Jaeho Bae

Domestic Wastewater Treatment as a Net Energy Producer–Can This be Achieved?

In seeking greater sustainability in water resources management, wastewater is now being considered more as a resource than as a waste-a resource for water, for plant nutrients, and for energy. Energy, the primary focus of this article, can be obtained from wastewaters organic as well as from its thermal content. Also, using wastewaters nitrogen and P nutrients for plant fertilization, rather than wasting them, helps offset the high energy cost of producing synthetic fertilizers. Microbial fuel cells offer potential for direct biological conversion of wastewaters organic materials into electricity, although significant improvements are needed for this process to be competitive with anaerobic biological conversion of wastewater organics into biogas, a renewable fuel used in electricity generation. Newer membrane processes coupled with complete anaerobic treatment of wastewater offer the potential for wastewater treatment to become a net generator of energy, rather than the large energy consumer that it is today.

Anaerobic Fluidized Bed Membrane Bioreactor for Wastewater Treatment

Anaerobic membrane bioreactors have potential for energy-efficient treatment of domestic and other wastewaters, membrane fouling being a major hurdle to application. It was found that fouling can be controlled if membranes are placed directly in contact with the granular activated carbon (GAC) in an anaerobic fluidized bed bioreactor (AFMBR) used here for post-treatment of effluent from another anaerobic reactor treating dilute wastewater. A 120-d continuous-feed evaluation was conducted using this two-stage anaerobic treatment system operated at 35 °C and fed a synthetic wastewater with chemical oxygen demand (COD) averaging 513 mg/L. The first-stage was a similar fluidized-bed bioreactor without membranes (AFBR), operated at 2.0-2.8 h hydraulic retention time (HRT), and was followed by the above AFMBR, operating at 2.2 h HRT. Successful membrane cleaning was practiced twice. After the second cleaning and membrane flux set at 10 L/m(2)/h, transmembrane pressure increased linearly from 0.075 to only 0.1 bar during the final 40 d of operation. COD removals were 88% and 87% in the respective reactors and 99% overall, with permeate COD of 7 ± 4 mg/L. Total energy required for fluidization for both reactors combined was 0.058 kWh/m(3), which could be satisfied by using only 30% of the gaseous methane energy produced. That of the AFMBR alone was 0.028 kWh/m(3), which is significantly less than reported for other submerged membrane bioreactors with gas sparging for fouling control.

Anaerobic treatment of municipal wastewater with a staged anaerobic fluidized membrane bioreactor (SAF-MBR) system

A laboratory-scale staged anaerobic fluidized membrane bioreactor (SAF-MBR) system was used to treat a municipal wastewater primary-clarifier effluent. It was operated continuously for 192 days at 6-11 L/m(2)/h flux and trans-membrane pressure generally of 0.1 bar or less with no fouling control except the scouring effect of the fluidized granular activated carbon on membrane surfaces. With a total hydraulic retention time of 2.3h at 25°C, the average effluent chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand concentrations of 25 and 7 mg/L yielded corresponding removals of 84% and 92%, respectively. Also, near complete removal of suspended solids was obtained. Biosolids production, representing 5% of the COD removed, equaled 0.049 g VSS/g BOD(5) removed, far less than the case with comparable aerobic processes. The electrical energy required for the operation of the SAF-MBR system, 0.047 kW h/m(3), could be more than satisfied by using the methane produced.

Pilot-scale temperate-climate treatment of domestic wastewater with a staged anaerobic fluidized membrane bioreactor (SAF-MBR).

A pilot-scale staged anaerobic fluidized membrane bioreactor (SAF-MBR) was operated continuously for 485 days, without chemical cleaning of membranes, treating primary-settled domestic wastewater with wastewater temperature between 8 and 30°C and total hydraulic retention time (HRT) between 4.6 and 6.8h. Average chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) removals averaged 81% and 85%, respectively, during the first winter at 8-15°C before full acclimation had occurred. However, subsequently when fully acclimated, summer and winter COD removals of 94% and 90% and BOD5 removals of 98% and 90%, respectively, were obtained with average effluent COD never higher than 23 mg/L nor BOD5 higher than 9 mg/L. Operational energy requirement of 0.23 kW h/m(3) could be met with primary and secondary methane production, and could be reduced further through hydraulic change. Biosolids production in all seasons averaged 0.051 g volatile suspended solids per g COD removed.

Biological treatment of wastewater containing dimethyl sulphoxide from the semi-conductor industry

Abstract Wastewater containing dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO), a widely used organic solvent in the semi-conductor industry, is usually classified as an industrial waste requiring high-cost treatment. This study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of the biological treatment of DMSO wastewater with activated sludge (AS). The optimum conditions for Fenton treatment were also investigated. The optimum chemical dosage of H 2 O 2 : Fe 2+ for Fenton treatment was 1000:1000 mg/l for wastewater containing 800 mg/l of DMSO. Although TOC and COD removal efficiencies by Fenton treatment were not satisfactory for most applications, the BOD/COD ratio was increased from 0.035 to 0.87, suggesting it as a very useful pretreatment method for biological treatment. Wastewater containing 800 mg/l of DMSO was treated successfully by AS without Fenton pretreatment, after 20 days acclimation period. Fenton pretreatment or pre-acclimation with easily biodegradable organics did not significantly reduce the acclimation period. Average removal efficiencies of TOC, SCOD, and SBOD by AS at an HRT of 24 h (loading rate of 0.8 kg DMSO/m 3 -day) were 90%, 87%, and 63%, respectively. Most of the sulphur in DMSO was oxidized to sulphate, eliminating the possibility of the production of sulphide-containing noxious intermediates. For 3500 mg/l of DPS-1300 wastewater containing 1925 mg/l of DMSO, satisfactory effluent qualities were obtained by AS at an HRT of 72 h (loading rate of 0.64 kg DMSO/m 3 -day). Control of pH was an important operating factor for AS operation as protons are produced as a final product of DMSO degradation. Results indicated that DMSO wastewater can be successfully treated with AS, which may significantly reduce the treatment cost compared to the chemical methods currently used.

