READILY BIODEGRADABLE COD AS AN INDICATIVE PARAMETER IN ESTIMATING THE EFFICACY OF A SEWAGE FOR BIOLOGICAL EXCESS PHOSPHORUS REMOVAL by RAMANATHAN MANOHARAN B . S c . ( C i v i l E n g . ) , U n i v e r s i t y o f P e r a d e n i y a , 1977 . E n g . ( C i v i l E n g . ) , U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , 1982 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of C i v i l We a c c e p t Engineering) t h i s t h e s i s as to the required conforming standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA December w 1988 Ramanathan M a n o h a r a n , 1988 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of C i v i l Engineering The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada D a t e DE-6 (2/88) D e c . U , 1988 -i i- ABSTRACT The o b j e c t i v e s of t h i s r e s e a r c h were to develop a r e l i a b l e measurement technique s u b s t r a t e s present to in a quantify the given s u b s t r a t e added, sewage with respect to experimental work l a b o r a t o r y s c a l e systems i n readily used biodegradable as readily a biodegradable i t s natural butyrate and specific substrates phosphorus glucose. removal release, aerobic anaerobic carbon this which one content dosages of sodium the efficacy i n the process. during excess different on the c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n of a study was used i n v o l v e d two t o q u a n t i f y the s u b s t r a t e s i n the feed while the other was biological substrates) role in under a c c l i m a t e d c o n d i t i o n s leading to b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal The biodegradable sewage and t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e i r b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal, f o r each readily of the acetate, The and phosphorus feed sodium system. The was changed using p r o p i o n a t e , sodium e f f e c t s of these compounds as general various elements mechanism (such phosphorus uptake, storage removal and readily biodegradable of the b i o l o g i c a l as anaerobic carbon excess phosphorus o v e r a l l phosphorus aerobic (both as removal, consumption) were investigated. R e s u l t s of t h i s study showed that almost a l l the d i f f e r e n t elements of the biological compared very well among the excess phosphorus different removal process s u b s t r a t e s used when the —i i i— readily biodegradable biodegradable overall COD) was phosphorus substrates direct release in as readily used as the u n i t of measurement. A l s o , the removal efficiency amounts of r e a d i l y biodegradable A (quantified relationship the anaerobic improved with i n c r e a s i n g s u b s t r a t e s e n t e r i n g the existed zone and between the system. phosphorus the phosphorus uptake i n the a e r o b i c zone, a c c o r d i n g to P uptake (mg/L) = 1.21 + 1.701 x P r e l e a s e (mg/L) w i t h the constant of c o r r e l a t i o n being 0.985. The carbon r e s u l t s of t h i s storage. storage (as anaerobic A PHB study a l s o definite or PHV) conditions, link and and addition (glycogen) was consumed found to under relationship trial, existed consumption, with the amount approximately of 0.41, In terms COD, had the phosphorus release under second be s t o r e d between per carbon the PHB unit of and the compound c o n d i t i o n s and excellent synthesis mean value the during storage An carbon consumption under a e r o b i c conditions. the estimated PHB between c o n d i t i o n s . However, a anaerobic importance of existed between the carbon phosphorus uptake under a e r o b i c glucose showed the and linear glycogen f o r the i n c r e a s e i n glycogen consumed being on a weight b a s i s . of s p e c i f i c substrates, for the same dosage as t h e i r e f f e c t i v e n e s s i n b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal the f o l l o w i n g d e c r e a s i n g order: - i v- acetate > propionate I t was n o t i c e d d u r i n g the study r e d u c t i o n i n the dosage the s t e a d y - s t a t e to of the biological f o r a p e r i o d of upto 5 decreasing > b u t y r a t e > glucose the new days added simple excess at lower that whenever there was a carbon s u b s t r a t e s , phosphorus removal the level, same higher reflecting s u b s t r a t e dosage. But, as a c o r o l l a r y , when the was increased, immediately without the excess phosphorus continued level the before reduced s u b s t r a t e dosage removal the presence of any s i g n i f i c a n t increased lag period. -v- TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT i i TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENT xii 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 8 2.1. B i o l o g i c a l Excess Phosphorus Removal 8 2.2. Concept 2.3. The Role of R e a d i l y Biodegradable S u b s t r a t e s on B i o l o g i c a l Excess Phosphorus Removal 3. EXPERIMENTAL of R e a d i l y Biodegradable S u b s t r a t e s METHODS 15 23 32 3.1. Experimental Design 32 3.2. Quantification 33 3.3. of R e a d i l y Biodegradable S u b s t r a t e s 3.2.1. Experimental Set-up 33 3.2.2. Measurement Procedure 38 3.2.3. C a l c u l a t i o n Procedure 39 3.2.4. Example C a l c u l a t i o n 39 L a b o r a t o r y Scale Operation of Phosphorus Removal System 40 3.3.1. Wastewater Source 40 3.3.2. Chemical A d d i t i o n 43 3.3.3. Anaerobic Reactor 44 3.3.4. Anoxic Reactor 44 -vi- Page 3.4. 3.3.5. Aerobic Reactor 45 3.3.6. Clarifier 45 3.3.7. Operation 46 Analytical Methods 3.4.1. Chemical 3.4.2. D i s s o l v e d Oxygen 48 3.4.3. Glycogen 48 3.4.4. Nitrogen 48 3.4.5. O x i d a t i o n Reduction 3.4.6. pH Oxygen Demand 46 3.4.7. Poly-B-hydroxybutyrate hydroxyvalerate Potential 49 50 and Poly-B50 3.4.8. Phosphorus 52 3.4.9. Solids 54 3.4.10. V o l a t i l e 4. 46 3.5. Cold Storage 3.6. Statistics RESULTS AND Fatty Acids Testings 54 , 55 56 DISCUSSION 57 4.1. Acetate Addition 58 4.2. Propionate Addition 60 4.3. Butyrate Addition 63 4.4. Glucose Addition 65 4.5. Readily Biodegradable 4.6. Phosphorus Release 4.6.1. Anaerobic COD and Uptake Zone 68 72 79 Page 4.7. 5. 4.6.2. A e r o b i c Zone 4.6.3. Anoxic 4.6.4. Phosphorus Accumulation 86 Zone .. 90 i n Sludge 94 Carbon Storage and Consumption Zone 95 4.7.1. Anaerobic 4.7.2. A e r o b i c Zone 106 4.7.3. Anoxic 107 4.7.4. Carbon Storge and Consumption as Glycogen Zone 100 110 4.8. O v e r a l l Phosphorus Removal 117 4.9. O v e r a l l N i t r o g e n Removal 125 4.10. Experimental Run with Combined A c e t a t e and Propionate 130 4.11. Lag Response d u r i n g Dosage T r a n s i t i o n s 133 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 141 5.1. 141 Conclusions 5.2. 5.1.1. C o n c l u s i o n s D i r e c t l y R e l a t e d t o O b j e c t i v e s 141 5.1.2. Other C o n c l u s i o n s R e l a t e d t o R e a d i l y Biodegradable Compounds i n General 143 5.1.3. Other C o n c l u s i o n s R e l a t e d t o S p e c i f i c R e a d i l y Biodegradable Compounds 145 Recommendations 148 BIBILIOGRAPHY 150 APPENDICES 157 Al. Development of the Method Used f o r the Determination of the R e a d i l y Biodegradable COD ... 157 A2. Raw Data from the V a r i o u s E x p e r i m e n t a l Runs 169 A3. Raw Data from the C o l d Storage T e s t i n g s 192 —v i i i - LIST OF TABLES Page 3.1. Summary of O p e r a t i n g Parameters f o r the Laboratory Excess Phosphorus Removal System 47 4.1. R e s u l t s of A c e t a t e A d d i t i o n Experiments 59 4.2. R e s u l t s of Propionate A d d i t i o n Experiments 62 4.3. R e s u l t s of B u t y r a t e A d d i t i o n Experiments 64 4.4. R e s u l t s of Glucose A d d i t i o n Experiments 66 4.5. Phosphorus Uptake f o r Acetate Run 75 4.6. Phosphorus Uptake f o r Propionate Run 76 4.7. Phosphorus Uptake f o r Butyrate Run 77 4.8. Phosphorus Uptake f o r Glucose Run 78 4.9. Average Phosphorus Uptake f o r A l l Runs 80 4.10. Carbon Consumption f o r Propionate Run 99 4.11. Carbon Consumption f o r Butyrate Run 99 4.12. Carbon Consumption f o r Glucose Run 101 4.13. O v e r a l l N i t r o g e n Removal f o r A l l Runs 4.14. Phosphorus Uptake, Carbon Consumption and N i t r o g e n Removal d u r i n g the Run with Combined Acetate and Propionate 129 131 4.15. Phosphorus and Carbon Balances f o r the Butyrate Run d u r i n g the Dosage T r a n s i t i o n s 138 - ix- LIST OF FIGURES Page 2.1. P r o f i l e of oxygen uptake wastewater as feed rate with domestic 17 2.2. P r o f i l e s of oxygen uptake feeding c o n d i t i o n s r a t e s under two 2.3. P r o f i l e s of oxygen uptake types of feed r a t e s with two different 17 different 19 2.4. P r o f i l e of oxygen uptake substrate 2.5. Process c o n f i g u r a t i o n used f o r the d e t e r m i n a t i o n of the r e a d i l y biodegradable COD of feed 22 D e n i t r i f i c a t i o n r a t e s used d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n method 22 2.6. r a t e w i t h g l u c o s e as 19 i n the b a t c h 2.7. Oxygen uptake method 2.8. The m o d i f i e d L u d z a c k - E t t i n g e r p r o c e s s f o r b i o l o g i c a l n i t r o g e n removal 24 2.9. The m o d i f i e d UCT process f o r b i o l o g i c a l n i t r o g e n and phosphorus removal 24 3.1. Schematic l a y o u t of the process c o n f i g u r a t i o n f o r the d e t e r m i n a t i o n of the r e a d i l y b i o d e g r a d a b l e COD of the feed 34 Schematic l a y o u t of the l a b o r a t o r y s c a l e experimental set-up of the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal system 41 4.1. T o t a l r e a d i l y biodegradable COD i n f e e d v s . chemical a d d i t i o n to feed, expressed as COD 71 4.2. T o t a l r e a d i l y biodegradable COD i n f e e d v s . chemical a d d i t i o n to feed, expressed as mg/L 71 4.3. Mass of phosphorus e n t e r i n g and l e a v i n g each i n d i v i d u a l r e a c t o r per u n i t i n f l u e n t flow 73 4.4. The anaerobic phosphorus r e l e a s e with chemical dosage, expressed as COD e n t e r i n g the a n a e r o b i c zone 85 The anaerobic phosphorus r e l e a s e w i t h r e a d i l y biodegradable COD a v a i l a b l e i n the a n a e r o b i c zone ... 85 3.2. 4.5. r a t e p r o f i l e used i n the batch a e r o b i c 22 -x- Page 4.6. The a e r o b i c phosphorus uptake expressed as COD i n the feed 4.7. The a e r o b i c phosphorus uptake with r e a d i l y b i o d e g r a d a b l e COD i n the feed ( i n c l u d i n g the chemical addition) 87 R e l a t i o n s h i p between the a e r o b i c phosphorus and the anaerobic phosphorus r e l e a s e 92 4.8. 4.9. with chemical dosage, 87 uptake The anoxic phosphorus uptake with chemical dosage, expressed as COD i n feed 92 4.10. R e l a t i o n s h i p between the a e r o b i c sludge percent phosphorus and the chemical dosage, expressed as COD i n feed 96 4.11. R e l a t i o n s h i p between the a e r o b i c sludge percent phosphorus and the r e a d i l y biodegradable COD i n feed ( i n c l u d i n g the chemical a d d i t i o n ) 96 4.12. Mass of carbon storage compounds e n t e r i n g and l e a v i n g each i n d i v i d u a l r e a c t o r per u n i t i n f l u e n t flow 98 4.13. A s i m p l i f i e d model f o r anaerobic metabolism bacteria of bio-P 101 4.14. R e l a t i o n s h i p between carbon storage and phosphorus r e l e a s e i n the anaerobic zone f o r the p r o p i o n a t e run 104 4.15. R e l a t i o n s h i p between carbon storage and phosphorus r e l e a s e i n the anaerobic zone 104 4.16. Anaerobic carbon storage v s . chemical dosage, as COD e n t e r i n g the anaerobic zone 105 4.17. Anaerobic carbon storage vs r e a d i l y biodegradable COD (from the feed and the chemical a d d i t i o n ) e n t e r i n g the a n a e r o b i c zone 105 4.18. A s i m p l i f i e d model f o r a e r o b i c metabolism bacteria 108 of bio-P 4.19. R e l a t i o n s h i p between carbon consumption and phosphorus uptake i n the a e r o b i c zone 108 4.20. R e l a t i o n s h i p between carbon uptake i n the anoxic zone 112 storage and phosphorus 4.21. R e l a t i o n s h i p between the phosphorus uptake and glycogen consumption i n v a r i o u s zones f o r glucose run 112 -xiPage 4.22. 4.23 R e l a t i o n s h i p between the i n t r a c e l l u l a r PHB glycogen f o r glucose run and 118 The o v e r a l l phosphorus removal of the system v s . the chemical a d d i t i o n , expressed as COD i n feed 118 The o v e r a l l phosphorus removal of the system v s . the r e a d i l y biodegradable COD i n feed ( i n c l u d i n g the chemical a d d i t i o n ) 122 4.25. The o v e r a l l phosphorus removal of the system vs. the chemical dosage, expressed as mg/L i n feed 122 4.24. 4.26. 4.27. R e l a t i o n s h i p between the o v e r a l l phosphorus removal of the system and the anaerobic phosphorus r e l e a s e ... 124 R e l a t i o n s h i p between the o v e r a l l phosphorus removal of the system and the a n a e r o b i c carbon storage 124 4.28. O v e r a l l n i t r o g e n removal e f f i c i e n c y of the system v s . the chemical dosage, expressed as COD i n feed 127 4.29. O v e r a l l n i t r o g e n removal e f f i c i e n c y of the system v s . the r e a d i l y biodegradable COD i n feed ( i n c l u d i n g the chemical a d d i t i o n ) 127 4.30 P r o f i l e of the e f f l u e n t a c e t a t e run ortho phosphorus f o r the 135 4.31. P r o f i l e of the e f f l u e n t ortho phosphorus p r o p i o n a t e run f o r the 4.32. P r o f i l e of the e f f l u e n t o r t h o phosphorus b u t y r a t e run f o r the 4.33. P r o f i l e of s t o r e d PHB i n the v a r i o u s zones of the system f o r the b u t y r a t e run 135 136 136 -xi i - ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish t o express Head o f t h e C i v i l B r i t i s h Columbia, my s i n c e r e Engineering thanks Department at thesis. I their for their assistance t h a n k Susan invaluable i n the L i p t a k , Paula assistance Oldham, U n i v e r s i t y of and a d v i c e given research. I a l s o w i s h t o t h a n k D r . D.S. M a v i n i c , Beatty the for h i s e n t h u s i a s t i c support during the e n t i r e p e r i o d of t h i s Dr. T. t o D r . W.K. in D r . K . J . H a l l and p r e p a r a t i o n of t h i s P a r k i n s o n and the laboratory Romy So f o r a n a l y s i s , Guy K i r s c h f o r h i s a s s i s t a n c e i n the c o n s t r u c t i o n of experimental Mukunthan f o r h i s a s s i s t a n c e i n system, Kannappar collecting sewage Engineering f o r the f i n a n c i a l Dr. W.K. Oldham a n d support. f o r the study, the support Yogeswary Manoharan the laboratory Department from of Civil t h e NSERC g r a n t s o f f o r her constant moral -1 - CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION The impact of i n c r e a s e d bodies has f a s t become an of u r b a n i z a t i o n water bodies and land e x p l o i t a t i o n , causing with algal disruption of of on n a t u r a l also cause foul recreational dissolved water levels eutrophication blooms y i e l d i n g numerous p h y s i c a l treatment c o s t s . Furthermore, f i s h depletion loadings important concern with i n c r e a s e d a e s t h e t i c problems. They water, nutrient oxygen taste activities k i l l s could and and of and odour of high r e s u l t due water to the r e s u l t i n g from the decay of the a l g a l blooms. The growth three are major carbon, nitrogen unwanted growth, the and subsequently Khettry, aquatic 1980). It compounds The longer due system. curtail any usually to an to or the assimilable should be from Thus, unwanted the To curtail first not any identified possible extent that b i c a r b o n a t e ion forms to i t will of (Black nitrogen and f o r most ammonia. However, when these forms (e.g. blue-green algae) atmosphere controlling algal any b i o l o g i c a l i t s n a t u r a l abundance from a v a i l a b l e , some s p e c i e s f i x the n i t r o g e n aquatic is of carbon growth are n i t r a t e and become no can input for phosphorus. limiting nutrient limiting nutrient e i t h e r the organic required and controlled. c o n t r o l the aquatic become the nutrients growth the in a and input water add of it to nitrogen body the to becomes -2- i r r a t i o n a l . T h i s l e a v e s the c o n t r o l p r a c t i c a l means of c u r t a i l i n g of phosphorus as the most the e u t r o p h i c a t i o n of the n a t u r a l water b o d i e s . Phosphorus has been recognized as the l i m i t i n g n u t r i e n t i n most of the eutrophication situations (Porter, 1975). The phosphorus a v a i l a b l e to the organisms i n a given ecosystem e n t e r s the system p r i m a r i l y v i a anthropogenic point and d i f f u s e s i n c e the n a t u r a l source of phosphorus earth's crust sources are d i f f i c u l t wider to the such monumental e f f o r t . as the proper a p p l i c a t i o n to the a g r i c u l t u r a l in ecosystem terms of lands a on the other hand, i d e n t i f i a b l e and c o n t r o l l e d , based on s i t e - s p e c i f i c water O f t e n , the major point bodies the primary is sources of chemicals corrosion used to discharge laundry protect of man's prove t o be are e a s i l y needs. source of phosphorus t o r e c e i v i n g phosphorus human waste, s y n t h e t i c fertilizer control e x t e n s i v e u r b a n i z a t i o n may more e f f e c t i v e . P o i n t sources, their In these s i t u a t i o n s management of and The through non-point to d i s t i n g u i s h and f o r the most p a r t , require a controls, activities m i n e r a l s of the i s u s u a l l y scarce due to t h e i r low s o l u b i l i t y . c o n t r i b u t i o n of phosphorus c o n t r o l would from the sources, of in domestic wastewaters. The the domestic wastewater are detergents and water treatment the water d i s t r i b u t i o n systems from (U.S.EPA, 1976). Municipal wastewaters are most o f t e n treated u s i n g the -3- a c t i v a t e d sludge p r o c e s s . In a t y p i c a l a c t i v a t e d sludge process, 1.0-1.5 mg/L of phosphorus i s removed ( f o r the b a s i c m e t a b o l i c purposes) f o r every 200 mg/L 1976) and weight the phosphorus treatment of COD removal (U.S.EPA, makes up approximately of biomass (Hoffmann and phosphorus removal obtained by process i s o f t e n inadequate Marais, this 1.5% of the dry 1977). Since conventional to protect the treatment the environment, b e t t e r phosphorus removal i s being r e q u i r e d by many government agencies. Two major strategies (excess) phosphorus Chemical are available; removal i s phosphates with c e r t a i n c h e m i c a l s , s e d i m e n t a t i o n . The necessary for achieved by Although most commonly used chemicals f o r t h i s purpose chloride, which provide extremely or as a final stage or d i r e c t l y stage of low e f f l u e n t phosphorus l e v e l s may treatment. be obtained p r o c e s s , i t s u f f e r s from a number of drawbacks such r e q u i r e s subsequent method the c a t i o n s the p r e c i p i t a t i o n of phosphates i n the wastewater. as the p r o d u c t i o n of this precipitating c o a g u l a t i o n and b i o l o g i c a l process through t h i s biological by ferric followed These chemicals are added e i t h e r at the i n i t i a l i n t o the or removal. phosphorus are l i m e , alum and chemical of a large amount of chemical sludge that d i s p o s a l . High chemical c o s t s a l s o have made phosphorus removal prohibitive for many communities. Another method which does not require any chemical a d d i t i o n or produce i n c r e a s e d volumes of sludge to dispose o f , i s -4- b a s e d on t h e b i o l o g i c a l bio-P process, metabolic believed of phosphorus requirements t o be s t o r e d inorganic Shapiro, normal phase and upon phosphorus as properly phosphorus It of the normal is granules entering well release, to with (Barnard, However, phosphorus generally chains ( L e v i n and aerobic biomass, sludge into zone, consequence of being is in for this upstream conditions, the l i q u i d a l l the released phosphorus resulting activated zone anaerobic The r e a s o n release further micro-organisms t a k e n up by a excess phosphorus b e h a v i o u r was the anaerobic the r e s u l t the anaerobic stress propionate etc.) by b e t t e r has the carbon-based in that research was more c l o s e l y the nature of demonstrated standard first phosphorus of the anaerobic 1976). release anaerobic a the the return influent be t h e that Under the as in by a d d i n g an a n a e r o b i c from the system. hypothesized followed earlier. removal zone. released acclimated r e m o v a l by of i n excess by t h e o r g a n i s m s i n t h e f o r m o f l o n g aerobic is and described i s stimulated phosphorus stress t a k e n up 1965). sludge process the is p o l y p h o s p h a t e , known a s v o l u t i n The e x c e s s of ( b i o - P ) r e m o v a l . In t h e excess phosphorus (Siebritz simpler produce excess shown related zone, r a t h e r carbon available t o the than t o the degree 1982). I t substrates anaerobic the anaerobic t o the c o n c e n t r a t i o n substrates et a l . , better that has a l s o been (such as acetate, phosphorus release, phosphorus uptake i n the a e r o b i c zone. -5- It is now a substrates standard to the practice anaerobic to supply these simple zone either through a d d i t i o n s or by p r o d u c i n g these simple carbon T