scholarly journals The Influence of COD Fraction Forms and Molecules Size on Hydrolysis Process Developed by Comparative OUR Studies in Activated Sludge Modelling

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 929 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakub Drewnowski ◽  
Bartosz Szeląg ◽  
Li Xie ◽  
Xi Lu ◽  
Mahesh Ganesapillai ◽  
...  

The activated sludge models (ASMs) commonly used by the International Water Association (IWA) task group are based on chemical oxygen demand (COD) fractionations. However, the proper evaluation of COD fractions, which is crucial for modelling and especially oxygen uptake rate (OUR) predictions, is still under debate. The biodegradation of particulate COD is initiated by the hydrolysis process, which is an integral part of an ASM. This concept has remained in use for over 30 years. The aim of this study was to verify an alternative, more complex, modified (Activated Sludge Model No 2d) ASM2d for modelling the OUR variations and novel procedure for the estimation of a particulate COD fraction through the implementation of the GPS-X software (Hydromantis Environmental Software Solutions, Inc., Hamilton, ON, Canada) in advanced computer simulations. In comparison to the original ASM2d, the modified model more accurately predicted the OUR behavior of real settled wastewater (SWW) samples and SWW after coagulation–flocculation (C–F). The mean absolute relative deviations (MARDs) in OUR were 11.3–29.5% and 18.9–45.8% (original ASM2d) vs. 9.7–15.8% and 11.8–30.3% (modified ASM2d) for the SWW and the C–F samples, respectively. Moreover, the impact of the COD fraction forms and molecules size on the hydrolysis process rate was developed by integrated OUR batch tests in activated sludge modelling.

2013 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 1136-1144 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Drewnowski

The hydrolysis process of slowly biodegradable substrate (XS) has an impact on the efficiencies of nutrient removal in activated sludge systems. Measurement of oxygen utilization rates (OURs) and corresponding chemical oxygen demand (COD) is accepted as a very useful tool to reflect the consumption of biodegradable substrates. The influence of the SS fraction in biological wastewater treatment systems has been extensively investigated, but little information is known about the effects of XS on OUR. The aim of this study was to determine the immediate effects of particulate and colloidal (XS) biodegradable compounds on oxygen utilization for a full-scale process mixed liquor from a large wastewater treatment plant located in northern Poland. Since it is difficult to distinguish XS in a direct way, a novel procedure, based on the standard batch tests, was developed and run in parallel reactors with settled wastewater (SWW) and pretreated SWW samples. Two types of aerobic OUR experiments with low and high substrate/biomass (S0/X0 ratio) concentration, were carried out with the SWW without pretreatment, and pretreated with a coagulation–flocculation (C–F) method. The removal of colloidal and particulate fractions by C–F resulted in reduced process rates. The major discrepancy in the rate reductions (over 300% referred to the OURmax) was observed during the OUR batch test with high S0/X0 ratio.


2018 ◽  
Vol 78 (8) ◽  
pp. 1772-1781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyungjun (Brian) Jo ◽  
Wayne Parker ◽  
Peiman Kianmehr

Abstract A range of thermal pretreatment conditions were used to evaluate the impact of high pressure thermal hydrolysis on the biodegradability of waste activated sludge (WAS) under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. It was found that pretreatment did not increase the overall extent to which WAS could be aerobically biodegraded. Thermal pretreatment transformed the biodegradable fraction of WAS (XH) to readily biodegradable chemical oxygen demand (COD) (SB) (16.5–34.6%) and slowly biodegradable COD (XB) (45.8–63.6%). The impact of pretreatment temperature and duration on WAS COD fractionation did not follow a consistent pattern as changes in COD solubilization did not correspond to the observed generation of SB through pretreatment. The pretreated WAS (PWAS) COD fractionations determined from aerobic respirometry were employed in anaerobic modeling and it was concluded that the aerobic and anaerobic biodegradability of PWAS differed. It was found that thermal pretreatment resulted in as much as 50% of the endogenous decay products becoming biodegradable in anaerobic digestion. Overall, it was concluded that the COD fractionation that was developed based upon the aerobic respirometry was valid. However, it was necessary to implement a first-order decay process that reflected changes in the anaerobic biodegradability of the endogenous products through pretreatment.


