0000000000053813
AUTHOR
Ramón Barat
showing 40 related works from this author
Use of biological and sedimentation models for designing Peñíscola WWTP.
2004
This paper presents Peñíscola wastewater treatment plant design. Peñíscola is a tourist city in Castellón (Spain), whose population changes significantly between summer and the rest of the year. The design of the biological and settling treatment units has been confirmed by computer model simulations and provided for biological organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus removal. Two different treatment schemes have been proposed in order to optimize the plant performance during both seasonal operations. During low-load season, the plant will be operated under extended aeration conditions, so further sludge stabilization will not be needed. During high-load season, the plant will be operated un…
Metabolic shift of polyphosphate-accumulating organisms with different levels of polyphosphate storage
2012
Previous studies have shown that polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) are able to behave as glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs) under different conditions. In this study we investigated the behavior of a culture enriched with Accumulibacter at different levels of polyphosphate (poly-P) storage. The results of stoichiometric ratios Gly degraded/HAc uptake, PHB synthesized/HAc uptake, PHV synthesized/HAc uptake and P release/HAc uptake confirmed a metabolic shift from PAO metabolism to GAO metabolism: PAOs with high poly-P content used the poly-P to obtain adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP), and glycogen (Gly) to obtain nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and some ATP. In a test whe…
Effect of ambient temperature variations on an indigenous microalgae-nitrifying bacteria culture dominated by Chlorella
2019
[EN] Two outdoor photobioreactors were operated to evaluate the effect of variable ambient temperature on an indigenous microalgae-nitrifying bacteria culture dominated by Chlorella. Four experiments were carried out in different seasons, maintaining the temperature-controlled PBR at around 25¿°C (by either heating or cooling), while the temperature in the non-temperature-controlled PBR was allowed to vary with the ambient conditions. Temperatures in the range of 15¿30¿°C had no significant effect on the microalgae cultivation performance. However, when the temperature rose to 30¿35¿°C microalgae viability was significantly reduced. Sudden temperature rises triggered AOB growth in the indig…
Optimising an outdoor membrane photobioreactor for tertiary sewage treatment
2019
[EN] The operation of an outdoor membrane photobioreactor plant which treated the effluent of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor was optimised. Biomass retention times of 4.5, 6, and 9 days were tested. At a biomass retention time of 4.5 days, maximum nitrogen recovery rate:light irradiance ratios, photosynthetic efficiencies and carbon biofixations of 51.7¿±¿14.3¿mg¿N·mol¿1, 4.4¿±¿1.6% and 0.50¿±¿0.05¿kg CO2·m3influent, respectively, were attained. Minimum membrane fouling rates were achieved when operating at the shortest biomass retention time because of the lower solid concentration and the negligible amount of cyanobacteria and protozoa. Hydraulic retention times of 3.5, 2, and 1.5 days …
Production of microalgal external organic matter in a Chlorella-dominated culture: influence of temperature and stress factors
2020
[EN] Although microalgae are recognised to release external organic matter (EOM), little is known about this phenomenon in microalgae cultivation systems, especially on a large scale. A study on the effect of microalgae-stressing factors such as temperature, nutrient limitation and ammonium oxidising bacteria (AOB) competition in EOM production by microalgae was carried out. The results showed non-statistically significant differences in EOM production at constant temperatures of 25, 30 and 35 degrees C. However, when the temperature was raised from 25 to 35 degrees C for 4 h a day, polysaccharide production increased significantly, indicating microalgae stress. Nutrient limitation also see…
Resource recovery from sulphate-rich sewage through an innovative anaerobic-based water resource recovery facility (WRRF)
2018
[EN] This research work proposes an innovative water resource recovery facility (WRRF) for the recovery of energy, nutrients and reclaimed water from sewage, which represents a promising approach towards enhanced circular economy scenarios. To this aim, anaerobic technology, microalgae cultivation, and membrane technology were combined in a dedicated platform. The proposed platform produces a high-quality solid- and coliform-free effluent that can be directly discharged to receiving water bodies identified as sensitive areas. Specifically, the content of organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus in the effluent was 45 mg COD.L-1 , 14.9 mg N.L-1 and 0.5 mg P.L-1 , respectively. Harvested solar…
New frontiers from removal to recycling of nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater in the Circular Economy
2020
[EN] Nutrient recovery technologies are rapidly expanding due to the need for the appropriate recycling of key elements from waste resources in order to move towards a truly sustainable modern society based on the Circular Economy. Nutrient recycling is a promising strategy for reducing the depletion of non-renewable resources and the environmental impact linked to their extraction and manufacture. However, nutrient recovery technologies are not yet fully mature, as further research is needed to optimize process efficiency and enhance their commercial applicability. This paper reviews state-of-the-art of nutrient recovery, focusing on frontier technological advances and economic and environ…
A new strategy to maximize organic matter valorization in municipalities: combination of urban wastewater with kitchen food waste and its treatment w…
2017
[EN] The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of treating the kitchen food waste (FW) jointly with urban wastewater (WW) in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) by anaerobic membrane technology (AnMBR). The experience was carried out in six different periods in an AnMBR pilot-plant for a total of 536 days, varying the SRT, HRT and the food waste penetration factor (PF) of food waste disposers. The results showed increased methane production of up to 190% at 70 days SRT, 24 hours HRT and 80% PF, compared with WW treatment only. FW COD and biodegradability were higher than in WW, so that the incorporation of FW into the treatment increases the organic load and the methane producti…
Calcium phosphate precipitation in a SBR operated for EBPR: interactions with the biological process.
