Krzysztof Czerwionka

Nitrogen speciation in wastewater treatment plant influents and effluents—the US and Polish case studies

The fate of N species, particularly dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), through process trains of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was investigated. In this study, three fully nitrifying plants in Illinois, USA and biological nutrient removal (BNR) plants in northern Poland were sampled for N characterization in the primary and secondary effluents as a function of the particle size distribution. The correlations between dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) concentrations were examined. The key findings are that DON becomes significant portion (about 20%) of the effluent N, reaching up to 50% of effluent total N in one of the Polish plants. The DON constituted 56-95% of total ON (TON) in the secondary effluents, whereas in the Polish plants the DON contribution was substantially lower (19-62%) and in one case (Gdansk WWTP) colloidal ON was the dominating fraction (62% of TON). The DOC to DON ratio in the US plants is significantly lower than that in the receiving waters indicating potential for deterioration of receiving water quality. In Polish plants, the influent and effluent C:N ratios are similar, but not in the US plants.

Characteristics and fate of organic nitrogen in municipal biological nutrient removal wastewater treatment plants

The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence and fate of colloidal and dissolved organic nitrogen (CON and DON) across biological nutrient removal (BNR) activated sludge bioreactors. Primary and secondary effluent total nitrogen (TN) measurements and component fractionation, CON and DON concentration profiles across BNR bioreactors, and laboratory batch experiments with the process mixed liquor were carried out at several full-scale BNR plants in northern Poland. The organic nitrogen (ON) components were divided into high CON, low CON, and DON based on sequential filtration through 1.2, 0.45 and 0.1 μm pore-size filters. The average influent DON(0.1 μm) (<0.1 μm) concentrations ranged from 1.1 g N/m(3) to 3.9 g N/m(3) and accounted for only 4-13% of total organic nitrogen. In the effluents, however, this contribution increased to 12-45% (the DON(0.1 μm) concentrations varied in a narrow range of 0.5-1.3 g N/m(3)). Conversions of ON inside the bioreactors were investigated in more detail in two largest plants, i.e. Gdansk (565,000 PE) and Gdynia (516,000 PE). Inside the two studied bioreactors, the largest reductions of the colloidal fraction were found to occur in the anaerobic and anoxic compartments, whereas an increase of DON(0.1 μm) concentrations was observed under aerobic conditions in the last compartment. Batch experiments with the process mixed liquor confirmed that DON(0.1 μm) was explicitly produced in the aerobic phase and significant amounts of ON were converted in the anoxic phase of the experiments.

Combining Computational Fluid Dynamics with a Biokinetic Model for Predicting Ammonia and Phosphate Behavior in Aeration Tanks

The aim of this study was to use computational fluid dynamics for predicting the behavior of reactive pollutants (ammonia and phosphate) in the aerobic zone of the bioreactor located at the Wschod wastewater treatment plant in Gdansk, Poland. The one-dimensional advection-dispersion equation was combined with simple biokinetic models incorporating the Monod-type expressions as source terms for the two pollutants. The problem was solved numerically by a multi-step splitting technique algorithm. The dispersion coefficient, E(L), was estimated using a statistical method and numerical optimization based on experimental data from three tracer studies. With the first method, the values of EL varied within the range 1082 to 1860 m2/h and 695 to 1355 m2/h, respectively, in sections 1 and 2 of the aerobic zone. Except for one case, deviations of the corresponding numerically optimized values of E(L) did not exceed 14%. The maximum specific rates of nitrification [r(n,max,20) = 4.6 g N/(kg VSS h)] and phosphate uptake [r(Pupt,max,20) = 13.5 g P/(kg VSS h)] at T = 20 degrees C were determined based on laboratory batch experiments. With minor adjustments of the kinetic parameters, the model was capable of accurately predicting the longitudinal profiles of ammonia and phosphate in the aerobic zone, and the simulation results were presented using the actual horizontal geometry of the bioreactor as a background.

Comparison of the effects of conventional and alternative external carbon sources on enhancing the denitrification process.

