Activated Sludge Process

Thought of the Day

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Activated Sludge Process

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Activated Sludge Process

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Activated Sludge Process

Water/Wastewater Terms
activated sludge: sludge particles produced by the growth of microorganisms
in aerated tanks as a part of the activated sludge process to treat wastewater
aeration: exposing to circulating air; adds oxygen to the wastewater and allows
other gases trapped in the wastewater to escape (the first step in secondary
treatment via activated sludge process)
biochemical oxygen demand (BOD): a laboratory measurement of wastewater
that is one of the main indicators of the quantity of pollutants present; a
parameter used to measure the amount of oxygen that will be consumed by
microorganisms during the biological reaction of oxygen with organic material
biosolids: sludge that is intended for beneficial use. Biosolids must meet
certain government specified criteria depending on its use (e.g., fertilizer or
soil amendment)

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Water/Wastewater Terms
decomposition: the process of breaking down into constituent parts or
elements
domestic wastewater: wastewater that comes primarily from individuals,
and does not generally include industrial or agricultural wastewater
effluent: treated wastewater, flowing from a lagoon, tank, treatment
process, or treatment plant
grit chamber: a chamber or tank used in primary treatment where
wastewater slows down and heavy, large solids (grit) settle out and are
removed
influent: wastewater flowing into a treatment plant

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Water/Wastewater Terms
lagoons (oxidation ponds or stabilization ponds): a wastewater treatment method
that uses ponds to treat wastewater. Algae grow within the lagoons and utilize
sunlight to produce oxygen, which is in turn used by microorganisms in the lagoon to
break down organic material in the wastewater. Wastewater solids settle in the
lagoon, resulting in effluent that is relatively well treated, although it does contain
algae
municipal: of or relating to a municipality (city, town, etc.). Municipal wastewater is
primarily domestic wastewater.
primary treatment: the first stage of wastewater treatment that removes
settleable or floating solids only; generally removes 40% of the suspended solids and
30-40% of the BOD in the wastewater
secondary treatment: a type of wastewater treatment used to convert dissolved
and suspended pollutants into a form that can be removed, producing a relatively
highly treated effluent. Secondary treatment normally utilizes biological treatment
processes (activated sludge, trickling filters, etc.) followed by settling tanks and will
remove approximately 85% of the BOD and TSS in wastewater. Secondary
treatment for municipal wastewater is the minimum level of treatment required by
the EPA.
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Water/Wastewater Terms
sedimentation: the process used in both primary and secondary wastewater
treatment, that takes place when gravity pulls particles to the bottom of a
tank (also called settling).
settling tank (sedimentation tank or clarifier): a vessel in which solids settle
out of water by gravity during wastewater or drinking water treatment
processes.
sludge: any solid, semisolid, or liquid waste that settles to the bottom of
sedimentation tanks (in wastewater treatment plants or drinking water
treatment plants) or septic tanks
tertiary treatment: any level of treatment beyond secondary treatment,
which could include filtration, nutrient removal (removal of nitrogen and
phosphorus) and removal of toxic chemicals or metals; also called advanced
treatment when nutrient removal is included
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Water/Wastewater Terms
total suspended solids (TSS): a laboratory measurement of the quantity of
suspended solids present in wastewater that is one of the main indicators of
the quantity of pollutants present
trickling filter process: a biological treatment process that uses coarse
media (usually rock or plastic) contained in a tank that serves as a surface
on which microbiological growth occurs. Wastewater trickles over the media
and microorganisms remove the pollutants (BOD and TSS). Trickling filters
are followed by settling tanks to remove microorganisms that wash off or
pass through the trickling filter media.
turbidity: the cloudy or muddy appearance of a naturally clear liquid caused
by the suspension of particulate matter
wastewater: water that has been used for domestic or industrial purposes
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Activated Sludge Process

Mixed Liquor Suspended Solids

Returned
Activate
d Sludge

Waste Activated Sludge

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Activated Sludge Process

The most common suspended growth
process used for municipal wastewater
treatment is the activated sludge process

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Activated Sludge Plant

Activated sludge plant involves
wastewater aeration in the presence of
a microbial suspension
solid-liquid separation following aeration
discharge of clarified effluent
wasting of excess biomass
return of remaining biomass to the
aeration tank
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Activated Sludge
Activated Sludge serves two purposes
1. Reducing organic matter in wastewater by using
a complex biological community in the presence
of oxygen and converting the organic matter to
new cell mass, carbon dioxide and energy
2. Producing solids capable of bio-flocculating and
settling out in the clarifier to produce and
effluent low in Biochemical Oxygen Demand
(BOD) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS)

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The Process
In activated sludge process wastewater containing
organic matter is aerated in an aeration basin in which
micro-organisms metabolize the suspended and soluble
organic matter.
Part of organic matter is synthesized into new cells and
part is oxidized to CO2and water to derive energy.
In activated sludge systems the new cells formed in the
reaction are removed from the liquid stream in the form
of a flocculent sludge in settling tanks.
A part of this settled biomass, described as activated
sludge is returned to the aeration tank and the remaining
forms waste or excess sludge
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Activated Sludge Process Variables