2008
The aim of this paper is to study the precipitation process in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) operated for EBPR (enhanced biological phosphorus removal) and the possible effects of this phosphorus precipitation in the biological process. Four experiments were carried out under different influent calcium concentration. The experimental results and the equilibrium study, based on the Saturation Index calculation, confirm that the process controlling the calcium behaviour in a SBR operated for EBPR is the calcium phosphate precipitation. This precipitation takes place at two stages initially precipitation of the ACP and later crystallization of HAP. Also the accumulation of phosphorus precip…
Outdoor flat-panel membrane photobioreactor to treat the effluent of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor. Influence of operating, design, and environmen…
2018
[EN] As microalgae have the ability to simultaneously remove nutrients from wastewater streams while producing valuable biomass, microalgae-based wastewater treatment is a win-win strategy. Although recent advances have been made in this field in lab conditions, the transition to outdoor conditions on an industrial scale must be further investigated. In this work an outdoor pilot-scale membrane photobioreactor plant was operated for tertiary sewage treatment. The effects of different parameters on microalgae performance were studied including: temperature, light irradiance (solar and artificial irradiance), hydraulic retention time (HRT), biomass retention time (BRT), air sparging system an…
Plant-wide modelling in wastewater treatment: showcasing experiences using the Biological Nutrient Removal Model
2020
Abstract Plant-wide modelling can be considered an appropriate approach to represent the current complexity in water resource recovery facilities, reproducing all known phenomena in the different process units. Nonetheless, novel processes and new treatment schemes are still being developed and need to be fully incorporated in these models. This work presents a short chronological overview of some of the most relevant plant-wide models for wastewater treatment, as well as the authors' experience in plant-wide modelling using the general model BNRM (Biological Nutrient Removal Model), illustrating the key role of general models (also known as supermodels) in the field of wastewater treatment…
Modelling the metabolic shift of polyphosphate-accumulating organisms
2014
Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) is one of the most important methods of phosphorus removal in municipal wastewater treatment plants, having been described by different modelling approaches. In this process, the PAOs (polyphosphate accumulating organisms) and GAOs (glycogen accumulating organisms) compete for volatile fatty acids uptake under anaerobic conditions. Recent studies have revealed that the metabolic pathways used by PAOs in order to obtain the energy and the reducing power needed for polyhydroxyalkanoates synthesis could change depending on the amount of polyphosphate stored in the cells. The model presented in this paper extends beyond previously developed metaboli…
Application of the General Model "Biological Nutrient Removal Model No.1" to upgrade two full-scale WWTPs
2012
In this paper, two practical case studies for upgrading two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) using the general model BNRM1 (Biological Nutrient Removal Model No. 1) are presented. In the first case study, the Tarragona WWTP was upgraded by reducing the phosphorus load to the anaerobic digester in order to minimize the precipitation problems. Phosphorus load reduction was accomplished by mixing the primary sludge and the secondary sludge and by elutriating the mixed sludge. In the second case study, the Alcantarilla WWTP, the nutrient removal was enhanced by maintaining a relatively low dissolved oxygen concentration in Stage A to maintain the acidogenic bacteria activity. The VFA produce…
Influence of food waste addition over microbial communities in an Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor plant treating urban wastewater
2018
[EN] Notorious changes in microbial communities were observed during and after the joint treatment of wastewater with Food Waste (FW) in an Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (AnMBR) plant. The microbial population was analysed by high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and dominance of Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, Synergistetes and Proteobacteria phyla was found. The relative abundance of these potential hydrolytic phyla increased as a higher fraction of FW was jointly treated. Moreover, whereas Specific Methanogenic Activity (SMA) rose from 10 to 51 mL CH4 g(-1) VS, Methanosarcinales order increased from 34.0% over 80.0% of total Archaea, being Methanosaeta the dominant genus. The effect o…
New insights in the metabolic behaviour of PAO under negligible poly-P reserves
2017
[EN] In a previous study the authors confirmed the ability of PAOs to perform GAO metabolism in short-term experiments. However, what happens when PAOs are exposed to poly-P shortage for an extended period of time? The answer to this question was the aim of this work from a macroscopic and microscopic point of view. Therefore, the poly-P was removed from a PAO enriched SBR and maintained without poly-P during five solid retention time. The PAOs were found to quickly change their metabolism to a clear GAO performance and remained without GAO colonization for the entire experimental period, even though GAO was present (around 5%) at the beginning of the experiment. Unlike the results obtained…
Selecting the most suitable microalgae species to treat the effluent from an anaerobic membrane bioreactor.
