An observation on sludge granulation in an enhanced biological phosphorus removal process

A sequencing batch reactor (SBR) seeded with flocculated sludge and fed with synthetic wastewater was operated for an enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) process. Eight weeks after reactor startup, sludge granules were observed. The granules had a diameter of 0.5 to 3.0 mm and were brownish in color and spherical or ellipsoidal in shape. No significant change was observed in sludge granule size when operational pH was changed from 7 to 8. The 208-day continuous operation of the SBR showed that sludge granules were stably maintained with a sludge volume index (SVI) between 30 to 55 mL/g while securing a removal efficiency of 83% for carbon and 97% for phosphorus. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) confirmed the enrichment of polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) in the SBR. The observations of sludge granulation in this study encourage further studies in the development of granules-based EBPR process.     

低曝气下PAC强化SBR工艺同步脱氮除磷

采用序批式反应器(SBR)处理模拟生活污水,研究不同曝气量(30、24、18和12 L/h)下活性污泥同步脱氮除磷规律,并在最佳曝气量下,比较了粉末活性炭-序批式反应器(PAC-SBR)和SBR的脱氮除磷效率,分析了低曝气下PAC-SBR的运行特性和优越性。实验结果表明,当曝气量为24 L/h时,SBR内出水效果较好,其COD、TN和TP的平均去除率分别可以达到90.02%、81.13%和88.12%。在这个最佳曝气量下,PAC-SBR具有明显的优势,其COD、TN和TP的平均去除率均高于SBR,并且PAC-SBR具有较好的污泥沉降性能和较高的活性污泥浓度。在PAC-SBR中,活性污泥以PAC作为微生物载体强化了生物降解效果,并改善了低曝气下污泥絮体的结构,促使反应器内先后形成缺氧-厌氧-微氧/缺氧-缺氧的环境,利于同步硝化反硝化和反硝化聚磷,提高了PAC-SBR的同步脱氮除磷效率。     

Recovery of polyhydroxyalkanoate from activated sludge in an enhanced biological phosphorus removal bench-scale reactor.

A sequencing batch reactor was used to study the possibility of harvesting polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) from enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) processes without compromising treatment quality. Because, in EBPR, the highest PHA concentrations are observed after exposure of the sludge to anaerobic conditions, PHA accumulation was evaluated with collection of waste activated sludge (WAS) at the end of the anaerobic stage, in addition to the traditional removal after the aerobic stage. The system achieved good phosphorus removal, regardless of the point of WAS collection. When sludge was harvested at the end of the anaerobic stage, the PHA content of the sludge ranged from 7 to 16 mg PHA/100 mg mixed liquor volatile suspended solids. Although this level of PHA production is below levels obtained with pure cultures, the demonstrated ability to harvest PHA, while simultaneously satisfying phosphorus removal in an EBPR process, is a key initial step towards of the use of wastewater treatment plants for PHA production.     

Correlation analysis of major control factors for the formation and stabilization of aerobic granule

In recent years, aerobic granular sludge technology has demonstrated significant advantages in areas such as the sludge–water separation, residual sludge minimization, simultaneous biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal, and toxic organic compounds degradation in biological wastewater treatment. However, the critical control factors and their relation during sludge granulation have not been revealed indeed, and the stability of aerobic granular sludge is still not good. The Gray’s correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationship of aerobic granular characteristics and control factors in the study. Results showed that the organic loading rate, hydraulic shear stress, and sludge settling time were the major factors affecting the aerobic sludge granulation, and the associated regulating strategy was important for the stabilization of granular sludge system. Based on above results, the mechanism of aerobic sludge granulation was proposed, and it was expected to favor the application of aerobic granular sludge technology.     

Behaviors of intercellular materials and nutrients in biological nutrient removal process supplied with domestic wastewater and food waste.