Anaerobic treatment of low-strength wastewater: A comparison between single and staged anaerobic fluidized bed membrane bioreactors

Performance of a single anaerobic fluidized membrane bioreactor (AFMBR) was compared with that of a staged anaerobic fluidized membrane bioreactor system (SAF-MBR) that consisted of an anaerobic fluidized bed bioreactor (AFBR) followed by an AFMBR. Both systems were fed with an equal COD mixture (200mg/L) of acetate and propionate at 25°C. COD removals of 93-96% were obtained by both systems, independent of the hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 2-4h. Over more than 200d of continuous operation, trans-membrane pressure (TMP) in both systems was less than 0.2bar without significant membrane fouling as a result of the scouring of membrane surfaces by the moving granular activated carbon particles. Results of bulk liquid suspended solids, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), and soluble microbial products (SMP) analyses also revealed no significant differences between the two systems, indicating the single AFMBR is an effective alternative to the SAF-MBR system.

Effect of temperature on the treatment of domestic wastewater with a staged anaerobic fluidized membrane bioreactor

A laboratory staged anaerobic fluidized membrane bioreactor (SAF-MBR) system was applied to the treatment of primary clarifier effluent from a domestic wastewater treatment plant with temperature decreasing from 25 to 10 °C. At all temperatures and with a total hydraulic retention time of 2.3 h, overall chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) removals were 89% and 94% or higher, with permeate COD and BOD5 of 30 and 7 mg/L or lower, respectively. No noticeable negative effects of low temperature on organic removal were found, although a slight increase to 3 mg/L in volatile fatty acids concentrations in the effluent was observed. Biosolids production was 0.01-0.03 kg volatile suspended solids/kg COD, which is far less than that with aerobic processes. Although the rate of trans-membrane pressure at the membrane flux of 9 L/m(2)/h increased as temperature decreased, the SAF-MBR was operated for longer than 200 d before chemical cleaning was needed. Electrical energy potential from combustion of the total methane production (gaseous and dissolved) was more than that required for system operation.

Low energy single-staged anaerobic fluidized bed ceramic membrane bioreactor (AFCMBR) for wastewater treatment

An aluminum dioxide (Al2O3) ceramic membrane was used in a single-stage anaerobic fluidized bed ceramic membrane bioreactor (AFCMBR) for low-strength wastewater treatment. The AFCMBR was operated continuously for 395days at 25°C using a synthetic wastewater having a chemical oxygen demand (COD) averaging 260mg/L. A membrane net flux as high as 14.5-17L/m2h was achieved with only periodic maintenance cleaning, obtained by adding 25mg/L of sodium hypochlorite solution. No adverse effect of the maintenance cleaning on organic removal was observed. An average SCOD in the membrane permeate of 23mg/L was achieved with a 1h hydraulic retention time (HRT). Biosolids production averaged 0.014±0.007gVSS/gCOD removed. The estimated electrical energy required to operate the AFCMBR system was 0.039kWh/m3, which is only about 17% of the electrical energy that could be generated with the methane produced.

Two-stage anaerobic fluidized-bed membrane bioreactor treatment of settled domestic wastewater

A two-stage anaerobic fluidized-bed membrane bioreactor (SAF-MBR) system was applied for the treatment of primary-settled domestic wastewater that was further pre-treated by either 10 μm filtration or 1 mm screening. While the different pre-treatment options resulted in different influent qualities, the effluent qualities were quite similar. In both cases at a total hydraulic retention time of 2.3 h and 25 °C, chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) removals were 84-91% and 92-94%, with effluent concentrations lower than 25 and 7 mg/L, respectively. With a membrane flux of 6-12 L/m(2)/h, trans-membrane pressure remained below 0.2 bar during 310 d of continuous operation without need for membrane chemical cleaning or backwashing. Biosolids production was estimated to be 0.028-0.049 g volatile suspended solids/g BOD5, which is far less than that with comparable aerobic processes. Electrical energy production from combined heat and power utilization of the total methane produced (gaseous and dissolved) was estimated to be more than sufficient for total system operation.

Efficient single-stage autotrophic nitrogen removal with dilute wastewater through oxygen supply control.

Autotrophic nitrogen removal via ammonia oxidizing (AOB) and anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) bacteria was evaluated for treatment of a dilute 50mg/L ammonia-containing solution in a single-stage nitrogen-removal filter at 25°C. Important was an external oxygenation system that permitted close control and measurement of oxygen supply, a difficulty with the generally used diffused air systems. Hydraulic retention time (HRT) was reduced in steps from 15 to 1h. At 1h HRT, total nitrogen (TN) removals varied between 73% and 94%, the maximum being obtained with a benchmark oxygenation ratio of 0.75mol O(2)/mol ammonia fed. At higher ratios, nitrate was formed causing TN removal efficiency to decrease. With lower ratios, TN and ammonia removals decreased in proportion to the decrease in BOR. When operating at or below the BOR, nitrate formation equaled no more than 2% of the ammonia removed, a value much less than has previously been reported.