Enhancement of oxygen transfer and nitrogen removal in a membrane separation bioreactor for domestic wastewater treatment.

Biological nitrogen removal in a membrane separation bioreactor developed for on-site domestic wastewater treatment was investigated. The bioreactor employed hollow fiber membrane modules for solid-liquid separation so that the biomass could be completely retained within the system. Intermittent aeration was supplied with 90 minutes on and off cycle to achieve nitrification and denitrification reaction for nitrogen removal. High COD and nitrogen removal of more than 90% were achieved under a moderate temperature of 25 degrees C. As the temperature was stepwise decreased from 25 to 5 degrees C, COD removal in the system could be constantly maintained while nitrogen removal was deteriorated. Nevertheless, increasing aeration supply could enhance nitrification at low temperature with benefit from complete retention of nitrifying bacteria within the system by membrane separation. At low operating temperature range of 5 degrees C, nitrogen removal could be recovered to more than 85%. A mathematical model considering diffusion resistance of limiting substrate into the bio-particle is applied to describe nitrogen removal in a membrane separation bioreactor. The simulation suggested that limitation of the oxygen supply was the major cause of inhibition of nitrification during temperature decrease. Nevertheless, increasing aeration could promote oxygen diffusion into the bio-particle. Sufficient oxygen was supplied to the nitrifying bacteria and the nitrification could proceed. In the membrane separation bioreactor, biomass concentration under low temperature operation was allowed to increase by 2-3 times of that of moderate temperature to compensate for the loss of bacterial activities so that the temperature effect was masked.     

Aerobic biological treatment of thermophilically digested sludge

Aerobic biological treatment of digested sludge was studied in a continuously operated laboratory set-up. An aerated reactor was filled with thermophilically digested sludge from the Moscow wastewater treatment plant and inoculated with special activated sludge. It was then operated at the chemostat mode at different flow rates. Processes of nitrification and denitrification, as well as dephosphatation, occurred simultaneously during biological aerobic treatment of thermophilically digested sludge. Under optimal conditions, organic matter degradation was 9.6%, the concentrations of ammonium nitrogen and phosphate decreased by 89 and 83%, respectively, while COD decreased by 12%. Dewaterability of digested sludge improved significantly. The processes were found to depend on hydraulic retention time, oxygen regime, and temperature. The optimal conditions were as follows: hydraulic retention time 3-4 days, temperature 30-35 degrees C, dissolved oxygen levels 0.2-0.5 mg/L at continuous aeration or 0.7-1 mg/L at intermittent aeration. Based on these findings, we propose a new combined technology of wastewater sludge treatment. The technology combines two stages: anaerobic digestion followed by aerobic biological treatment of digested sludge. The proposed technology makes it possible to degrade the sludge with conversion of approximately 45% volatile suspended solids to biogas, to improve nitrogen and phosphorus removal in reject water from sludge treatment units, and to achieve removal of malodorous substances after 8-9 days of anaerobic-aerobic sludge treatment.     

Performance evaluation of SBR treatment for nitrogen removal from tannery wastewater.

Performance of SBR treatment for nitrogen removal from tannery is evaluated for a wide range of wastewater temperature between 7 and 30 degrees C. A pilot-scale SBR unit fed with plain-settled wastewater is operated on site for this purpose. Effective nitrogen removal is sustained by adjustment of the sludge age from 28 to 5 days. Concentration profiles of nitrogen compounds within a selected complete SBR cycle during the steady state operation at different wastewater temperatures and sludge ages are evaluated by model simulation. System performance is also interpreted in terms of modeling and stoichiometric calculation. Additional nitrate loss was observed during aerobic period when the aeration intensity was reduced by the factor of 50%.     

Calibration and verification of models of organic carbon removal kinetics in Aerated Submerged Fixed-Bed Biofilm Reactors (ASFBBR): a case study of wastewater from an oil-refinery

The article presents a case-study on the calibration and verification of mathematical models of organic carbon removal kinetics in biofilm. The chosen Harrem?es and Wanner & Reichert models were calibrated with a set of model parameters obtained both during dedicated studies conducted at pilot- and lab-scales for petrochemical wastewater conditions and from the literature. Next, the models were successfully verified through studies carried out utilizing a pilot ASFBBR type bioreactor installed in an oil-refinery wastewater treatment plant. During verification the pilot biofilm reactor worked under varying surface organic loading rates (SOL), dissolved oxygen concentrations and temperatures. The verification proved that the models can be applied in practice to petrochemical wastewater treatment engineering for e.g. biofilm bioreactor dimensioning.     