h i s can be done i n a of a primary b i o l o g i c a l excess with low COD strong carbon (such as zone r e t e n t i o n times of the main (2-3 hours It is clear a system that desired generated process the degree with the should be noted t h a t to the presence necessary f o r any The composed of f r a c t i o n that two time) carbon necessary to the raw feed i t varies directly provided by the c o l l e c t i o n of fermentative deposits and zero with system, conditions. It the low v e l o c i t y of flow i s a l s o sludge itself. i n the feed sewage depends on the presence important d i s s o l v e d oxygen fermentation a c t i v i t y . biodegradable of hydraulic of phosphorus removal depends on the r e t e n t i o n time possible longer i n the through f e r m e n t a t i o n . c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the c o l l e c t i o n system: due t o either of the fermentation s u b s t r a t e s present the h y d r a u l i c simple hydraulic retention a v a i l a b i l i t y of these simple s u b s t r a t e s i n The simple However, with amount of e x t e r n a l simple s u b s t r a t e s needed or the degree produce be of nominal or i n the sewage c o l l e c t i o n 1985). i n South A f r i c a ) , these substrates could apparently anaerobic substrates in s i t u . process, f o r sewages (Rabinowitz, those external fermenter p l a c e d up-stream phosphorus removal concentrations sewages sludge carbon portion fractions: i s used by the a of a m u n i c i p a l wastewater i s readily biodegradable microorganisms soluble at a r a p i d r a t e ; and -6- a slowly biodegradable and particulate fraction enzymatic breakdown p r i o r to t r a n s f e r that requires through the storage cell wall (Dold e t a l . , 1980). Although many r e s e a r c h e r s have i n v e s t i g a t e d the e f f e c t s of specific simple substrates in the volatile f a t t y a c i d s ) on b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal, no s i g n i f i c a n t attempt has been made these preferred substrates feed to on (such quantify as short chain the presence of a more g e n e r a l i z e d b a s i s . There were many i n s t a n c e s where the phosphorus removal e f f i c i e n c y biological excess good, although was found phosphorus i n the converted feed (Koch, to zone of the process p r a c t i c a l to in a sewage, estimate the process was found to be no s i g n i f i c a n t amount of any v o l a t i l e p r e f e r r e d s u b s t r a t e s or easily removal compounds were present more that lend i n the fatty acids i n d i c a t e s that the p r e f e r r e d s u b s t r a t e s i d e n t i f y every a 1984). T h i s themselves f e e d . Since parameter other to be i n the anaerobic i t i s not possible preferred substrate generalized of a present i s necessary t o a v a i l a b i l i t y of the t o t a l p r e f e r r e d s u b s t r a t e s in a given sewage. T h i s research i n v e s t i g a t e s the p o s s i b i l i t y parameter " r e a d i l y biodegradable simple p r e f e r r e d carbon of u s i n g the COD" t o q u a n t i f y the presence of substrates in a sewage, in order t o assess t h e s u i t a b i l i t y of a given sewage f o r i t s n a t u r a l e f f i c a c y in the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal process. -7- The objectives of this research may be summarized as follows: (i) Development of a quantification (as (ii) readily of removal (such as the the entering system on readily uptake, overall storage and a biodegradable COD characterization excess of phosphorus carbon the of the a in a for substrates sewage. phosphorus elements of the release, aerobic anaerobic process phosphorus carbon consumption). of using parameter sewage phosphorus with readily for a respect removal the biodegradable excess removal, efficacy as present biological various technique biodegradable readily phosphorus aerobic I n v e s t i g a t i o n of role the anaerobic biological measurement biodegradable.COD) I n v e s t i g a t i o n of substrates (iii) reliable general to process. the -8- CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW The r e a l i z a t i o n of the importance of having concentrations in sewage treatment the e u t r o p h i c a t i o n of n a t u r a l research this work in (bio-P) removal methods plant discharges waterbodies has l e d to extensive i s considered for removing to be one phosphorus wastewater d i s c h a r g e s , as d i s c u s s e d i n the p r e v i o u s T h i s chapter been used provides a i n developing to c o n t r o l f i e l d . The b i o l o g i c a l excess technique available low phosphorus review of phosphorus of the best from domestic chapter. p r e v i o u s work that has the o b j e c t i v e s and methods used i n t h i s research. 2.1 BIOLOGICAL EXCESS PHOSPHORUS REMOVAL Comprehensive l i t e r a t u r e reviews phosphorus removal have been presented Comeau the subject matter, plus excess by S i e b r i t z et a l . (1983), provide some of an update on the more research. Biological Srinath the b i o l o g i c a l (1984) and o t h e r s . T h i s s e c t i o n w i l l b r i e f l y cover same recent on et excess a l . (1959), phosphorus removal was f i r s t followed by Alarcon reported by (1961). However, -9- neither Srinath et a l . nor A l a r c o n o f f e r e d any e x p l a n a t i o n f o r the o c c u r r e n c e of t h i s phenomenon or why i t was observed certain treatment The facilities. first attempt phosphorus removal s e r i e s of removal to explain phenomenon was made batch t e s t s . a process a p p r o p r i a t e food any excess Levin propose and by factor of microorganisms of inorganic p r o s p e c t s of using a that the excess phosphorus temperature of about 25°C, although i n treatment processes that do with the aeration later were the f i r s t process. researchers to e x p l a n a t i o n f o r excess phosphorus role of phosphorus They the a b i l i t y to polyphosphates achieving a inadequate i n the phosphorus removal carbohydrates. have (1962) ratio, (1965) Shapiro relating utilization chains occur a b i o c h e m i c a l l y based removal Feng excess phosphorus removal. H i s f i n d i n g that the phosphorus r e l e a s e c o u l d emerged as an important biological t o micro-organism these c o n d i t i o n s a r e o f t e n found not e x h i b i t this by He concluded was s t i m u l a t e d by a e r a t i o n and only i n also noted store and to the a e r o b i c that certain phosphorus i n long concluded that the r e d u c t i o n i n the d i s s o l v e d phosphorus content of a sewage, using a modified activated sludge p r o c e s s , were p r o m i s i n g . As a result of these p a r t i a l e x p l a n a t i o n s , a number of r e s e a r c h e r s , such as Shapiro e t a l . ( 1 9 6 7 ) , Vacker Wells (1969), Bargman et a l . (1970) and Milbury et a l . (1967), et a l . (1970, -10- 1971) began investigating the biological excess phosphorus removal phenomenon. Although many invaluable findings during the these studies, such as anaerobic c o n d i t i o n s , phosphorus and the minor role phosphorus uptake r e l e a s e under under a e r o b i c indisputable explanations f o r that removal p r o c e s s , g e n e r a l l y accepted to be b i o l o g i c a l a modified "Bardenpho" employed. activated process) process i n which removal was i n nature. r e p o r t e d about 97% phosphorus sludge no exact removal were g i v e n . However, at t h i s stage, the mechanism of the excess phosphorus (1974) conditions that i n o r g a n i c p r e c i p i t a t i o n of phosphates p l a y s i n the o v e r a l l excess phosphorus Barnard were made (referred removal from to as the an a n a e r o b i c - a e r o b i c sequence was Although the author refers to the unaerated zones of the process as the anaerobic zones, they a r e i n f a c t anoxic zones due t o the presence of r e c y c l e d n i t r a t e s i n them. Fuhs specifically and Chen (1975) investigate the were the role of sequence on the excess phosphorus anaerobic/aerobic sequence the anaerobic this researchers to anaerobic-aerobic removal. They reported that the allowed capable of s t o r i n g excess phosphorus) since first conditions f a c u l t a t i v e anaerobic p o p u l a t i o n of Acinetobacter (which a r e t o f l o u r i s h i n the p r o c e s s , promoted the growth of a microorganisms that produced carbon sources (such as e t h a n o l , a c e t a t e and s u c c i n a t e ) necessary f o r the slow growing A c i n e t o b a c t e r . Although t h i s theory first attempt t o explain the excess phosphorus was the removal i n a -11- p r o c e s s having an a n a e r o b i c - a e r o b i c sequence basis, on a m i c r o b i o l o g i c a l i t d i d not e x p l a i n e i t h e r the anaerobic phosphorus or i t s r o l e i n the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus According to Davelaar (1979), the micro-organisms phosphorus et release removal. a l . (1978) and T o e r i e n e t a l . r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the b i o l o g i c a l excess removal a r e u b i q u i t o u s and t h e i r p r o l i f e r a t i o n depends p r i m a r i l y on the a p p r o p r i a t e environmental c o n d i t i o n s . The r e l e a s e as first researcher anaerobic phosphorus an i n t r i n s i c p a r t of the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal mechanism was Barnard excess phosphorus release i s indicated removal induced by the researchers stress, and and anaerobic the Wood, a l s o confirmed stress potential characteristics of removal polyphosphate Comeau that (bio-P aerobically can be (ORP). He a l s o e n t e r i n g the a n a e r o b i c increase 1976; of in the ORP. 1978), w h i l e nitrates e n t e r i n g the a l . (1985), responsible bacteria) and the are Other Nicholls, the importance et bacteria t h a t the phosphorus of the a n a e r o b i c r e l e a s e i n the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus According to phosphorus out removal, through the r e d u c t i o n of i n v e s t i g a t i n g the d e t r i m e n t a l e f f e c t s phosphorus pointed of n i t r a t e s phosphorus (McLaren a n a e r o b i c zone, He oxidation-reduction the excess anaerobic the (1976). an r e p o r t e d the adverse e f f e c t s zone on link occurs when the anaerobic through the to the removal. two e s s e n t i a l for biological the ability ability to store excess to store carbon -12- anaerobically, When simple i n such preferred a form as poly-B-hydroxybutyrate carbon substrates (such as (PHB). a c e t a t e or propionate) a r e present i n the anaerobic zone, t h e b i o - P b a c t e r i a store these substrates h y d r o x y v a l e r a t e ) by motive carbon reserves c l e a v i n g polyphosphates f o r c e ) and r e l e a s i n g phosphorus i n t o The c o n c e n t r a t i o n is as generally low or i n the a e r o b i c bio-P b a c t e r i a solution. zone substrates of a c o m p l e t e l y mixed of P r a c t i c e with t h e i r poly-B- (to m a i n t a i n proton of the e x t e r n a l carbonaceous a c t i v a t e d sludge process (Manual T h e r e f o r e , the (PHB No.8, WPCF, 1977). internal r e s e r v e s w i l l be a b l e t o compete b e t t e r with other s t o r e d carbon microorganisms upon e n t e r i n g the a e r o b i c zone. Under these c o n d i t i o n s , the bio-P bacteria degrade polyphosphates their by stored removing sequence reserves and store phosphorus from s o l u t i o n . Thus, the presence of p r e f e r r e d s u b s t r a t e s anaerobic-aerobic carbon i n the anaerobic zone (with recycle) are and the important to e s t a b l i s h a s u f f i c i e n t p r o p o r t i o n of bio-P b a c t e r i a . I t may take 6 to 8 weeks t o develop t h e microorganisms r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal and Stevens, organisms 1984; Manning and I r v i n e , are established, a short 1985). However, once these period c o n d i t i o n s would not wipe them out. In f a c t , by Manning reestablish and Irvine (1985) good phosphorus p e r i o d of upset. that (Oldham of unfavourable i t has been r e p o r t e d i t took removal e f f i c i e n c y only 2 days t o after a 13 day -13- Since q u a n t i f i c a t i o n the phosphorus removal release using of the anaerobic s t r e s s r e q u i r e d f o r and the subsequent excess phosphorus oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) measurements are d i f f i c u l t and u n r e l i a b l e , an a l t e r n a t e parameter was by Rabinowitz and Marais The parameter, potential", (1980) t o q u a n t i f y the anaerobic known as was proposed the "anaerobic defined as stress. c a p a c i t y " or "anaerobic the difference between the d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n c a p a c i t y of the anaerobic r e a c t o r and the mass of nitrates entering of f e e d ) . The anaerobic the r e a c t o r authors capacity (both expressed i n mg N per l i t r e concluded is that necessary to phosphorus r e l e a s e and the subsequent S i e b r i t z et a l . (1982, at least achieve 9 mg the anaerobic a e r o b i c phosphorus 1983), while N/L of uptake. investigating this concept of anaerobic c a p a c i t y , r e p o r t e d that an a n a e r o b i c - a e r o b i c p r o c e s s d i d not produce an anaerobic any phosphorus capacity of 35 mg release, although N/L. They concluded that the anaerobic phosphorus r e l e a s e and the subsequent uptake i t had excess phosphorus are c l o s e l y l i n k e d to the r e a d i l y biodegradable s u b s t r a t e s a v a i l a b l e i n the anaerobic zone r a t h e r than any This w i l l At biological other parameter. be d i s c u s s e d i n d e t a i l i n s e c t i o n 2.3. this excess emerge.A good stage, biochemical phosphorus removal l i t e r a t u r e review b i o c h e m i c a l models f o r the has been presented by Simm with a models phenomenon explain started the to s p e c i a l emphasis on the b i o l o g i c a l excess (1988). to phosphorus removal -14- A significant phosphorus Nicholls removal and biochemical was Osborn explanation presented by Hall (1979), i n d i c a t i n g f o r the a e r o b i c organisms et for al excess (1978) and two s u r v i v a l mechanisms under anaerobic c o n d i t i o n s , as o u t l i n e d below. (i) the breaking-up of the i n t r a c e l l u l a r polyphosphate c h a i n to p r o v i d e the energy needed, and (ii) formation of PHB, the a common carbon r e s e r v e compound, f o r accumulation of the hydrogen ions and e l e c t r o n s i n order to p r o c e s s more s u b s t r a t e s . These ideas were f u r t h e r extended by Rensink suggested that the lower f a t t y a c i d s present i n under anaerobic necessary cleavage, for thus conditions this are storage creating results in the better biological the l i q u i d phase as PHB. from conditions A c i n e t o b a c t e r to s u r v i v e and to micro-organisms stored the for compete excess (1981). He The energy polyphosphate the slow-growing with the other phosphorus removal systems. A c c o r d i n g t o Comeau et a l . (1987), the form (e.g. storage i n of p o l y - B - h y d r o x y v a l e r a t e (PHV) would exceed the carbon storage i n the form of PHB (or t h e i r the carbon s a l t forms) when short c h a i n v o l a t i l e c o n t a i n i n g an fatty acids odd number of carbon atoms p r o p i o n a t e ) are added t o the system. C o n v e r s e l y , PHB would -15- become the dominant form of carbon acids (or their salt storage, i f short chain fatty forms) c o n t a i n i n g an even number of carbon atoms (e.g. a c e t a t e , butyrate) a r e added. Comeau (1984) i n phosphorus removal, h i s biochemical proposed t o maintain for that the polyphosphate a d d i t i o n t o t h e i r r o l e i n the supply energy model storage of the proton the excess reserves ( i n carbon) are used to motive f o r c e of the bio-P bacteria. However, Wentzel mechanism proposed imbalances a l . (1986) by Comeau motive f o r c e i n the proton et pointed out t h a t the (1984) f o r m a i n t a i n i n g the proton anaerobic zone a c r o s s the gives rise to c y t o p l a s m i c membrane They presented a m o d i f i e d biochemical model based charge and of the c e l l . on the e f f e c t s of anaerobic and a e r o b i c phases on the i n t r a c e l l u l a r NADH/NAD and ATP/ADP r a t i o s and t h e i r i n f l u e n c e on of carbon maintained and both phosphorus the the b i o c h e m i c a l metabolic proton motive pathways. force and regulation This model the charge neutrality. 2.2 CONCEPT OF READILY BIODEGRADABLE Ekama and Marais (1978), while t r y i n g t o d e v e l o p a general model f o r the dynamic behaviour observed a p r e c i p i t o u s SUBSTRATES drop of the a c t i v a t e d (or a step change) sludge p r o c e s s , i n the oxygen -16- uptake rate (OUR) a t the t e r m i n a t i o n of the feed ( F i g . 2.1). The system used was a sludge with process single a reactor, 12 hour completely cyclic mixed a c t i v a t e d loading of m u n i c i p a l wastewater a t 20°C, pH of 7 and a s h o r t process sludge age of 2.5 days. At f i r s t , t h i s p r e c i p i t o u s drop i n the oxygen uptake rate was b e l i e v e d t o be a b e h a v i o u r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of n i t r i f i c a t i o n . In order to verify similar laboratory unit this h y p o t h e s i s , the authors operated two scale activated sludge u n i t s (unit C) being operated under c y c l i c wastewater, while the second unit steady of continuous with a c y c l i c loading (unit with the f i r s t l o a d i n g of low n i t r o g e n N) was operated under the same low n i t r o g e n wastewater l o a d i n g of s a l i n e ammonia superimposed. c o n d i t i o n s , the p r e c i p i t o u s drop i n the Under these oxygen uptake r a t e was observed o n l y i n u n i t C ( F i g . 2.2). The same experiments operated under nitrogen cyclic wastewater wastewater. oxygen uptake Both repeated with loadings, and units rate were under unit but with u n i t C r e c e i v i n g a low N receiving exhibited these both u n i t s being the a high nitrogen p r e c i p i t o u s drop i n the conditions of operation ( F i g . 2.3). From the r e s u l t s of these two s e t s of experiments, concluded that the s t e p change observed was i n response t o the energy i t was i n the oxygen uptake requirement f o r the rate a d s o r p t i o n of -17- ° o START FEED STOP FEED START FEED is o H-O £° zo oo o z • 32 >X oo o ^.00 F i g . 2.1. 4.00 8 , 0 0 nriE * (VR S) 2 0 6 00 2 °'°° 2 4 '°° 2 8 - 0 0 P r o f i l e o f oxygen uptake r a t e w i t h domestic wastewater as feed ( a f t e r Ekama and Marais, 1978). UNIT C UNIT N A 8 ^ *> U n i t C: C y c l i c l o a d i n g of o e low N wastewater o UJ M H U n i t N: Continuous l o a d i n g < of low N wastewater V I0. HI to + c y c l i c l o a d i n g of s a l i n e ammonia I, z UJ CD >- x Om -4 -2 F i g . 2.2. 0 2 4 6 TIME (hours) P r o f i l e s o f oxygen uptake r a t e s under two d i f f e r e n t conditions ( a f t e r Ekama-and Marais, 1978). feeding -18- the carbonaceous characteristic material of feeding ceased, and not nitrification. there was due to Therefore, a step-wise a as behavioural soon decrease i n as the the r a t e at which oxygen was u t i l i z e d . Dold e t a l . (1980) led to the c o n c l u s i o n c o n t r a s t t o the b a s i c the adsorbed criticized this that a d s o r p t i o n explanation, since i t was energy demanding, i n thermodynamic p r i n c i p l e which s t a t e s that s t a t e i s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a lower energy l e v e l than the unadsorbed s t a t e . T h i s doubt was r e i n f o r c e d when a r e l a t i v e l y large precipitous drop biodegradable s u b s t r a t e was observed when a s o l u b l e and e a s i l y (glucose) was used as the feed ( F i g . 2.4). From these pure substrate hypothesized that the municipal experiments, wastewater the i s composed authors of two f r a c t i o n s , namely (i) a readily assimilable soluble f r a c t i o n that (ii) ( r e a d i l y biodegradable) i s used r a p i d l y , and a slowly biodegradable p a r t i c u l a t e f r a c t i o n r e q u i r i n g storage and enzymatic breakdown p r i o r t o being transferred through the c e l l membrane. Under this hypothesis, the step uptake r a t e was a t t r i b u t e d t o the c e s s a t i o n change i n the oxygen of oxygen utilization -19- UNIT C UNIT N A • ^o o £ U n i t C: C y c l i c l o a d i n g o f low N wastewater U n i t N: C y c l i c l o a d i n g o f high N wastewater o -4 -2 0 2 4 6 T I M E (hours) F i g . 2.3- P r o f i l e s o f oxygen uptake r a t e s w i t h two d i f f e r e n t types o f feed ( a f t e r Ekama and Marais, 1978). STOP FEED 8.00 F i g . 2.4. 1 2 . 0 0 16.06 TIME (HOURS) 20.00 24.00 P r o f i l e o f oxygen uptake r a t e w i t h glucose ( a f t e r Dold e t a l . , 1980). as s u b s t r a t e -20- f o r the metabolism of the r e a d i l y biodegradable f e e d . Subsequent to t h i s step change the oxygen uptake behaviour biodegradable the in the oxygen uptake r a t e , remains a consequence of the slowly s u b s t r a t e s made a v a i l a b l e before the t e r m i n a t i o n of feed. At least literature substrates The three for the (as COD) different measurement of by system ( F i g . 