Wastewater treatment with submerged fixed bed biofilm reactor systems – design rules, operating experiences and ongoing developments

2007 ◽  
Vol 55 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 83-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Schlegel ◽  
H. Koeser

Wastewater treatment systems using bio-films that grow attached to a support media are an alternative to the widely used suspended growth activated sludge process. Different fixed growth biofilm reactors are commercially used for the treatment of municipal as well as industrial wastewater. In this paper a fairly new fixed growth biofilm system, the submerged fixed bed biofilm reactor (SFBBR), is discussed. SFBBRs are based on aerated submerged fixed open structured plastic media for the support of the biofilm. They are generally operated without sludge recirculation in order to avoid clogging of the support media and problems with the control of the biofilm. Reactor and process design considerations for these reactors are reviewed. Measures to ensure the development and maintenance of an active biofilm are examined. SFBBRs have been applied successfully to small wastewater treatment plants where complete nitrification but no high degree of denitrification is necessary. For the pre-treatment of industrial wastewater the use of SFBBRs is advantageous, especially in cases of wastewater with high organic loading or high content of compounds with low biodegradability. Performance data from exemplary commercial plants are given. Ongoing research and development efforts aim at achieving a high simultaneous total nitrogen (TN) removal of aerated SFBBRs and at improving the efficiency of TN removal in anoxic SFBBRs.

1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 351-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Ødegaard ◽  
B. Rusten ◽  
H. Badin

In 1988 the State Pollution Control Authority in Norway made recommendations regarding process designs for small wastewater treatment plants. Amongst these were recommendations for biological/chemical plants where biofilm reactors were used in combination with pretreatment in large septic tanks and chemical post treatment. At the same time the socalled “moving bed biofilm reactor” (MBBR) was developed by a Norwegian company. In this paper, experiences from a small wastewater treatment plant, based on the MBBR and on the recommendations mentioned, will be presented.


2004 ◽  
Vol 48 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 169-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Andreottola ◽  
E. Damiani ◽  
P. Foladori ◽  
P. Nardelli ◽  
M. Ragazzi

Tourists visiting mountain refuges in the Alps have increased significantly in the last decade and the number of refuges and huts at high altitude too. In this research the results of an intensive monitoring of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) for a tourist mountain refuge located at 2,981 m a.s.l. are described. Two biofilm reactors were adopted: (a) a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR); (b) a submerged Fixed Bed Biofilm Reactor (FBBR). The aims of this research were: (i) the evaluation of the main parameters characterising the processes and involved in the design of the wastewater plants, in order to compare advantages and disadvantages of the two tested alternatives; (ii) the acquisition of an adequate knowledge of the problems connected with the wastewater treatment in alpine refuges. The main results have been: (i) a quick start-up of the biological reactors obtainable thanks to a pre-colonization before the transportation of the plastic carriers to the refuge at the beginning of the tourist season; (ii) low volume and area requirement; (iii) significantly higher removal efficiency compared to other fixed biomass systems, such as trickling filters, but the energy consumption is higher.


2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luchien Luning ◽  
Paul Roeleveld ◽  
Victor W.M. Claessen

In recent years new technologies have been developed to improve the biological degradation of sewage sludge by anaerobic digestion. The paper describes the results of a demonstration of ultrasonic disintegration on the Dutch Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Land van Cuijk. The effect on the degradation of organic matter is presented, together with the effect on the dewatering characteristics. Recommendations are presented for establishing research conditions in which the effect of sludge disintegration can be determined in a more direct way that is less sensitive to changing conditions in the operation of the WWTP. These recommendations have been implemented in the ongoing research in the Netherlands supported by the National Institute for wastewater research (STOWA).


1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 165-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Soares ◽  
S. A. Silva ◽  
R. de Oliveira ◽  
A. L. C. Araujo ◽  
D. D. Mara ◽  
...  

Ammonia removal was monitored in a waste stabilisation pond complex comprising ponds of different geometries and depths under two different operational regimes. It was found that a high degree of ammonia removal commenced in the secondary maturation ponds, with the highest removals occurring in the shallowest ponds as a consequence of improved aerobic conditions. The tertiary maturation ponds produced effluents with mean ammonia concentrations of < 5 mg N/l, the maximum permitted recommended by Brazilian environmental legislation for the discharge of effluents of wastewater treatment plants into surface waters. Ammonia removal in the secondary facultative and maturation ponds could be modelled using equations based on the volatilization mechanism proposed by Middlebrooks et al. (1982).


1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 33-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Pujol ◽  
M. Hamon ◽  
X. Kandel ◽  
H. Lemmel

More than fifty wastewater treatment plants worldwide (representing several millions p.e) are equipped with up-flow biofiltration reactors (BioforR). Their range of application encompasses municipal as well as industrial wastewater. A summary of the results achieved in a large number of plants is presented, accompanied by a description of the operating parameters and the treatment limitations with regard to various pollutants (C, N, P). The separation of functions into specific reactors combined with optimized wash conditions guarantees high treatment efficiency.


1991 ◽  
Vol 23 (7-9) ◽  
pp. 1417-1425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng-Kun Chen ◽  
Chin-Kun Juaw ◽  
Sheng-Shung Cheng

Two sets of fixed-film biological processes were operated separately for nitritification of amnonium and for denitritification of nitrite associated with organic compounds. High strength amnonium wastewater (50-1000 mg NH4+-N/l) could be effectively nitritified by a draft-tube fluidized bed which was operated at an extremely high loading of 1.0 kg NH4−1-N/m3.day with 95% amnonium conversion and 60 to 95% nitrite formation. Additionally, a biofilm fixed-bed was employed to denitritify the high strength nitrite (200 to 1000 mg NO2−-N/l) associated with organic compounds of glucose, acetate and benzoic acid. Complete nitrite removal could be achieved with sufficient HRT and COD/NO2−-N ratio. The conversion ratios were estimated experimentally at 2.5 for glucose and acetate, and 2.0 g ∆COD/g ∆NO2−-N for benzoic acid. A proposed process of an aerobic nitritifying biofilm reactor combined with an anoxic denitritifying biofilm reactor in series could be employed for complete nitrogen removal.


Author(s):  
Daniela CIUPEANU CĂLUGĂRU

For turning to a high degree of favorability of sludge from wastewater treatment plants, currently the reintroduction in the natural circuit of this waste is an urgent priority. Knowing precisely the composition of chemical and biological sludge from waste water in accordance with the law and the rules of their application, along with modern wastewater treatment appropriate technologies play a key role on environmental protection. Involvement by precise rules, the content of heavy metals in relation to the maximum permitted by law, translate in to particularly advantageous results in terms of environmental quality.


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