The main variables of activated sludge
process are the
mixing regime
loading rate
flow scheme

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Oxidation and Synthesis

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Oxidation and Synthesis

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The BOD Curve

The BOD determination involves
the measurement of the dissolved
oxygen used by microorganisms in
the biochemical oxidation of
organic matter. The BOD test
bottle is incubated for 5 days at
20oC. A typical BOD curve is shown
in Figure. The BOD5 of secondary
effluents consists of two major
components a carbonaceous
demand
resulting
from
the
oxidation of carbon and a
nitrogenous demand resulting from
the oxidation of nitrogen. That is,
BOD5 = CBOD5 + NBOD5
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The Growth Curve

The growth curve has five distinct phases
These are:
1. Adaptation (Lag) Phase This portion of
the curve represents the time required for
the organisms to acclimate themselves to the
organic material present in the wastewater.
The numbers of bacteria are not increasing,
however, a shift in the population of the
different species of bacteria in the
wastewater is occurring so that the bacteria
that can best utilize these organic materials
become predominate.
2. Log Growth Phase Once the bacteria have
adapted, only the number of organisms
present limit the rate of growth. Because
bacterial cells reproduce by binary fission
(i.e., cell division one cell divides and
becomes two, these two divide and become
four, then eight, sixteen ), this is known as
logarithmic growth. Food is not a limiting
factor for growth in this phase, that is, for
each cell formed enough food is present to
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allow it to grow and divide.

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The Growth Curve

3. Declining Growth Phase In this
phase food becomes a limiting factor to
the growth of the bacterial cell mass
because not every bacterium that is
formed has the food required to grow.
4. Maximum Stationary Phase Here
the available food is just sufficient to
keep the cell mass at a constant level
with a rate of growth equal to zero.
5. Endogenous (Cell Death) Phase
When the supply of food becomes
insufficient to maintain the bacterial
mass at a constant level, the
microorganisms
are
forced
to
metabolize their own protoplasm.
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Sludge Age
Therefore, an optimum
sludge age exists which
provide
an
adequate
separation of the cell
mass from the liquid. For
a specific system the
optimum sludge age can
be
determined
by
plotting
the
sludge
volume
index
(SVI)
versus the sludge age
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Activated Sludge
The basic activated sludge process has
several interrelated components. These
components are
1. aeration tank
2. aeration source
3. clarifier
4. recycle
5. waste
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Activated Sludge
Aeration tank. A single tank or multiple tanks designed generally for either
complete mix or plug flow with a detention time of as little as 2 hours and up to
over 24 hours. The contents of the aeration tank are referred to as mixed
liquor.
Aeration source. Generally either diffused air or surface mechanical aeration
used to supply oxygen and mix the aeration tank contents.
Clarifier. A settling tank where the mixed liquor solids are separated from the
treated wastewater. Most treatment plants employ several secondary clarifiers.
Recycle. Solids that settle in the clarifier and are returned to the aeration tank.
Waste. Excess solids that must be removed from the system.

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Activated Sludge Flow Diagram

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Activated Sludge
A typical activated sludge plant
identifies the three major
control mechanism for the
activated
sludge
treatment
process
1. aeration rate
2. return sludge rate
3. waste sludge rate
Control of three variables in
addition to providing the proper
environment (physical, chemical,
biological
and
nutritional
requirements) all lead to good
sludge quality
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Mixed Liquor Suspended Solids MLSS

The combination of raw sewage and biological mass is commonly

known as Mixed Liquor.
In all activated sludge plants, once the sewage (or industrial
wastewater) has received sufficient treatment, excess mixed
liquor is discharged into settling tanks and the treated
supernatant is run off to undergo further treatment before
discharge.
Part of the settled material, the sludge (RAS), is returned to
the head of the aeration system to re-seed the new sewage
entering the tank.
Mixed Liquor is a mixture of raw or settled wastewater and
activated sludge within an aeration tank in the activated sludge
process
Mixed Liquor Suspended Solids (MLSS) is the concentration of
suspended solids in the mixed liquor, usually expressed in
milligrams per litre (mg/l)

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Why Measure MLSS

If MLSS content is too high

The process is prone to bulking and the treatment system
becomes overloaded
This can cause the dissolved oxygen content to drop with the
effect that organic matters are not fully degraded and
biological 'die off
Excessive aeration required which wastes electricity
If MLSS content is too low
The process is not operating efficiently and is wasting
energy
Typcial Control band
2,000 to 4,000 mg/l

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RAS and WAS

A proportion of the floc is called Return Activated Sludge

(R.A.S.) and is used to re-seed the process.