2018
[EN] Conventional treatments for nutrient removal in wastewater are shifting to Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors, which produce a high-quality effluent with minimum sludge production. The effluent resulting contains high nitrogen and phosphorus load that can be eliminated by microalgae culture. The aim of this study is to evaluate the ammonium and phosphorus removal rate of different microalgae species in the effluent of an anaerobic treatment. For that, 4 different microalgae species have been tested (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Scenedesmus obliquus, Chlorella vulgaris and Monoraphidium braunii) in batch monoculture and mixed conditions. Results indicate that all species are able to eliminate…
Wastewater nutrient removal in a mixed microalgae-bacteria culture: effect of light and temperature on the microalgae-bacteria competition.
2018
[EN] The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of light intensity and temperature on nutrient removal and biomass productivity in a microalgae¿bacteria culture and their effects on the microalgae¿bacteria competition. Three experiments were carried out at constant temperature and various light intensities: 40, 85 and 125¿µE¿m¿2¿s¿1. Other two experiments were carried out at variable temperatures: 23¿±¿2°C and 28¿±¿2°C at light intensity of 85 and 125¿µE¿m¿2¿s¿1, respectively. The photobioreactor was fed by the effluent from an anaerobic membrane bioreactor. High nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiencies (about 99%) were achieved under the following operating conditions: 85¿125¿µE¿…
Potential use of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste in anaerobic co-digestion with wastewater in submerged anaerobic membrane technology
2016
Food waste was characterized for its potential use as substrate for anaerobic co-digestion in a submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor pilot plant that treats urban wastewater (WW). 90% of the particles had sizes under 0.5 mm after grinding the food waste in a commercial food waste disposer. COD, nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were 100, 2 and 20 times higher in food waste than their average concentrations in WW, but the relative flow contribution of both streams made COD the only pollutant that increased significantly when both substrates were mixed. As sulphate concentration in food waste was in the same range as WW, co-digestion of both substrates would increase the COD/SO4-S rat…
Implementation of a global P-recovery system in urban wastewater treatment plants
2019
[EN] Current wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) paradigm is moving towards the so-called water resource recovery facilities in which sewage is considered a source of valuable resources. In particular, urban WWTPs are crucial systems to enhance phosphorus (P) recycling. This paper evaluates the implementation of a P-recovery system in Calahorra WWTP combining the operation of a new sludge line configuration coupled to a struvite crystallisation reactor at demonstration-scale. This new configuration consisted in the elutriation in the gravity thickener of the mixed sludge contained in the mixing chamber in order to reduce the phosphate load to the anaerobic digestion. The results indicated t…
Nitrite inhibition of microalgae induced by the competition between microalgae and nitrifying bacteria
2020
[EN] Outdoor microalgae cultivation systems treating anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) effluents usually present ammonium oxidising bacteria (AOB) competition with microalgae for ammonium uptake, which can cause nitrite accumulation. In literature, nitrite effects over microalgae have shown controversial results. The present study evaluates the nitrite inhibition role in a microalgae-nitrifying bacteria culture. For this purpose, pilot- and lab-scale assays were carried out. During the continuous outdoor operation of the membrane photobioreactor (MPBR) plant, biomass retention time (BRT) of 2 d favoured AOB activity, which caused nitrite accumulation. This nitrite was confirmed to inhib…
The metabolic versatility of PAOs as an opportunity to obtain a highly P-enriched stream for further P-recovery
2015
The effects of two sequencing batch reactor operation strategies for phosphorus stream enrichment over the biological phosphorus removal performance have been studied. The objective of both strategies is of performing an extraction cycle in order to obtain a new stream highly enriched with phosphorus. In the 1st strategy the amount of influent volatile fatty acids (VFAs) is the same in each cycle; while in the 2nd strategy the influent VFAs concentration is increased during phosphorus extraction experiments. Despite the strong decrease of the stored poly-P inside the cells in both strategies after the recovery cycles, the ability of the systems to remove phosphorus was not affected. The P-r…
Calcium effect on enhanced biological phosphorus removal.
