Search results for "Nutrient removal"
showing 10 items of 22 documents
Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge (IFAS) membrane BioReactor: The influence of the operational parameters
2020
Abstract The present paper investigated an Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge (IFAS) Membrane BioReactor (MBR) system monitored for 340 days. In particular, the short-term effects of some operational parameters variation was evaluated. Results showed a decrease of the removal rates under low C/N values. Respirometry results highlighted that activated sludge was more active in the organic carbon removal. Conversely, biofilm has a key role during nitrification. The major fouling mechanism was represented by the cake deposition (irreversible).
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…
Bacterial Community Structure of an IFAS-MBRs Wastewater Treatment Plant
2017
TIn this work, the bacterial community putatively involved in BNR events of a UCT-MBMBR pilot plant was elucidated by both culture-dependent and metagenomics DNA analyses. The presence of bacterial isolates belonging to Bacillus (in the anoxic compartment) and to Acinetobacter, Stenotrophomonas, Rhodococcus, Escherichia and Aeromonas (in the aerobic compartment) is in agreement with the nitrification/denitrification processes observed in the plant. Moreover, the study of bacterial community structure by NGS revealed a microbial diversity suggesting a biochemical complexity which can be further explored and exploited to improve UCT-MBMBR plant performance.
Microalgae cultivation in wastewater: nutrient removal from anaerobic membrane bioreactor effluent
2012
This study investigated the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from the effluent of a submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor (SAnMBR) by means of a lab-scale photobioreactor in which algae biomass was cultured in a semi-continuous mode for a period of 42 days. Solids retention time was 2 days and a stable pH value in the system was maintained by adding CO2. Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in the SAnMBR effluent fluctuated according to the operating performance of the bioreactor and the properties of its actual wastewater load. Despite these variations, the anaerobic effluent proved to be a suitable growth medium for microalgae (mean biomass productivity was 234 mgl(-1) d(-1)), achie…
Cultivation of granular sludge with hypersaline oily wastewater
2015
The time required to stabilise mature aerobic granules is rather variable. In addition, cultivation time and the structural characteristics of granules seem to be related to the nature of wastewater influent. Granular sludge has been used for the treatment of several industrial wastewaters, but nothing has been reported about wastewater characterized by the simultaneous presence of hydrocarbons and high chloride concentration. In this work, the authors analysed the granulation process and performance as well as the physical characteristics of aerobic granules in two Granular Sequencing Batch Airlift Reactors (GSBARs), fed with acetate-based synthetic wastewater in reactor 1 (R1) and with a …
Mathematical modelling of greenhouse gas emissions from membrane bioreactors: A comprehensive comparison of two mathematical models.
2018
Abstract This paper compares two mathematical models (Model I and Model II) to predict greenhouse gases emission from a University Cape Town (UCT) – membrane bioreactor (MBR) plant. Model I considers N 2 O production only during denitrification. Model II takes into account the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) formation pathways for N 2 O. Both models were calibrated adopting real data. Model comparison was performed in terms of (i) sensitivity analysis (ii) best fit and (iii) model prediction uncertainty. On average 6% of factors of Model I and 9% of Model II resulted to be important. In terms of best fit, Model II had a better capability of reproducing the measured data. The average effici…
Comparison of Two Mathematical Models for Greenhouse Gas Emission from Membrane Bioreactors
2017
In this study two mathematical models (Model I and Model II), able to predict the nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission from an University Cape Town (UCT) – membrane bioreactor (MBR) plant, have been compared. Model I considers the N2O production only during the denitrification. Model II takes into account the two ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) formation pathways for N2O. Both models were calibrated adopting real data. Results highlight that Model II had a better capability of reproducing the measured data especially in terms of N2O model outputs. Indeed, the average efficiency related to the N2O model outputs was equal to 0.3 and 0.38 for Model I and Model II respectively.
Moving bed membrane bioreactors for carbon and nutrient removal: The effect of C/N variation
2017
In this paper, an experimental campaign was carried out on a University of Cape Town Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge Membrane Bioreactor (UCT-IFAS-MBR) pilot plant. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of the influent C/N ratio on the system performance in terms of organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus removal, biomass viability (through respirometry), activated sludge features and membrane filtration properties. The experiments were organized into three phases, characterized by a variation of the C/N ratio (namely, Phase I: C/N= 5, Phase II: C/N =10; Phase III: C/N = 2). The results highlighted that the system performance was significantly affected by C/N ratio. The rem…
Aerobic granular sludge treating anaerobically pretreated brewery wastewater at different loading rates.
2020
Abstract In this study, three different aerobic granular sludge (AGS) reactors fed with anaerobically pre-treated brewery wastewater were studied. The AGS reactors were operated under different conditions including organic loading rates (OLR) between 0.8 and 4.1 kg COD m−3 d−1, C:N:P ratios (100:10:1 and 100:6:1) and food to microorganism ratios (F/M) between 0.8 ± 0.6 and 1.2 ± 0.5 and 0.9 ± 0.3 kg-TCOD kg-VSS−1d−1. Stable granulation was achieved within two weeks and the size of the granules increased according to the OLR applied. The results indicated that low C:N:P and F/M ratios were favorable to achieve stable aerobic granules in the long term. The carbon removal rate was load-indepen…
Simultaneous nitrogen and organic carbon removal in aerobic granular sludge reactors operated with high dissolved oxygen concentration
2013
Simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) together with organic removal in granules is usually carried out without Dissolved Oxygen (DO) concentration control, at ‘‘low DO’’ (with a DO 7–8 mg/L, during feast and famine conditions respectively). In particular, different strategies of cultivation and several organic and nitrogen loading rate have been applied, in order to eval- uate the efficiencies in SND process without dissolved oxygen control. The results show that, even under conditions of high DO concentration, nitrogen and organic matter can be simultaneously removed, with efficiency >90%. Nevertheless, the biological conditions in the inner layer of the granule may change sig- …