Food industry effluents are considered a potential alternative for methanol when seeking external carbon sources to enhance denitrification in municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The aim of this study was to determine the immediate effects of dosing different carbon sources on the denitrification capability of process biomass from the Wschod WWTP in Gdansk (northern Poland). Five carbon sources, including settled wastewater, methanol, and three industrial effluents (distillery, brewery, and fish-pickling process) were tested in two kinds of batch experiments. The acclimation period of biomass to methanol also was investigated in bench-scale systems. During the conventional batch experiments, with the industrial effluents, the observed nitrate utilization rates (NURs) ranged from 2.4 to 6.0 g N/(kg VSS x h), which were only slightly lower than the rates associated with the use of the readily biodegradable fraction in the municipal (settled) wastewater [4.6 to 7.8 g N/(kg VSS x h)]. The conventional NURs observed with methanol and non-acclimated process biomass were low [i.e., 0.4 to 1.5 g N/(kg VSS x h)], and a minimum 2-week acclimation period of biomass to methanol in the bench-scale systems was needed to reach the level of 4.0 g N/(kg VSS x h). In other experiments, dosing the distillery and fish-pickling effluents at the beginning of the anoxic phase (preceded by the anaerobic phase) resulted in considerably higher (over 20%) NURs compared with the same experiments with the other carbon sources.

Distillery wastes as external carbon sources for denitrification in municipal wastewater treatment plants.

In this study, by-products from alcohol production were examined in terms of their potential application as external carbon sources for enhancing denitrification in biological nutrient removal systems. Three types of batch tests were used to compare the effects of the distillery by-products, such as fusel oil, syrup and reject water, on the non-acclimated activated sludge. Much higher nitrate utilization rates (NURs) were observed for the latter two carbon sources. In the conventional NUR measurements (one-phase experiments), the observed NURs with syrup and reject water were 3.2-3.3 g N/(kg VSS h) compared with 1.0 g N/(kg VSS h) obtained for fusel oils from two different distilleries. When the carbon sources were added at the beginning of the anoxic phase preceded by an anaerobic phase (two-phase experiments), the NURs were 4.2 g N/(kg VSS h) (syrup and reject water) and 2.4-2.7 g N/(kg VSS h) (fusel oils). The heterotrophic yield coefficient, determined based on the conventional OUR measurements, varied in a relatively narrow range (0.72-0.79 g COD/g COD) for all the examined carbon sources. Due to advantageous composition (much higher COD concentrations and COD/N ratios), fusel is a preferred carbon source for practical handling in full-scale wastewater treatment plants.

Nitrogen transformations and mass balances in anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic batch experiments with full-scale biomasses from BNR activated sludge systems

The aim of this study was to investigate nitrogen mass balances occurring inside full-scale BNR activated sludge systems, with special attention to colloidal and dissolved organic nitrogen (CON and DON) transformations. For this purpose, laboratory experiments were carried out using process biomass from two large BNR plants in northern Poland. Two parallel batch reactors were operated in a 3-phase (anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic) cycle. In one reactor, the settled wastewater without any pretreatment was used, whereas the settled wastewater after coagulation-flocculation (to remove colloidal and particulate fractions) was added to another reactor. The chemical pretreatment of settled wastewater with ZnSO(4) did not adversely affect the observed nitrification rates in the (last) aerobic phase. It caused, however, a reduction of denitrification rates in the anoxic phase. Moreover, the chemical pretreatment did not appear to generally decrease DON but decreased CON. DON was explicitly produced in the aerobic phase and organic nitrogen conversion also occurred at a significant rate in the anoxic phase with biodegradable COD consumption and solids hydrolysis. The inorganic N mass balances revealed N losses up to approximately 10% which could be attributed to a few novel pathways of nitrogen removal, most likely aerobic denitrification or simultaneous nitrification/denitrification.

Influence of temperature on the activity of anammox granular biomass

The aim of this study was to determine a short-term and long-term effect of temperature on the anammox rate and determination of temperature coefficients in the Arrhenius and Ratkowsky equations. The short-term effects of temperature on the anammox granular biomass were investigated in batch tests at ten different temperatures in the range of 10-55 °C. The maximum overall nitrogen removal rate of 1.3 gN gVSS(-1)·d(-1) was observed at 40 °C (VSS: volatile suspended solids). The minimum rate, close to 0 gN gVSS(-1)·d(-1), was observed for the limits of the analyzed temperature range (10 and 55 °C). The activity tests carried out at 55 °C showed an irreversible loss of the activity due to the observed biomass lysis. Subsequently to the batch tests, a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was operated at different temperatures (from 30 to 11 °C) to determine the long-term effects of temperature. The system was successfully operated at 15 °C, but when temperature was decreased to 11 °C, nitrite started to accumulate and the system lost its stability. The temperature coefficient (θ) was 1.07 for the batch tests carried out in the temperature range of 10-40 °C. In contrast, during the long-term SBR operation, substantially different θ had to be estimated for two temperature ranges, 1.07 (T = 15-30 °C) and 1.65 (T = 11-15 °C).