UASB reactor for domestic wastewater treatment at low temperatures: a comparison between a classical UASB and hybrid UASB-filter reactor.

The performance of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor and a hybrid UASB-filter reactor was investigated and compared for the treatment of domestic wastewater at different operational temperatures (28, 20, 14 and 10 degrees C) and loading rates. For each temperature studied a constant CODt removal was observed as long as the upflow velocity was lower than 0.35 m/h. At these upflow velocities similar removals were observed for both reactor types at 28 and 20 degrees C, 82 and 72% respectively. However, at 14 and 10 degrees C the UASB reactor showed a better COD removal (70% and 48%, respectively) than the hybrid reactor (60% and 38%). COD removal resulted from biological degradation and solids accumulation in the reactors. At 28 degrees C, a constant 200 g sludge mass was observed in both reactors and COD removal was attributed to biological degradation only. At lower temperatures, solids accumulation was observed in addition to biological degradation with an increase in reactor sludge as the temperature decreased. The decrease in biological degradation at lower temperatures was offset by solids accumulation and explains the similar overall COD removal efficiency observed at 28 degrees C, 20 degrees C and 14 degrees C. The decrease in temperature was also followed by an increase in the effluent TSS concentration in both reactors. At 14 and 10 degrees C a lower effluent TSS concentration and better performance was observed in the UASB reactor.     

香兰素废水处理技术研究及工艺设计

采用预处理-加压曝气生物氧化工艺处理香兰素生产废水。反应器在200 kPa压力条件下,COD容积负荷率达5.5~8.0 kg/m3.d,进水COD质量浓度为2 000~2 500 mg/L,反应时间为8~10 h时,处理后的出水COD质量浓度小于100 mg/L,达到污水综合排放一级标准。还对加压曝气生物反应器原理、工艺流程、运行参数、工艺设计等方面进行了介绍。     

Optimization of operational factors of a membrane bioreactor with gravity drain.

A new membrane bioreactor with gravity drain for municipal wastewater treatment was tested and its operational factors were investigated in this study. These factors include pressure head, MLSS, aeration intensity (an air flow rate per unit floor area) and temperature. Results of batch experiments showed that a critical pressure head of the MBR was 0.85-1.5 m-H2O. At a pressure head of 0.85 m-H2O, statistical analysis of batch experiments showed that aeration intensity significantly affected membrane flux, and the MLSS had no impact on membrane flux under a temperature of 22.0 +/- 1.0 degrees C. Results of the long-term continuous experiment showed that temperature significantly affected membrane flux. The impact of temperature on membrane flux in this case was about 4-10 times of that analyzed by using a classical cake layer model. During this experiment, the average removal efficiencies of COD, BOD5 and NH4+-N were over 85%, 97% and 94%, respectively.     

Anaerobic treatment of a medium strength industrial wastewater at low-temperature and short hydraulic retention time: a pilot-scale experience

The aim of this work was to evaluate the performance of a pilot-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor during the treatment of cereal-processing industry wastewater under low-temperature conditions (17 degrees C) for more than 300 days. The applied organic loading rate (OLR(appl)) was gradually increased from 4 to 6 and 8 kg COD(sol)/m3d by increasing the influent soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD(sol)), while keeping the hydraulic retention time constant (5.2 h). The removal efficiency was high (82 to 92%) and slightly decreased after increasing the influent COD(sol) and the OLR(appl). The highest removed organic loading rate (OLR(rem)) was reached when the UASB reactor was operated at 8 kg COD(sol)/m3d and it was two times higher than that obtained for an OLR(appl) of 4 kg COD(sol)/m3d. Some disturbances were observed during the experimentation. The formation of biogas pockets in the sludge bed significantly complicated the biogas production quantification, but did not affect the reactor performance. The volatile fatty acids in the effluent were low, but increased as the OLR(appl) increased, which caused an increment of the effluent COD(sol). Anaerobic treatment at low temperature was a good option for the biological pre-treatment of cereal processing industry wastewater.     