2006
The role of calcium (Ca) in enhanced biological phosphorus removal and its possible implications on the metabolic pathway have been studied. The experience has been carried out in an SBR under anaerobic–aerobic conditions for biological phosphorus removal during 8 months. The variations of influent Ca concentration showed a clear influence on the EBPR process, detecting significant changes in YPO4. These YPO4 variations were not due to influent P/COD ratio, pH, denitrification and calcium phosphate formation. The YPO4 has been found to be highly dependent on the Ca concentration, increasing as Ca concentration decreases. The results suggest that high Ca concentrations produce “inert” granul…
Interactions between calcium precipitation and the polyphosphate-accumulating bacteria metabolism
2007
A sequencing batch reactor that is operated for biological phosphorus removal has been operated under different influent calcium concentrations to study the precipitation process and the possible effects of phosphorus precipitation in the biological phosphorus removal process. Four experiments were carried out under different influent calcium concentrations ranging from 10 to 90 g Ca m(-3). The experimental results and the equilibrium study, which are based on the saturation index calculation, confirm that the process controlling the calcium behaviour is the calcium phosphate precipitation. This precipitation takes place at two stages: initially, precipitation of the amorphous calcium phosp…
Preliminary data set to assess the performance of an outdoor membrane photobioreactor
2019
[EN] This data in brief (DIB) article is related to a Research article entitled 'Optimising an outdoor membrane photobioreactor for tertiary sewage treatment' [1]. Data related to the effect of substrate turbidity, the ammonium concentration at which the culture reaches nitrogen-deplete conditions and the microalgae growth rate under outdoor conditions is provided. Microalgae growth rates under different substrate turbidity were obtained to assess the reduction of the culture's light availability. Lab-scale experiments showed growth rates reductions of 22-44%. Respirometric tests were carried to know the limiting ammonium concentration in thismicroalgae-basedwastewater treatment system. Gro…
An integral approach to sludge handling in a WWTP operated for EBPR aiming phosphorus recovery: simulation of alternatives, LCA and LCC analyses
2020
[EN] As phosphorus is a non-renewable resource mainly used to produce fertilizers and helps to provide food all over the world, the proper management of its reserves is a global concern since it is expected to become scarcer in the near future. In this work we assessed two different sludge line configurations aiming for P extraction and recovery before anaerobic digestion and compared them with the classical configuration. This study has been performed by simulation with the model BNRM2 integrated in the software package DESASS 7.1. Configuration 1 was based on the production of a PO4-enriched stream from sludge via elutriation in the primary thickeners, while Configuration 2 was based on t…
Performance of an outdoor membrane photobioreactor for resource recovery from anaerobically treated sewage
2018
[EN] The objective of this work was to evaluate the performance of a pilot scale membrane photobioreactor (MPBR) for treating the effluent of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) system. In particular, new experimental data on microalgae productivity, nutrient recovery, CO2 biofixation and energy recovery potential was obtained under different operating conditions, which would facilitate moving towards cost-effective microalgae cultivation on wastewater. To this aim, a 2.2-m(3) MPBR equipped with two commercial-scale hollow-fibre ultrafiltration membrane modules was operated treating the nutrient-loaded effluent from an AnMBR for sewage treatment. The influence of several design, enviro…
Outdoor microalgae-based urban wastewater treatment: recent advances, applications and future perspectives
2021
[EN] Although microalgae-based wastewater treatment has been traditionally carried out in extensive waste stabilization ponds, recent trends focus on the use of microalgae to apply the circular economy principles in the wastewater treatment sector due to the capacity of algae to absorb carbon dioxide while recovering nutrients from sewage. To this aim, the development of new intensive microalgae-based systems with higher efficiency and level of process control is required. Results obtained for these systems at lab scale are generally promising. However, upscaling to outdoor conditions is often uncertain. Some advances have been made in terms of applying open systems at large scale. However,…
Biological Nutrient Removal Model No. 2 (BNRM2): a general model for wastewater treatment plants
2013
This paper presents the plant-wide model Biological Nutrient Removal Model No. 2 (BNRM2). Since nitrite was not considered in the BNRM1, and this previous model also failed to accurately simulate the anaerobic digestion because precipitation processes were not considered, an extension of BNRM1 has been developed. This extension comprises all the components and processes required to simulate nitrogen removal via nitrite and the formation of the solids most likely to precipitate in anaerobic digesters. The solids considered in BNRM2 are: struvite, amorphous calcium phosphate, hidroxyapatite, newberite, vivianite, strengite, variscite, and calcium carbonate. With regard to nitrogen removal via…
Continuous 3-year outdoor operation of a flat-panel membrane photobioreactor to treat effluent from an anaerobic membrane bioreactor