1996 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 43-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver J. Hao ◽  
Shin Chien-Jen ◽  
Lin Cheng-Fang ◽  
Jeng Fu-Tien ◽  
Chen Zen-Chyuan

Conventional parameters such as chemical oxygen demand and suspended solids may not detect toxic compounds present in a variety of industrial wastewaters and treated wastes. Thus, the presence of toxicity in many industrial wastes presents a significant impact on biological wastewater treatment, and exerts adverse effects on receiving waters. Because of their easy technique and rapid turnaround results, the Microtox tests were used in this study to pinpoint unusual wastewaters, evaluate the toxicity reduction through activated sludge processes, observe the impact of excessive chemical addition to meet the transparency standard, and measure the impact of waste discharge on one particular receiving water. It was found that the results of Microtox tests were useful for such purposes; i.e., low COD wastes exhibited high Microtox toxicity; some activated sludge processes removed significant toxicity; and some effluents from coagulation/oxidation processes showed an increased toxicity. The application of the Microtox test to wastewater management is discussed.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 2657
Author(s):  
Elwira Nowobilska-Majewska ◽  
Piotr Bugajski

The aim of this study was to determine the condition of activated sludge in the biologic reactor located in the collective wastewater treatment plant in Nowy Targ (Poland) based on OUR tests in the aspect of the impact of sludge’s concentration in the biologic reactor and dependence of BOD5/TN and BOD5/TP in wastewater flowing into the biologic reactor. The analysis was conducted based on test results from 61 samples of activated sludge taken from the biologic reactor and 61 samples of wastewater flowing into the biologic reactor. The analysis included the concentration of sludge in the biologic reactor. The following indicators were analyzed in wastewater flowing into the reactor: biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP). The statistical analysis concerning the impact of the analyzed factors on oxygen uptake rate (OUR) tests was developed based on the Pearson’s correlation coefficient and partial correlation of many variables. Based on the results of the partial correlation analysis, nomograms were developed to determine the condition of activated sludge microorganisms (OUR) based on the BOD5/TN and BOD5/TP connection and knowledge of the sludge concentration in the bioreactor of the treatment plant. The presented nomograms can be formulated for each bioreactor based on activated sludge technology related the load of organic and biogenic pollutants in the wastewater flowing into the bioreactor and the concentration of the sludge in the bioreactor.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 00027
Author(s):  
Sylwia Myszograj ◽  
Magdalena Wojciech

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) solubilisation was used to evaluate the impact of thermal pretreatment on the transfer of sewage sludge from particulate to soluble phase. It was gathering the experimental data needed for building of empirical mathematical model describing the relation between applied temperature and time and rate of COD solubilisation and degradation. In view of repeated measurements, in order to describe the relationship between changes in the fraction of dissolved COD and the time and temperature, mixed models have been adopted where by fixed factor measurement conditions have been adopted: time and temperature, while the random factor changes the characteristics of waste activated sludge. Linear and logistic nonlinear mixed models were analyzed. The tests demonstrated that all variables are statistically significant in assessing their impact on the efficiency of liquefaction of sludge. On the basis of the estimated model, the temperature rise of 10°C increases degree of disintegration 1.7% above the average treatment time for 0.5h, by 2.6% for 1 hour, and by 3.9% for 2h. COD values decrease between 3 to 23% at temperatures in the range of 55 to 115°C. At higher temperatures COD was reduced in the range of 32 to 44%. Disintegration time did not have the significant impact on the degradation effect.


1997 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 53-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shabbir H. Gheewala ◽  
Ajit P. Annachhatre

Discharge of aniline to the environment must be controlled as aniline is toxic to aquatic life and also exerts additional oxygen demand due to nitrification reaction involved during its biodegradation. Organic carbonaceous removal by heterotrophs during aniline biodegradation releases NH4+ which is the substrate for autotrophic nitrifying bacteria. However, aniline is toxic to nitrifying bacteria and severely inhibits their activity. Accordingly, batch and continuous studies were conducted to assess the biodegradation of aniline and its inhibitory effect on nitrification. Synthetic wastewater was used as feed with aniline as sole carbon source for mixed microbial population. Experiments were conducted at ambient temperatures of 30–32°C. An aerobic activated sludge Unit was operated at an HRT of about 13 hours and SRT of about 12 days. Biomass from aerobic activated sludge process treating domestic wastewater was acclimatized to synthetic wastewater Containing aniline. Removal efficiencies more than 95% were obtained for feed aniline concentrations upto 350 mg/l with insignificant inhibition of nitrification due to aniline. Ammonia oxidation rates of about 20–115 mgNH4N/l/d were observed. Batch tests were carried out to test the inhibitory effects of high initial aniline concentrations on nitritication. Carbonaceous removal by heterotrophs proceeded rapidly within 4–6 hours with nitrification picking up as soon as aniline concentration dropped below 3–4 mg/l. For higher initial aniline concentration more than 250 mg/l, complete nitrification did not take place even after aniline Concentration dropped below 3–4 mg/l.