Measuring the solids concentration of RAS allows the return

volume to be adjusted to keep the solids level in the aeration
basin within the control parameters

Excess sludge which eventually accumulates beyond that

returned is defined as Surplus or Waste Activated Sludge
(SAS/WAS)

This is removed from the treatment process to keep the ratio

of biomass to food supplied (sewage or wastewater) in balance

Typical Range
4,000 to 6,000 mg/l

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Activated Sludge Parameters

The parameters in the diagram and a few
others that will be used for the activated
sludge calculations are summarized in the
list below.
primary effluent flow rate, Qo, MGD
(m/day for S.I.)
primary effluent biochemical oxygen
demand (BOD) concentration, So, mg/L
(g/m3 for S.I.)
primary effluent suspended solids conc.,
Xo, mg/L (g/m3 for S.I.)
aeration tank volume, V, ft3 (m3 for S.I.)
aeration tank MLSS (suspended solids
conc.), X, mg/L (g/m3 for S.I.)
secondary effluent flow rate, Qe, MGD,
(m3/day for S.I.)
secondary effluent susp.solids conc., Xe,
mg/L (g/m3 for S.I.)
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Activated Sludge Parameters

secondary effluent biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD) concentration, Se, mg/L (g/m3 for S.I.)
waste activated sludge flow rate, Qw, MGD
(m3/day for S.I.)
waste activated sludge biochemical oxygen
demand (BOD) conc., Sw, mg/L (g/m3 for S.I.)
waste activated sludge susp. solids conc., Xw
mg/L (g/m3 for S.I.)
recycle activated sludge flow rate, Qr, MGD
(m3/day for S.I.)
Food to Microorganism ratio, F:M, lb
BOD/day/lb MLVSS (kg BOD/day/kg MLVSS)
Hydraulic retention time, HRT, hours (hours for
S.I.)
Sludge retention time (also called sludge age),
SRT, days (days for S.I.)
Volumetric loading, VL, lb BOD/day/1000 ft3 (kg
BOD/day/m3 for S.I.)
% volatile solids in the aeration tank mixed
liquor suspended solids, %Vol.

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Activated Sludge Design Parameters

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Calculations
NOTE: F:M values will be the same for units of lb BOD/day/lb MLVSS.
Calculations with these design parameters can be made in U.S. units using the following
equations:
V = [ (8.34*So*Qo)/VL ] (1000)
VMG = V*7.48/1,000,000
HRT = 24*VMG/Qo
F:M = (8.34*So*Qo)/(8.34%Vol*X*VMG)
= (So*Qo)/(%Vol*X*VMG)

VMG is the tank volume in millions of gallons.

It is introduced for convenience in calculations, since the primary effluent flow rate is
given in MGD.
The 8.34 factor in the equations above is used to convert mg/L to lb/MG, and the 7.48 is
for conversion of ft3 to gallons.
Also, note that the primary sludge flow rate is typically very small in comparison with the
influent wastewater flow rate, so the primary effluent flow rate, Q o, is typically taken to
be equal to the plant influent flow rate.
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Example # 1

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Example # 2

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Calculations in S.I. Units

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Example # 4

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Example # 5

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Example # 6

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Example # 6

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Other Aerobic Treatment Units

Stabilization ponds: Thestabilization pondsare open flow
through basins specifically designed and constructed to treat
sewage and biodegradable industrial wastes. They provide
long detention periods extending from a few to several days.
Aerated lagoons: Pond systems, in which oxygen is provided
through mechanical aeration rather than algal photosynthesis
are calledaerated lagoons.
Oxidation ditch: The oxidation ditch is a modified form of
"extended aeration" of activated sludge process. The ditch
consists of a long continuous channel oval in shape with two
surface rotors placed across the channel.
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Extended Aeration

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Assignment # 3

Due Date: Wednesday,3rd April, 2013

Each Group has to make an excel sheet in which detailed population
analysis for every decade will be done for one city from 2000-2100
Based on that population, the water demand for the same city
Assuming 100 gallons per capita per day
Also incorporating temp change/climate change scenario
Assuming additional 10 gallons per capita per day per 0.2 0 C increase in
temp.
Refer to Urban Water Demand Model California

C
D
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Dredging and Cleaning of Drains

From 17th May to 29th June 2012

Dredging
Dredgingis
anexcavationactivity
or
operation usually carried out at least
partly underwater, in shallow seas
orfresh waterareas with the purpose of
gathering
up
bottomsedimentsand
disposing of them at a different location.

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Javed Colony Drain

Before

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After

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Muslim Town UC 28
Before

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After

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Dhoke Matkal
Before

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After

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Javed Colony
Before

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Work in progress

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Javed Colony

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Shamsabad
Work in progress

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Work in progress

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Cleared

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Ganda Nullah
Work in progress

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Cleaned

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Work in Progress
Bohar Bazaar

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Jama Masjid

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Jama Masjid Road

Work in progress

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Cleaned

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Thandi Gali
Before

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Work in Progress

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Kohati Bazaar
Before

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Work in Progress

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Nirala Sweet Drain

Before

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After

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Sharjah Ground
Before

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After

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Dhoke Khabba
Before

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After

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Night Working at Bohar Bazar

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Dhoke Illahi Buksh

Before

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After

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Sarfaraz Road

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Bhatta Naik Allam

Work at Dabu Road

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Pakistan Day

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Thank You