2.5). The biodegradable Ekama and reported readily Marais b a s i s of biodegradable and is a l . (1985), substrates i n the discussed in contrast i n v o l v e s the of determining in a the sewage oxygen uptake r a t e in detail Large s c a t t e r i n the r e s u l t s by t h i s method was N i c h o l l s et i n the mixed a c t i v a t e d sludge t h i s method carbonaceous feed t e r m i n a t i o n (1984), completely c o n s i s t s of measuring the step change at the the are a e r o b i c method, developed at the U n i v e r s i t y o p e r a t i o n of a s h o r t sludge age readily methods i n a sewage. They are b r i e f l y o u t l i n e d below. continuous of Cape Town (UCT) 3.2. s u b s t r a t e s in the in section reported by to the r e s u l t s achieved by the r e s e a r c h e r s at the U n i v e r s i t y of Cape Town. The second method, operates distinct method, known as the batch on the b a s i s t h a t there are three d i f f e r e n t denitrification rates in the a c t i v a t e d as r e p o r t e d by S t e r n and Marais (1974). The denitrification biodegradable denitrification i s r e l a t e d to the initial availability carbonaceous s u b s t r a t e s and sludge of and process, r a p i d rate of the readily the measurement of this -21- denitrification biodegradable rate is substrate used to content of N i c h o l l s et a l . (1985), the second extrapolated determined. back The to the mg mg of Y-axis nitrate 1981). Recovery this method, gave (as N) (Fig. et a l . , the COD = 2.6) is 8.6 According rate and the AN0 then c a l c u l a t e d a s u b s t r a t e (as recovery x of COD) (van 10.4 mg/L from ratio is uptake with such obtained. time r e a d i l y biodegradable COD is 8.6 Haandel et the added 1985). batch a e r o b i c method investigation microorganism rate by with sodium a c e t a t e , u s i n g ( N i c h o l l s et a l . , r e c e n t l y developed under 3 ANO^ (Nicholls 1985), a batch sample of a c t i v a t e d sludge i s d i l u t e d sewage to line is r e s u l t s i n the o x i d a t i o n of s t u d i e s conducted c o n c e n t r a t i o n of 10.5 mg/L In the feed. readily formula: of r e a d i l y biodegradable al., the denitrification R e a d i l y biodegradable COD s i n c e each the r e a d i l y biodegradable u s i n g the f o l l o w i n g estimate The that a variation plotted, high of food to the oxygen as shown i n F i g . 2.7. The be p r o p o r t i o n a l to the shaded area with i t s c o n c e n t r a t i o n g i v e n by the f o l l o w i n g formula ( N i c h o l l s et a l . , i s r e p o r t e d to with 1985): R e a d i l y biodegradable COD where 0.33 i s the general = Area 0.33 conversion f a c t o r f o r COD to oxygen - 2 2 - AERATION SETTLING REACTOR TANK EFFLUENT SLUDGE RECYCLE Process c o n f i g u r a t i o n used f o r the d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f the F i g . 2.5. r e a d i l y biodegradable COD of f e e d ( a f t e r Ekama and Marais, 1984). A NO, \ 1st Rate NO, ^ v ^ ^ 2nd Rate 3rd T F i g . 2.6. Rate imt D e n i t r i f i c a t i o n r a t e s used i n the batch d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n method ( a f t e r N i c h o l l s e t a l . , 1985). Ox/gen Utilisation Rate T i•e F i g . 2.7. Oxygen uptake r a t e p r o f i l e used i n the batch a e r o b i c method ( a f t e r N i c h o l l s e t a l . , 1985). -23- (Ekama and Marais, However, 1984). preliminary investigations with using sodium a c e t a t e as s u b s t r a t e , showed poor 2.3 THE this method, recoveries. ROLE OF READILY BIODEGRADABLE SUBSTRATES IN BIOLOGICAL EXCESS PHOPHORUS REMOVAL The excess defining phosphorus of the removal prerequisites by for the biological S i e b r i t z et a l . (1982, 1983), i n terms of the r e a d i l y b i o d e g r a d a b l e s u b s t r a t e s a v a i l a b i l i t y anaerobic zone, was a very s i g n i f i c a n t of of the the nature mechanism. I t biological a l s o produced the p r e v i o u s l y h y p o t h e s i z e d importance of the nature step i n the excess a major s h i f t anaerobic of the i n the understanding phosphorus removal i n emphasis away from stress to a v a i l a b l e carbon recognize the substrates in the anaerobic zone. This significant investigating the f i n d i n g was applicability made of by the the authors while anaerobic h y p o t h e s i s (proposed by Rabinowitz and Marais, m o d i f i e d Ludzack - Ettinger (MLE) and the m o d i f i e d U n i v e r s i t y of Cape Town processes, with (UCT) phosphorus removal. The schematic shown i n F i g u r e s 2.8 and 2.9. UCT process were set up and regard to 1980) to capacity both the biological excess l a y o u t s of these processes are Three MLE processes and a modified f e d from the same wastewater source. -24- ANOXIC REACTOR F i g . 2.8. AEROBIC REACTOR The modified Ludzack - E t t i n g e r process n i t r o g e n removal ( a f t e r S i e b r i t z ANAEROBIC ANOXIC REACTOR REACTORS F i g . 2.9. for biological et a l . , 1982). AER03IC REACTOR The modified UCT process f o r b i o l o g i c a l n i t r o g e n and phosphorus removal ( a f t e r S i e b r i t z e t a l . , 1982). -25- The three MLE 40, 55 and 70 set to N/L u n i t s were given unaerated percent achieve the respectively sludge mass f r a c t i o n s of and the r e c y c l e r a t i o s were anaerobic c a p a c i t i e s ranging from 6 to 35 mg i n the anoxic r e a c t o r s . Over two months of nor excess phosphorus operation, neither removal was u n i t s . In c o n t r a s t , the m o d i f i e d UCT sludge mass fraction anaerobic phosphorus observed i n any of the process with a 10% capacity clearly hypothesis indicating and for the biological UCT processes substrates biodegradable COD) were (quantified surrounding the in to nitrates unaerated anaerobic of r e a c t o r i n the (since no nitrates terms of organisms i n the r e a c t o r i n the MLE presence the m o d i f i e d e x p l a i n e d i n terms of the r e a d i l y r e a c t o r . The unaerated first excess removal. biodegradable the anaerobic a breakdown i n The d i f f e r e n t phosphorus r e l e a s e p a t t e r n s i n MLE MLE c o n s i s t e n t l y gave good phosphorus r e l e a s e and excess phosphorus removal, the phosphorus r e l e a s e process was readily unaerated anoxic (due through the r e c y c l e ) whereas the modified enter UCT this process was truly r e a c t o r through the recycle). In the the anoxic MLE process, reactor biodegradable COD, o x i d a t i o n of 8.6 mg to sufficient nitrates utilize s i n c e each mg of r e a d i l y all the of n i t r a t e available (as N) biodegradable are r e c y c l e d to readily r e s u l t s i n the substrate, as COD -26- (van Haandel et al., 1981). In c o n t r a s t , i n the m o d i f i e d UCT p r o c e s s , the c o n c e n t r a t i o n of the r e a d i l y b i o d e g r a d a b l e s u b s t r a t e available organisms for anaerobic i s maximized, s i n c e no anaerobic r e a c t o r . t h e m o d i f i e d UCT to the c o n d i t i o n i n g of the p h o s p h o r u s - s t o r i n g nitrates t o the process, which can ensure zero n i t r a t e d i s c h a r g e zone, are at a s i g n i f i c a n t advantage with r e s p e c t to b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus From these o b s e r v a t i o n s , the the removal. authors concentration of microorganisms i n the anaerobic r e a c t o r i s whether phosphorus uptake a l s o showed recycled T h e r e f o r e , the process c o n f i g u r a t i o n s such as anaerobic determining are concluded r e a d i l y biodegradable COD or not the takes p l a c e . that the from c o n c e n t r a t i o n of the r e a d i l y the organisms exceed 25 approximately the key results r e l e a s e and subsequent mg/L excess i n the as COD the s u r r o u n d i n g the parameter i n phosphorus r e l e a s e and The s u b s t r a t e surrounding that excess their studies biodegradable a n a e r o b i c zone must to ensure good phosphorus phosphorus uptake. It was also concluded that the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal i n c r e a s e d w i t h i n c r e a s i n g r e a d i l y biodegradable anaerobic zone beyond 25 Marais excess et phosphorus s u b s t r a t e , as al. COD concentration i n the mg/L. (1983) removal in further terms summed up the of readily biological biodegradable follows: "Poly-P accumulation serves as an energy r e s e r v o i r , to s u s t a i n the organism d u r i n g the anaerobic s t r e s s e d state, -27- but p r i n c i p a l l y accumulating t o gain a p o s i t i v e advantage over non-P organisms b i o d e g r a d a b l e COD by p a r t i t i o n i n g o f f r e a d i l y ( i n the lower f a t t y a c i d form) i n the anaerobic s t a t e f o r i t s e x c l u s i v e use subsequently aerobic state". The readily substrates) removal, necessary through microorganisms, This can be simple carbon produced thickener biodegradable in f o r the the biological proliferation (or excess of preferred phosphorus the appropriate a r e u s u a l l y made a v a i l a b l e t o the anaerobic zone. accomplished e i t h e r through e x t e r n a l a d d i t i o n s of s u b s t r a t e s (such situ ahead by of Oldham (1985), the a process propionate e t c . ) or primary sludge fermenter or (Oldham and Stevens, 1984; 1985). while working excess phosphorus removal reported as a c e t a t e , employing Oldham, 1985; R a b i n o w i t z , Columbia, substrates i n the with a f u l l treatment t h a t the plant in a v a i l a b i l i t y of scale biological Kelowna, B r i t i s h the primary sludge t h i c k e n e r supernatant t o the fermentation zone of the process had a on marked influence the phosphorus removal system. The o v e r a l l phosphorus removal to l e v e l s found dropped flow was removed. Conversely, the a d d i t i o n supernatant t o a u n i t that was m a r g i n a l l y a c h i e v i n g good phosphorus removal, removal. efficiency quickly i n c o n v e n t i o n a l a c t i v a t e d sludge p l a n t s when the t h i c k e n e r supernatant of t h i s c a p a c i t y of the He a l s o quickly reported restored the e x c e l l e n t phosphorus that when the t h i c k e n e r supernatant -28- flow was changed from one p a r a l l e l module of the treatment to the o t h e r , phosphorus i n the f i r s t Once removal c a p a b i l i t i e s were q u i c k l y lost module, and even more q u i c k l y r e s t o r e d i n the o t h e r . the b a s i c hypothesis s u b s t r a t e s i n the b i o l o g i c a l was plant developed, many excess research a t t e n t i o n on the e f f e c t s f o r the of role phosphorus workers these specific removal process started specific of t o focus substrates their on the v a r i o u s a s p e c t s of the phosphorus removal mechanism. Fukase et a l . (1982), while conducting a series of l a b o r a t o r y s c a l e batch experiments using a c c l i m a t e d synthetic a c e t a t e or g l u c o s e as the BOD feed source, found the made up of e i t h e r that the phosphorus r e l e a s e disappearance of the substrates biomass and was concomitant from the with s o l u t i o n . The r e l a t i o n s h i p observed between the r e d u c t i o n i n o r g a n i c matter and the being increase in soluble phosphate was g i v e n as ^ a c e t a t e : A P 0 1:1 and aglucose:APO^ being 2:1, i n terms They a l s o of molar 4 ratios. found that the carbon was s t o r e d by the microorganisms under anaerobic c o n d i t i o n s as PHB d u r i n g t h e a d d i t i o n of a c e t a t e , and as glycogen during the a d d i t i o n of g l u c o s e . However, the o p p o s i t e (1987) where glycogen was finding found t o was made by Mino e t a l . be consumed under anaerobic c o n d i t i o n s . During t h e i r study of two l a b o r a t o r y s c a l e anaerobica e r o b i c prosesses using s y n t h e t i c acid, sodium propionate, sewage glucose and (consisting peptone), of a c e t i c they found two -29- carbon s t o r a g e other compounds - PHB and glycogen. r e s e a r c h e r s , PHB was found conditions (associated under a e r o b i c However, conditions glycogen f o r the conditions, the stored phosphorus the with They synthesis under release) opposite storage. PHB be (associated showed consumption and a e r o b i c required with to As r e p o r t e d by many anaerobic and consumed phosphorus trend uptake). with concluded anaerobic that the NADH from a c e t a t e , under anaerobic i s s u p p l i e d from the consumption of glycogen, Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) pathway. through They a l s o i n d i c a t e d that the a n a e r o b i c / a e r o b i c a c c l i m a t i z e d sludge was c o n v e r t i n g the stored during PHB maintain to the glycogen required d u r i n g the a n a e r o b i c As d i s c u s s e d level the of aerobic glycogen phase, so as to f o r the consumption phase. by Mino et a l . (1987), the decrease of the intracellular carbohydrate concentration c o n d i t i o n s was a l s o reported by Tsuno e t a l . (1986) and could be a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e consumption of glycogen under anaerobic s t o r e d i n the m i c r o b i a l cells. Somiya e t phosphorus a l . (1988), i n t h e i r study of b i o l o g i c a l removal, r e l a t i o n s h i p between reported the value e x t r a c e l l u l a r glucose f o r the i n c r e a s e carbohydrate of a linear the i n c r e a s e i n the amount of i n t r a c e l l u l a r PHB and the decrease i n the amount of when the existence excess i n the intracellular i s depleted. amount of carbohydate, The estimated PHB per u t i l i z e d was reported t o be approximately mean u n i t mass of 0.2, on a -30- weight b a s i s or approximately 0.3, on TOC ( t o t a l organic carbon) basis. P o t g i e t e r and Evans (1983), unacclimated biomass, u s i n g batch investigated s u b s t r a t e s on phosphorus release, substrates non-aerated as following COD, to decreasing order of the by experiments effects adding of equal with various amounts of r e a c t o r s . They reported the effect, with the first named s u b s t r a t e being accompanied by the g r e a t e s t phosphorus r e l e a s e . acetate > p r o p i o n a t e > formate > b u t y r a t e > hydroxybutyrate > glucose. Oldham and Koch (1982) i n a s i m i l a r batch unacclimated biomass, observed experiment with the f o l l o w i n g d e c r e a s i n g order of phosphorus r e l e a s e among the v a r i o u s s u b s t r a t e s t e s t e d . sodium a c e t a t e > p r o p i o n i c a c i d > a c e t i c a c i d > glucose > i s o butyric acid. Jones et a l . (1985), working w i t h continuous l a b o r a t o r y s c a l e excess phosphorus removal systems w i t h reported that the degree of a c c l i m a t e d biomass, phosphorus r e l e a s e was s u b s t r a t e s p e c i f i c and the phosphorus r e l e a s e and the subsequent phosphorus uptake had the f o l l o w i n g d e c r e a s i n g order of e f f e c t . butyric acid > ethanol > methanol > acetic acid > sodium -31- acetate They a l s o r e p o r t e d that phosphorus release although s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s i n the were apparent, the difference phosphorus uptake or removal d i d not appear to be in the significant. While s t u d y i n g the e f f e c t s of s h o r t - c h a i n carbon compounds on the k i n e t i c s of the b i o l o g i c a l n u t r i e n t removal, Gerber et a l . (1986) r e p o r t e d from s o l u t i o n propionate that the is and most favourable obtained lactate. by the Formate use was net phosphate removal of acetate, butyrate, found to s t i m u l a t e good phosphorus r e l e a s e under anaerobic c o n d i t i o n s , but was worst with respect to the c o n c l u d e d t h a t the from sludges overall net phenomenon accomplishing p r i m a r i l y dependent on the w i t h the b a c t e r i a l mass. phosphorus of anaerobic enhanced nature of removal. They phosphorus phosphorus the s u b s t r a t e also release removal was interacting -32- CHAPTER THREE EXPERIMENTAL METHODS This chapter details the t h i s study. S e c t i o n 3.1 d e a l s with measurement of experimental methods used i n the experimental d e s i g n . The r e a d i l y biodegradable COD of feed, the l a b o r a t o r y o p e r a t i o n of the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal sampling and a n a l y s i s techniques study the e f f e c t of c o l d storage system, the used and the procedure used t o (at are a l l 4°C) on sewage o u t l i n e d i n s e c t i o n s 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5 r e s p e c t i v e l y . 3.1 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN The systems experiments in which biodegradable one was substrates development of t h i s appendix involved A1 in system to the feed while r e a d i l y biodegradable u s i n g d i f f e r e n t dosages of quantify the (the elements described the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal 3.3). The p a r a l l e l laboratory scale used are respectively) two in other system section was used readily and the 3.2 and as a (described i n section content of the feed was changed sodium acetate, sodium p r o p i o n a t e , sodium b u t y r a t e and g l u c o s e . The e f f e c t s of these compounds (both as specific substrates) phosphorus substrates on the removal and various mechanism as general elements (such readily biodegradable of the b i o l o g i c a l as anaerobic excess phosphorus -33- release, aerobic phosphorus uptake, anaerobic carbon storage and o v e r a l l phosphorus aerobic carbon removal, consumption) were investigated. 3.2 QUANTIFICATION OF READILY BIODEGRADABLE SUBSTRATE The technique used to s u b s t r a t e of feed d u r i n g t h i s procedure used by Ekama filamentous The basis biodegradable and growth. are o u t l i n e d i n d e t a i l of substrate the adaptation of the (1984). The a d a p t a t i o n s were nitrification A1. method for determining the readily c o n s i s t s of measuring the step change i n completely activated 3.2.1 an suppress unwanted i n Appendix rate s h o r t sludge to was biodegradable The development of these m o d i f i c a t i o n s the oxygen uptake mixed study and Marais made both f o r convenience and q u a n t i f y the r e a d i l y (OUR) at sludge the feed process termination, in a operated at a very age. EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP A schematic l a y o u t of the process i s shown i n F i g . 3 . 1 . elements of t h i s e x p e r i m e n t a l set-up are o u t l i n e d below. The Chemical A d d i t i o n Air Supply Chemical Container Scraper Effluent Clarifier Return Sludge Feed Tank Fig. 3.1. Schematic l a y o u t o f the process c o n f i g u r a t i o n f o r the d e t e r m i n a t i o n of the r e a d i l y biodegradable COD of the f e e d . -35- (a) FEED The feed, concentration system a t plastic the i s to a rate in which the readily biodegradable be found, was continuously COD added t o the of 12 l i t r e s per day from a c o n s t a n t l y stirred tank with a l i d . The s t i r r i n g was slow and g e n t l e t o keep particulate matter from entrainment i n t o the f e e d . settling, The feed to but to a v o i d any a i r the biological excess phosphorus removal system used i n t h i s study was a l s o pumped from the same c o n t a i n e r . (b) CHEMICAL ADDITION The chemical concentrations as in system) were done using actual concentrations according to the a d d i t i o n where the feed chemical (c) flow substrate the a additions (at the same b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal separate in rates the Masterflex chemical (except in pump, with the container adjusted the case of a c e t a t e the sodium a c e t a t e s o l u t i o n was d i r e c t l y added t o tank, a t approximately 8 feed c o n t a i n e r was f i l l e d hour i n t e r v a l s ) . The 500 ml on a d a i l y b a s i s . AEROBIC REACTOR The reactor consisted of a c y l i n d r i c a l p l e x i - g l a s s tank -36- with a l i q u i d volume constant mixing. of 2 The l i t r e s , complete mixed liquor with a i n the r e a c t o r was a e r a t e d u s i n g a f i n e bubble p u r g i n g stone a t t a c h e d to dissolved oxygen concentration 1.5 and 2.5 mg/L. A l l l i q u i d entered below the entrainment. Mixed from this liquid on s o l i d s r e t e n t i o n time a a glass tube. The was manually c o n t r o l l e d between streams to surface l i q u o r suspended reactor stirrer for and from i n order the r e a c t o r t o a v o i d any a i r s o l i d s were wasted d i r e c t l y twice d a i l y b a s i s t o achieve a syste: (SRT) of 3 days, giving an approximate a e r o b i c SRT of 1.5 days. The l o s s of s o l i d s through the e f f l u e n t , due to the concentrations, aerobic (d) relatively was taken high into effluent suspended solids account while wasting from the reactor. RETENTION TANK FOR RETURN SLUDGE could A c y l i n d r i c a l p l e x i - g l a s s tank, where be litres, varied between 0.5 to r e t e n t i o n tank f o r t h e r e t u r n s l u d g e . 