A four-stage biological nutrient removal (BNR) process was operated to investigate the effect of anaerobically fermented leachate of food waste (AFLFW) as an external carbon source on nutrient removal from domestic wastewater having a low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. The BNR system that was supplemented with AFLFW showed a good performance at a sludge retention time (SRT) of 30 days, despite low temperature. With this wastewater, average removal efficiencies of soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (T-N), and total phosphorus (T-P) were 88 to 93%, 70 to 74%, and 63 to 68%, respectively. In this study, several kinds of poly-hydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) were observed in cells. These included 24% poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), 41% poly-3-hydroxyvalerate (PHV), 18% poly-3-hydroxyhexanoate (PHH), 10% poly-3-hydroxyoctanoate (PHO), 5% poly-3-hydroxydecanoate (PHD). and 2% poly-3-hydroxydodecanoate (PHDD), indicating that microorganisms could store various PHAs through the different metabolic pathways. However, breakdown of the enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) mechanism was observed when SRT increased from 30 to 50 days for the enhancement of nitrification. To study the effect of SRT on EBPR, a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) system that was supplied with glucose was operated at various SRTs of 5, 10, and 15 days. Nitrification and denitrification efficiencies increased as SRT increased. However, the content of intracellular materials such as PHAs, glycogen. and poly-P in cells decreased. From these results, it was concluded that SRT should be carefully controlled to increase nitrification activity and to maintain biological phosphorus removal activity in the BNR process.     

Identification of surfactants emerged in aerobic granulation

In this study, aerobic granules were cultivated in sequencing batch reactors with activated sludge as the seed. The reactors were operated for 12 h per cycle with the organic loading rate (OLR) increasing in double stepwise from 0.5 to 4.0 g COD L⁻¹ d⁻¹. Within the 40 d running, black granules with regular and smooth morphology were cultivated, which had high wet density and high settling velocity. During the granulation process, foams emerged and disappeared in the reactor, coinciding with the proliferation of filamentous microorganisms in the granules, implying that surfactants might exist and play an important role in the granulation. Using ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, the surfactants were identified as homologous compounds of polyethylene glycol (PEG) with molecular weights ranging mainly from 100 to 500 Da. Their general formulas were proposed as HO-[CH₂-CH₂-O]_n-H. The source of PEG still needs further investigation.     

颗粒化序列间歇式活性污泥反应器工艺处理化粪池污水

在序列间歇式活性污泥反应器(SBR)中成功培养出适应化粪池污水水质的好氧颗粒污泥.并将其应用于化粪池污水的处理.在好氧颗粒污泥培养的第15天左右,SBR中开始出现细小的颗粒,然后微生物在其上繁殖生长使颗粒逐渐增大而成熟;在第24天时,SBR中絮状活性污泥已基本实现了颗粒化.培养出的好氧颗粒污泥对化粪池污水有稳定的处理效果,在进水完全为化粪池污水时,COD、NH_4~+-N、TN的平均去除率分别为77%、61%、47%.但是,由于化粪池污水COD较低,因此无法维持较高的生物量,在后期的稳定运行过程中MLSS始终维持在2 500 mg/L左右.好氧颗粒污泥的同步硝化反硝化作用是其稳定脱氮的保证.     

VFA generation from waste activated sludge: effect of temperature and mixing

The success of enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) depends on the constant availability of volatile fatty acids (VFAs). To reduce costs, waste streams would be a preferred source. Since VFAs were shown to vary in the incoming sewage and fermentate from primary sludge the next available source is waste activated sludge (WAS). The opportunity is particularly good in plants where WAS is stored before shipment. Little information is however available on the rate of VFA release from such sludge, especially at the lower temperatures and under the storage conditions typically found in colder climates. Bench-scale batch tests were performed to investigate the effect of temperature and requirement for mixing on VFA generation from WAS generated in full scale non-EBPR wastewater treatment plant. WAS fermentation was found highly temperature-dependent. Hydrolysis rate constant (k_h) values of 0.17, 0.08 and 0.04 d⁻¹ at 24.6, 14 and 4 °C were obtained, respectively. Arrhenius temperature coefficient was calculated to be 1.07. It took 5 d to complete hydrolysis at 24.6 °C, 7 d at 14 °C, and 9 d at 4 °C. The fermentation lasted for 20 d. At 24.6 °C the mixed reactor reached 84% of the overall VFA production only in 5 d. When temperature dropped to 14 and 4 °C, the ratio of VFA production at day 10 to overall VFA production in the mixed reactor were 62% and 48%, respectively. The overall VFA-COD concentration in the non-mixed reactors was much lower than the mixed reactors. The information is important for the designer as there was uncertainty with the effect of temperature and mixing on sludge fermentation.     