2020
[EN] A membrane photobioreactor (MPBR) plant was operated continuously for 3 years to evaluate the separate effects of different factors, including: biomass and hydraulic retention times (BRT, HRT), light path (Lp), nitrification rate (NOxR), nutrient loading rates (NLR, PLR) and others. The overall effect of all these parameters which influence MPBR performance had not previously been assessed. The multivariate projection approach chosen for this study provided a good description of the collected data and facilitated their visualisation and interpretation. Forty variables used to control and assess MPBR performance were evaluated during three years of continuous outdoor operation by means …
Sludge management modeling to enhance P-recovery as struvite in wastewater treatment plants
2017
[EN] Interest in phosphorus (P) recovery and reuse has increased in recent years as supplies of P are declining. After use, most of the P remains in wastewater, making Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) a vital part of P recycling. In this work, a new sludge management operation was studied by modeling in order to recover Pin the form of struvite and minimize operating problems due to uncontrolled P precipitation in WWTPs. During the study, intensive analytical campaigns were carried out on the water and sludge lines. The results identified the anaerobic digester as a "hot spot" of uncontrolled P precipitation (9.5 gP/kg sludge) and highlighted possible operating problems due to the accumu…
Short and long-term experiments on the effect of sulphide on microalgae cultivation in tertiary sewage treatment.
2017
[EN] Microalgae cultivation appears to be a promising technology for treating nutrient-rich effluents from anaerobic membrane bioreactors, as microalgae are able to consume nutrients from sewage without an organic carbon source, although the sulphide formed during the anaerobic treatment does have negative effects on microalgae growth. Short and long-term experiments were carried out on the effects of sulphide on a mixed microalgae culture. The short-term experiments showed that the oxygen production rate (OPR) dropped as sulphide concentration increased: a concentration of 5 mg S L¿1 reduced OPR by 43%, while a concentration of 50 mg S L¿1 came close to completely inhibiting microalgae gro…
Precipitation assessment in wastewater treatment plants operated for biological nutrient removal: a case study in Murcia, Spain.
2009
The Murcia Este Wastewater Treatment Plant is the largest wastewater treatment plant in Murcia (Spain). The plant operators have continuously found pipe blockage and accumulation of solids on equipment surfaces during the anaerobic digestion and post-digestion processes. This work studies the precipitation problems in the Murcia Este Wastewater Treatment Plant in order to locate the sources of precipitation and its causes from an exhaustive mass balance analysis. The DAF thickener and anaerobic digester mass balances suggest that most of the polyphosphate is released during excess sludge thickening. Despite the high concentrations achieved in the thickened sludge, precipitation does not occ…
Effect of light intensity, light duration and photoperiods in the performance of an outdoor photobioreactor for urban wastewater treatment
2019
[EN] A series of eight experiments were carried out to analyse the effects of light intensity, light duration and photoperiods on a microalgae culture for treating AnMBR effluent at an outdoor photobioreactor (PBR) plant. Improved performance was achieved in terms of nutrient recovery rates, biomass productivity and effluent nutrient concentrations at a higher net photon flux. However, the higher irradiance was also responsible for lower biomass productivity:light irradiance ratios. None of the experiments with different lighting regimes and the same net photon flux showed any significant differences. The data obtained suggest that microalgae performance in this system did not depend on the…
Understanding the performance of an AnMBR treating urban wastewater and food waste via model simulation and characterization of the microbial populat…
2018
[EN] An anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) pilot plant treating kitchen food waste (FW) jointly with urban wastewater was run for 536 days. Different operational conditions were tested varying the sludge retention time (SRT), the hydraulic retention time (HRT) and the penetration factor (PF) of food waste disposers. COD removal efficiency exceeded 90% in all tested conditions. The joint treatment resulted in an almost 3-fold increase in methane production (at 70 days of SRT, 24 h HRT and 80% PF) in comparison with the treatment of urban wastewater only. Mathematical model simulations and Illumina technology were used to obtain in-depth information of this outstanding process performance.…
Dataset to assess the shadow effect of an outdoor microalgae culture
2019
[EN] This data in brief (DIB) article is related to a Research article [1]. Microalgae biomass absorb the light photons that are supplied to the culture, reducing the light availability in the inner parts of the photobioreactors. This is known as self-shading or shadow effect. This effect has been widely studied in lab conditions, but information about self-shading in outdoor photobioreactors is scarce. How this shadow effect affects the light availability in an outdoor photobioreactor was evaluated. In addition, advantages and disadvantages of different artificial light sources which can overcome light limitation are described.