2 the l i q u i d volume was The l i q u i d used as the volume of t h i s r e a c t o r d u r i n g t h i s study was 1 l i t r e f o r the a c e t a t e , propionate and b u t y r a t e runs and surface of this 0.5 reactor minimize any entrainment primary purpose litre of t h i s was of during the glucose run. The covered with a f l o a t i n g cover t o a i r into the r e a c t o r c o n t e n t s . The h o l d i n g tank was t o c o n t r o l filamentous growth i n t h i s s h o r t sludge age system, as d i s c u s s e d i n d e t a i l i n Appendix A1. The c o n t e n t s of t h i s r e a c t o r were s t i r r e d at a l l -37- times, u s i n g a magnetic (e) stirrer. CLARIFIER Mixed l i q u o r from the a e r o b i c r e a c t o r was into a cylindrical having a liquid continuously settling volume recycled of back sludge r e t e n t i o n tank, with a scraper mechanism was tank 1 to to flow a centre b a f f l i n g litre. was the a e r o b i c r e a c t o r through the installed to The settled tube) sludge recycle adhering to the s i d e w a l l s of the (f) (with allowed ratio of prevent 1:1. the A 1 rpm sludge from clarifier. OPERATION For every run d u r i n g the study, t h i s system was to be i n steady s t a t e when the d a i l y oxygen uptake considered r a t e and a e r o b i c mixed l i q u o r suspended s o l i d s showed a p p r o x i m a t e l y values (less ammonia was than 10 percent keeping the same oxygen requirement a f t e r the t e r m i n a t i o n selection of discussed in an feed. This appropriate short liquid under the the system for n i t r i f i c a t i o n , the detail of steady v a r i a t i o n ) . More than 5 mg/L always present i n the e f f l u e n t of section development of t h i s method (Appendix A l ) . was the of thereby b e f o r e and ensured by the r e t e n t i o n time, as dealing with the -38- 3.2.2 MEASUREMENT PROCEDURE The following procedure was carried measurement o f t h e r e a d i l y b i o d e g r a d a b l e (i) was concentration switching decrease measured of the aerobic the dissolved OmniScribe c h a r t plot (ii) raising mixed o f f the a i r supply, of expressed by was recorder then feeding the dissolved oxygen oxygen to and the r e s u l t a n t concentration (by Houston I n s t r u m e n t ) . the oxygen 6 mg/L, using an The s l o p e o f uptake rate a s mg/L/h. The a b o v e the p r o c e d u r e p r o c e d u r e was repeated, except oxygen was that the feed i n the middle of (when t h e d i s s o l v e d o x y g e n c o n c e n t r a t i o n was a b o u t 3 mg/L) a n d t h e d e c r e a s e i n the concentration monitored continuously t e r m i n a t i o n of the slope of about monitoring ( i n c l u d i n g t h e s u b s t r a t e a d d i t i o n ) was s t o p p e d The each substrate liquor and calculated during COD o f t h e f e e d . The o x y g e n u p t a k e r a t e u n d e r c o n t i n u o u s conditions this out the dissolved feed would oxygen v s until of t h e d i s s o l v e d i t was l e s s t h a n have c a u s e d a change 1 mg/L. i n the t i m e p l o t and t h e new r e d u c e d oxygen u p t a k e r a t e was c a l c u l a t e d . The above reproducibility, procedures and average u p t a k e r a t e w i t h and w i t h o u t were values feed repeated used termination. to ensure t o c a l c u l a t e oxygen -39- 3.2.3 CALCULATION PROCEDURE T h i s p r o c e d u r e was a d a p t e d Marais the from the ( 1 9 8 4 ) . The f o l l o w i n g i n f o r m a t i o n concentration influent of the readily work of i s required biodegradable Ekama and to calculate COD in the feed. Q = Flow r a t e of t h e f e e d (L/h) V = Volume o f t h e a e r o b i c OUR^ = A v e r a g e OUR before OUR = A v e r a g e OUR after a Then, the given readily r e a c t o r (L) the feed the feed biodegradable termination termination (mg/L/h) (mg/L/h) COD c o n c e n t r a t i o n of the feed i s by, (OUR. Readily biodegradable COD = - OUR ) x V * 0.334 x Q where 0.334 = G e n e r a l and Ekama, 3.2.4 factor f o r COD t o oxygen (Marais 1984). EXAMPLE The conversion CALCULATION f o l l o w i n g data mg COD/L a c e t a t e r u n . Q = 0.49 L / h was o b t a i n e d on t h e f i r s t d a y o f t h e 30 -40- V = 2 L OUR b OUR = 39.5 mg/L/h = 32.4 mg/L/h T h e r e f o r e , r e a d i l y biodegradable COD = (39.5 - 32.4) x 2 0.334 x 0.49 = 87 3.3 mg/L LABORATORY SCALE OPERATION OF PHOSPHORUS REMOVAL SYSTEM A bench top, l a b o r a t o r y s c a l e b i o l o g i c a l removal system was operated during excess phosphorus t h i s study. The schematic diagram of t h i s e x p e r i m e n t a l set-up i s shown i n F i g . 3.2, details of the v a r i o u s components are o u t l i n e d below. 3.3.1 and the WASTEWATER SOURCE The wastewater used during most o b t a i n e d from the wastewater storage tanks treatment the U n i v e r s i t y plant s i t u a t e d on campus i n Vancouver, B r i t i s h Columbia. t h i s treatment p l a n t was The of this of the study was p i l o t sewage of B r i t i s h Columbia wastewater source f o r a main sewer l i n e s e r v i c i n g the student r e s i d e n c e s , on-campus housing and the u n i v e r s i t y The pumped d a i l y , commencing at 10 a.m. raw sewage from t h i s l i n e was using a submersible mixed p l a s t i c s t o r a g e tanks macerator pump, sports centre. i n t o two m e c h a n i c a l l y (each with a c a p a c i t y of 9000 l i t r e s ) F i g . 3.2. Schematic l a y o u t of the l a b o r a t o r y s c a l e e x p e r i m e n t a l set-up of the b i o l o g i c a l excess removal system. phosphorus -42- u n t i l the tanks were f u l l . Due sewage (80-120 approximately form sodium collected every in as 3 stored weeks i n the the l a b s c a l e experiments low was added to From in alkalinity additional 3 bicarbonate. two the CaC0 ), 100 mg/L as CaC0 of subsequently mg/L to alkalinity these tanks from B r i t i s h Columbia the pilot 25 of t h i s litre carboys. propionate runs and due the p l a n t a t the U n i v e r s i t y of s c a l e sewage the 25 treatment closure of and 20 the upgrading, and d u r i n g the 30 and 75 mg COD/L of to source was plant T h i s was done d u r i n g the 15 and 10 during to I t was study. treatment campus t o the f u l l acetate i n the l a b o r a t o r y c o l d room at 4°C, f o r use i n Richmond, B r i t i s h Columbia. mg COD/L of of these tanks, the sewage was During a p o r t i o n of t h i s study, the wastewater switched of t h i s mg COD/L of p i l o t plant for glucose runs due the low COD s t r e n g t h of the p i l o t p l a n t wastewater. The strength of the c o l l e c t e d wastewater was a d j u s t e d ( i f necessary) by d i l u t i n g w i t h e n t e r i n g the system t a p water, such that ( i n c l u d i n g t h e chemical a d d i t i o n ) l i e s w i t h i n the range of 250-275 mg/L. However, d u r i n g the COD of the raw the t o t a l COD sewage was kept around the glucose dosage) t o m a i n t a i n the glucose runs, the 200 mg/L ( i r r e s p e c t i v e of composition of the feed as mostly sewage, s i n c e h i g h e r g l u c o s e dosages (up t o 150 mg COD/L) were to required effect good excess phosphorus removals. O c c a s i o n a l l y , the phosphorus c o n t e n t of the feed was i n c r e a s e d by adding tribasic sodium phosphate (Na-PO-.12H,0) t o maintain a -43- t o t a l phosphorus c o n c e n t r a t i o n of about 4 mg/L. The sewage was added to the removal system a t a r a t e of 12 l i t r e s stirred plastic tank. To experimental per day a v o i d changing from a c o n s t a n t l y the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the wastewater due to excess a e r a t i o n , the tank a plastic l i d and the s t i r r e r while s t i l l keeping The for feed system used the feed to biodegradable COD of the feed was pumped storage tank. 4°C, was The d a i l y allowed (approximately 3.3.2 of acclimate i n suspension. determine the readily from the same l a b o r a t o r y feed, having been s t o r e d at to ambient temperature 20°C) before being added t o the system. chemicals added d u r i n g t h i s study were sodium a c e t a t e , sodium p r o p i o n a t e , during sodium the a c e t a t e ; 25, butyrate various e n t e r i n g the anaerobic 10 f o r with CHEMICAL ADDITION The dosages aliquot to was covered speed was kept as low as p o s s i b l e , the p a r t i c u l a t e s of the phosphorus and glucose. experimental runs The chemical (as mg COD/L r e a c t o r ) were 30, 25, 20, 15, 10 and 5 f o r 20, 15, 10 and 5 f o r p r o p i o n a t e ; 30, 25, 20, 15 and b u t y r a t e ; and 75, 60, 45 and 30 f o r g l u c o s e . During the acetate run, appropriate amounts of sodium a c e t a t e s o l u t i o n were mixed with raw sewage and added t o the feed tank, a t approximately 8 hour i n t e r v a l s . However, t h i s p r a c t i c e -44- was changed during the other runs and the chemical s u b s t r a t e s were pumped s e p a r a t e l y from the feed, using a pump. The a c t u a l c o n c e n t r a t i o n i n the chemical adjusted, according to achieve the anaerobic desired the dosage of and the chemical feed c o n t a i n e r was feed flow rates, to chemical s u b s t r a t e i n the r e a c t o r . The chemical c o n t a i n e r had ml and was f i l l e d on a d a i l y 3.3.3 chemical separate a capacity of 500 basis. ANAEROBIC REACTOR This reactor l i q u i d volume of 1.5 c o n d i t i o n s necessary mixed u s i n g a s t i r r e r minimize any was a cylindrical litres, f o r the and p l e x i - g l a s s tank with a i t provided excess phosphorus and was a i r entrainment f i t t e d with due the anaerobic removal. a floating I t was cover t o to surface turbulence. This r e a c t o r was f e d c o n t i n u o u s l y with the v a r i o u s chemical s u b s t r a t e s t o g e t h e r with the sewage f e e d . 3.3.4 ANOXIC REACTOR A 2.25 cylindrical plexi-glass tank l i t r e s was used as the anoxic r e a c t o r . The contents reactor were constantly mixed with s u r f a c e was covered u s i n g a f l o a t i n g of with a l i q u i d volume of this anoxic a s t i r r e r and the l i q u i d cover. The r e a c t o r was t o d e n i t r i f y of t h i s primary the r e t u r n purpose sludge from -45- the clarifier, anaerobic thus reactor preventing through any the NO bleeding anoxic-anaerobic n e c e s s i t y and the advantage of p r e v e n t i n g the NO the anaerobic zone, are d i s c u s s e d i n d e t a i l 3.3.5 x into the recycle. The from e n t e r i n g i n Chapter 4. AEROBIC REACTOR T h i s r e a c t o r c o n s i s t e d of a p l e x i - g l a s s tank with a l i q u i d volume of fine 4 litres. bubble The sparger reactor stone attached d i s s o l v e d oxygen c o n c e n t r a t i o n 1.5 and 2.5 mg/L. The was contents mixed at a l l times with a 3.3.6 c o n t e n t s were to a manually g l a s s tube and the c o n t r o l l e d between of t h i s r e a c t o r were completely stirrer. CLARIFIER Mixed l i q u o r from the a e r o b i c r e a c t o r was into a having a cylindrical plexi-glass liquid r e c y c l e d back A 1 a e r a t e d using a rpm volume of 1 clarifier litre. allowed to flow (with c e n t r e b a f f l i n g ) The settled sludge to the anoxic r e a c t o r with a r e c y c l e r a t i o of scraper mechanism was installed from adhering to the s i d e w a l l s of the to prevent clarifier. the was 1:1. sludge -46- 3.3.7 OPERATION The (SRT) system was of 18 days, liquor which suspended daily basis. operated at a system sludge was maintained solids directly Since the wasting the mixed from the a e r o b i c r e a c t o r , on a effluent of this system contained a relatively high wastage was a d j u s t e d to compensate f o r the l o s s of s o l i d s the e f f l u e n t . 1:1. The A l l recycle system d u r i n g each effluent concentration by r e t e n t i o n time was v a l u e s . Table 3.1 3.4 r a t i o s during considered run when phosphorus the mixed to t h i s study was have reached through kept at steady s t a t e l i q u o r suspended s o l i d s and concentrations showed relatively the steady p r e s e n t s a summary of o p e r a t i n g parameters. ANALYTICAL METHODS All f i l t r a t i o n s of the samples d u r i n g t h i s study were done u s i n g Whatman No.4 which Whatman filters, 934-AH the study are now 3.4.1 fibre during solids filters the d e t e r m i n a t i o n analysis in were used. The of each parameter described. CHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND The except glass a n a l y t i c a l methods used f o r in of suspended s o l i d s , the a e r o b i c (COD) samples were preserved with concentrated sulfuric acid -47- Table 3.1 Summary of Operating Parameters f o r the Laboratory B i o l o g i c a l Excess Phosphorus Removal System Parameter Values A c t u a l H y d r a u l i c Retention Time (h) Anaerobic 1 .5 Anoxic 1 .5 Aerobic 4.0 Sludge Retention Time (d) System 18 Aerobic approx.10 Feed Flow (L/d) 12 Recycle R a t i o Return sludge Anoxic t o anaerobic Aerobic D i s s o l v e d Oxygen (mg/L) 1:1 1:1 1.5-2.5 -48- (pH < 2.0) and analysed i n (A.P.H.A. et a l . , 3.4.2 accordance with 1980). DISSOLVED OXYGEN D i s s o l v e d oxygen concentrations in measured u s i n g Model 54A d i s s o l v e d oxygen Instrument Co.). The membranes and the e l e c t r o l y t e s the Winkler (A.P.H.A. et a l . , 3.4.3 method, probes probes were c a l i b r a t e d as o u t l i n e d i n the Standard Methods 1980). determination hydrolysis in 30% of glycogen (wt./vol.) p r e c i p i t a t i o n with ethanol and as outlined Microbiology 3.4.4 i n the GLYCOGEN The method, the b i o - r e a c t o r s were meters (Yellow S p r i were r e p l a c e d once a week on average. The using the Standard Methods in in (A.S.M. et a l . , in the sludge was by potassium hydroxide, f o l l o w e d by using the the Manual anthrone colorimetric of Methods i n General 1981). NITROGEN Two types of n i t r o g e n r e s e a r c h , namely NOx measurements were made d u r i n g t h i s (which i n c l u d e s both n i t r a t e s and nitrites) -49- and T o t a l K j e l d a h l N i t r o g e n mg/L N. (a) N0 X analysis was which n i t r a t e s a r e reduced measurements on the Technicon done to n i t r i t e s , a Technicon analysed 3.4.5 Autoanalyser I I , i n accordance according with (1973). (TKN) a Technicon to Technicon block d i g e s t o r 40 Block D i g e s t e r I n s t r u c t i o n (1974). OXIDATION REDUCTION POTENTIAL ORP measurements Corporation's combined were ORP u s i n g Ag/AgCl as r e f e r e n c e digital as f o l l o w e d by c o l o r i m e t r i c I n d u s t r i a l Method No.100-70W TOTAL KJELDAHL NITROGEN Manual presented using a copper-cadmium column i n Samples were d i g e s t e d i n and v a l u e s are - NITROGEN The (b) (TKN). A l l panel meters with (ORP) made probes, using with crystal to high impedance displays. maintenance of these e l e c t r o d e s i n v o l v e d a thorough a paper towel. A minimum of three hours was James peripheral junctions c o u p l e s , connected liquid Broadley Regular c l e a n i n g with allowed a f t e r each -50- cleaning of the probes f o r them to e q u i l i b r a t e with the reactor c o n t e n t s b e f o r e t a k i n g any r e a d i n g . 3.4.6 pH The Accumet pH Model of the 320 b i o - r e a c t o r s , was m e a s u r e d w i t h a F i s h e r expanded scale reference electrodes combined standardized against Fisher outlined 3.4.7 i n the Standard (PHB) pH chemical AND procedure of Braunegg et of liquor were c e n t r i f u g e d and pellets a l . (1978). a Virtis s o l u t i o n s as The method acid, adapted involved conversion into methanol and e x t r a c t i o n i n from the to give approximately frozen were a c c u m u l a t e d , buffer on a gas c h r o m o t o g r a p h . samples the sludge p e l l e t s The meter was (PHV) were done u s i n g an esters with a c i d i f i e d Mixed and poly-B-hydroxybutyrate volatile for injection glass POLY-B-HYDROXYVALERATE o f PHB a n d PHV by s u l f u r i c chloroform probe. pH 7 depolymerization methyl with (A.P.H.A. e t a l . , 1 9 8 0 ) . quantification and p o l y - B - h y d r o x y v a l e r a t e meter a single 4 and Methods POLY-B-HYDROXYBUTYRATE The in pH for sludge 30 mg o f s u s p e n d e d storage. t h e y were t h e n 10-234 o r a M u l t i - D r y activated Once lyophilized (by FTS S y s t e m s process solids enough sludge using either Inc.) l y o p h i l i z e r . -51- Two ml as of a c i d i f i e d methanol (3% H2S0^) c o n t a i n i n g benzoic a c i d the i n t e r n a l standard and 2 ml of measured amount of l y o p h i l i z e d c h l o r o f o r m were added to a sludge i n 15 ml Pyrex t e s t tubes with T e f l o n - l i n e d caps. The samples and hydroxybutyric acid the standards dissolved (sodium salt of D-L 3- i n a c i d i f i e d methanol) were then heated a t 100°C f o r approxmately 3.5 hours and allowed to c o o l to room temperature. Two ml of the denser chloroform phases were then t r a n s f e r r e d t o 10 ml Pyrex t e s t tubes d i s t i l l e d water phases containing minutes the PHB at and 1500 PHV transformed t o gas chromatograph v i a l s f o r 1 ml into a Hewlett-Packard 5880A and chromotograph to avoid the mm to achieve premature and the methyl e s t e r s split injections reliability degradation of of the the gas column. The gas chromatograph auto sampler g gas chromotograph. T h i s a d d i t i o n a l p u r i f i c a t i o n s t e p was necessary method ml of and v i g o r o u s l y shaken f o r about 5 minutes. These were then c e n t r i f u g e d f o r about 10 chloroform c o n t a i n i n g 0.5 (7672A) and was equipped a c a p i l l a r y column i n t e r n a l diameter) coated with 1 um of with a programmable (15 m long and DB-Wax. Experimental c o n d i t i o n s f o r the chromatograph were as f o l l o w s : Temperature of the i n j e c t i o n port Temperature of the d e t e c t o r port 0.52 = 210°C = 220°C L i n e a r v e l o c i t y of the c a r r i e r gas (helium) = 20 cm/s -52- The f o l l o w i n g oven temperature p r o f i l e was used: I n i t i a l temperature =- 50°C Initial time == 1 min Program rate == 8°C/min F i n a l temperature •= 160°C F i n a l time =- 5 min A f i n a l p e r i o d of 4 minutes with an oven temperature of 200°C was a l s o employed t o c l e a r any sample the a n a l y s i s of each r e s i d u e from the column after sample. A r a t i o of HV to HB of 1.211 was used t o c a l i b r a t e the gas chromatograph's for HV response, s i n c e i t s direct calibration. no standards The f o l l o w i n g were a v a i l a b l e correction factors i n terms of l y o p h i l i z e d mass of the samples were a l s o a p p l i e d PHB and PHV c a l c u l a t i o n s , s i n c e the r e c o v e r i e s method were found to be i n v e r s e l y p r o p o r t i o n a l t o the o b t a i n e d by t h i s t o the l y o p h i l i z e d mass (Comeau e t a l . , 1 9 8 8 ) . PHB c o r r e c t i o n f a c t o r = 1.000 + 0.00361 x l y o p h i l i z e d mass PHV c o r r e c t i o n f a c t o r = 1.000 + 0.00780 x l y o p h i l i z e d mass 3.4.8 PHOSPHORUS Three types of phosphorus measurements were made d u r i n g -53- t h i s study, namely ortho-phosphorus, phosphorus (a) ORTHO-PHOSPHORUS stannuous (A.P.H.A. reduction analysis c h l o r i d e technique et al., by done e i t h e r by using the i n the Standard Methods the automated Technicon Auto-analyser I n d u s t r i a l Method produced comparable was outlined 1980) or method on a w i t h Technicon ascorbic acid I I , i n accordance NO.94-70W (1973). Both methods results. TOTAL PHOSPHORUS The samples Technicon b l o c k by and percent content i n sludge. Ortho-phosphorus (b) t o t a l phosphorus Technicon were f i r s t digestor subjected to a c i d digestion using a 40 and s u l f u r i c a c i d , p r i o r t o a n a l y s i s Auto-analyser I I , according to the Technicon I n d u s t r i a l Method No.327-73W (1974). (c) PERCENT PHOSPHORUS CONTENT IN SLUDGE The subjecting phosphorus content a measured amount 104°C) sludge to acid of digestion i n the sludge was determined by finely ground (as d e s c r i b e d oven d r i e d (at i n the Technicon -54- Block D i g e s t e r I n s t r u c t i o n Manual, 1974) and a n a l y s i n g f o r the t o t a l phosphorus, as d e s c r i b e d above i n s e c t i o n 3.4.8 ( b ) . 3.4.9 SOLIDS (a) TOTAL SUSPENDED SOLIDS (TSS) T h i s was done by vacuum through a pre-washed and filter and oven drying f i l t e r i n g a known volume of sample oven d r i e d for a Whatman 934-AH glass fibre minimum of 1 hour at 104°C, as o u t l i n e d i n the Standard Methods (A.P.H.A. et a l . , 1985). (b) VOLATILE SUSPENDED SOLIDS T h i s was determined by obtained in 3.4.9 (a) at (VSS) igniting 550°C, the nonfiltrable as o u t l i n e d solids i n the Sta;. Methods (A.P.H.A. et a l . , 1985). 3.4.10 VOLATILE FATTY ACIDS (VFA) The v o l a t i l e f a t t y a c i d computer-controlled measurements Hewlett-Packard 5880A equipped with a flame i o n i z a t i o n d e t e c t o r as the c a r r i e r gas. The g l a s s column were done using a gas chromatograph, (FID) and (0.91 m long using helium with a 6 mm -55- e x t e r n a l diameter and 2 mm 0.3% Carbowax/0.1 % Supelco Inc.). P 0 4 ° column be f i l t e r s and 1.0 u l aliquots 701N, 10 acid Supelco was analysed was Carbopak conditioned packed with C ( s u p p l i e d by according to were were filtered t o the injected u s i n g Whatman 4 using microsyringes u l ) and a Hewlett-Packard (Model 7672A). Samples were phosphoric n diameter) i n the Supelco B u l l e t i n 751E (1982). to (Hamilton Model 3 The procedure o u t l i n e d Samples H internal acidified bring the pH using below a auto-sampler 1% 3.0, s o l u t i o n of before their i n j e c t i o n s . Experimental c o n d i t i o n s f o r the chromatograph were as follows: I n j e c t i o n port D e t e c t o r port temperature 150°C temperature Isothermal oven 200°C temperature 120°C Flow r a t e of c a r r i e r gas (helium) = 20 ml/min Volatile and butyric fatty acids a c i d s analysed with included a c e t i c , quantification done by propionic the e x t e r n a l s t a n d a r d methods, u s i n g reagent grade standards. 