Integrated physicochemical and biological treatment process for fluoride and phosphorus removal from fertilizer plant wastewater

The phosphate fertilizer industry produces highly hazardous and acidic wastewaters. This study was undertaken to develop an integrated approach for the treatment of wastewaters from the phosphate industry. Effluent samples were collected from a local phosphate fertilizer producer and were characterized by their high fluoride and phosphate content. First, the samples were pretreated by precipitation of phosphate and fluoride ions using hydrated lime. The resulting low- fluoride and phosphorus effluent was then treated with the enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) process to monitor the simultaneous removal of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Phosphorus removal included a two-stage anaerobic/aerobic system operating under continuous flow. Pretreated wastewater was added to the activated sludge and operated for 160 days in the reactor. The operating strategy included increasing the organic loading rate (OLR) from 0.3 to 1.2 g chemical oxygen demand (COD)/L.d. The stable and high removal rates of COD, NH4(+)-N, and PO4(3-)-P were then recorded. The mean concentrations of the influent were approximately 3600 mg COD/L, 60 mg N/L, and 14 mg P/L, which corresponded to removal efficiencies of approximately 98%, 86%, and 92%, respectively.     

Changes in anoxic denitrification rate resulting from prefermentation of a septic, phosphorus-limited wastewater.

A preliminary bench-scale study of parallel University of Cape Town (UCT) biological nutrient removal systems showed improvement in anoxic denitrification rates resulting from prefermentation of a septic (i.e., high volatile fatty acid [VFA] content), phosphorus-limited (i.e., total chemical oxygen demand/total phosphorus [TP] ratio < 40:1) wastewater. Net phosphorus removals due to enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) were only improved marginally by prefermentation in spite of significant increases in anaerobic phosphorus release, polyhydroxyalkanoate formation, and higher anoxic and aerobic uptakes. This probably was due to the high VFA/TP ratio in the raw influent relative to the VFA requirements for EBPR because enough VFAs were already present for phosphorus removal prior to prefermentation. An additional assessment of prefermentation using parallel UCT systems with step feed of 50% of the influent to the anoxic zone was completed. This second phase quantified the effect of prefermentation in a step-feed scenario, which prioritized prefermentation use to enhance denitrification rather than EBPR. While specific denitrification rates in the anoxic zone were significantly improved by prefermentation, high denitrification in the clarifiers and aerobic zones (simultaneous denitrification) made definitive conclusions concerning the potential improvements in total system nitrogen removal questionable. The prefermented system always showed superior values of the zone settling velocity and sludge volume index and the improvement became increasingly statistically significant when the prefermenter was performing well.     

Effects of reduced return activated sludge flows and volume on anaerobic zone performance for a septic wastewater biological phosphorus removal system.

Enhanced biological phosphorous removal (EBPR) performance was found to be adequate with reduced return-activated sludge (RAS) flows (50% of available RAS) to the anaerobic tank and smaller-than-typical anaerobic zone volume (1.08 hours hydraulic retention time [HRT]). Three identical parallel biological nutrient removal pilot plants were fed with strong, highly fermented (160 mg/L volatile fatty acids [VFAs]), domestic and industrial wastewater from a full-scale wastewater treatment facility. The pilot plants were operated at 100, 50, 40, and 25% RAS (percent of available RAS) flows to the anaerobic tank, with the remaining RAS to the anoxic tank. In addition, varying anaerobic HRT (1.08 and 1.5 hours) and increased hydraulic loading (35% increase) were examined. The study was divided into four phases, and the effect of these process variations on EBPR were studied by having one different variable between two identical systems. The most significant conclusion was that returning part of the RAS to the anaerobic zone did not decrease EBPR performance; instead, it changed the location of phosphorous release and uptake. Bringing less RAS to the anaerobic and more to the anoxic tank decreased anaerobic phosphorus release and increased anoxic phosphorus release (or decreased anoxic phosphorus uptake). Equally important is that, with VFA-rich influent wastewater, excessive anaerobic volume was shown to hurt overall phosphorus removal, even when it resulted in increased anaerobic phosphorus release.     

