Causes and effects of foaming in anaerobic sludge digesters

1997 ◽  
Vol 36 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 463-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishna R. Pagilla ◽  
Kent C. Craney ◽  
Wendell H. Kido
Keyword(s):  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Anaerobic Sludge ◽  
Waste Activated Sludge ◽  
Foam Layer ◽  
Anaerobic Digesters ◽  
Primary Sludge ◽  
Total Solids ◽  
Volatile Solids ◽  
Different Depths

Full scale anaerobic digesters treating mixed sludge containing primary sludge and thickened waste activated sludge were investigated for causes and effects of foaming. Sludge samples were collected from different depths of two full scale digesters, one gas-mixed, and the other mechanically-mixed, to determine the extent of foaming and its effects on anaerobic digestion; both digesters were fed the same feed sludge (3.4% TS) and at the same feed rate (about 2.2 kg TS/m3.day). The average depth of the surface foam layer in the gas-mixed and mechanically-mixed digester were 2.4 and 1.3 m respectively. Higher total solids concentrations were found at the surface (about 5% TS) than those found at the bottom (about 2% TS) in both gas-mixed and mechanically-mixed digesters, indicating an inverse total solids profile. Presence of excessive levels of Nocardia filaments (>106 number/g VSS) in the activated sludge caused thicker foam layer at the surface, and this effect was more pronounced in the gas-mixed digester than in the mechanically-mixed digester. Gas-mixed digester (0.74 m3/kg VS destroyed) produced less sludge gas than the mechanically-mixed digester (0.93 m3/kg VS destroyed), however, gas-mixed digester (62% VS reduction) destroyed more volatile solids than the mechanically-mixed digester (54% VS reduction). These results indicate that gas-mixed digesters are more prone to foaming than mechanically-mixed digesters, and that the foaming can increase when excessive levels of Nocardia filaments are present in the feed sludge causing decreased digester performance.

Nocardia effects in waste activated sludge

1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishna R. Pagilla ◽  
David Jenkins ◽  
Wendell Kido
Keyword(s):  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Foam Stability ◽  
Anaerobic Digester ◽  
Waste Activated Sludge ◽  
Dissolved Air Flotation ◽  
Anaerobic Digesters ◽  
Primary Sludge ◽  
Mixed Liquor ◽  
Dissolved Air ◽  
Batch Foaming

Two effects of Nocardia in waste activated sludge (WAS) were investigated: (i) the influence of WAS in the solids treatment recycle streams on Nocardia persistence in the activated sludge, and (ii) the effect of Nocardia in WAS on anaerobic digester foaming. About 4% of the Nocardia present in the mixed liquor was due to seeding from the WAS solids in the dissolved air flotation thickener recycle stream recycle. Nocardia filaments in WAS at levels of between 104 to 106 intersections/g VSS resulted in Nocardia levels of approximately 104 to 105 intersections/g VSS in anaerobic digesters that treated both WAS and primary sludge. The effect of disinfecting these Nocardia filaments in the WAS with Cl2 was investigated at Cl2 dose ranges of 20-60 mg Cl2/l WAS and 100-200 mg Cl2/l WAS on a lab scale using batch foaming tests to assess success. Chlorination with 20 - 60 mg Cl2/l WAS approximately doubled both sludge foaming potential and foam stability. At Cl2 doses of 100-200 mg Cl2/l WAS, foaming potential was increased almost 10-fold, and foam stability was increased by 2.5 times. These results indicate that chlorination of WAS feed to an anaerobic digester for inactivation of Nocardia should not be practiced.

scholarly journals Energy-Positive Disintegration of Waste Activated Sludge—Full Scale Study

Energies ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 555
Author(s):  
Monika Zubrowska-Sudol ◽  
Katarzyna Sytek-Szmeichel ◽  
Piotr Krawczyk ◽  
Agnieszka Bisak
Keyword(s):  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Volatile Fatty Acids ◽  
Biogas Production ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Positive Energy ◽  
Anaerobic Sludge ◽  
Waste Activated Sludge ◽  
Mechanical Disintegration ◽  
Positive Disintegration

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of mechanical disintegration of waste activated sludge (WAS) on full scale anaerobic digestion, considering the possibility of obtaining a positive energy balance. The results showed that an increase in energy density (εL) used in disintegration was accompanied by an increase in the release of organic compounds from sludge (SCOD increased from 211 ± 125 mg O2/L for εL = 0 kJ/L to 6292 ± 2860 mgO2/L for εL = 180 kJ/L). Some of them were volatile fatty acids. The percentage share of WAS subject to disintegration was also documented as a crucial parameter affecting the efficiency of biogas production. An increase in the value of this parameter from 25% to 100%, even at much lower εL used in disintegration (therefore with much smaller amounts of organic compounds released from sludge flocs) resulted in an increase in biogas production. Conducting disintegration of the entire stream of WAS directed to the fermentation tank at εL 30 kJ/L resulted in an increase in biogas production by 14.1%. Such a surplus would allow production of approximately 360 kWh/d net electricity. Mechanical disintegration of thickened WAS therefore may be an economically justifiable strategy for the intensification of anaerobic sludge stabilisation.

