Aerobic granular sludge: Scaling up a new technology

Most conventional wastewater treatment plants need a large surface area for the treatment of their sewage. This is due to the open structure of the biomass used to convert the polluting components in wastewater. Because of the flocculated growth, sludge concentrations in reaction tanks are low and settling times need to be long in order to keep the biomass in the system. This Ph.D. thesis describes the development of a new compact aerobic granular sludge technology, in which the biomass is grown in compact granular structures. The main advantage of this compact growth structure is the higher biomass concentrations that van be reached and that all processes, needed for the treatment of wastewater, can be performed in one (discontinuously operated) reactor. Therefore, 80% less area and 30% less energy is required for the treatment of the wastewater. This process is unique, since by the natural composition of the aerobic granular sludge, combined with different diffusion limitations, all processes for the conversion of the polluting agents can occur in the same granule simultaneously. In the laboratory, biological removal efficiencies of 100% COD (acetate), 94% phosphate and 94% nitrogen (of which full-nitrification) were measured. During the Ph.D. a large-scale design has been made by the engineers of the Dutch consultancy firm DHV. Bottlenecks from practice were translated to scientific research and the results of the research could directly be used in the design. Different bottlenecks that were studied in the laboratory scale research were the influence on conversions and granule morphology of i) the way of influent dosing, ii) the use of a bubble column or airlift (influence of high local shear forces), iii) influence of temperature, iv) type of wastewater. A model for aerobic granular sludge has been developed as well, in order to study the sensitivity of different process parameters on conversion rates and efficiencies. This fast procedure for developing innovations led to a successful pilot scale study at sewage treatment plant Ede, The Netherlands and to the market introduction of this new technology by DHV under the name of NeredaTM.Applied Science

Method for the treatment of waste water with sludge granules

The invention relates to a method for the treatment of waste water comprising an organic nutrient. According to the invention, the waste water is in a first step fed to sludge granules, after the supply of the waste water to be treated the sludge granules are fluidised in the presence of an oxygen-comprising gas, and in a third step, the sludge granules are allowed to settle in a settling step. This makes it possible to effectively remove not only organic nutrients but optionally also nitrogen compounds and phosphateApplied Science

The role of growth media on composition, bioconversion and susceptibility for mild thermal pre-treatment of waste activated sludge

The highly variable characteristics of waste activated sludge (WAS) hinder the comparison of experimental results on WAS bioconversion between the different studies that use excess sludge from different origin. Sludge grown under laboratory conditions with synthetic wastewater as feed showed high resistance to commonly applied pre-treatment techniques, such as thermal pre-treatment. However, a distinctly higher bioconversion of this sludge was recorded compared to WAS from a full-scale wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The observed results casted concern on the suitability of the experimental laboratory-based data for practice. The physicochemical and biochemical characteristics of both WAS and lab-grown sludge are dependent on the wastewater characteristics or growth media on which the sludges were grown. The objective of this study was to formulate a growth medium that results into a lab-grown sludge which shows high similarity to the WAS coming from a specific full-scale WWTP in response to a pre-treatment technique. More specifically, in this study we targeted the formation of slowly-biodegradable lab-grown sludge that is similarly responsive to mild thermal pre-treatment with H2O2 addition. By comparing real and synthetic wastewaters, we discussed the various wastewater constituents that may lead to a higher degree of recalcitrance of the produced sludge. We then formulated a growth medium, which was fed to a lab-scale activated sludge reactor and evaluated the nutrient removal capacity, as well as the characteristics of the cultivated sludge before and after pre-treatment. Finally, the growth medium was modified to provoke a change in both the bioconversion and in the response to mild thermal pre-treatment. The growth medium proposed in this study resulted in a slowly-biodegradable sludge (195 ± 3.7 NLCH4/kgVSadded) that after thermal pre-treatment resulted in an increase in methane production of 9 %, which was similar to the WAS coming from the full-scale WWTP. It was concluded that not only the bioconversion but also the response to mild thermal pre-treatment of lab-grown sludge was determined by the composition of the growth media.Sanitary Engineerin

Growth media in anaerobic fermentative processes: The underestimated potential of thermophilic fermentation and anaerobic digestion