污泥转移SBR工艺处理低浓度生活污水

污泥转移SBR工艺是一种通过内部污泥回流实现污泥在不同SBR隔室间转移,从而增加污泥利用效率,提高系统除污效能的新工艺。以设计规模为240 m3/d、处理低浓度生活污水的工艺系统为对象,研究了新工艺在不同泥转移量(污泥回流比)下的除污性能,并与系统以传统SBR方式运行的情况进行了对比。结果表明,新工艺可以有效提高SBR反应器的容积利用率;采用30%的污泥回流比进行污泥转移,新工艺的处理能力比传统SBR工艺提高近1/2,除磷效率从46%提升至85%。出水各项水质指标均能达到国家排放标准的要求。     

Comparison of nitrification rates in conventional and membrane-assisted biological nutrient removal processes

A membrane-assisted and a conventional activated sludge system, both operated in an enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) mode and under identical operating conditions, were studied to investigate the effect of the membrane solids-liquid separation on nitrification activity. Both the membrane EBPR (MEBPR) and conventional EBPR (CEBPR) processes achieved stable and complete removal of ammonium-nitrogen from the influent wastewater. However, when the intrinsic nitrification activity was assessed in offline batch tests, the CEBPR mixed liquor exhibited 15 to 75% greater nitrification potential than the MEBPR counterpart. These results were further validated by monitoring nitrification rates of conventional mixed liquor as it evolved toward a membrane mixed liquor. It was also demonstrated that the larger aerobic mass fraction of the MEBPR system could not be the only factor influencing the reduced intrinsic nitrification rate. The present study strongly suggests that the presence of a membrane solids-liquid separation per se may be sufficient to alter the nitrification kinetics of an EBPR mixed liquor and that this possibility should be considered in arriving at an appropriate process design.     

厌氧／缺氧SBR反硝化除磷效能的研究

采用厌氧 缺氧SBR反应器对以硝酸盐作为电子受体的反硝化除磷过程进行了研究。结果表明 ,反硝化聚磷菌完全可以在厌氧 缺氧交替运行条件下得到富集。稳定运行的厌氧 缺氧SBR反应器的反硝化除磷效率 >90 % ,出水磷浓度 <1mg L。进水COD浓度对反硝化除磷的效率影响很大 ,在COD浓度 <180mg L时 ,进水COD浓度越高 ,除磷效率也就越高。较高浓度的进水COD浓度将导致有剩余的COD进入缺氧段 ,对反硝化吸磷构成不利影响。污泥龄为 16d时 ,厌氧 缺氧SBR反应器取得稳定和理想的反硝化除磷效果。污泥龄减少到 8d ,由于反硝化聚磷菌的流失导致反硝化除磷效率的下降。当污泥龄恢复到 16d时 ,经过一段时间的运行 ,反硝化聚磷菌重新得到富集 ,除磷效率恢复到 90 %以上。     

双泥膜法SBR脱氮除磷效果研究

通过实验室小试，以人工模拟生活污水为研究对象，考察了基于反硝化除磷理论开发的双泥膜法SBR工艺的脱氮除磷效果。长期试验结果表明：双泥膜法SBR工艺能使硝化菌和除磷菌各自在最佳的环境中生长，解决了传统工艺中脱氮和除磷的矛盾，节省了碳源和能源，并取得了稳定高效的脱氮除磷效果。在进水C∶N∶P为25∶5∶1，换液比为75%的情况下，系统对COD，TP和NH⁺₄-N的平均去除率分别为89.13%、96.12%和86.78%。     