A pilot-scale study of struvite precipitation in a stirred tank reactor: Conditions influencing the process
2008
Currently, the two most developed techniques for recovering phosphorus from wastewater consist of the formation of calcium phosphates and struvite (MgNH(4)PO(4).6H(2)O). In this work the influence of the operational conditions on the struvite precipitation process (pH in the reactor, hydraulic retention time, and magnesium:phosphorus, nitrogen:phosphorus, and calcium:magnesium molar ratios) have been studied. Twenty-three experiments with artificial wastewater were performed in a stirred reactor. In order to obtain the pH value maintenance during the crystallization process, a fuzzy logic control has been developed. High phosphorus removal efficiencies were reliably achieved precipitating t…
Monitoring pH and electric conductivity in an EBPR sequencing batch reactor
2004
This paper presents laboratory-scale experimentation carried out to study enhanced biological phosphorus removal. Two anaerobic aerobic (A/O) sequencing batch reactors (SBR) have been operated during more than one year to investigate the information provided by monitoring pH and electric conductivity under stationary and transient conditions. Continuous measurements of these parameters allow detecting the end of anaerobic phosphorus release, of aerobic phosphorus uptake and of initial denitrification, as well as incomplete acetic acid uptake. These results suggest the possibility of using pH and electric conductivity as control parameters to determine the length of both anaerobic and aerobi…
Modelling biological and chemically induced precipitation of calcium phosphate in enhanced biological phosphorus removal systems
2011
The biologically induced precipitation processes can be important in wastewater treatment, in particular treating raw wastewater with high calcium concentration combined with Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal. Currently, there is little information and experience in modelling jointly biological and chemical processes. This paper presents a calcium phosphate precipitation model and its inclusion in the Activated Sludge Model No 2d (ASM2d). The proposed precipitation model considers that aqueous phase reactions quickly achieve the chemical equilibrium and that aqueous-solid change is kinetically governed. The model was calibrated using data from four experiments in a Sequencing Batch Rea…
Improving membrane photobioreactor performance by reducing light path: operating conditions and key performance indicators
2020
[EN] Microalgae cultivation has been receiving increasing interest in wastewater remediation due to their ability to assimilate nutrients present in wastewater streams. In this respect, cultivating microalgae in membrane photobioreactors (MPBRs) allows decoupling the solid retention time (SRT) from the hydraulic retention time (HRT), which enables to increase the nutrient load to the photobioreactors (PBRs) while avoiding the wash out of the microalgae biomass. The reduction of the PBR light path from 25 to 10 cm increased the nitrogen and phosphorus recovery rates, microalgae biomass productivity and photosynthetic efficiency by 150, 103, 194 and 67%, respectively.The areal biomass product…
P-recovery in a pilot-scale struvite crystallisation reactor for source separated urine systems using seawater and magnesium chloride as magnesium so…
2019
[EN] Practical recovery of a non-renewable nutrient, such as phosphorus (P), is essential to support modern agriculture in the near future. The high P content of urine, makes it an attractive source for practicing the recovery of this crucial nutrient. This paper presents the experimental results at pilot-plant scale of struvite crystallisation from a source-separated urine stream using two different magnesium sources, namely magnesium chloride and seawater. The latter was chosen as sustainable option to perform P-recovery in coastal areas. Real seawater was used to assess in a more realistic way its efficiency to precipitate P as struvite, since its composition (with noticeable concentrati…