Comparison of Aerobic and Anoxic-Aerobic Digestion of Waste Activated Sludge

1985 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 1475-1478 ◽  
Author(s):  
A P. C. Warner ◽  
G. A. Ekama ◽  
G v. R. Marais
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Waste Activated Sludge ◽  
Activated Sludge Process ◽  
Cycle Times ◽  
Waste Sludge ◽  
Volatile Solids ◽  
In Series ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
Theoretical Simulations

The laboratory scale experimental investigation comprised a 6 day sludge age activated sludge process, the waste sludge of which was fed to a number of digesters operated as follows: single reactor flow through digesters at 4 or 6 days sludge age, under aerobic and anoxic-aerobic conditions (with 1,5 and 4 h cycle times) and 3-in-series flow through aerobic digesters each at 4 days sludge age; all digesters were fed draw-and-fill wise once per day. The general kinetic model for the aerobic activated sludge process set out by Dold et al., (1980) and extended to the anoxic-aerobic process by van Haandel et al., (1981) simulated accurately all the experimental data (Figs 1 to 4) without the need for adjusting the kinetic constants. Both theoretical simulations and experimental data indicate that (i) the rate of volatile solids destruction is not affected by the incorporation of anoxic cycles and (ii) the specific denitrification rate is independent of sludge age and is K4T = 0,046(l,029)(T-20) mgNO3-N/(mg active VSS. d) i.e. about 2/3 of that in the secondary anoxic of the single sludge activated sludge stystem. An important consequence of (i) and (ii) above is that denitrification can be integrated easily in the steady state digester model of Marais and Ekama (1976) and used for design (Warner et al., 1983).

scholarly journals Microalgae as biological treatment for municipal wastewater – effects on the sludge handling in a treatment plant

2018 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 644-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Olsson ◽  
S. Schwede ◽  
E. Nehrenheim ◽  
E. Thorin
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Biological Treatment ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Waste Activated Sludge ◽  
Activated Sludge Process ◽  
Primary Sludge ◽  
Thermophilic Conditions ◽  
Mesophilic Conditions

Abstract A mix of microalgae and bacteria was cultivated on pre-sedimented municipal wastewater in a continuous operated microalgae-activated sludge process. The excess material from the process was co-digested with primary sludge in mesophilic and thermophilic conditions in semi-continuous mode (5 L digesters). Two reference digesters (5 L digesters) fed with waste-activated sludge (WAS) and primary sludge were operated in parallel. The methane yield was slightly reduced (≈10%) when the microalgal-bacterial substrate was used in place of the WAS in thermophilic conditions, but remained approximately similar in mesophilic conditions. The uptake of heavy metals was higher with the microalgal-bacterial substrate in comparison to the WAS, which resulted in higher levels of heavy metals in the digestates. The addition of microalgal-bacterial substrate enhanced the dewaterability in thermophilic conditions. Finally, excess heat can be recovered in both mesophilic and thermophilic conditions.

Thermochemical pretreatment in the anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge

2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 173-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Tanaka ◽  
K. Kamiyama
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plant ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Municipal Sewage ◽  
Waste Activated Sludge ◽  
Anaerobic Digesters ◽  
Thermochemical Pretreatment ◽  
Methane Production Rate

Effects of a thermochemical pretreatment on the anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS) was investigated by semicontinuously-fed digesters operated at 37¡C. WAS from a return sludge line of a municipal sewage treatment plant was pretreated by autoclaving at 130°C for 5 minutes after adding 0.3g NaOH/g VSS. Solids of WAS were thermochemically solubilized to one half and then 60% or more were in totality solubilized in anaerobic digesters fed with pretreated WAS at 2-8 days of hydraulic retention times (HRT), while only 16-36% were solubilized in digesters fed with raw WAS. The adverse effect of the set temperature (130°C) on the biodegradability of protein was not found. As a result, removal rates of COD in digestion was increased from 38% to 57% at 8 days HRT by the pretreatment. A specific methane production rate in the pretreated process was three times as high as the normal process. The thermochemical pretreatment was found to be very effective to enhance biodegradability as well as solubilization of WAS in anaerobic digestion.

Application of the IWA Anaerobic Digestion Model (ADM1) for simulating full-scale anaerobic sewage sludge digestion

2005 ◽  
Vol 52 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 487-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Shang ◽  
B.R. Johnson ◽  
R. Sieger
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Steady State ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Biogas Production ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Biochemical Parameter ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Anaerobic Digesters ◽  
Biogas Yield ◽  
Volatile Solids

A steady-state implementation of the IWA Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 (ADM1) has been applied to the anaerobic digesters in two wastewater treatment plants. The two plants have a wastewater treatment capacity of 76,000 and 820,000 m3/day, respectively, with approximately 12 and 205 dry metric tons sludge fed to digesters per day. The main purpose of this study is to compare the ADM1 model results with full-scale anaerobic digestion performance. For both plants, the prediction of the steady-state ADM1 implementation using the suggested physico-chemical and biochemical parameter values was able to reflect the results from the actual digester operations to a reasonable degree of accuracy on all parameters. The predicted total solids (TS) and volatile solids (VS) concentration in the digested biosolids, as well as the digester volatile solids destruction (VSD), biogas production and biogas yield are within 10% of the actual digester data. This study demonstrated that the ADM1 is a powerful tool for predicting the steady-state behaviour of anaerobic digesters treating sewage sludges. In addition, it showed that the use of a whole wastewater treatment plant simulator for fractionating the digester influent into the ADM1 input parameters was successful.

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