The effects of different aeration modes on ammonia removal from sludge digester liquors in the nitritation- anammox process

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of continuous and intermittent aeration on the rate of ammonia removal in the combined nitritation-anammox process. This process was run in two parallel sequencing batch reactors (SBRs), with a working volume V = 10 L, treating sludge digester liquors from the Gdansk (Poland) wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The ammonia oxidizing bacteria were cultivated from activated sludge from the same plant, whereas the anammox bacteria originated from the Zurich WWTP (Switzerland). Both SBRs were operated with 12-h cycles, temperature 30 °C and hydraulic residence time between 1 and 7 days depending on the operating period. The maximum specific ammonium utilization rate (sAUR) was observed in the reactor with intermittent aeration, and varied in the range of 4.4-4.7 g N kg VSS⁻¹ h⁻¹. The sAUR in the reactor with continuous aeration was slightly lower and ranged from 4.39 to 4.41 g N kg VSS⁻¹ h⁻¹. In the case of intermittent aeration, the additional measurement was performed at two different dissolved oxygen concentrations, i.e., 1 and 0.8 mg O₂L⁻¹, and the observed nitrogen removal rates were 4.7 and 2.7 g N kg VSS⁻¹ h⁻¹, respectively.

Modeling the pH effects on nitrogen removal in the anammox-enriched granular sludge

The aim of the study was to determine the pH effects on nitrogen removal in the anammox-enriched granular sludge. The experimental data were extracted from a 4 L completely-mixed batch reactor with the granular sludge at different initial pH values (6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10, 10.5) and constant temperature T = 30 °C. Simulations were run in GPS-X 6.4 using a comprehensive mechanistic model Mantis2. Two kinetic parameters, the maximum specific growth rates of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and anammox bacteria, were optimized at different pH scenarios. The inhibitory effects of the pH extremes on the anammox-enriched sludge were discussed in terms of the inhibition of free nitrous acid and free ammonia and metabolic mechanisms. Two different pH functions were used to examine the pH effects on the nitrogen removal kinetics. The pH optima for AOB and anammox bacteria were 7.4 and 7.6, respectively. The maximum specific growth rates of AOB and anammox bacteria at the pH optima were 0.81-0.85 d-1 and 0.36-0.38 d-1 (at T = 30 °C). The measured specific anammox activities (SAAs), predicted SAAs by Mantis2 and fitted SAAs by the Michaelis pH function at the pH optima were 0.895, 0.858 and 0.831 gN/(gVSS·d), respectively (VSS: volatile suspended solids).

Distillery fusel oil as an alternative carbon source for denitrification - from laboratory experiments to full-scale applications.

Industrial waste products may be a viable alternative to commercial external carbon sources. In this study, the properties of fusel oil (distillery waste product) were investigated in terms of temperature dependency of denitrification and acclimation period. Furthermore, results obtained during three different full-scale trials were used to verify similarities with and differences from the results obtained under laboratory-scale conditions. Batch experiments with non-acclimated biomass revealed a very strong temperature dependency of the denitrification process (θ = 1.15, R(2) = 0.92) in the range of examined process temperatures (13-22 °C). Fusel oil had minor (or no) effects on the behaviour of NO2-N and PO4-P. Significantly lower nitrate utilization rates were observed during acclimation to fusel oil in the full-scale bioreactors compared to a bench-scale reactor. This may primarily be attributed to lower doses of fusel oil, lower process temperatures and more complicated process configurations (resulting in non-optimal use of fusel oil for denitrification). Results obtained from both laboratory-scale experiments and full-scale trials suggested that an acclimation period of a few weeks would be required to reach the maximum denitrification capability of process biomass, even though positive effects of dosing can be observed almost immediately.