3.5 COLD STORAGE TESTINGS Since kept a t 4°C the sewage collected d u r i n g t h i s study was t o be f o r approximately 2 weeks, i t was decided t o study -56- the effects beginning look at over a of two bottles was (i) in every sewage Two pilot and a and undertaken their different plant 500 ml analysed batches mixed two for of large plastic weeks, the to storage in air tight p e r i o d of the variation wastewater completely Over day was at one following duplicate. oxygen oxygen (iii) Nitrates and demand demand nitrites (NO ) x Total Kjeldahl nitrogen (v) Total phosphorus Ortho-phosphorus Volatile fatty (BOD) (COD) (iv) (vii) the separate 4°C. characteristics study 3.3.1, other Chemical (TKN) (TP) (P0 ~P) 4 acids (VFA) STATISTICS The Texas with of i n seven (ii) 3.6 brief the section at sewage storage. from room Biochemical (vi) a cold taken parameters in stored i n the A in cold collected and on parameters period described containers bottle week storage experiments. various were as cold the the sewage tanks, of the linear regression analysis Instrument TI-66 TI-66 Sourcebook of programmable (Texas the data was calculator, Instruments, 1977). in done, using accordance -57- CHAPTER R E S U L T S AND The this results study initial are of the discussion relevant to sections the activated from the i n d i v i d u a l (Section noticed were analysis fraction different butyrate no significant during comparable dosages of glucose. these particular runs. under removal cold the broader technology the results in obtained study. storage of a p e r i o d o f two w e e k s . The variations those expected errors. i n Appendix during sodium 3, i n any 4°C) (at parameters i n Chapter of the i n f l u e n t runs of t h i s variation The individual combining on chapter. four phosphorus runs in the to are given this conducted of experimental described and study in discussion process,by experimental 3.4) study the excess of the through this As sludge results tested during present of the b i o l o g i c a l showed discussed the Subsequent sewage experiments describe with The and scale sections separately, aspects DISCUSSION bench detailed four FOUR during The data chemical obtained A3. the r e a d i l y the experiments acetate, raw the sodium biodegradable was varied propionate, COD using sodium -58- 4.1 ACETATE ADDITION Sodium a c e t a t e was added dosages of continuously to the system at 30, 25, 20, 15, 10 and 5 mg/L as COD i n the anaerobic r e a c t o r . The raw data f o r these experimental runs are given i n Appendix A2. The results shown in Table 4.1 i n d i c a t e d that a t 5 mg COD/L of a c e t a t e a d d i t i o n , the phosphorus removal was only 1.0 mg of P/L sludge of feed was 1.5%. T h i s and the percent phosphorus i n the a e r o b i c value corresponds to the expected dry weight percent phosphorus content of organisms not e x h i b i t i n g any excess b i o l o g i c a l phosphorus removal (Hoffmann than 100 percent improvement and Marais, i n phosphorus removal, from 1.0 to 2.2 mg of P/L of feed was o b t a i n e d when the 10 mg COD/L. The a l s o higher a t percent phosphorus 2.2 excess phosphorus %, 1977). More indicating a c e t a t e a d d i t i o n was i n the the removing organisms. a e r o b i c sludge was presence of b i o l o g i c a l T h i s t r e n d continued with increasing loadings. However, significant improvement in biological excess phosphorus removal was not achieved by i n c r e a s i n g a c e t a t e l o a d i n g beyond 20 mg conditions COD/L. of significant obtained by the This i s due influent. advantage increasing in r e a c t o r beyond 20 mg COD/L. Thus, excess the to the in phosphorus l i m i t i n g this phosphorus acetate loading circumstance, no removal c o u l d be i n the anaerobic -59- Table 4.1 R e s u l t s of Acetate A d d i t i o n Experiments Acetate Dosage in mg COD/L Parameter 30 25 20 15 10 5 TOTAL P : (mg/L) Influent Effluent 4.5 <0.2 4.2 <0.2 4.1 0.4 4.4 0.8 4. 1 1.9 4.4 3.4 ORTHO-P : (mg/L) Influent Anaerobic Anoxic Aerobic Effluent 3.2 18.1 15.6 <0.1 <0.1 3.2 16.0 13.5 <0.1 <0.1 3.2 10.5 8.2 0.3 0.3 3.2 5.2 4.4 0.6 0.8 3.0 3.6 3.3 1.7 1.8 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.1 3.4 Aerobic sludge % P 5.7 5.5 4.8 4.6 3.0 1 .5 AP (mg/L) 4.3 4.0 3.7 3.6 2.2 1 .0 Influent Added Effluent 219 60 35 224 50 40 230 40 32 234 30 29 240 20 32 246 10 36 Readily biodegradable COD (mg/L) 84 77 71 63 55 48 COD: Tmg/L) -60- The ortho-P concentrations in both anaerobic and aerobic r e a c t o r s showed that the phosphorus was r e l e a s e d i n the anaerobic zone and subsequently phosphorus release taken and up the in the uptake aerobic zone. increased Both the with i n c r e a s i n g a c e t a t e dosages. 4.2 PROPIONATE ADDITION A f t e r the l a s t run with a c e t a t e ( i . e . the 5 mg COD/L r u n ) , the same system was spiked c o n t i n u o u s l y with sodium propionate a t dosages of 25, 20, 15, reactor. These dosages limiting conditions higher 10 and were 5 mg COD/L, selected experienced in the anaerobic to a v o i d the phosphorus during the a c e t a t e runs with dosages. S t a b l e steady state conditions days. No s i g n i f i c a n t changes suspended s o l i d s were achieved were n o t i c e d i n about 20 and the mixed l i q u o r c o n c e n t r a t i o n remained v i r t u a l l y unchanged over the whole t r a n s i t i o n p e r i o d . The experimental run with 10 mg COD/L was the sewage used d u r i n g t h i s run was found level of 14.7 experimental runs mg/L as COD. However, throughout t h i s repeated since t o c o n t a i n a c e t a t e at a during a l l the other study, the raw sewage d i d not c o n t a i n any measurable short c h a i n v o l a t i l e f a t t y acid. -61- Starting from the propionate consumption) i n individual reactors understand biological the S i g n i f i c a n t amounts hydroxybutyrate d u r i n g the (PHB) were found p r o p i o n a t e run. carbon dosages of storage and are l i s t e d The results phosphorus removal process. (PHV) and poly-B- i n mixed l i q u o r suspended s o l i d s PHV was s t o r e d d u r i n g the anaerobic phase. The q u a n t i t i e s of consumption i n c r e a s e d with The raw data for increasing this series of indicated that the i n Appendix A2. shown in Table phosphorus removal i n c r e a s e d with showing the storage (or was a l s o measured to b e t t e r the a e r o b i c propionate. experiments carbon of p o l y - B - h y d r o x y v a l e r a t e phase and consumed d u r i n g this excess run, same t r e n d observed 4.2 i n c r e a s i n g p r o p i o n a t e dosages, d u r i n g the a c e t a t e run. At 5 mg COD/L dosage, no s i g n i f i c a n t b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal was t a k i n g p l a c e , s i n c e the percent phosphorus i n the dry a e r o b i c sludge was only 1.4% biological excess (Hoffmann and phosphorus Marais, removal "bio-P" mode be due to c o n c e n t r a t i o n of the p r e f e r r e d s u b s t r a t e (propionate, i n t h i s case) The the Although the organisms c o u l d s t i l l p r e s e n t , they might not be o p e r a t i n g i n the the low 1977). i n the anaerobic ortho-P c o n c e n t r a t i o n s i n phosphorus phosphorus zone. uptake release in in the i n c r e a s i n g propionate l o a d i n g . the aerobic various anaerobic reactor zones showed that reactor and increased the with - 6 2 - Table 4.2 Results of Propionate A d d i t i o n Experiments Propionate Parameter 25 20 Dosage i n mg COD/L 15 10 5 1 0* TOTAL P : (mg/L) Influent Effluent 4.3 0.3 4. 1 0.9 4.2 1 .6 4.0 2.6 4. 1 3. 1 3.9 <0.2 ORTHO-P : (mg/L) Influent Anaerobic Anoxic Aerobic Effluent 3.2 13.7 11.5 0.3 0.3 3.0 10.3 8.7 0.9 0.8 3.3 5.3 4.2 1 .5 1 .5 3.1 4. 1 3.6 2.5 2.4 3.2 3.3 3.0 3.0 3. 1 2.9 15.5 11.2 <0. 1 <0.1 % P 5.5 4.4 3.7 2.2 1 .4 5.2 (mg/L) 4.0 3.2 2.6 1 .4 1 .0 3.7 Influent Added Effluent 226 50 25 227 40 25 234 30 21 241 20 25 244 10 24 239 20 28 66 59 51 46 71 Aerobic sludge AP COD: (mg/L) Readily biodegradable COD (mg/L) 71 * The raw sewage during this c o n c e n t r a t i o n of 14.7 mg/L as COD. run had an acetate -63- 4.3 BUTYRATE ADDITION Once the propionate c o n t i n u o u s l y with sodium b u t y r a t e at a as COD i n the anaerobic 25, 15 and 20, When butyrate, 10 mg the the runs were over, substrate mixed was liquor i n the shift aerobic and in another 2 for a further system s t a r t e d removing Oct.9,1986) t h e r e a f t e r , although data anoxic solids of the to system 2300 mg/L to r e a c t o r s ) w i t h i n a p e r i o d of weeks. T h i s normal concentration indicated a significant 5 not e x h i b i t weeks p e r i o d phosphorus from continued to and fact organisms, and ( u n t i l Oct.6,1986). the 6th perform The week onwards satisfactorily The that the excess phosphorus removal mechanism was with no apparent change i n any 7 excess phosphorus changed. i n Appendix e s t a b l i s h e d i n a very short p e r i o d almost any no o p e r a t i o n a l c o n d i t i o n s were f o r t h i s run are g i v e n The took mg/L i n the p o p u l a t i o n of organisms i n the system. removal raw propionate (from approximately However, the system d i d (from from g r a d u a l l y i n c r e a s e d back to the mg/L 30 f o l l o w e d by dosages of changed suspended 250 of 2300 of spiked COD/L. as much as ten times 11 days and concentration r e a c t o r . T h i s was decreased mg/L the system was weeks to of only A2. 3 days a f t e r Oct.6, other parameter, suggested t h a t i t establish then only 3 days the correct culture of f o r t h a t c u l t u r e to m u l t i p l y to -64- Table 4.3 R e s u l t s of Butyrate A d d i t i o n Experiments Butyrate Dosage i n mg COD/L Parameter 30 25 20 15 10 4. 1 0.5 4.2 0.9 3.9 1.8 4.2 2.3 4.0 3.1 3.3 12.9 9.8 0.5 0.5 3.2 10.1 7.7 0.9 1 .0 3.0 7.4 5.9 1.7 1.7 3.2 4.7 4. 1 2.3 2.4 3.0 3.4 3.1 3.0 2.9 4.6 4.3 2.7 2.1 1 .6 3.6 3.3 2.1 1.9 0.9 Influent Added Effluent 220 60 34 223 50 38 230 40 40 234 30 39 241 20 34 Readily biodegrada b l e COD (mg/L) 69 66 62 59 50 TOTAL P : (mg/L) Influent Effluent ORTHO-P : (mg/L) Influent Anaerobic Anoxic Aerobic Effluent Aerobic sludge % P AP COD: Tmg/L) (mg/L) -65- significant levels. Once this population was significantly e s t a b l i s h e d , the system s t a r t e d t o perform s u c c e s s f u l l y . From the day the b u t y r a t e days f o r the system r e t e n t i o n time t o reach (SRT) of a d d i t i o n was s t a r t e d , i t took 76 the steady s t a t e . Since the s o l i d s the the usual (54 days) was i n t h i s case. T h i s r a i s e d an important conclusion required issue before well regarding making the that a system would not work (or v i c e v e r s a ) . As observed phosphorus removal anaerobic time SRT's days, surpassed adjustment 3 18 adjustment operational of was accepted the period system in earlier a c e t a t e and increased with phosphorus r e l e a s e and propionate i n c r e a s i n g butyrate a e r o b i c phosphorus f o l l o w e d the same t r e n d . The carbon storage runs, the dosage.The uptake a l s o during these runs was p r i m a r i l y as PHB. 4.4 GLUCOSE ADDITION The COD in glucose the anaerobic over from butyrate (MLSS) of aerobic of shift r e a c t o r . When the s u b s t r a t e was to g l u c o s e , the system MLSS population run was s t a r t e d with the dosage of 60 thinned around in approximately 5 weeks. the 2500 the mixed l i q u o r out and was mg/L, system. switched suspended solids r e - e s t a b l i s h e d at an indicating This mg/L as a significant adjustment p e r i o d was -66- T a b l e 4.4 R e s u l t s of Glucose A d d i t i o n Experiments Glucose Dosage i n mg COD/L Parameter TOTAL P: (mg/L) Influent Effluent ORTHO-P: (mg/L) Influent Anaerobic Anoxic Aerobic Effluent A e r o b i c sludge % P AP COD: (mg/L) (mg/L) Influent Added Effluent R e a d i l y biodegrada b l e COD (mg/L) 75 60 45 30 3.9 0.2 3.6 0.7 3.7 1.7 3.7 2.4 3.3 13.3 6.9 0.1 0.1 2.7 1 1.2 6.8 0.7 0.6 2.8 6.8 6.0 1.6 1 .6 2.7 4.1 3.1 2.4 2.3 4.1 3.4 2.7 1 .7 3.7 2.9 2.0 1 .3 1 92 1 50 37 189 120 31 199 90 33 214 60 27 83 70 62 54 -67- Although phosphorus appeared those the removal solids was taking associated with kind of the fermentative anoxic r e a c t o r was anaerobic poor 6 place. reactor. weeks. formation during state, nitrates However, Once the r e a c t o r was s i g n i f i c a n t l y no excess The anoxic mixed l i q u o r of (much more than n i t r o g e n gas, d u r i n g the other condition. and the anoxic r e a c t o r improved about steady very gluey w i t h s i g n i f i c a n t gas bubbles d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n , as observed some reached runs), indicating Denitrification were bleeding i n the i n t o the the d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n performance of g r a d u a l l y over nitrate reduced, a further p e r i o d of b l e e d i n g i n t o the anaerobic the system s t a r t e d removing phosphorus s u c c e s s f u l l y . Other dosages used i n t h i s run were 45, 30 and 75 mg/L as COD. U n l i k e the other runs, the f i n a l the i n i t i a l estimated loading loading was higher due t o not y i e l d i n g the maximum p o s s i b l e excess phosphorus removal f o r the given c o n d i t i o n s . The raw data f o r these are g i v e n i n Appendix A2. As observed i n a l l the p r e v i o u s runs, anaerobic phosphorus r e l e a s e , a e r o b i c phosphorus uptake and the o v e r a l l phosphorus removal i n c r e a s e d with i n c r e a s i n g glucose dosages. Carbon storage and consumption i n v o l v e d two compounds, PHB and glycogen. -68- 4.5 READILY BIODEGRADABLE COD The readily significance in biodegradable b i o l o g i c a l excess COD in a sewage, i t s phosphorus removal p r o c e s s and t h e methods f o r i t s d e t e r m i n a t i o n were a l l e x p l a i n e d i n d e t a i l i n the previous chapters. biodegradability different This section ( i n terms o f chemical readily substrates d u r i n g t h i s s t u d y . The e f f e c t s on the biological excess discusses biodegradable COD) o f t h e added t o t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l of the r e a d i l y phosphorus d i s c u s s e d under t h e d i f f e r e n t the degree of system biodegradable removal process w i l l COD be a s p e c t s of t h e p r o c e s s , i n s e c t i o n s 4.6 t o 4.9. The technique d e t e r m i n a t i o n of measuring the the r e a d i l y and readily study represent biodegradable the t o t a l t h i s study, f o r the was c a p a b l e o f b i o d e g r a d a b l e COD, w h i c h i n c l u d e b i o d e g r a d a b l e COD a l r e a d y p r e s e n t chemical substrates. Therefore, readily used i n b i o d e g r a d a b l e COD, only the t o t a l r e a d i l y the r e a d i l y and developed COD the readily i n the introduced results by raw sewage the presented added in this b i o d e g r a d a b l e COD a n d n o t t h e b i o d e g r a d a b l e COD i n t r o d u c e d by t h e added s i m p l e carbon substrates alone. The dosages s e c t i o n s 4.1 t o r e a c t o r . To of 4.4, various were a c h i e v e these t w i c e as h i g h t o account in experimental mg/L as runs described i n in the anaerobic COD d o s a g e s , t h e f e e d c o n c e n t r a t i o n s were f o r the d i l u t i o n e f f e c t taking place i n -69- the anaerobic r e a c t o r due recycle r a t i o of 1:1). t o the anoxic-anaerobic The d i s c u s s i o n presented d e s c r i b e the c h e m i c a l dosages with r e s p e c t to the a n a e r o b i c The showed that of readily f o r the f o r the biodegradable in this t o the (with section feed (and not reactor contents). plot dosages (as COD) recycle biodegradable various experimental same dosage s u b s t r a t e s had the COD vs the chemical ( i n mg/L following runs ( F i g . 4.1) as COD), the r e a d i l y decreasing order of effect. a c e t a t e > p r o p i o n a t e > b u t y r a t e > glucose As expected, it biodegradability is seems to suggest some i n v e r s e that f u n c t i o n of the degree of the complexity of the added compound. It was plot a l s o noted (between t h e dosages that in of the more l i n e a r ranges of the 20-40 mg/L as COD for acetate, propionate, b u t y r a t e and between 60-120 mg/L as COD f o r g l u c o s e ) , an i n c r e a s e of 1 mg COD/L readily biodegradable 0.27 mg/L for respectively. in COD i n acetate, However, chemical the feed propionate, these values dosage by 0.80, i n c r e a s e d the 0.75, 0.45 and butyrate and can be only glucose used as approximate e s t i m a t e s , s i n c e the d i f f e r e n t batches of sewage used d u r i n g each run might not have had the same r e a d i l y substrate content. This might a l s o be a reason biodegradable (besides any -70- l i m i t a t i o n of the method COD) f o r of measuring not o b t a i n i n g compound, (as observed et a l . , 1 9 8 5 ) . carbon/L degree by N i c h o l l s chemical d i d not of acetate, dosages show any corresponding and b u t y r i c and volatile terms correlation Surprisingly, fatty biodegradable of e i t h e r mM/L significant butyrate expressed acid to be a rough guide i n these group of COD or mM of with t h e i r the same dosages of as mg/L of the (acetic acid, propionic acid a c i d r e s p e c t i v e l y ) , gave r e l a t i v e l y biodegradable COD content of as r e a d i l y in biodegradability. propionate biodegradable complete recovery of the added a c e t a t e , a simple e a s i l y degradable The the r e a d i l y the same r e a d i l y ( F i g . 4.2). T h e r e f o r e , t h i s i s observed e s t i m a t i n g the chemicals, b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus r e a d i l y biodegradable commonly removal encountered process. COD i n the However, glucose d i d not f o l l o w t h i s t r e n d . E x t r a p o l a t i o n of the p l o t around 40 mg/L of r e a d i l y addition, indicating in F i g . biodegradable that the 4.2, gave COD approximate average readily t h i s study was 40 raw sewage mg/L. Since t o t a l COD of the raw sewage used during the p e r i o d of these percentage basis, experiments 18% of the was in zero chemical biodegradable COD of the the average used for a value of around t o the biodegradable COD COD) o b t a i n e d by mg/L, on a t o t a l COD i n the raw sewage was r e a d i l y biodegradable. T h i s compares w e l l w i t h with r e s p e c t 225 the v a l u e of 24% ( i e about 20% of the t o t a l Dold e t a l . (1980) f o r South African sewage. -71- 90 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 Dosoge in m g / L a s COD In feed Fig. T o t a l r e a d i l y b i o d e g r a d a b l e COD i n f e e d v s . a d d i t i o n t o f e e d , e x p r e s s e d a s COD. 4..1. 0 20 40 60 80 100 chemical 120 140 Dosoge in m g / L in feed Fig.4..2. T o t a l r e a d i l y b i o d e g r a d a b l e COD i n f e e d v s . c h e m i c a l a d d i t i o n to f e e d , e x p r e s s e d as mg/L. Dosages of a c e t a t e , p r o p i o n a t e and b u t y r a t e are expressed as t h e i r c o r r e s p o n d i n g a c i d s . -72- The percentage treatment facility collection is system systems p r o v i d i n g conditions, of biodegradable significantly (Paepcke, 1983; long r e t e n t i o n resulting molecules to readily in the Barnard, 1984). C o l l e c t i o n times can p r o v i d e fermentative breakdown of complex simple compounds c a u s i n g h i g h r e a d i l y system f o r the treatment sewage study was used in time this and thus fermentative c o n d i t i o n s was of the sewage slightly low acid obtained, unlikely of any biodegradable p l a n t , where the had to a very short provide enough measurable s h o r t c h a i n i n the raw sewage. In a d d i t i o n t o the nature itself, this percentage might of also readily content obtained f o r the sewage used 4.6 organic t o breakdown the complex compounds. T h i s was a l s o confirmed by the absence v o l a t i l e fatty entering a i n f l u e n c e d by the type of c o n t e n t . The c o l l e c t i o n detention COD be a reason biodegradable in this f o r the substrate study. PHOSPHORUS RELEASE AND UPTAKE The p r e r e q u i s i t e f o r b i o l o g i c a l i n the a c t i v a t e d sludge zone upstream of the released in removal process i s the presence of an anaerobic aerobic zone. In general, phosphorus i s the anaerobic zone and taken up i n the a e r o b i c zone. The q u a n t i t a t i v e amounts of be found excess phosphorus by mass phosphorus r e l e a s e and uptake c o u l d balance, using c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of phosphorus i n v a r i o u s zones of the p r o c e s s . -73- During t h i s study, phosphorus sewage and the effluent were measured phosphorus and ortho phosphorus. was measured i n the was a v a i l a b l e f o r measuring including the phosphorus both in terms of t o t a l However, only ortho phosphorus unfiltered total present in mixed exact phosphorus be c a l c u l a t e d the b i o r e a c t o r d i f f e r e n c e between feed) to the raw technique phosphorus without liquor suspended mass balances i n the r e a c t o r s could not be done. However, the extreme range values could zone of in v a r i o u s r e a c t o r s , s i n c e no simple s o l i d s . For t h i s reason, individual concentrations caused assumption was made on which the complex phosphorus t o t a l phosphorus be transformed to 4 . 