Improving activated sludge floc structure and aggregation for enhanced settling and thickening performances

1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 35-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Clauss ◽  
D. Helaine ◽  
C. Balavoine ◽  
A. Bidault

The effluent quality of a sewage plant using the activated sludge process depends upon the flocculation efficiency. Intensive research work has been devoted to understanding flocculation phenomena and to correct biological disorders. The addition of very fine but dense mineral particles to the aeration tank immediately improves floc formation and increases the weight of the new flocs created. The first consequence is an effective separation between the solid and the liquid phases in the secondary clarifier. In the longer term, the fine particles improve floc structuring and form stable and strong flocs. This has been demonstrated by sending a modified activated sludge through the high shear strength of pumps and hydrocyclones. The mineral of choice is a natural blend of talc and related minerals. These fine talc particles offer a solution to solve floc settleability problems which so frequently arise when biological disorders appear in waste water treatment plants. Despite the addition of insoluble particles the amount of sludge expelled does not increase. The thickening and dewatering properties are improved.

1997 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 57-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bidault ◽  
F. Clauss ◽  
D. Helaine ◽  
C. Balavoine

The quality of the effluent from a waste water treatment plant using the activated sludge process depends upon the bacteria flocculation efficiency. Intensive research work has been devoted to understanding flocculation phenomena and to correct disorders. The addition of very fine but dense talc particles to the aeration tank immediately improves floc formation and densifies the new flocs created. In the longer term, the fine talc particles improve floc structuration and form stable and strong flocs. This has been demonstrated by running a modified activated sludge through the high shear strength of pumps and hydrocyclones. These fine talc particles offer a solution to solve floc settleability problems which so frequently arise when biological disorders appear in waste water treatment plants. Two practical cases are presented.


2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (9) ◽  
pp. 229-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.R. Alavi Moghaddam ◽  
H. Satoh ◽  
T. Mino

A coarse pore filter can be applied inside the aeration tank instead of sedimentation tank for liquid separation from the sludge. It has pores, which are irregular in shape, and much bigger than micro-filtration membrane pores in size. The objective of the study was to investigate the effect of important operational parameters such as flux, aeration intensity, and solid retention time (SRT) on the performance of the coarse pore filtration activated sludge process. The effect of these parameters was studied in laboratory scale experiments. It was found that the flux had a significant role in the effluent quality of this system. The effluent SS and turbidity were not changed significantly at different aeration intensities. Three SRTs, 10, 30 and longer days (without excess sludge) were used for three reactors to check the effect of this parameter on the system performance. The results of the reactors with SRTs about 10 and 30 days have shown very good effluent quality without any filter clogging for more than 4 months operation. For the reactor with long SRT, the filter clogging was observed after about 80 days of operation, which caused the increase of the operation pressure and deterioration in the effluent quality for a few days.


1990 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 249-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Dilek Çetin ◽  
Gülerman Sürücü

In efficient and economical treatment of wastewaters,the settleability of activated sludge is of prime importance. Efficient settlement in the secondary sedimentation tank is required, both to keep the desired effluent quality and to sustain the necessary amount of microorganisms in the aeration tank. On the other hand, the settleability of microorganisms in the secondary clarifier is very dependent on the physiological and biochemical nature of activated sludge flocs, which are determined by the conditions of the aeration tank. In this research, effects of temperature and pH of aeration basin on settleability of activated sludge were studied. Settleability was measured by zone settling velocity and sludge volume index (SVI). Five different temperatures and four different pH values were operated in the aeration basin. It was found that the settleability of activated sludge is greatly affected by these two parameters.


1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 251-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Chambers

In the UK there are about 7500 sewage treatment works of which 85% serve populations of less than 5000. Many of the smaller works do not comply with effluent quality standards and options for improving treatment are being pursued by many water companies. WRc have developed designs for packaged activated sludge systems to serve populations in the range 100 - 1000 persons. A detailed design has been completed for a population equivalent of about 600. Target effluent quality is 15:20:5 mg/l of BOD, SS and ammonia nitrogen respectively on a 95 percentile basis. The activated sludge system is designed to operate as a batch process with aeration and sludge settlement both occurring in the same tank. Batch operated activated sludge plants are known to produce sludges with good settling properties providing the influent wastewater is admitted into the aeration tank in controlled manner. Therefore a specially designed holding tank has been included as the first stage in the treatment sequence. All process tanks are specified as glass-coated steel installed on a flat concrete base. Target construction cost for 600 population is ₤350 per capita.