Fermentation and anaerobic digestion of organic waste and wastewater is broadly studied and applied. Despite widely available results and data for these processes, comparison of the generated results in literature is difficult. Not only due to the used variety of process conditions, but also because of the many different growth media that are used. Composition of growth media can influence biogas production (rates) and lead to process instability during anaerobic digestion. To be able to compare results of the different studies reported, and to ensure nutrient limitation is not influencing observations ascribed to process dynamics and/or reaction kinetics, a standard protocol for creating a defined growth medium for anaerobic digestion and mixed culture fermentation is proposed. This paper explains the role(s) of the different macro- and micronutrients, as well as the choices for a growth medium formulation strategy. In addition, the differences in nutrient requirements between mesophilic and thermophilic systems are discussed as well as the importance of specific trace metals regarding specific conversion routes and the possible supplementary requirement of vitamins. The paper will also give some insight into the bio-availability and toxicity of trace metals. A remarkable finding is that mesophilic and thermophilic enzymes are quite comparable at their optimum temperatures. This has consequences for the trace metal requirements of thermophiles under certain conditions. Under non-limiting conditions, the trace metal requirement of thermophilic systems is about 3 times higher than for mesophilic systems.Sanitary Engineerin

Effects of mild thermal pre-treatment combined with H₂O₂ addition on waste activated sludge digestibility

The pre-treatment of waste activated sludge (WAS) has become more common since it often results in improved bioconversion to methane, in both rate and extent. However, thorough insights on the possible effects and mechanisms of mild pre-treatment techniques, such as temperatures <100 °C combined with the addition of H2O2, are still limited. This study reports the effects of the addition of 5–30 mgH2O2/g TS and its interaction with thermal pre-treatment at 70 °C on methane production, using WAS as the substrate. It was found that the addition of H2O2 increased the methane production rate, coinciding with a decrease in apparent viscosity of WAS, which probably improved mass transfer under non-ideal mixing conditions. While H2O2 solubilized proteins and carbohydrates and mineralized a small fraction of the humic substances in WAS, these biochemical transformations did not suffice to explain the observed extent and rate of methane production. A decreased particle size, the presence of Fenton's reagent, and the presence of cationic polymers in the WAS were discarded as the reasons for the observed decrease in apparent viscosity. It was concluded that the pre-treatment conditions applied in the present study might be a strategy to enhance mixing conditions in full-scale anaerobic digesters.Sanitary Engineerin

Digestibility of waste aerobic granular sludge from a full-scale municipal wastewater treatment system

Full-scale aerobic granular sludge technology under the trade name Nereda® has been implemented for municipal, as well as industrial wastewater treatment. Owing to the operational reactor procedures, two types of waste aerobic granular sludge can be clearly distinguished: 1) aerobic granular sludge selection discharge (AGS-SD) and 2) aerobic granular sludge mixture (AGS-RTC). This study systematically compared the anaerobic biodegradability of AGS-SD and AGS-RTC under mesophilic conditions. Results were further compared with the anaerobic conversion of waste activated sludge (WAS) as well as primary sludge (PS) from full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plants. Analysis showed similar chemical characteristics for AGS-SD and PS, which were both characterized by a high carbohydrate content (429 ± 21 and 464 ± 15 mg glucose/g VS sludge, respectively), mainly cellulosic fibres. Concurrently, AGS-RTC exhibited chemical properties close to WAS, both characterized by a relatively high protein content, which were individually 498 ± 14 and 389 ± 15 mg/g VS sludge. AGS-SD was characterized by a high biochemical methane potential (BMP) (296 ± 15 mL CH4/g VS substrate), which was similar to that of PS, and remarkably higher than that of AGS-RTC and WAS. Strikingly, the BMP of AGS-RTC (194 ± 10 mL CH4/g VS substrate) was significantly lower than that of WAS (232 ± 11 mL CH4/g VS substrate). Mechanically destroying the compact structure of AGS-RTC only accelerated the methane production rate but did not significantly affect the BMP value. Results indicated that compared to WAS, the proteins and carbohydrates in AGS-RTC were both more resistant to anaerobic bio-degradation, which might be related to the presence of refractory microbial metabolic products in AGS-RTC.Sanitary Engineerin

Effect of an increased particulate cod load on the aerobic granular sludge process: A full scale study

High concentrations of particulate COD (pCOD) in the influent of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) systems are often associated to small granule diameter and a large fraction of flocculent sludge. At high particulate concentrations even granule stability and process performance might be compromised. However, pilot-or full-scale studies focusing on the effect of real wastewater partic-ulates on AGS are scarce. This study describes a 3-month period of increased particulate loading at a municipal AGS wastewater treatment plant. The pCOD concentration of the influent increased from 0.5 g COD/L to 1.3 g COD/L, by adding an untreated slaughterhouse wastewater source to the influent. Sludge concentration, waste sludge production and COD and nutrient removal performance were monitored. Furthermore, to investigate how the sludge acclimatises to a higher influent particulate content, lipase and protease hydrolytic activities were studied, as well as the microbial community composition of the sludge. The composition of the granule bed and nutrient removal efficiency did not change considerably by the increased pCOD. Interestingly, the biomass-specific hydrolytic activities of the sludge did not increase during the test period either. However, already during normal operation the aerobic granules and flocs exhibited a hydrolytic potential that ex-ceeded the influent concentrations of proteins and lipids. Microbial community analysis also revealed a high proportion of putative hydrolysing and fermenting organisms in the sludge, both during normal operation and during the test period. The results of this study highlight the robust-ness of the full-scale AGS process, which can bear a substantial increase in the influent pCOD concentration during an extended period.Sanitary EngineeringWater ManagementBT/Environmental Biotechnolog