2004 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 11-20
Author(s):  
S.S. Helle ◽  
S.J.B. Duff

This study investigated the discrepancies between the BOD removal rates measured during short term assays and those measured during continuous activated sludge treatment of bleached kraft mill effluent (BKME). A combination of batch tests and fed batch tests with oxygen uptake rate (OUR), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and mixed liquor volatile suspended solids (MLVSS) measurements were used to characterize the degradation rates for the activated sludge treatment of BKME and to divide the soluble readily biodegradable substrate into two to five separate fractions based on biodegradation rates. The removal rates varied by over an order of magnitude between the most readily degradable substrates (1 × 10-3 mg COD/mg MLVSS minute), and the more slowly degradable substrates (2 × 10-5 mg COD/mg MLVSS minute). If the readily biodegradable fraction of BKME was modeled as one substrate, initial rate kinetic measurements from batch tests were heavily influenced by the fractions with the greatest degradation rates, while any remaining BOD in the treated effluent was predominantly from the slowly degradable fraction, giving inconsistent results. Taking the multi-component nature of the wastewater into account, batch test results can be used to predict fed-batch and continuous activated sludge reactor performance.


2013 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 518-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Vergine ◽  
J. Zábranská ◽  
R. Canziani

This paper presents the results of lab-scale experiments on low temperature thermal pre-treatment (less than 100 °C) prior to anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge. Two heating ways, microwave heating (MH) and conventional heating (CH), and two types of sludge, primary and waste activated sludge, were compared under the same experimental conditions. The degree of solubilisation produced by MH and CH up to 72, 82 and 93 °C was firstly estimated. For both types of heating, increase in soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD) caused by the pre-treatment was about 14% on waste activated sludge and only 3% on primary sludge. The final temperature of 72 °C resulted as the most cost-effective in terms of additional soluble COD per unit of energy required. Subsequently, five series of biochemical methane potential mesophilic assays were run in 120 mL serum bottles on sludge samples pre-treated at 72 °C. When compared with control reaction vessels, no significant differences were noticed in net methane production of pre-treated primary sludge, whereas a relevant increase occurred regarding the pre-treated waste activated sludge. It was also observed that the trend of methane content in biogas during the batch tests can be described by a second order polynomial.


2008 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Naso ◽  
A. Chiavola ◽  
E. Rolle

This paper provides new insights on the application of the ozonation process for the reduction of the activated sludge production in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). The study was performed in two identical lab-scale SBRs plant, one for experimental activities (Exp SBR) and one used as control (Control SBR), both fed with domestic sewage. A fraction of the activated sludge collected from the Exp SBR at the end of the aerobic react phase was periodically subjected to ozonation for 30 minutes at three different specific dosages (0.05, 0.07 and 0.37 g O3/gSS) and then recirculated before the beginning of the following cycle. Recirculation of the ozonated sludge to the Exp SBR did not appreciably affect the efficiency of the biological nitrogen and carbon removal processes. Nonetheless, an improvement of the denitrification kinetic was observed. Mixed liquor volatile and suspended solids (MLSS and MLVSS, respectively) concentrations in the reactor decreased significantly with time for long term application of the ozonation treatment. Kinetic batch tests on unstressed sludge taken from Control SBR indicated that the different oxidant dosages (0.05, 0.07 and 0.37 g O3/gSS) and durations of the ozonation process (10, 20 and 30 minutes) used remarkably affected chemical oxygen demand (COD) and organic nitrogen fractioning. In particular, soluble and biodegradable fractions seemed to be higher at lower dosage and longer contact time.


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