1988 ◽  
Vol 20 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 121-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Chambers ◽  
G. L. Jones

Requirements to improve effluent quality and reduce operating costs at existing activated sludge plants in the UK have led to the development of an accurate mathematical model of the process which can be used for full-scale design. The WRc Activated Sludge Model has been developed over a number of years and is based on the concept of describing the kinetics of BOD removal by including a Monod term for growth and a Michaelis-Menten term for enzymatic activity. Since the first formulation of the model, further equations have been added which describe the use of oxygen and nitrate as electron acceptors for the conversion of BOD. The model equations can be used to predict the performance of most configurations of the activated sludge process by using the ‘tanks in series' concept to describe aeration tank mixing characteristics. Solutions to the equations are easily obtained by standard numerical integration techniques using a computer. The software has been written in such a way that the model can be used interactively by a plant designer. Results obtained using the mathematical model have been used to redesign several full-scale activated sludge plants in the UK. In some cases, it has been possible to reduce the energy costs for aeration by 40% whilst maintaining effluent quality by accurately matching the supply of oxygen to the spatially-varying oxygen demand in plug-flow aeration tanks. Bulking sludge problems have also been solved by the conversion of completely-mixed aeration tanks to plug-flow aeration tanks with complementary redesign of the aeration system.


Author(s):  
О.В. Харькина ◽  
К.Р. Искалиева ◽  
Е.В. Малич

Проведено сравнение результатов расчета аэротенков по модели ATV (Standard ATV-DVWK-A131 E «Dimension of Single-Stage Activated Sludge Plants 2000»), которая является стохастической «табличной» моделью, и по модели ASM2d, которая относится к теоретическим и описывает, в отличие от ATV, процессы биологической очистки сточных вод с помощью формул ферментативной кинетики. Расчеты выполнены для одних и тех же входных данных. Результаты расчетов показали существенную ограниченность использования модели ATV. Данная модель, как изначально указано авторами в ее описании, рассчитывает аэротенки только на единственное значение качества очищенной воды по аммонийному азоту 1 мг/л и не рассчитывает аэротенки на нитриты. Более того, сравнение ATVс ASM2d показало, что и достижение указанного качества очищенной воды по аммонийному азоту 1 мг/л возможно только при конкретных значениях кинетических констант, которые были определены авторами в данной статье, а изменение хотя бы одного из кинетических параметров сточных вод приводит к увеличению необходимого значения аэробного возраста активного ила и, как следствие, расчетного объема аэробной зоны на десятки процентов, что доказывает риск недостижения требуемого качества очищенной воды при использовании модели ATVдаже на концентрацию аммонийного азота 1 мг/л. С учетом того, что методика ATV не рассчитывает аэротенки на качество очищенных вод по нитритам, результаты проведенного нами расчета показывают, что предлагаемые в ATVзначения аэробного возраста активного ила 4,05 суток для температуры 17 ºС позволят достичь качество очищенной воды по азоту нитритов 0,35–0,52 мг/л N–NO2. Это доказывает невозможность использования ATV, если даны требования к качеству очищенной воды по нитритам. Авторами на основании проведенных расчетов сделаны выводы о риски недостижения качества очищенной воды по аммонийному азоту, как и 1 мг/л при использовании ATV, из-за того, что ATVявляется стохастической моделью, то есть все представленные в данной методике зависимости были определены для конкретных условий проведения работ. Более того, как и указано в описании ATV, данная методика применима, даже в ограниченных условиях, строго для городских сточных вод. Проведенные расчеты показали, что при наличии требований к качеству очищенной воды по нитритам, вне зависимости от значений требуемых концентраций нитритов, методика ATVне подходит вообще, при этом ASM2dс учетом того, что она основывается на формулах ферментативной кинетики, позволяет рассчитывать аэротенки на любое требуемое качество очищенной воды как по аммонийному азоту, так и по азоту нитритов и применима для любого типа сточных вод. A comparison is made of the results of calculating aeration tanks by ATV model (Standard ATV-DVWK-A131 E «Dimension of Single-Stage Activated Sludge Plants 2000»), that is a stochastic «table» model, and by ASM2d model, that is referred to as theoretical and describes, unlike ATV, biological wastewater treatment processes using enzymatic kinetics formulas. Calculations are performed for the same input data. The calculation results show essentially limited use of ATV model; this model, as originally given in the description of this model by the designers, provides for calculating aeration tanks only for a single value of the effluent quality in terms of ammonia nitrogen as 1 mg/l and does not provide for calculating aeration tanks in terms of nitrites. Moreover, the comparison of ATV and ASM2d show that achieving the specified quality of effluent in terms of ammonia nitrogen as 1 mg/l is possible only at specific values ​​of the kinetic constants determined by the authors in this article; whereas, any change in at least one kinetic parameter of the wastewater results in an increase in the required aerobic age of activated sludge and, as a consequence, in the calculated volume of the aerobic zone by tens of percent, which proves the risk of not achieving the required effluent quality while using ATV model even for ammonium nitrogen concentration of 1 mg/l. Taking into account the fact that ATV Method does not provide for calculating aeration tanks for the effluent quality in terms of nitrites, the results of our calculation show that the aerobic age of activated sludge of 4.05 days for a temperature of 17 ºС proposed in ATV will make it possible to achieve the effluent quality in terms of nitrite nitrogen, 0.35–0.52 mg/l N–NO2, proving the unavailability of ATV, if the requirements to the effluent quality in terms of nitrites are specified. The authors, on the basis of the calculations, make conclusions about the risk of failure to achieve the effluent quality in terms of ammonia nitrogen as well as 1 mg/l while using ATV, because ATV is a stochastic model, that is, all dependencies presented in this method have been determined for the specific operating conditions. Moreover, as specified in the ATV description, this method, even in limited conditions, is applicable strictly for urban wastewater. The calculations show that if there are requirements for the effluent quality in terms of nitrites, regardless of the required concentration value of nitrites, the ATV method is absolutely not suitable, while ASM2d, taking into account the fact that it is based on the formulas of enzymatic kinetics, provides for calculating aeration tanks for any required effluent quality in terms of both ammonium nitrogen and nitrite nitrogen and is applicable for any type of wastewater.