Clonal variation in reproductive response to temperature by a potential bulking control agent, Lecane inermis (Rotifera)

The novel idea of using rotifers Lecane inermis (Rotifera, Monogononta) as a tool to overcome activated sludge bulking generates an on-going need to study rotifer biology. The results of biological research on rotifers can serve to improve the method so that it can be most effective when applied in treatment plants. The aim of this study was to test the effect of temperature on four selected rotifer clones originating from different treatment plants. The rate of population development from a single individual (parthenogenetic female) during a 10-day experiment was measured at three temperatures: 8, 15 and 20 degrees C. The temperatures used reflect the annual temperature distribution in the majority of municipal wastewater treatment plants in the temperate zone. The growth rate coefficient (r) and doubling time (tD) were calculated for each clone. Under the most favourable conditions (20 degrees C), rvalues varied between 0.41 and 0.47 d and doubling time between 1.5 and 1.7 d. At a temperature of 15 degrees C, the doubling time was approximately two times longer (2.5-3.4 d). The strongest intraspecific variations were observed at the lowest temperature of 8 degrees C. At this temperature, one of the clones almost failed to proliferate, and another exhibited a doubling time of 7.9 d. The doubling times were a few times greater for the remaining two clones (60 d for Lk1, 33.3 d for Lk4). These results could be very useful in predicting the chances that the rotifers would survive in a biological reactor in a wastewater treatment plant at the temperatures used in these reactors.     

Application of membrane bioreactor system with full scale plant on livestock wastewater.

A full-scale plant of an MBR system treating livestock wastewater has shown impressive results. The Cheorwon County Environmental Authorities adopted the MBR process with UF membrane for retrofitting the old plant, which removes organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus at a high level. According to 6 months operation data, BOD and SS removal were about 99.9% and COD(Mn), TN and TP removal were 92.0%, 98.3% and 82.7%, respectively. It is considered that the temperature at the bioreactor has to be controlled to be below 40 degrees C so as to ensure sufficient nitrification. It appeared that the MBR system is competitive with other conventional technologies for treatment of livestock wastewater such as piggery waste.     

Removal of ibuprofen from wastewater: comparing biodegradation in conventional, membrane bioreactor, and biological nutrient removal treatment systems.

Pharmaceuticals are continually being introduced into the influent of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Developing a better understanding of pharmaceutical removal mechanisms within the different treatment processes is vital in preventing downstream contamination of our water resources. In this study, ibuprofen, a popular over-the-counter pain reliever, was monitored by taking wastewater samples throughout the City of Guelph municipal WWTP. Greater than 95% of ibuprofen was found to be removed in the aeration tank, with aerobic biodegradation being the dominant mechanism. For comparison, first-order kinetics were used to quantify ibuprofen biodegradation in a conventional WWTP aeration tank and in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) pilot plant. The rate constants, k biol, for the conventional tank and the MBR were determined to be (-6.8+/-3.3) L/g SS*d and (-8.4+/-4.0) L/g SS*d, respectively. These two rate constants were found to be statistically similar. Preliminary study of a biological nutrient removal pilot system also suggests that ibuprofen can be anaerobically degraded.     

Treatment of petroleum refinery wastewater by distillation-assisted catalytic oxidation under low temperature and low pressure

A distillation-assisted catalytic oxidation (DACO) process under low temperature (100 degrees C) and atmospheric pressure was investigated to treat heavily contaminated wastewater from oil refining industry. The DACO experiments were carried out in a distillation batch reactor, using CuO/gamma-A1(2)O3 as catalyst. The experimental temperature was kept at 100 degrees C and H2O2 oxidant was supplied into the reactive system with 200 mL/L. The results demonstrated that more than 92.2% of chemical oxygen demand removal was obtained and the absorbance of the refinery wastewater after treatment was zero, indicating significant decolorization efficiency for the solution. The research of life and stability showed that the catalyst had a good stability. The present study indicates that this DACO approach may have a significant application potential for industrial wastewater treatment.     

