Control of Bulking Sludge in Agro-Industrial Treatment Plants

Bulking sludge has been studied on laboratory, pilot plant and large scale circumstances. Special attention has been paid to different kinds of agro-industrial waste waters and domestic sewage. It has been clearly shown that besides a deficiency of nutrients and oxygen, the feed pattern of the plant plays a very important role in the field of bulking sludge control. Different experiments have obviously demonstrated that a completely mixed activated sludge system leads much more to bulking sludge than a plug-flow system. Also a contact tank (selector ahead of the plant) is positive for depressing bulking sludge in completely mixed systems.