Anaerobic hydrolysis of complex substrates in full-scale aerobic granular sludge: enzymatic activity determined in different sludge fractions

Complex substrates, like proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids, are major components of domestic wastewater, and yet their degradation in biofilm-based wastewater treatment technologies, such as aerobic granular sludge (AGS), is not well understood. Hydrolysis is considered the rate-limiting step in the bioconversion of complex substrates, and as such, it will impact the utilization of a large wastewater COD (chemical oxygen demand) fraction by the biofilms or granules. To study the hydrolysis of complex substrates within these types of biomass, this paper investigates the anaerobic activity of major hydrolytic enzymes in the different sludge fractions of a full-scale AGS reactor. Chromogenic substrates were used under fully mixed anaerobic conditions to determine lipase, protease, α-glucosidase, and β-glucosidase activities in large granules (>1 mm in diameter), small granules (0.2–1 mm), flocculent sludge (0.045–0.2 mm), and bulk liquid. Furthermore, composition and hydrolytic activity of influent wastewater samples were determined. Our results showed an overcapacity of the sludge to hydrolyze wastewater soluble and colloidal polymeric substrates. The highest specific hydrolytic activity was associated with the flocculent sludge fraction (1.5–7.5 times that of large and smaller granules), in agreement with its large available surface area. However, the biomass in the full-scale reactor consisted of 84% large granules, making the large granules account for 55–68% of the total hydrolytic activity potential in the reactor. These observations shine a new light on the contribution of large granules to the conversion of polymeric COD and suggest that large granules can hydrolyze a significant amount of this influent fraction. The anaerobic removal of polymeric soluble and colloidal substrates could clarify the stable granule formation that is observed in full-scale installations, even when those are fed with complex wastewaters. Key points: • Large and small granules contain >70% of the hydrolysis potential in an AGS reactor. • Flocculent sludge has high hydrolytic activity but constitutes <10% VS in AGS. • AGS has an overcapacity to hydrolyze complex substrates in domestic wastewater. <!-- Query ID="Q2" Text=" Graphical abstract contains text below the minimum required font size of 6pts inside the artwork, and there is no sufficient space available for the text to be enlarged. Please provide replacement figure file." -->Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]Sanitary EngineeringBT/Environmental Biotechnolog

Effects of thermal hydrolysis process-generated melanoidins on partial nitritation/anammox in full-scale installations treating waste activated sludge

Thermal hydrolysis process (THP) is a well-established anaerobic digestion (AD) pre-treatment technology. Despite the THP benefits the pre-treatment increases the concentrations of nutrients and melanoidins in the digestate reject water after dewatering. The increased concentrations of nutrients and melanoidins formed during THP-AD can impact downstream processes, such as struvite precipitation and partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A). In our present work, six full-scale PN/A influents and effluents were sampled in The Netherlands (4 with THP and 2 without THP). Full-scale samples were characterised and the stoichiometric O2 consumption and melanoidins chelated to trace elements were analysed. The results showed that THP increased the concentration of total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC), UVA 254 and colour, which are indicators of melanoidins occurrence. THP furthermore decreased the stoichiometric NO3−-N production from the PN/A reaction in effluents. The disparity between stoichiometric and measured NO3− -N in the THP-using plants was explained by the proliferation of denitrifiers. Moreover, denitrification improved the N removal efficiency due to the consumption of the stoichiometrically-produced NO3− -N. Also, the stoichiometric O2 consumption increased in the plants using THP, reaching up to 56% of the O2 used for partial oxidation of TAN. Trace elements analysis revealed that the plants with elevated concentrations of melanoidins in the effluent showed a high percentage of chelated multivalent cations, particularly transition metals such as Fe. Kendall correlation coefficient analysis showed that the chelation of multivalent cations was correlated mainly with colour occurrence in the reject waters. Overall, the results indicated that in PN/A systems using THP-AD increased O2 consumption and trace elements availability should be considered during the process design.Sanitary EngineeringWater Managemen

Verkennende studie naar lozing van microplastics door rwzi's

Water ManagementCivil Engineering and Geoscience