8 present the i f an and ortho ( i . e . , the phosphorus i n the to simpler ortho phosphorus. Tables values f o r the phosphorus 4.5 uptake i n v a r i o u s r e a c t o r s under d i f f e r e n t assumptions. The values of phosphorus i n d i c a t i n g phosphorus r e l e a s e ) , presented uptake (with per unit the negative s i g n volume of the feed, i n t h i s s e c t i o n were d e r i v e d i n the f o l l o w i n g way mass balance using (Fig.4.3). i anox Fig.4.3. Mass of phosphorus e n t e r i n g and l e a v i n g each i n d i v i d u a l r e a c t o r per u n i t i n f l u e n t flow. P i n d i c a t e s the ortho-P c o n c e n t r a t i o n . -74- P uptake = Mass of P e n t e r i n g - Mass of P l e a v i n g Phosphorus uptake (per u n i t i n f l u e n t flow) i n the anaerobic r e a c t o r i s given by ( i n f l u e n t ortho-P) + (anoxic ortho-P) - 2x(anaerobic ortho-P) Phosphorus uptake (per u n i t influent flow) i n the anoxic r e a c t o r i s given by 2x(anaerobic ortho-P) + ( a e r o b i c ortho-P) - 3x(anoxic ortho-P) Phosphorus uptake (per u n i t i n f l u e n t flow) i n the a e r o b i c r e a c t o r i s g i v e n by 2x(anoxic ortho-P) - 2 x ( a e r o b i c Depending on the zone transformed into ortho ortho-P) i n which the complex phosphorus, phosphorus i s the d i f f e r e n c e between the t o t a l phosphorus and the o r t h o phosphorus of the feed i s added to the formula that the of the daily c o r r e s p o n d i n g zone. wastage phosphorus balance, was not I t should a l s o be noted included in s i n c e i t s c o n t r i b u t i o n was to the wastage volume being very small c a l c u l a t i n g the insignificant compared to due the d a i l y flows. The r e s u l t s presented i n T a b l e s 4.5 to 4.8 indicated the d i f f e r e n c e s between the phosphorus uptake v a l u e s i n zone under the the d i f f e r e n t averages of these that the same assumptions were not l a r g e . T h e r e f o r e , extreme v a l u e s a r e used i n the f o l l o w i n g -75- T a b l e 4.5 Phosphorus Uptake f o r Acetate Run Chemical Dosage i n Anaerobic Reactor (mg COD/L) Phosphorus Uptake (mg of phosphorus/L of feed) Anaerobic Anoxic Aerobic (a) when the complex phosphorus i n the i n f l u e n t i s transformed c o m p l e t e l y t o ortho phosphorus i n the anaerobic zone 30 25 20 15 10 5 -16.1 -14.3 -8.7 -1.6 0.2 1.1 -10.5 -8.4 -3.3 -2.2 -1.0 -0.6 31.0 26.8 15.8 7.6 3.2 0.8 (b) when the complex phosphorus i n the i n f l u e n t i s transformed c o m p l e t e l y t o ortho phosphorus i n the anoxic zone 30 25 20 15 10 5 -17.4 -15.4 -9.6 -2.8 -0.9 0 -9.2 -7.4 -2.4 -1.0 0.1 0.5 31.0 26.8 15.8 7.6 3.2 0.8 (c) when the complex phosphorus i n the i n f l u e n t i s transformed c o m p l e t e l y t o ortho phosphorus i n the a e r o b i c zone 30 25 20 15 10 5 -10.5 -8.4 -3.3 -2.2 -1.0 -0.6 32.3 27.8 16.7 8.8 4.3 1.9 (d) when the complex phosphorus i n the i n f l u e n t and ends up i n the sludge i s unchanged 30 25 20 15 10 5 -17.4 -15.3 -9.6 -2.8 -0.9 0 -17.4 -15.3 -9.6 -2.8 -0.9 0 -10.5 -8.4 -3.3 -2.2 -1.0 -0.6 31.0 26.8 15.8 7.6 3.2 0.8 -76- T a b l e 4.6 Phosphorus Uptake C h e m i c a l Dosage i n Anaerobic Reactor (mg COD/L) f o r P r o p i o n a t e Run Phosphorus Uptake (mg o f p h o s p h o r u s / L o f f e e d ) Anaerobic Anoxic Aerobic (a) when t h e c o m p l e x p h o s p h o r u s i n t h e i n f l u e n t i s t r a n s f o r m e d c o m p l e t e l y t o o r t h o p h o s p h o r u s i n t h e a n a e r o b i c zone 25 20 15 10 5 •11.6 -7.8 -2.2 -0.6 0.5 •6.8 •4.6 •0.5 •0.1 0.6 22.4 15.6 5.4 2.2 0 (b) when t h e c o m p l e x p h o s p h o r u s i n t h e i n f l u e n t i s t r a n s f o r m e d c o m p l e t e l y t o o r t h o p h o s p h o r u s i n t h e a n o x i c zone 25 2015 10 5 •12.7 -8.9 -3. 1 -1.5 -0.4 •5.7 •3.5 0.4 0.8 1 .5 22.4 15.6 5.4 2.2 0 (c) when t h e c o m p l e x p h o s p h o r u s i n t h e i n f l u e n t i s t r a n s f o r m e d c o m p l e t e l y t o o r t h o p h o s p h o r u s i n t h e a e r o b i c zone 25 20 15 10 5 •12, -8, -3, -1 , -0, •6.8 -4.6 •0.5 •0.1 0.6 (d) when t h e c o m p l e x p h o s p h o r u s i n t h e i n f l u e n t and ends up i n t h e s l u d g e 25 20 1 5 10 5 •12.7 -8.9 -3. 1 -1.5 -0.4 •6.8 •4.6 •0.5 •0.1 0.6 23.5 16.7 6.3 3. 1 0.9 i s unchanged 22.4 15.6 5.4 2.2 0 -77- T a b l e 4.7 Phosphorus Uptake f o r Butyrate Run Chemical Dosage i n Anaerobic Reactor (mg COD/L) Phosphorus Uptake (mg of phosphorus/L of feed) Anaerobic Anoxic Aerobic (a) when the complex phosphorus i n the i n f l u e n t i s transformed c o m p l e t e l y t o ortho phosphorus i n the anaerobic zone 30 25 20 15 10 •12.7 -9.3 -5.9 -2.1 -0.7 •3.1 •2.0 •1 .2 •0.6 0.5 18.6 13.6 8.4 3.6 0.2 (b) when the complex phosphorus i n the i n f l u e n t i s transformed c o m p l e t e l y t o ortho phosphorus i n the anoxic zone 30 25 20 15 10 •1 1.9 -8.3 -5.0 -1.1 0.3 •2.3 •1 .0 0.3 0.4 1 .5 18, 13, 8, 3, 0, (c) when the complex phosphorus i n the i n f l u e n t i s transformed c o m p l e t e l y t o ortho phosphorus i n the a e r o b i c zone 30 25 20 15 10 •1 1.9 -8.3 -5.0 -1.1 0.3 •3.1 •2.0 •1 .2 •0.6 0.5 19, 14, 9, 4, 1 , (d) when the complex phosphorus i n the i n f l u e n t and ends up i n the sludge i s unchanged 30 25 20 15 10 •1 1.9 -8.3 -5.0 -1.1 0.3 •3.1 •2.0 •1 .2 •0.6 0.5 18.6 13.6 8.4 3.6 0.2 -78- Table 4.8 Phosphorus Uptake f o r Glucose Run Chemical Dosage i n Anaerobic Reactor (mg COD/L) Phosphorus Uptake (mg of phosphorus/L of feed) Anaerobic Anoxic Aerobic (a) when the complex phosphorus i n the i n f l u e n t i s transformed c o m p l e t e l y to ortho phosphorus i n the anaerobic zone 75 60 45 30 •15.8 •12.0 -3.9 -1 .4 6.0 2.7 •2.8 1 .3 13.6 12.2 8.8 1.4 (b) when the complex phosphorus i n the i n f l u e n t i s transformed c o m p l e t e l y t o ortho phosphorus i n the anoxic zone 75 60 45 30 -16.4 -12.9 -4.8 -2.4 6.6 3.6 -1 .9 2.3 13.6 12.2 8.8 1 .4 (c) when the complex phosphorus i n the i n f l u e n t i s transformed c o m p l e t e l y to ortho phosphorus i n the a e r o b i c zone 75 60 45 30 •16.4 •12.9 -4.8 -2.4 6.0 2.7 -2.8 1 .3 (d) when the complex phosphorus i n the i n f l u e n t and ends up i n the sludge 75 60 45 30 -16.4 -12.9 -4.8 -2.4 6.0 2.7 •2.8 1 .3 14.2 13.1 9.7 2.4 i s unchanged 13.6 12.2 8.8 1.4 -79- discussion. The negative) i n average phosphorus v a r i o u s zones f o r the uptake (or different release, i f experimental runs are given i n Table 4.9. 4.6.1 ANAEROBIC ZONE The anaerobic neither dissolved zone i s considered oxygen nor n i t r a t e n i t r o g e n ) i s p r e s e n t . The denitrification) ( i n c l u d e s both anaerobic in this nitrates reactor presence study and through most of the study, except at be one i n which (or other forms of o x i d i z e d of was an anoxic to nitrites) the to zone (used f o r ensure was that introduced no N0 X t o the r e c y c l e . T h i s was a c h i e v e d d u r i n g the higher dosages of the glucose run. Phosphorus release in the anaerobic chemical s u b s t r a t e a d d i t i o n s , i n shown in Fig.4.4. terms of The reactor for various COD i n the anaerobic reactor, is phosphorus r e l e a s e i n the anaerobic r e a c t o r , f o r the same COD dosage, appeared t o have the f o l l o w i n g d e c r e a s i n g order of e f f e c t . a c e t a t e , propionate > butyrate > g l u c o s e This perfectly agreed with the f i n d i n g s of Gerber e t a l . (1986), although they used a c e t i c , p r o p i o n i c and b u t y r i c a c i d s i n s t e a d of t h e i r sodium s a l t s . I t i s a l s o i n general agreement w i t h other -80- T a b l e 4.9 Average Phosphorus Uptake f o r A l l Runs Chemical Dosage i n Anaerobic Reactor (mg COD/L) RUN 1 ACETATE 30 25 20 15 10 5 RUN 2 •16.75 -14.80 -9.15 -2.20 -0.35 0.55 -9.85 -7.90 -2.85 -1 .60 -0.45 -0.05 31 .65 27.30 16.25 8.20 3.75 1 .35 -12.15 -8.35 -2.65 -1 .05 0.05 -6.25 •4.05 •0.05 0.35 1 .05 22.95 16.15 5.85 2.65 0.45 -12.30 -8.80 -5.45 -1 .60 -0.20 -2.70 -1 .50 -0.75 -0.10 1 .00 1 9.00 14.10 8.85 4.10 0.65 -16.10 -12.45 -4.35 -1 .90 -6.30 •3.15 •2.35 1 .80 1 3.90 12.65 9.30 1 .90 PROPIONATE 25 20 15 10 5 RUN 3 Phosphorus Uptake (mg of phosphorus/L of feed) Anaerobic Anoxic Aerobic BUTYRATE 30 25 20 15 10 RUN 3 : GLUCOSE 75 60 45 30 -81- s t u d i e s by P o t g i e t e r and Evans (1983) and Oldham and Koch (1982), although these s t u d i e s were conducted u s i n g mass in batch experiments. It acid, i n s t e a d of sodium propionate, was non-acclimatized should be noted bio that p r o p i o n i c used d u r i n g the study by Oldham and Koch (1982). Although the results reported (1983) showed the same general this current a c e t a t e and butyrate propionate and propionate, as COD, study, anaerobic The those very low their studies higher phosphorus current importance those o b t a i n e d using r e l e a s e s observed study of using under i n v e s t i g a t i o n , (using that 8.2 acetate, 110 mg/L 5.0 mg/L with b u t y r a t e and to the usage of The much with b u t y r a t e and glucose i n sludge) acclimatized studying and experiments. acclimatized organisms in 54.5, c o u l d be p r i m a r i l y due batch during with r e l e a s e s observed their Evans releases reported gave phosphorus r e l e a s e s of 58.6, in observed phosphorus authors and butyrate and g l u c o s e , at a c o n c e n t r a t i o n of n o n - a c c l i m a t i z e d biomass i n this as Potgieter were much higher than glucose. r e s p e c t i v e l y . The glucose the trend by the i n d i c a t e the to the effects of substrates the v a r i o u s s u b s t r a t e s on the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal. However, a c c o r d i n g r e l e a s e due r e l e a s e due to Jones to b u t y r i c a c i d was to a c e t i c acid et a l . (1985), the phosphorus much g r e a t e r (for c o n t r a d i c t i n g the o b s e r v a t i o n s made than the phosphorus the same COD in this a c c l i m a t i z a t i o n p e r i o d of two weeks allowed dosage), somewhat study. Insufficient between the different -82- substrate a d d i t i o n s , during might be a reason the for this study by Jones discrepancy, et al.(l985), especially i f the a d d i t i o n o f a c e t a t e had f o l l o w e d t h e butyrate a d d i t i o n . a l m o s t f o u r weeks t o c o m p l e t e a s h i f t i n o r g a n i s m p o p u l a t i o n when the c h e m i c a l s u b s t r a t e was during t h i s current the amount phosphorus deviation of of 30 mg on t h e s e released f o r every anaerobic reactor. was reactor v a r i e d almost propionate taking place or butyrate of (Fig.4.4). The a c e t a t e r u n 'from t h i s t r e n d i s phosphorus l i m i t i n g linear mg acetate, COD/L b e l i e v e d t o be due t o t h e feed. Based to butyrate 15 mg COD/L i n w h i c h a c t i v e b i o l o g i removal the propionate i n the anaerobic a d d e d , f o r d o s a g e s above excess from study. Phosphorus release linearly with switched I t took conditions i n the ranges, 1.26 mg acetate available This represented o f p h o s p h o r u s was as COD i n the a m o l a r r a t i o o f 2.60 m o l e s of p h o s p h o r u s p e r mole o f a c e t i c a c i d . The m o l a r r a t i o v a l u e s f o r propionate and b u t y r a t e were per mole o f t h e that butyrate corresponding mole o f acid, compared t o t h e v a l u e 0.9:1, r e s p e c t i v e l y . This indicated ratios. m o l a r r a t i o o f 2.60 m o l e s acetic Fukase e t acid 3.69 moles o f p h o s p h o r u s r e l e a s e d p h o s p h o r u s t h e most and a c e t a t e t h e l e a s t i n terms o f molar The 3.44 a n d of phosphorus d u r i n g the a c e t a t e run i s r e l a t i v e l y of 1.76 obtained by Rabinowitz a l . (1982) r e p o r t e d a p h o s p h a t e : a c e t a t e while released per A r v i n (1985) and high (1985). molar r a t i o of Comeau e t a l . (1987) o b s e r v e d a -83- ratio of 1.4:1. experiments However, where they these were values were calculated by based on batch adding different c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of a c e t a t e at the b e g i n n i n g of the experiments monitoring the corresponding phosphorus releases. c o n t r o l l e d c o n d i t i o n s are u s u a l l y not present experiments The and These i n continuous flow where a c e t a t e i s added t o g e t h e r with the sewage feed. higher molar r a t i o obtained i n t h i s c u r r e n t study under these continuous flow c o n d i t i o n s might be due t o the presence than the added fermentation concentrations of the raw of acetate, sewage in of higher resulting from the the anaerobic r e a c t o r . I t should a l s o be noted that the above r e p o r t e d r a t i o s were based on substrate utilization rather S i e b r i t z et a l . (1983) than reported a substrate availability. phosphate:acetate molar ratio of 2:1 based on s u b s t r a t e a v a i l a b i l i t y . Glucose did phosphorus r e l e a s e i n expressed as not exhibit the anaerobic section linear reactor, anaerobic r e a c t o r . probably due with the dosage than to n i t r a t e of expected entrainment T h i s w i l l be d i s c u s s e d i n d e t a i l i n 4.6.3. The anaerobic phosphorus r e l e a s e an relationship COD. The phosphorus r e l e a s e was lower d u r i n g the 75 mg COD/L run, i n t o the a intrinsic part mechanism by anaerobic phosphorus of Barnard was f i r s t recognized as the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal (1976). release He is also induced hypothesized that the through an anaerobic s t r e s s t h a t can be i n d i c a t e d by the o x i d a t i o n r e d u c t i o n p o t e n t i a l -84- (ORP) of that zone. i n v a l i d i t y of during the The data this from t h i s c u r r e n t study shows the anaerobic experimental stress runs hypothesis. with p r o p i o n a t e and b u t y r a t e , and 30 mg 25 mg COD/L of For example, COD/L of a c e t a t e , g l u c o s e , the average o x i d a t i o n - r e d u c t i o n p o t e n t i a l s of the anaerobic zone were -353, -364 and -353 mV respectively. This degree of the anaerobic s t r e s s that was would be relatively hypothesis be true, s h o u l d have been releases were indicates -338, that the present d u r i n g these runs the same. the phosphorus r e l e a s e s d u r i n g these runs approximately significantly d e c r e a s i n g order (with the Should equal. the anaerobic However, different, the phosphorus with average phosphorus stress the following r e l e a s e s given i n b r a c k e t s , i n mg/L). acetate (14.80) > p r o p i o n a t e (12.15) > b u t y r a t e (8.80) > glucose (1.90) For all experimental phosphorus i n the anaerobic r e a d i l y biodegradable COD runs, reactor i n i t was there when was the COD of (1983) who readily reactor was suggested biodegradable necessary t h a t the phosphorus with 25 mg/L. increasing present i n the same r e a c t o r ( F i g . 4 . 5 ) . T h i s i s i n good agreement with the o b s e r v a t i o n s et a l . c o n c e n t r a t i o n of above approximately A l s o , the anaerobic phosphorus r e l e a s e i n c r e a s e d r e a d i l y biodegradable a net r e l e a s e of release Siebritz that a minimum of about 25 mg COD/L COD to made by concentration in the anaerobic s t i m u l a t e the phosphorus r e l e a s e and increased with i n c r e a s i n g readily -85- RBD COD in anaerobic zone (mg/L) Fig.4.5. The anaerobic phosphorus, r e l e a s e with r e a d i l y biodegradable a v a i l a b l e i n the anaerobic zone. COD -86- b i o d e g r a d a b l e COD present i n the anaerobic r e a c t o r . The c l o s e agreement of the phosphorus release f o r various s u b s t r a t e a d d i t i o n s , with respect to r e a d i l y biodegradable COD i n the anaerobic zone, emphasizes the importance of the a v a i l a b i l i t y of r e a d i l y biodegradable is a major s h i f t that a minimum precondition s u b s t r a t e i n the anaerobic r e a c t o r . T h i s i n emphasis degree f o r the of away from anaerobic anaerobic the i n i t i a l stress phosphorus hypothesis i s the necessary release and the subsequent o v e r a l l excess phosphorus removal (as a l s o r e p o r t e d by S i e b r i t z et a l . , 1983). 4.6.2 AEROBIC ZONE Under a e r o b i c c o n d i t i o n s , the c o n d i t i o n e d biomass removes phosphorus from s o l u t i o n . The uptake of phosphorus i n the a e r o b i c zone f o r v a r i o u s experimental The r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e that reactor increased same COD runs are shown i n Figs.4.6 and 4.7. the phosphorus with the uptake i n the a e r o b i c i n c r e a s i n g chemical dosage. For the dosage, the a e r o b i c phosphorus uptake had the f o l l o w i n g d e c r e a s i n g order of e f f e c t . a c e t a t e > propionate > b u t y r a t e > glucose An apparent mass of phosphorus direct relationship r e l e a s e d under was observed between the anaerobic c o n d i t i o n s and the -87- 46 56 65 76 86 RBD COD in feed (mg/L) Fig.I.7. The a e r o b i c phosphorus uptake w i t h r e a d i l y biodegradable COD i n the feed ( i n c l u d i n g the chemical a d d i t i o n ) . -88- mass of phosphorus taken up under subsequent a e r o b i c c o n d i t i o n s f o r most p o r t i o n s of the study, except glucose dosages. for the runs with higher Less than expected phosphorus uptake d u r i n g the experimental runs with higher glucose dosages addressed in the uptake was observed all study, Increased a e r o b i c phosphorus with i n c r e a s e d anaerobic phosphorus r e l e a s e the the be section. nearly l i n e a r (Fig.4.8). data phosphorus uptake and this will next and the r e l a t i o n s h i p was For observed the linear points obtained anaerobic for phosphorus the aerobic release during r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s gave the f o l l o w i n g 2 r e l a t i o n s h i p between them, with correlation R being 0.830 (where R i s the coefficient). P uptake (mg/L) = 1.94 + 1.402 x P r e l e a s e (mg/L) The data p o i n t s o b t a i n e d during the higher dosages of g l u c o s e and 60 mg COD/L r u n s ) , however, s i n c e these 4.6.3. runs had Neglecting improvement i n zone, with other problems these two the c o r r e l a t i o n the a e r o b i c zone and 2 R c o e f f i c i e n t ) . The should hot the being data points gave a significant between the phosphorus uptake i n (where release R r e l a t i o n s h i p obtained was P uptake (mg/L) = 1.21 importance, to be d i s c u s s e d i n s e c t i o n phosphorus 0.970 be g i v e n (75 + 1.701 is in the the anaerobic correlation as f o l l o w s : x P r e l e a s e (mg/L) -89- However, Wentzell et a l . r e l a t i o n s h i p between (1984) developed the phosphorus uptake and study of the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus P uptake (mg/L) = 3.14 + 1.145 In the equations d i s c u s s e d the f o l l o w i n g release in their removal. x P r e l e a s e (mg/L) above, the phosphorus uptake f o r zero phosphorus r e l e a s e g i v e s the b a s i c metabolic of the t o t a l metabolic organism mass phosphorus In a system. of compared to The 3.14 1.21 mg/L mg/L mg/L typical activated of COD mg/L) would metabolic the study c o n c e n t r a t i o n of be 2.50-3.75 mg/L ( f e e d COD and of the c e l l s , f o r requirements et a l . was mg/L 1976). Using t h i s as a phosphorus by W e n t z e l l and t h i s c u r r e n t study of higher sludge p r o c e s s , 1-1.5 removed (U.S. EPA, by obtained i n t h i s r e s u l t i n g from the higher COD g u i d e l i n e , the b a s i c systems d u r i n g higher b a s i c obtained phosphorus i s removed f o r the b a s i c metabolism of every 200 requirement i s p r i m a r i l y a t t r i b u t e d to the presence mass of organisms, the f e e d . the requirement W e n t z e l l et a l . (1984), c u r r e n t study, in as the (feed COD 225 mg/L, 1.13-1.69 mg/L of the was 500 on average) respectively. The c o r r e s p o n d i n g v a l u e s o b t a i n e d from the equations d i s c u s s e d above, fall within associated W e n t z e l l et these ranges. with the a l . (1984), since lower c o e f f i c i e n t phosphorus study, seems to suggest limiting, The release in term the (of 1.145) equation by compared to that (1.701) of the c u r r e n t that their their feed r e l a t i v e l y high a t 15-20 mg/L. system was phosphorus p r e f e r r e d substrate concentrations were -90- 4.6.3 ANOXIC ZONE A n o x i c zone i s one available in i n t h e f o r m o f NO which the electron acceptor i s and not as d i s s o l v e d oxygen. Since a A subpopulation of bacteria capable are take place (McLaren the i n the et biological of d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n , presence of a l . 1976, w i t h NO f a c i l i t a t e d by t h e production is oxygen. O t h e r cannot use NO removal uptake can of d i s s o l v e d oxygen as the of electron of the terminal electron acceptor i s the inhibited The r e p l a c e m e n t enzyme, by t h e b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus as phosphorus instead a l . 