(AO)_2SBR同步脱氮除磷的研究

以人工配水为研究对象,采用厌氧/好氧/缺氧/好氧交替运行的序批式反应器,研究了(AO)2SBR系统同步脱氮除磷的效果,并结合批式实验讨论了同步脱氮除磷的反应机理。研究结果表明,该系统以厌氧1.5 h、好氧1 h、缺氧3h、好氧0.5 h的方式运行,在DO=2.5 mg/L,SRT=15 d的条件下,具有良好的脱氮除磷效果,配水中的总氮、总磷、COD和总有机碳的去除率分别为96.26%、99.87%、90.46%和85.57%。批式实验表明,合成的内碳源越多,氨氮的硝化越充分,反硝化除磷越多。     

剩余污泥水解酸化液磷去除的影响因素研究

城市污水厂剩余污泥水解酸化后可产生高浓度挥发性有机酸(VFAs),其中的乙酸和丙酸是增强生物除磷(EBPR)工艺的有利基质.但水解酸化液中含有大量的磷,如不进行处理就作为碳源回用到污水处理工艺中,势必增加除磷负荷.利用鸟粪石沉淀法可以去除污水中的磷.对城市污水厂剩余污泥水解酸化液形成鸟粪石的影响因素进行了试验研究.结果表明,在最佳工艺条件下,正磷和总磷的去除率分别可达92.5%和83.8%.     

Competition between polyphosphate- and glycogen-accumulating organisms in enhanced-biological-phosphorus-removal systems: effect of temperature and sludge age.

Temperature and sludge age were found to be important factors in determining the outcome of competition between polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) and glycogen-accumulating non-polyphosphate organisms (GAOs) and the resultant stability of enhanced-biological-phosphorus removal (EBPR). At 20 degrees C and a 10-day sludge age, PAOs were dominant in an anaerobic/aerobic (A/O) sequencing-batch reactor (SBR), as a result of their higher anaerobic-acetate-uptake rate and aerobic-biomass yield than GAOs. However, at 30 degrees C and a 10-day sludge age, GAOs were able to outcompete PAOs in the A/O SBR because of their higher anaerobic-acetate-uptake rate than PAOs. At 30 degrees C and a 5-day sludge age, GAOs coexisted with PAOs in the A/O SBR, resulting in unstable EBPR performance. At 30 degrees C, reducing the sludge age from 5 to 3 days improved the EBPR efficiency drastically, and the EBPR performance was stable. The maximum specific-anaerobic-acetate-uptake rates of GAO-enriched sludge were affected by temperature with the Arrhenius temperature coefficient theta of 0.042 (degrees C(-1) between 10 and 30 degrees C. The effect of sludge age (5 and 10 days) on the maximum specific-anaerobic-acetate-uptake rates of GAO-enriched activated sludge, however, was not significant. For the PAO-enriched activated sludge, the maximum specific-anaerobic-acetate-uptake rate did not change significantly between 20 and 30 degrees C, but significantly increased from 0.38 to 0.52 mmol-C/ mmol-C/h as the sludge age decreased from 10 to 3 days at 30 degrees C.     

硝态氮为惟一氮源时异养微生物增长特性

采用SBR研究了缺氧条件下硝态氮为惟一氮源时异养微生物的增长特性。结果表明,异养微生物能利用硝态氮作为氮源进行增殖。当进水COD浓度为1 400 mg/L,硝态氮浓度为280 mg/L时,COD和硝态氮的去除率分别达到97%和99%;污泥中微生物的含氮量为8.8%,低于常规利用氨氮作为氮源的微生物;在实验条件下活性污泥的产率系数为0.30 g VSS/g COD。反硝化菌可利用硝态氮作为氮源进行细胞合成对含硝氮的废水处理具有重要意义。一方面由于无需投加氨氮降低了废水处理成本,另一方面由于污泥产率低,降低了污泥处理成本。     

反硝化聚磷菌群的培养驯化

以污水处理厂二沉池的活性污泥为种泥,采用SBR反应器初步完成了反硝化聚磷菌(DPB)的培养与驯化.在第1阶段的30 d里,污泥进行了厌氧-好氧驯化,聚磷菌好氧吸磷最终可基本稳定在85%左右,然后转变驯化条件进行第2阶段的厌氧-缺氧驯化,60 d后磷的去除率稳定在70%左右.通过实验得出,硝酸盐的消耗量与磷的吸收量基本呈线性关系,认为系统基本完成了污泥的驯化.