转笼生物反应器运行影响参数分析与优化实验

根据前期的实验结果对转笼生物反应器运行影响因素进行了分析,发现其污水处理率主要与转笼转速、曝气量、污水流速、浸没量等因素有关。为了得到较优的运行参数,采用混合正交实验方案进行测试,实验结果表明:在转笼转速为1.5 r/min、曝气量为2 m3/h、污水流速1 m3/h、转笼完全浸没、平均水力停留时间为80.5min条件下,COD和NH3-N的去除率分别达到82.18%和81.62%,为转笼生物反应器的实际应用提供参考。     

Evaluation of a hybrid vertical membrane bioreactor (HVMBR) for wastewater treatment

A new hybrid membrane bioreactor (HMBR) has been developed to obtain a compact module, with a small footprint and low requirement for aeration. The aim of this research was to assess its performance. The system consists of a single vertical reactor with a filtration membrane unit and, above this, a sponge fixed bed as support medium. The aeration system is located under the membrane unit, allowing for membrane cleaning, oxygenation, biofilm thickness control and bulk liquid mixing. Operated under continuous aeration, a bench-scale reactor (70 L) was fed with pre-treated, raw (unsettled) municipal wastewater. BOD(5) and suspended solids removal efficiencies (96 and 99% respectively) were comparable to those obtained with other membrane bioreactors (MBRs). Total nitrogen removal efficiencies of 80% were achieved, which is better than those obtained in other HMBRs and similar to the values reached using more complex MBRs with extra anoxic tanks, intermittent aeration or internal deflectors.     

Pilot-scale studies on biological treatment of hypersaline wastewater at low temperature.

In order to investigate the feasibility of biological treatment of hypersaline wastewater produced from toilet flushing with seawater at low temperature, pilot-scale studies were established with plug-flow activated sludge process at low temperature (5-9 degrees C) based on bench-scale experiments. The critical salinity concentration of 30 g/L, which resulted from the cooperation results of the non-halophilic bacteria and the halophilic bacteria, was drawn in bench-scale experiments. Pilot-scale studies showed that high COD removal efficiency, higher than 80%, was obtained at low temperature when 30 percent seawater was introduced. The salinity improved the settleability of activated sludge, and average sludge value dropped down from 38% to 22.5% after adding seawater. Seawater salinity had a strong negative effect on notronomonas and nitrobacter growth, but much more on the nitrobacter. The nitrification action was mainly accomplished by nitrosomonas. Bench-scale experiments using two SBRs were carried out for further investigation under different conditions of salinities, ammonia loadings and temperatures. Biological nitrogen removal via nitrite pathway from wastewater containing 30 percent seawater was achieved, but the ammonia removal efficiency was strongly related not only to the influent ammonia loading at different salinities but also to temperature. When the ratio of seawater to wastewater was 30 percent, and the ammonia loading was below the critical value of 0.15 kgNH4+-N/(kgMLSS.d), the ammonia removal efficiency via nitrite pathway was above 90%. The critical level of ammonia loading was 0.15, 0.08 and 0.03 kgNH4+-N/(kgMLSS.d) respectively at the different temperature 30 degrees C, 25 degrees C and 20 degrees C when the influent ammonia concentration was 60-80 mg/L and pH was 7.5-8.0.     

Membrane bioreactor aeration: investigation of the velocity flow pattern.

Results of investigations concerning membrane bioreactor aeration are presented which were carried out at the Institute of Environmental Engineering of RWTH Aachen University (ISA) in cooperation with the Department of Chemical Engineering of the Technische Universit?t Berlin. In the field of industrial and municipal wastewater treatment the use of membrane bioreactors (MBR) is of increasing interest especially due to the high requirements on effluent quality nowadays. The design of aeration systems is a very important aspect of MBR development because it influences both cost of operation and filtration flux. The ISA has carried out tests concerning the velocity flow pattern in flat sheet membrane modules (developed by the A3 Water Solutions GmbH) to identify the effects of different aeration systems, aeration intensities and module constructions. The Department of Chemical Engineering is currently using the results obtained from the ADV to calibrate a numerical model which simulates two phase water and gas flow within an aerated membrane module. Optical investigations concerning the bubble distribution give a better understanding of the flow conditions in MBR. Developing a numerical tool for membrane module optimization concerning the hydrodynamics is the aim of the investigation of membrane bioreactor aeration.     