1985). formation generally NO phosphorus O s b o r n e t a l . 1978, S i m p k i n s e t a l . 1978, Iwema e t a l . 1984, Comeau e t d i s s o l v e d oxygen excess nitratase, whose presence of d i s s o l v e d removing bacteria that acceptor, are expected t o release A phosphorus, provided readily biodegradable s u s t r a t e s a r e a v a i l a b l e . The " b i o - P " d e n i t r i f i e r s , i n the absence o f NO , behave like that those sufficient not capable of using NO as the X A electron acceptor. The is, observed phosphorus concentration t h e r e f o r e , the net r e s u l t of the opposing and u p t a k e t h e s e two r e a c t i o n s , and reactions. simultaneously in These phosphorus release depends on t h e r e l a t i v e m a g n i t u d e s two the presence (such as a c e t a t e o r i n t h e a n o x i c zone opposing of reactions can occur of both the p r e f e r r e d substrates p r o p i o n a t e ) and electron acceptors (NO or - 9 1 - Studies by Gerber et a l . (1987) showed that the phosphorus r e l e a s e r e a c t i o n predominates when a p r e f e r r e d s u b s t r a t e , acetate in or p r o p i o n a t e , significant until the concentration. preferred phosphorus release i s present uptake in the commences. presence the cell transported across e s t a b l i s h e d due facilitate its across degradation is The of be release reaction consumed, For in terms example, membrane, across neutral continues of the phosphorus a p r e f e r r e d s u b s t r a t e , even under membrane. transport zone whereupon observation explained the c e l l (or a e r o b i c ) a of pH when pH form the gradient (HAc) cell gradient acetate to a proton accompanying each acetate electrochemically gradient The substrate a e r o b i c c o n d i t i o n s , may across i n the anoxic such as shift 1984). as an The pH the c e l l membrane i s q u i c k l y r e e s t a b l i s h e d by of the stored polyphosphate and is molecule to membrane (Comeau, is the thereby r e l e a s i n g phosphorus i n t o s o l u t i o n . At low substrates get or none enter reaction causing c h e m i c a l dosages, most of the utilized the a n o x i c becomes readily i n the anaerobic r e a c t o r and reactor. dominant Thus, the higher carbon s u b s t r a t e s phosphorus r e l e a s e very dosages, some b l e e d i n g i n t o the anoxic r e a c t o r may r e a c t i o n to little phosphorus uptake over the phosphorus r e l e a s e net a n o x i c phosphorus uptake (provided p r e s e n t ) . At biodegradable reaction s u f f i c i e n t N0 x is of the added simple occur, become dominant, causing as reported the by Gerber et a l . (1987). T h i s r e s u l t s i n a net phosphorus r e l e a s e i n the anoxic r e a c t o r under these conditions. Fig.4.9 shows that -92- -1 1 3 6 7 9 11 13 16 17 Phosphorus Rdoase (mg of P/ L of f««d) Fig.4.8. 0 Relationship between the aerobic phosphorus uptake and the anaerobic phosphorus release. 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 Dosage in feed (mg C O D / L ) Fig.U.9. The anoxic phosphorus uptake with chemical dosage, expressed as COD i n feed. -93- this behaviour was observed d u r i n g most of t h i s study, except with the h i g h e r dosages of g l u c o s e . During 75 and 60 mg COD/L glucose runs COD/L with respect to conditions in oxidation the and 120 mg the f e e d ) , the occurrence of fermentative anoxic reduction (or 150 reactor potentials, was suspected due to low s t i c k y appearance of the mixed l i q u o r and the f o r m a t i o n of s u b s t a n t i a l gas bubbles. According t o Wilderer et a l . (1987), f e r m e n t a t i v e c o n d i t i o n s i n such a system would e n r i c h t h e biocommunity for bacteria which reduce only t o n i t r i t e , and such a p o p u l a t i o n s h i f t anaerobes) o c c u r s o b s e r v a t i o n was glucose as treatment at the expense facultative denitrifiers. A similar a l s o made by Manoharan e t a l . ( 1 9 8 8 ) , while u s i n g the carbon source for d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n in biological of l a n d f i l l l e a c h a t e s . Although no d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n between n i t r i t e s and n i t r a t e s were made d u r i n g t h i s the anoxic c u r r e n t study, the NO concentrations in x r e a c t o r were higher than normal f o r the 75, 60 and 30 mg COD/L dosages of the expense g l u c o s e . Since the p o p u l a t i o n of the normal d e n i t r i f i e r s , might have been a c t i v e i n the anoxic c a u s i n g anoxic phosphorus uptake, It of (towards nitrate should a l s o be s h i f t was a t the "bio-P" d e n i t r i f i e r s zone during these runs, as shown i n Fig.4.9. noted that even i f some glucose b l e d i n t o the anoxic zone a t the higher dosages, the s t u d i e s by Gerber et a l . (1987) showed that glucose does not give r i s e to any -94- phosphorus reason release unless strict anaerobiosis f o r t h i s may be that unless s t r i c t glucose cannot be fermented to prevails. The anaerobiosis prevails, form the p r e f e r r e d s u b s t r a t e s (such as a c e t a t e or propionate) t o e f f e c t any phosphorus r e l e a s e , as d i s c u s s e d e a r l i e r . 4.6.4 PHOSPHORUS ACCUMULATION IN SLUDGE As discussed in the r e l e a s e d i n the anaerobic The phosphorus taken phase i s s t o r e d i n system through preceding s e c t i o n s , phosphorus i s zone and taken up from a e r o b i c zone. the s o l u t i o n d u r i n g the a e r o b i c the sludge wasting. up i n the and p h y s i c a l l y Therefore, the phosphorus content of the a e r o b i c sludge removed from t h e dry isa weight percent good i n d i c a t i o n of the extent of b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal. Since the dry organisms i n a t y p i c a l weight percent phosphorus content of the a c t i v a t e d sludge system, not e x h i b i t i n g b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal, i s about Marais, direct 1.5% (Hoffmann and 1977), any i n c r e a s e d phosphorus content above 1.5% isa i n d i c a t i o n of the degree of excess phosphorus removal. The r e s u l t s from t h i s study showed t h a t the percent phosphorus i n the aerobic chemical dosages ( F i g . 4 . 1 0 ) . The percent phosphorus i n the a e r o b i c sludge had the following sludge increased decreasing order with of increasing e f f e c t , among the v a r i o u s added compounds, f o r the same dosage expressed as COD. -95- a c e t a t e > propionate > b u t y r a t e > glucose T h i s was expected, the a e r o b i c s i n c e f o r the phosphorus uptake same dosage, had the expressed as COD, same d e c r e a s i n g order of e f f e c t , as d i s c u s s e d i n s e c t i o n 4.6.2. The percent phosphorus i n 1.5% f o r a l l the b i o d e g r a d a b l e COD i n (corresponds t o added the aerobic sludge was above chemical s u b s t r a t e s , when the r e a d i l y the feed the anaerobic exceeded approximately 54 mg/L zone value of 27 mg/L, due to the 1:1 r e c y c l e ) . T h i s confirms the f i n d i n g s of S i e b r i t z et a l . ( l 9 8 2 ) that at least 25 mg/L of readily a n a e r o b i c zone i s necessary f o r any removal to occur. The percent comparable among the various expressed of in terms biodegradable b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus phosphorus chemicals readily COD i n the values when the biodegradable were more dosages were COD ( F i g . 4 . 1 1 ) , r a t h e r than as t o t a l COD. 4.7 CARBON STORAGE AND CONSUMPTION B a c t e r i a r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the removal (hereafter referred c a p a b l e of s t o r i n g both and carbon under anaerobic t o s t o r e carbon as polyphosphate key t o the p r o l i f e r a t i o n of ability to b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus bio-P under b a c t e r i a ) are those aerobic conditions c o n d i t i o n s (Comeau et al.,1985). The the bio-P bacteria i n a s t r e s s e d environment, is l i k e l y the where a e r o b i c -96- c a 5 - •a D a o 0 z a. ti 0 a. c 3 - 2 - a + O A CL 1 -r 20 I 60 - 40 —I— 100 I 60 —I— 120 Acetate Propionate Butyrate Glucose 140 160 Dosage in mg/L as COD in feed Fig.4-10 Relationship between the the dosage, expressed chemical aerobic as sludge COD i n percent phosphorus and feed. 6 o o 3 ao i. o o 4 - 2 - o c a. D 0 JC a. c e u i. o a a + O A —r- 40 Fig.4.11 60 I 60 70 I 80 /"cetate Propionate Butyrate Glucooo 90 RBD COD in feed (mg/L) R e l a t i o n s h i p between the a e r o b i c s l u d g e p e r c e n t phosphorus and t h e r e a d i l y b i o d e g r a d a b l e COD i n f e e d ( i n c l u d i n g t h e c h e m i c a l addition). -97metabolism occur is not p o s s i b l e . i n the a e r o b i c zone of a completely process. Therefore the organisms, t h a t have i n t r a c e l l u l a r l y over Substrate l i m i t i n g c o n d i t i o n s o f t e n mixed a c t i v a t e d sludge such as the bio-P b a c t e r i a , s t o r e d carbon have a d e f i n i t e advantage those t h a t r e l y on the membrane t r a n s p o r t of the s u b s t r a t e s . It i s f o r t h i s reason t h a t an anaerobic, a e r o b i c zone sequence i s a prerequiste for the biological p r o c e s s , as d e s c r i b e d i n S e c t i o n No carbon runs. Carbon storage a n a l y s i s propionate (PHV) runs. was PHB and done PHB was the most (PHB) during significant although i n v o l v e d two the a c e t a t e some carbon PHV storage was also storage compounds, glycogen. negative quantitative sign values indicating carbon of carbon calculation consumption storage) s e c t i o n were d e r i v e d i n the f o l l o w i n g way, presented using carbon storage compounds ( C ^ ^ n s i n c e i t s c o n t r i b u t i o n was = 0) this assumed t o upon e n t e r i n g the not taken i n s i g n i f i c a n t as in (with a mass b a l a n c e ( F i g . 4 . 1 2 ) . Feed, with i t s low s o l i d s , was system. D a i l y wastage from the system was 4.6. removal made up of both p o l y - poly-B-hydroxybutyrate glucose runs The have no during and compound d u r i n g the b u t y r a t e runs, found. The phosphorus 4.6. storage (and consumption) was B-hydroxyvalerate the excess into account, discussed in Section -98- < k Fig.4-.12. anox Mass of carbon storage compounds entering and leaving each individual reactor per unit influent flow. C indicates the concentration of the carbon storage compounds. *It should be noted that the return sludge has twice the aerobic carbon concentration. C consumption = Mass of C e n t e r i n g - Mass of C leaving Carbon consumption (per u n i t i n f l u e n t flow) i n the anaerobic r e a c t o r i s given by (anoxic carbon) - 2x(anaerobic carbon) Carbon consumption reactor (per u n i t i n f l u e n t flow) i n the anoxic i s given by 2x(anaerobic carbon) + 2x(aerobic carbon) - 3x(anoxic carbon) Carbon consumption (per u n i t reactor i n f l u e n t flow) i n the aerobic i s given by 2x(anoxic carbon) - 2x(aerobic carbon) The v a r i o u s carbon balances f o r the d i f f e r e n t runs are presented i n Tables 4.10 to 4.12. experimental -99- T'able 4.10 Carbon Consumption P r o p i o n a t e Dosage i n Anaerobic Reactor (mg COD/L) Anaerobic . PHB PHV 25 20 15 10 .5 T a b l e 4.11 -15.5 -10.5 -8.5 -6.2 -3.4 Carbon Consumption B u t y r a t e Dosage i n Anaerobic Reactor (mg COD/L) 30 25 20 15 10 -11.7 -4.5 -8.6 -9.8 -9.8 f o r P r o p i o n a t e Run Carbon Consumption (mg /L o f f e e d ) Anoxic PHB PHV -9.7 -2.7 0.9 3.2 2.8 -3.1 -10.5 12.4 5.2 9.2 -7.0 -4.0 -1.8 -1.4 -1.6 25.2 13.2 7.6 3.0 0.6 14.8 15.0 -3.8 4.6 0.6 f o r B u t y r a t e Run Carbon Consumption ( m g / L of feed) Anaerobic Anoxic PHB PHV PHB PHV -27.7 -19.3 -11.3 -6.0 -4.5 Aerobic PHB PHV -7.1 -4.7 -2.5 -0.2 0.5 4.6 1 .6 -0.8 -0.4 0.8 Aerobic PHB PHV 34.8 24.0 13.8 6.2 4.0 2.4 2.4 2.6 1 .8 0.8 -1 00- 4.7.1 ANAEROBIC ZONE In the a n a e r o b i c zone of the removal process, polyphosphate postulated to be broken f a c i l i t a t e transport simple carbonaceous acetate and membrane of (as down and have acid to and thereby facilitating an energy Mino et a l . , 1 9 8 4 ) . breakdown i s r e l e a s e d be transported pH acid), illustrated more through the across ot the c e l l carbon storage (Comeau et the polyphosphate breakdown i n t o the s o l u t i o n in to such as degradation gradient resulting 4.6.1) s i n c e i t i s unusable by These are these s u b s t r a t e s , source f o r the carbon storage Phosphate order storage of the a v a i l a b l e propionic a l . , 1 9 8 5 ) . I t i s a l s o suggested that serves as in electrochemically neutral f o r - i n an polyphosphates r e - e s t a b l i s h e s the membrane, hydrolyzed s u b s t r a t e s . Since the organisms phosphorus r e s e r v e s of the bio-P b a c t e r i a are and i n t r a c e l l u l a r propionate, acetic b i o l o g i c a l excess from (Kulaev,1975; the polyphosphate (as d i s c u s s e d i n s e c t i o n the c e l l under such c o n d i t i o n s . terms of a simple b i o c h e m i c a l model i n Fig.4.13. A c c o r d i n g t o Comeau et a l . ( 1 9 8 7 ) , the p r o p o r t i o n of carbon storage as PHV would exceed the storage as PHB when short c h a i n f a t t y a c i d s c o n t a i n i n g an odd number of carbons are added accumulated containing to the with an system, the even whereas addition number of of (e.g. propionate) more PHB than PHV would be short carbon chain atoms fatty acids (e.g. a c e t a t e , b u t y r a t e ) . The authors used batch experiments with pure s u b s t r a t e -101- T a b l e 4.12 Carbon Consumption Glucose dosage i n Anaerobic Reactor (mg COD/L) 75 60 45 30 Fig.4.13. f o r G l u c o s e Run Carbon Consumption (mg /L o f f e e d ) Anaerobic . Anoxic PHB Glyc. PHB Glyc. -43.0 -31.9 -12.2 -7.6 108 68 29 13 12.8 5.5 -3.2 3.0 -24 -10 5 1 A s i m p l i f i e d model f o r anaerobic metabolism of bio-P Adapted from Comeau e t a l . ( 1 9 8 5 ) . Aerobic PHB Glyc 30.2 26. 4 15.4 4.6 -84 -58 -34 -14 bacteria. -1 02- additions in reaching these conclusions. This c u r r e n t study confirmed these f i n d i n g s , except at lower propionate dosages. To s t o r e 1 mole of PHV, a c e t a t e should 1 mole of propionate and be p r e s e n t . The a c e t a t e component can be obtained e i t h e r by b r e a k i n g down some of the propionate the fermentation of the raw sewage. propionate dosages, i t i s p o s s i b l e molecules may result outnumber those i n the f o r m a t i o n thereby experimental runs w i t h lower storage very good at number lower of a c e t a t e in can a c e t a t e molecules among more PHB than PHV propionate dosages, followed phosphorus PHB, storage the the not run, with carbon was was d u r i n g the as observed i n follow non-bio-P b a c t e r i a the due as PHV during and glucose the runs are above d e s c r i b e d b i o c h e m i c a l to the a d d i t i o n of propionate t r e n d of i n c r e a s i n g with assumed to represent increasing the carbon the bio-P b a c t e r i a , f o r the propionate carbon storage release (Fig.4.14). bacteria) with respect to as addition, did it consumption i n both b u t y r a t e standard release, storage, with and agreement model. Since PHV run. the by some resulting propionate run and as PHB and Therefore, from study. Carbon in that molecules or of p r o p i o n a t e . T h i s s i t u a t i o n of PHB themselves, this 1 mole of storage compound the expected decreasing The presence t r e n d during most of the with of PHB during propionate i n c r e a s i n g phosphorus c o u l d have been due to ( s i n c e i t i s a common storage compound i n many and c o u l d have r e s u l t e d from a c e t a t e d e r i v e d from the -103- fermentation of importance as d i s c u s s e d e a r l i e r . However, great should not be g i v e n to these v a l u e s , analysis during each the feed, steady the propionate state run, b u t y r a t e and glucose As a d d i t i o n was compared to (if COD) the a c e t a t e in Section 4.6.1, is runs least during addition, are glucose for the d u r i n g the f o r the same amount of not considered). addition same chemical s u b s t r a t e f o r p r o p i o n a t e and most f o r glucose o b s e r v a t i o n that the anaerobic carbon most times runs. discussed (as carbon done o n l y once f o r three anaerobic phosphorus r e l e a s e , the a d d i t i o n of necessary s i n c e the and This s t o r a g e was least e x p l a i n s the found to be the during propionate amount of anaerobic phosphorus r e l e a s e (Fig.4.15). From the e a r l i e r d i s c u s s i o n s , i t may role of the anaerobic zone i n a b i o l o g i c a l excess removal process emerges as the one the bio-P b a c t e r i a should i n which the carbon be maximized. that t h i s c o u l d be ensured by the presence s u b s t r a t e s i n the anaerobic The of simple the comparison phosphorus storage by c l e a r l y shows carbonaceous storage values during shows the importance feed that the zone. r e a d i l y biodegradable COD i n c l u d i n g both meaningful Fig.4.16 c l o s e agreement among the carbon v a r i o u s runs i n Fig.4.17 amount of be concluded and the purposes. of q u a n t i f y i n g the e n t e r i n g the anaerobic zone, chemical ( I t should addition, be noted f o r any that the -104- Phosphorus Release (mg of P / L of feed) .4..14.. R e l a t i o n s h i p between carbon storage and phosphorus r e l e a s e the a n a e r o b i c zone f o r the p r o p i o n a t e r u n . 45 AO - ~ 35 - 30 - 25 - 20 - 15 - 10 + O -1 T 3 -r5 -T - 9 11 Propionate Butyrate Glucose I I 13 15 17 Phosphor L B release (mg of P / L of feed) Fig.4-15. R e l a t i o n s h i p between carbon storage and phosphorus r e l e a s e i n the a n a e r o b i c zone. Carbon storage i s as PHV f o r propionate a d d i t i o n and as PHB f o r b u t y r a t e and glucose a d d i t i o n s . -10545 40 - 35 - 30 25 - 20 - 15 10 - 5 + O - I 20 Propionate Butyrate Glucose I 60 I 40 80 Dosage in anaerobic zone (mg COD/L) 4.16. 45 Anaerobic carbon storage v s . chemical dosage, as COD e n t e r i n g the anaerobic zone. Carbon storage i s as PHV f o r propionate a d d i t i o n and as PHB f o r b u t y r a t e and g l u c o s e a d d i t i o n s . 40 35 - 30 25 - 20 15 - 10 + O A 22 —T— 24 I 26 I 28 30 —T— 32 -r 34 - -T 36 - —I 38 - Propionate Butyrate Glucose I 40 I 42 RBD COO In anaerobic reactor (mg/L) 4.17. Anaerobic carbon storage v s . r e a d i l y biodegradable COD (from the feed and the chemical a d d i t i o n ) e n t e r i n g the anaerobic zone. Carbon storage i s as PHV f o r p r o p i o n a t e a d d i t i o n and as PHB f o r butyrate and g l u c o s e a d d i t i o n s . -106- a d d i t i o n of 1 mg of glucose as COD, c o n t r i b u t e s only 0.27 mg as r e a d i l y biodegradable COD, as d i s c u s s e d i n s e c t i o n 4.5). In other words, i t means that a n a e r o b i c zone the r e a d i l y biodegradable COD e n t e r i n g the i s an excellent indicating parameter f o r the a n a e r o b i c carbon storage c a p a c i t y of the system. 4.7.2 AEROBIC ZONE In bio-P a biological bacteria polyphosphate, have when excess phosphorus removal significant they enter carbon the common f o r the exogenous carbonaceous concentration reserves aerobic In f a c t , data from an examination a (W.P.C.F. et a l . , a t a low of 100 s e t s of annual v a r i e t y of m u n i c i p a l a c t i v a t e d quality, in sludge terms of t y p i c a l completely low c o n c e n t r a t i o n equal to liquor mixed a c t i v a t e d of a v a i l a b l e a e r o b i c zone. 10 mg/L or l e s s 19% of the 1977). These values a r e approximately the same f o r the f i l t e r e d mixed i n the t o be be 50 mg/L or l e s s 95% of the time; equal to 20 mg/L or l e s s 50% of the time; and time low zone. I t i s very substrates wastewater p l a n t s showed that the e f f l u e n t BODg, t o and i n the a e r o b i c zone of a completely mixed a c t i v a t e d sludge p r o c e s s . performance process, the of the aerobic zone in a sludge p r o c e s s , i n d i c a t i n g a e x t e r n a l carbonaceous substrates Under these c o n d i t i o n s , the bio-P b a c t e r i a degrade t h e i r carbon r e s e r v e s and s t o r e polyphosphate by removing s o l u b l e phosphate from the s o l u t i o n . T h e r e f o r e , phosphorus i n the a e r o b i c zone i s accompanied by s t o r e d carbon uptake consumption -107- (as i l l u s t r a t e d The results this of t h i s by a s i m p l i f i e d biochemical model). study, shown i n Fig.4.19, agreed w e l l with theory. The s t o r e d carbon t h e i r growth of i n Fig.4.18 this i n the cells can be used either for or t o take up phosphorus from s o l u t i o n . The r e s u l t s study showed consumption, the that for the a s s o c i a t e d phosphorus same amount of carbon uptake had the f o l l o w i n g d e c r e a s i n g order of e f f e c t . propionate > b u t y r a t e > T h i s means t h a t d u r i n g of the s t o r e d carbon propionate a d d i t i o n , was used than f o r growth, i n d i c a t i n g the biological glucose excess a higher p r o p o r t i o n f o r the phosphorus uptake, rather the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of p r o p i o n a t e i n phosphorus removal over butyrate and glucose. 