fuaad Nik Abllah ◽  
Aik Heng Lee

A laboratory study was conducted to determine the feasibility of batch activated sludge reactor for treating pineapple wastewater and to examine the effects of bioaugmentation on treatment performance. The experimental set-up consists of eleven batch reactors. Activated sludge obtained from a wastewater treatment plant treating domestic wastewater was used as seed for the reactors. Synthetic pineapple wastewater was used as feed for the reactors. The eleven reactors were arranged to evaluate the total organic removal, nitrification, and sludge production by bioaugmentation process. Three major factors considered were influent organic loading, ammonia-nitrogen, and dosage of bacterial-culture-product addition. Removal of TOG (total organic carbon), sludge production in terms of SS(suspended solids), and ammonia-nitrogen removal variation are used as evaluation parameters. The TOC removal efficiency after the end of a 48 hour reactor run, for influent TOC of 350.14 to 363.30 mg/l, and 145.92 to 169.66 mg/l, was 94.41 to 95.89%, and 93.72 to 94.73% respectively. Higher organic removal was observed in the bioaugmented reactors with higher organic loading. The better organic removal efficiency in the bioaugmented reactors was probably due to activities of bacteria added. The test results also indicated that sludge yield was enhanced by the bacteria additive and high bacteria dosage produced less sludge. Bioaugmentation was observed to be a suitable alternative for enhancing the biological treatment of pineapple wastewater.


1994 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralf Otterpohl ◽  
Thomas Rolfs ◽  
Jörg Londong

Computer simulation of activated sludge plant for nitrogen removal has become a reliable tool to predict the behaviour of the plant Models including biological phosphorus removal still require some practical experience but they should be available soon. This will offer an even wider range than today's work with nitrogen removal. One major benefit of computer simulation of wastewater treatment plants (WTP) is the optimization of operation. This can be done offline if hydrographs of a plant are collected and computer work is done with “historical” analysis. With online simulation the system is fed with hydrographs up to the actual time. Prognosis can be done from the moment of the computer work based on usual hydrographs. The work of the authors shows how accuratly a treatment plant can be described, when many parameters are measured and available as hydrographs. A very careful description of all details of the special plant is essential, requiring a flexible simulation tool. Based on the accurate simulation a wide range of operational decisions can be evaluated. It was possible to demonstrate that the overall efficiency in nitrogen removal and energy consumption of ml activated sludge plant can be improved.


1992 ◽  
Vol 26 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 783-790
Author(s):  
J. Pedersen

A newly developed simulation program, based on the Activated Sludge Model No. 1, has been investigated for its controlling abilities. The program is capable of simulating most of the control types which have been applied to wastewater treatment plants. The program was tested on a nitrifying and a denitrifying treatment plant. The results showed that the model makes good simulations of the applied controls.


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