1997 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 163-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshio Sakai ◽  
Tetsuro Fukase ◽  
Hidenari Yasui ◽  
Masahide Shibata

An activated sludge process which produces no excess sludge was developed. The process is very simple as a small amount of return sludge is ozonated and then returned to the aeration tank. The ozonation enhances biodegradability of activated sludge, which is biologically oxidized in the aeration tank. A full-scale plant for treating 450m3/d of municipal wastewater was constructed and has been operated successfully for 9 months. The amount of excess sludge eliminated is directly proportional to the amount of ozone dosed to the sludge. At the ozone dosing rate of 0.034 kg/kg-SS, complete elimination of excess sludge has been achieved when 4 times more amount of sludge is ozonated than that of the excess sludge expected in the treatment without ozonation. After 5 months of operation without any withdrawal of excess sludge, small amount of inorganic substances like sand and silt accumulated in the sludge. On the other hand, inert organic substances does not seem to accumulate. As for effluent quality, BOD and nitrogen were kept good. Although effluent SS was 2–15 mg/l higher compared to a control without ozonation, it has been well below the discharge limit.


1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 145-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Kamiya ◽  
J. Hirotsuji

A new system combining both biological treatment and intermittent ozonation has been developed to reduce excess sludge production with a small amount of ozone. In this system, activated sludge in the aeration tank was circulated via intermittent ozonation. Experimental results have shown that 50% of the sludge generation was cut down with only 30% of the ozone dose required for continuous ozonation. Furthermore, the process had a remarkable effect on maintaining the sludge settling characteristics. The sludge ozonation was almost of little influence on the effluent quality though the slight degradation of effluent quality was observed in few cases. These facts suggested the effectiveness of the newly proposed system for saving costs and stabilizing treatment performance of biological waste water treatment processes.


1984 ◽  
Vol 16 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 119-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
W Hegemann

The volume of the activated sludge aeration tank is influenced by f/m ratio and attainable biomass concentration. Increase of biomass results in smaller tank volume. In case of overloaded plants restoration may be achieved by increase of biomass instead of construction of further tank volume. Pieces of porous plastic media filled into ordinary compressed air aeration tanks may serve as fixed film biomass support. By this method biomass concentration in the tank may be increased to two or three times normal values. At the same time the sludge volume index of the activated sludge flocs still present in the aeration tank is improved. Better sedimentation and thickening of the activated sludge occurs because smaller quantities of flocs are passed to the final clarifiers. Results of tests with different types of waste water in semi-technical scale pilot plants as well as in existing plants of different sizes are presented.


1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (12) ◽  
pp. 97-106
Author(s):  
R. J. van der Kuij ◽  
A. G. N. van Bentem ◽  
F. Th. van Breukelen

From 1 January 1995 in The Netherlands 75% of the phosphorus in the influent has to be removed in the waste water treatment plants (wwtp's). At this moment 40 – 50% is reduced by biological incorporation and some chemical dosing. By additional measures an extra 35% reduction has to be accomplished. A further reduction of total nitrogen to 75% has to be realised from 1 January 1998. Further extension of the activated sludge system is not always possible and in most cases rather expensive. Therefore optimization of the existing treatment plant is considered. For this purpose the advanced simulation model STREAM• is used. With STREAM• almost every waste water treatment plant can be simulated with the computer. In this way, for example, the effect of different control mechanisms and other measures can be studied without costly research. Computer simulation has been applied at the Kralingseveer wwtp of the HH van Schieland (Waterboard in the Netherlands) to optimize aeration control and to evaluate a number of technological process adjustments. Attempts are being made to reduce nitrogen drastically using equipment currently available, supplemented where possible with other limited measures. It can be concluded from the results of simulation, that the use of integrated aeration control, whereby influent flow, and nitrate and ammonium concentrations in the activated sludge are measured on-line, further improves the treatment process. Furthermore, when the sludge content in the aeration tank is raised and nitrogen is removed from the internal return flows, it seems that an average annual effluent quality of 10 mg Ntotal/1 is feasible. Verification of these factors will be carried out in the near future using practical measurements. The Kralingseveer project demonstrates that computer simulation is more than simply a ‘game’. It has become a real means of guiding or even limiting the need for extensive and costly (practical) investigation.


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