Treatment of mature urban landfill leachates by anammox process

This thesis results from the collaborative projects between the LEQUIA-UdG group and Cespa (a company in charge of several landfill sites in Spain). The aim of the work was the development of a suitable alternative treatment for nitrogen removal from mature landfill leachates. The thesis presents the application of the anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation process) process to treat ammonium rich leachates as the second step of the PANAMMOX® process. The work deals with preliminary studies about the characteristics of the anammox process in a SBR, with special focus on the response of the biomass to nitrite exposure. The application of the anammox process with leachate was first studied in a lab-scale reactor, to test the effect of the leachate matrix on anammox biomass and its progressive adaptation. Finally, a start-up strategy is developed and applied for the successful start-up of a 400L anammox SBR in less than 6 months.Aquesta tesi és fruit de la col•laboració entre el grup LEQUIA-UdG i Cespa. L'objectiu del treball va ser el desenvolupament d'un tractament alternatiu per a l'eliminació biològica de nitrogen dels lixiviats madurs d'abocador. La tesi presenta l'aplicació del procés anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation) per tractar elevades càrregues de nitrogen en el segon pas del procés PANAMMOX ®. El treball inclou estudis preliminars sobre les característiques del procés de anammox en un SBR, amb especial atenció a la resposta de la biomassa a l'exposició de nitrit. L'aplicació del procés anammox amb lixiviat es va estudiar inicialment en un reactor a escala de laboratori, per provar l'efecte de la matriu del lixiviat sobre la biomassa anammox i la seva adaptació progressiva. Finalment, es va desenvolupar una estratègia de posada en marxa que va ser aplicada amb èxit per a la posada en marxa d'un SBR anammox de 400L en menys de 6 mesos

The ManureEcoMine pilot installation : advanced integration of technologies for the management of organics and nutrients in livestock waste

Manure represents an exquisite mining opportunity for nutrient recovery (nitrogen and phosphorus), and for their reuse as renewable fertilisers. The ManureEcoMine proposes an integrated approach of technologies, operated in a pilot- scale installation treating swine manure (83.7%) and Ecofrit (R) (16.3%), a mix of vegetable residues. Thermophilic anaerobic digestion was performed for 150 days, the final organic loading rate was 4.6 kgCOD m(-3) d(-1), with a biogas production rate of 1.4 Nm(3) m(-3) d(-1). The digester was coupled to an ammonia side- stream stripping column and a scrubbing unit for free ammonia inhibition reduction in the digester, and nitrogen recovery as ammonium sulphate. The stripped digestate was recirculated daily in the digester for 15 days (68% of the digester volume), increasing the gas production rate by 27%. Following a decanter centrifuge, the digestate liquid fraction was treated with an ultrafiltration membrane. The filtrate was fed into a struvite reactor, with a phosphorus recovery efficiency of 83% (as orthophosphate). Acidification of digestate could increment the soluble orthophosphate concentration up to four times, enhancing phosphorus enrichment in the liquid fraction and its recovery via struvite. A synergistic combination of manure processing steps was demonstrated to be technologically feasible to upgrade livestock waste into refined, concentrated fertilisers