水解酸化工艺在氯碱废水预处理中的应用

用水解酸化工艺预处理齐鲁石化氯碱厂所排放的氯碱废水,试验结果表明:水解酸化反应器中COD去除率在20%~34%之间,挥发酸(VFA)质量浓度呈逐步升高的趋势,ρ(BOD)/ρ(COD)的出水值比进水值平均提高了27%,改善了废水的可生化性,多种复杂有机污染物可得到有效降解,为后继的好氧处理提供了有利条件。     

Effect of operating temperature on performance of microbial fuel cell

The performance of dual chambered mediator-less microbial fuel cell (MFC) operated under batch mode was evaluated under different operating temperatures, ranging between 20 and 55 degrees C, with step increase in temperature of 5 degrees C. Synthetic wastewater with sucrose as carbon source having chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 519-555 mg/L was used in the study. Temperature was a crucial factor in the performance of MFCs for both COD removal and electricity production. The MFC demonstrated highest COD removal efficiency of 84% and power density normalized to the anode surface area of 34.38 mW/m2 at operating temperature of 40 degrees C. Higher VSS to SS ratio was observed at the operating temperature between 35 and 45 degrees C. Under different operating temperatures the observed sludge yield was in the range of 0.05 to 0.14 g VSS/g COD removed. The maximum Coulombic and energy efficiencies were obtained at 40 degrees C, with values of 7.39 and 13.14%, respectively. Internal resistance of the MFC decreased with increase in operating temperature. Maximum internal resistance of 1,150 omega was observed when the MFC was operated at 20 degrees C; whereas the minimum internal resistance (552 omega) was observed at 55 degrees C.     

Hydrolysis of return sludge for production of easily biodegradable carbon: effect of pre-treatment, sludge age and temperature.

Return sludge from two Swedish and two Danish wastewater treatment plants were hydrolysed in laboratory reactors. Treatment plants with/without pre-sedimentation and with/without nitrification were represented. Soluble organic matter was produced from all types of sludge, but the yield was to a large extent dependent on what type of sludge was hydrolysed. Activated sludge from wastewater treatment plants without pre-treatment returned more soluble carbon after hydrolysis than sludge from treatment plants with pre-sedimentation. In addition, more soluble carbon was formed from non-nitrifying activated sludge than from nitrifying sludge. Moreover, the maximum yield of soluble COD at 10 degrees C was less than the yield at 20 degrees C. The initial hydrolysis rate was found to be between 0.35 and 1.8 mg soluble COD/(g VS x h). With the exception of one case, between 15 and 50% of the produced soluble COD was shown to be volatile fatty acids, a suitable carbon source for biological phosphorus removal. Nitrification rate measurements indicated that the viability of the activated sludge was not affected by the hydrolysis.     

Zero-valent iron treatment of RDX-containing and perchlorate-containing wastewaters from an ammunition-manufacturing plant at elevated temperatures.

The use of zero-valent iron for treating wastewaters containing RDX and perchlorate from an army ammunition plant (AAP) in the USA at elevated temperatures and moderately elevated temperature with chemical addition was evaluated through batch and column experiments. RDX in the wastewater was completely removed in an iron column after 6.4 minutes. Increasing the temperature to 75 degrees C decreased the required retention time to 2.1 minutes for complete RDX removal. Perchlorate in the wastewater was completely removed by iron at an elevated temperature of 150 degrees C in batch reactors in 6 hours without pH control. Significant reduction of perchlorate by zero-valent iron was also achieved at a more moderate temperature (75 degrees C) through use of a 0.2 M acetate buffer. Based on the evaluation results, we propose two innovative processes for treating RDX-containing and perchlorate-containing wastewaters: a temperature and pressure-controlled batch iron reactor and subsequent oxidation by existing industrial wastewater treatment plant; and reduction by consecutive iron columns with heating and acid addition capabilities and subsequent oxidation.