4.7.3 ANOXIC ZONE As d e s c r i b e d i n present in the section absence of 4.6.3, any when preferred a c e t a t e or p r o p i o n a t e ) , the bio-P d e n i t r i f i e r s the electron acceptor, consume i s believed the to be sufficient NO is s u b s t r a t e (such as c o u l d use NO x as s t o r e d carbon and take up phosphorus. This the case during the experimental runs with low p r o p i o n a t e and b u t y r a t e dosages, s i n c e -108- Fig.4-.18. A s i m p l i f i e d model f o r aerobic metabolism of bio-P b a c t e r i a . Adapted from Comeau et a l . ( l 9 8 5 ) . 40 Phosphorus uptake (mg of P / L of feed) F i g . 4.19. Relationship between carbon consumption and phosphorus uptake i n the aerobic zone. Carbon storage i s as PHV f o r propionate addition and as PHB f o r butyrate and glucose additions. -109- the p o s s i b i l i t y of t h e s e substrates bleeding i s remote. When a p r e f e r r e d s u b s t r a t e into the anoxic zone i s present under t h e a n o x i c (or a e r o b i c ) c o n d i t i o n s , t h e p r e f e r r e d s u b s t r a t e i s u t i l i z e d and s t o r e d as i s accomplished carbon reserves by b r e a k i n g to those by t h e o r g a n i s m s ; t h i s down p o l y p h o s p h a t e s a n d r e l e a s i n g p h o s p h o r u s , observed in the opposing r e a c t i o n s can take of b o t h anaerobic place zone. Although simultaneously was substrates reported disappear case d u r i n g the runs b u t y r a t e , as d i s c u s s e d However, to predominate (Gerber et with higher i n Section the presence ( i n conjunction anaerobiosis prevails behaviour (Gerber dosages of glucose not give carbon et i n p l a c e o f t h e above rise storage) a l . , 1987). t o phosphorus unless s t o r e d c a r b o n was consumed during experimental t h e 45 mg COD/L r u n . D u r i n g this complete anaerobiosis r e l e a s e and c a r b o n in the was clearly associated 4.12) where runs, except r u n , w i t h t h e a b s e n c e o f a n y NO anoxic existed, zone, thereby x t h e p o s s i b i l t y of promoting phosphorus storage. Whatever t h e c a s e m i g h t study a l l strict This explains the a d d i t i o n (Table l o w ORP (-176 mV) preferred p r o p i o n a t e and the glucose and observed during the 4.6.3. of with until the release a l . , 1 9 8 7 ) . T h i s m i g h t be t h e d i s c u s s e d p r e f e r r e d s u b s t r a t e s does release t h e s e two i n the presence p r e f e r r e d s u b s t r a t e s and e l e c t r o n a c c e p t o r s , reaction similar showed t h a t with be, the i n the anoxic carbon storage r e s u l t s of this current zone, phosphorus release (similar t o the anaerobic -1 10- zone) and the phosphorus consumption 4.7.4 uptake was a s s o c i a t e d with the carbon ( s i m i l a r t o the a e r o b i c zone) ( F i g . 4 . 2 0 ) . CARBON STORAGE AND CONSUMPTION AS GLYCOGEN One of the reasons f o r s e l e c t i n g glucose as the added c h e m i c a l s u b s t r a t e f o r the f i n a l run was to i n v e s t i g a t e whether the glucose would be s t o r e d and consumed p r i m a r i l y as glycogen or whether i t would f i r s t be reduced f o l l o w the pathway of with e a r l i e r to a c e t a t e PHB storage (or p r o p i o n a t e ) and and consumption, as observed runs. Fukase et a l . ( l 9 8 2 ) , while u s i n g s y n t h e t i c wastewater w i t h g l u c o s e and was peptone as the only BOD sources, found s t o r e d under anaerobic using acclimated biomass. a c h i e v e d a t the time the solution. conditions The when the However, soon during maximum batch glycogen s o l u b l e glucose glycogen experiments storage was disappeared from a f t e r the a e r o b i c c o n d i t i o n s were i n i t i a t e d , the glycogen c o n c e n t r a t i o n s t a r t e d t o but a t that increase again, a slower r a t e than d u r i n g the anaerobic c o n d i t i o n s i n the presence of s o l u b l e g l u c o s e . No e x p l a n a t i o n was given for this behaviour. Mino experiments et a l . (1987), with s y n t h e t i c feed p r o p i o n a t e , glucose and in studies using batch (containing acetic acid, sodium peptone), their found that the i n t r a c e l l u l a r -111- carbohydrates are consumed under anaerobic c o n d i t i o n s and s t o r e d under a e r o b i c c o n d i t i o n s . The of glycogen to the authors a t t r i b u t e decrease the consumption i n the i n t r a c e l l u l a r carbohydrate c o n c e n t r a t i o n under a n a e r o b i c c o n d i t i o n s . The contradictory s t u d i e s may be due t o the f e e d . The presence of glucose i s behaviour compounds two (such as acetate) other than be Since a c e t a t e c o u l d be formed i n the anaerobic zone due to later. u s i n g sewage by Mino et a l . (1987) appears the c o n d i t i o n s of t h i s The results glycogen was consumption t o be more l o g i c a l i t was confirmed study. of the g l u c o s e runs i n t h i s study showed that s t o r e d i n the a e r o b i c zone w h i l e phosphorus (Fig.4.21). The increased with Substantial of increasing glycogen glucose PHB were s y n t h e s i z e d i n the a n a e r o b i c zone and consumed PHB amounts amounts of The to expect under consumed i n the anaerobic zone w h i l e phosphorus r e l e a s e d , and was up as feed, the behaviour r e p o r t e d c u r r e n t study. In f a c t , by the glucose runs of t h i s zone. these d i f f e r e n c e i n the composition of the b e l i e v e d t o have p l a y e d an important f e r m e n t a t i o n , when 4.12). during r o l e , as w i l l discussed taken observed followed storage was was and dosages (Table also found in to be the a e r o b i c the standard p a t t e r n observed with the other runs, as d i s c u s s e d i n the p r e v i o u s s e c t i o n s . -1 1 2 14 - 7 - 6 - 3 - 1 1 3 6 7 Phosphorus uptake (mg of P / L of feed) Fig. 4-.20. R e l a t i o n s h i p between c a r b o n s t o r a g e a n d p h o s p h o r u s u p t a k e t h e a n o x i c z o n e . C a r b o n s t o r a g e i s a s PHV f o r p r o p i o n a t e a d d i t i o n a n d a s PHB f o r b u t y r a t e a n d g l u c o s e a d d i t i o n s . 20 15 -20 - H -100 1 1 -60 1 1 1 -20 1 1 T 20 60 1 r— 100 Glycogen consumption (mg/L of feed) Fig.4..21. R e l a t i o n s h i p between the consumption i n v a r i o u s phosphorus uptake and glycogen zones for glucose run. in -113- An of almost linear intracellular glycogen depleted increase in is a based similar on glycogen terms the total of glycogen that sludge microbial Assuming organisms sewage acetyl-CoA, added a s shown is then would zone, glucose, ^ ATP r e q u i r e d f o r t h i s of consumed very well e t a l . d 988), rather than the t o about total the 0.48 i n of Fukase e t sugars stored in could be explained using be f o r m e d by t h e f e r m e n t a t i v e by fermenting i t could form) either be f i r s t converted to below: — > Acetyl-CoA conversion could (+ ? ) ± be polyphosphate, supplied NADH ^ NAD — + _ from the and t h e A c e t y l - C o A t o PHB. Acetyl-CoA t h e raw ADP the accumulated converted Somiya convert of the (in abbreviated CH^COOH hydrolysis 42% acetate ATP The by compares for as follows: that the This on t h e f i n d i n g s behaviour in the anaerobic or based value glycogen. discussed pathways would intracellular of glycogen consumption value approximately above obtained t h e amounts of mean mass basis. carbohydrate This between estimated o f PHB p e r u n i t consumption, was a s The t h e amounts and o f 0.2, consumption. al.(1982) stored 0.41 on a w e i g h t value the existed ( F i g . 4 . 2 2 ) . The t h e amount approximately with PHB relationship (C H,0 ) -114- According required of for (TCA) cycle, cannot to cycle. in general, succinate maintain Mino does n o t work its activity supplied through Glycogen for c a n be pyruvic acid, (1987) of under from of the stored to since i n t h e TCA c y c l e , conditions. o f PHB t h e TCA conditions t h e enzymes Instead, acetyl-CoA i s glycogen. pyruvic pathway. i t i s converted the tricarboxylic indicated that anaerobic converted t h e NADH b y o x i d i z i n g some anaerobic the synthesis (EMP) (1984), through under the consumption Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas of et a l . one Comeau i s produced dioxide But necessary and o f PHB carbon dehydrogenase, NADH (1985) the synthesis the acetyl-CoA acid the t o Matsuo acid Through through the further to acetyl-CoA oxidation generating carbon dioxide. ADP (C H 6 1 0 0 ) 5 NAD These proposed storage of In removal the PHB s t o r e d source not only glycogen under NADH explain zone the phosphorus observed of the consumed t o Mino in release, the anaerobic anaerobic under biological and conditions aerobic excess glycogen e t a l . (1987), f o r the metabolism synthesis ( + CO,, ) PHB zone the glucose run. PHB was According Acetyl-CoA consumption aerobic process, (Fig.4.22). the during < + pathways and glycogen the system ATP > n was this was u s e d of the c e l l s , conditions. phosphorus synthesized indicated that as the carbon but a l s o They also for the argued -115- that " i t sludge is to essential convert for the the anaerobic/aerobic a c c l i m a t i z e d s t o r e d PHB phase so as to maintain the to glycogen required l e v e l consumption d u r i n g the subsequent anaerobic provide a sound argument., since a n t i c i p a t e the anaerobic/aerobic it d u r i n g the a e r o b i c of glycogen f o r the phase". T h i s does not implies that the biomass sequence. A p o s s i b l e e x p l a n a t i o n i s provided below. The conditions PHB consumption and might d i f f e r e n t groups excellent have of been two organisms. correlation storage during glycogen independent However, between the e n t i r e synthesis the PHB glucose run the under a e r o b i c events in existence consumption and two of an glycogen (Fig.4.22), suggests p o s s i b i l i t y of a s i n g l e group of organisms being the involved. Under a e r o b i c c o n d i t i o n s , energy i s produced by p r o c e s s i n g the PHB v i a the TCA c y c l e , generating carbon d i o x i d e . Malate, of the intermediate products by either the "malic phosphoenol pyruvate, y i e l d s glucose of the TCA enzyme" or c y c l e , can be malate finally transformed dehydrogenase which on f u r t h e r biochemical 6-phosphate and one glycogen, to tranformation as shown ( i n abbreviated form) below: Acetyl-CoA PHB NADH, — Malate Glycogen Glucose 6-phosphate Phosphoenol pyruvate C0 2 -116- However, i f a second group chemoautotrophs) a r e a l s o i n v o l v e d , using the carbon first dioxide of glycogen (released during group of o r g a n i s m s ) through organisms can (such as be s y n t h e s i z e d t h e TCA c y c l e o f t h e the Calvin cycle, as i n d i c a t e d below: PHB (CALVIN Glycogen -* Glucose 6-phosphate As o b s e r v e d to discussed i n section either 4.6.3. No uptake storage In was zone, as zone, phosphorus and glycogen consumption a s s o c i a t e d w i t h PHB c o n s u m p t i o n a n d a n a l y s i s was done f o r acetate,propionate or P r e l i m i n a r y i n v e s t i g a t i o n s by N i c h o l l s a n d O s b o r n typical waste removal. However, t h e p r e s e n c e (such b i o l o g i c a l excess investigated. the aerobic the anoxic PHB s t o r a g e (1979) i n d i c a t e d t h a t no g l y c o g e n compounds or ( F i g s . 4 . 2 0 and 4.21). glycogen butyrate runs. — the anaerobic r e l e a s e was a c c o m p a n i e d by glycogen ^ w i t h t h e o t h e r r u n s , t h e a n o x i c zone b e h a v e d similarly while phosphorus CYCLE) treatment as accumulation plants achieving of o t h e r carbohydrates) phosphorus removal was p r e s e n t excess secondary and process their i n two phosphorus carbon storage role i n the should be f u r t h e r -1 17- 4.8 OVERALL PHOSPHORUS REMOVAL Although the phosphorus uptake ( s e c t i o n 4.6.2) g i v e s an i n d i c a t i o n phosphorus removal this section biological with excess by the i n the a e r o b i c r e a c t o r of the degree system, i t i s d i s c u s s e d s e p a r a t e l y i n respect to phosphorus the v a r i o u s removal and i s c o n s i d e r e d as expressed as mg of the phosphorus phosphorus aspects process. between the t o t a l phosphorus c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of effluent of expected of the The d i f f e r e n c e the feed and the removal of the system per litre of feed. The v a r i a t i o n of the t o t a l phosphorus i n the feed was between 3.9 and 4.5 mg/L d u r i n g the a c e t a t e , propionate the variation during the glucose mg/L. The range of the t o t a l f e e d a r e a l s o presented and b u t y r a t e run was between 3.6 and 3.9 phosphorus concentrations chemical o v e r a l l phosphorus removal, with r e s p e c t substrates as COD i n feed o v e r a l l removal i n c r e a s e d with s u b s t r a t e . For the same increasing chemical t o the added dosage of the added s u b s t r a t e dosage, expressed as the f o l l o w i n g d e c r e a s i n g o f e f f e c t among the v a r i o u s chemical a c e t a t e > propionate experienced. (Fig.4.23), showed that the COD, t h e o v e r a l l phosphorus removal had order of the i n the v a r i o u s p l o t s i n order t o i d e n t i f y the runs where phosphorus l i m i t i n g c o n d i t i o n s were The runs while s u b s t r a t e s added. > b u t y r a t e > glucose However, a c c o r d i n g t o Jones e t a l . (1985), the d i f f e r e n c e s -11840 Dosoge in mg/L as COD In feed Fig.4.23- The o v e r a l l phosphorus removal of the system v s . the chemical a d d i t i o n , expressed as COD i n f e e d . -119- i n the o v e r a l l phosphorus removal with sodium a c e t a t e and b u t y r i c a c i d was not s i g n i f i c a n t , c o n t r a r y to the o b s e r v a t i o n s made i n t h i s c u r r e n t study with sodium acetate and sodium difference might be the result of a c c l i m a t i z a t i o n p e r i o d of 2 weeks provided s u b s t r a t e runs acetate d u r i n g the was (1986) virtually insufficient between the d i f f e r e n t by Jones et a l . , (1985), i f the non-acclimated reported identical b u t y r a t e . T h i s study was biomass. performance of that conducted using It should continuous the for acetate, be phosphorus removal i n t h i s study was the the This run had succeeded the butyrate run. Gerber e t a l . uptake study butyrate. net phosphorus propionate batch experiments noted that r e l a t i v e l y low flow systems and with the net compared t o under comparable conditions. These r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e that between the acclimated of the behaviours of biomasses. A more e f f e c t i v e n e s s of significant differences exist sufficiently acclimated meaningful and reliable various substrates, and comparison with regard t o the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal, can only be a r r i v e d using a s u f f i c i e n t l y acclimated non- a t , by biomass f o r the s u b s t r a t e under i n v e s t i g a t i o n , and f o r the o p e r a t i n g c o n d i t i o n s . The r e s u l t s from t h i s c u r r e n t study, conditions effectiveness with an acclimated of a s p e c i f i c under continuous biomass, suggest that substrate on the b i o l o g i c a l flow the excess -120- phosphorus removal i s some d i r e c t function of the s i m p l i c i t y of that s u b s t r a t e molecule. The various overall chemical biodegradable COD phosphorus substrate removal of the system additions in terms f o r the of readily i n the feed (Fig.4.24) were i n c l o s e agreement, i n d i c a t i n g the use of t h i s parameter to optimize the system. Once the requirement of the readily biodegradable COD enter the anaerobic zone t o e f f e c t phosphorus removal carbon COD c a l c u l a t e d using the same a d d i t i o n of available in the r e s u l t s readily ( t o supplement the raw obtained in biodegradable short c h a i n overall volatile fatty normal of COD removal, metabolic a c t i v a t e d sludge phosphorus requirement is for systems (U.S. EPA, removal biodegradable COD was r e a d i l y biodegradable reactor, taking i n the exceeded approximately anaerobic it However, content i n feed, the acid salts outperformed be c l a s s i f i e d mg/L as excess g e n e r a l l y accepted t o be the the cell growth in 1976). On t h i s b a s i s , place whenever the such excess readily f e e d ( i n c l u d i n g the chemical a d d i t i o n ) 50 COD due i t s e l f ) can be i n excess of 1.0-1.5 removed, can since feed readily removal. phosphorus removal f o r every 200 mg/L phosphorus of excess the S e c t i o n 4.5. COD glucose i n b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus Any degree i s e s t a b l i s h e d , the amount of e x t e r n a l simple s u b s t r a t e a d d i t i o n s necessary biodegradable for the d e s i r e d that should to mg/L of (Fig.4.24). approximately the 1:1 This represents a 25 mg/L e n t e r i n g the anoxic/anaerobic recycle. -121- Therefore, takes i t c o u l d be place i f the anaerobic zone excellent agreement concluded that excess readily biodegradable exceeds approximately with the removal COD a v a i l a b l e i n t h e 25 earlier phosphorus mg/L. This is in f i n d i n g s of S i e b r i t z e t al.(l982). Although various phosphorus removal mM/L, of r e a d i l y propionate and in mg/L as butyrate present equal in dosages t h e same surprising s u b s t r a t e s . But f o r f o r the the same d o s a g e s volatile since overall fatty biodegradable COD acids t h e s e compounds, when t h e same mg/L a s a c i d c o n c e n t r a t i o n s , p r o v i d e d readily earlier forms (mg/L a s a c i d , additions, their corresponding ( F i g . 4 . 2 5 ) . T h i s was n o t overall COD p r o v e d t o be t h e b e s t f o r the d i f f e r e n t p h o s p h o r u s r e m o v a l was r e l a t i v e l y expressed the investigated, expressing biodegradable c o m p a r i s o n p u r p o s e s among acetate, between and d o s a g e s i n d i f f e r e n t mM o f c a r b o n / L e t c . ) were i n terms any correlations concentrations, almost as d e s c r i b e d i n s e c t i o n 4.5 ( F i g . 4 . 2 ) . The overall with increasing supported addition an phosphorus anaerobic earlier to being the release to the excess degree phosphorus of removal phosphorus observation first to by link of the system release Barnard the phosphorus removal, release during increased (Fig.4.26). (1976) anaerobic who, i n phosphorus also reported the This that the anaerobic determined the o v e r a l l phosphorus removal of the system. phase -1225 40 60 Fig.4.24.. The o v e r a l l 60 70 80 90 RBD COD in feed (mg/L) phosphorus biodegradable 5 0.5 removal COD i n f e e d of the system ( i n c l u d i n g the vs. chemical the readily addition). 1 -1 H 0 Fig.4.25. 1 1 20 1 1 40 1 1 60 1 1 80 | 1 100 1 1 120 1 1 140 Dosage in m g / L In feed The o v e r a l l p h o s p h o r u s r e m o v a l o f t h e s y s t e m v s . t h e c h e m i c a l d o s a g e , e x p r e s s e d a s mg/L i n f e e d . D o s a g e s o f a c e t a t e , propionate and b u t y r a t e are expressed as t h e i r c o r r e s p o n d i n g a c i d s . -123- The overall phosphorus removal d i r e c t l y with the anaerobic carbon the recent paramount (Comeau theory that importance et the to al.,1984; the system varied storage ( F i g . 4 . 2 7 ) , c o n f i r m i n g anaerobic biological excess storage i s of phosphorus removal however the anaerobic phosphorus r e l e a s e and the anaerobic carbon storage are the carbon was done and carbon Kristensen,1985); closely linked Arvin of ( s e c t i o n 4.7.1). The r e s u l t s a l s o i n d i c a t e d that s t o r a g e was l e a s t with propionate d u r i n g the (no carbon a c e t a t e run) and most w i t h g l u c o s e , f o r the same o v e r a l l phosphorus removal of the system. The used and carbon the additional storage as PHB, might be the 4.7.4), production through reasons p r o p i o n a t e were phosphorus removal. the higher carbon consumption of b u t y r a t e , T h i s i s b e l i e v e d to be the storages compared t o obtained with primary cause f o r b u t y r a t e than significant differences d u r i n g the attempting to compare the r e s u l t s from t h i s run with the o t h e r t h r e e runs with with removal. the f o l l o w i n g should be c o n s i d e r e d while During the i n i t i a l storage r e q u i r e d t o provide the same degree of Since t h e r e were some (i) f o r the (section f o r t h i s h i g h e r carbon propionate f o r the same degree of phosphorus glucose run, l a r g e dosages of NADH n e c e s s a r y glycogen d u r i n g the g l u c o s e r u n . Higher dosages those of analysis acetate, runs. p r o p i o n a t e and b u t y r a t e , the t o t a l COD of the feed ( i n c l u d i n g the added chemical s u b s t r a t e ) v a r i e d between 254 and 281 mg/L whereas d u r i n g the glucose run, i t v a r i e d between 274 and 342 mg/L due t o the higher -124- 4.5 - 0.5 -j 7 0 Fig.4.27. 1 1 10 1 1 20 1 1 30 1 1 40 1 50 Anoorobk: carbon storage (mg/L of feed) R e l a t i o n s h i p between the o v e r a l l p h o s p h o r u s r e m o v a l o f t h e system a n d t h e a n a e r o b i c c a r b o n s t o r a g e . C a r b o n s t o r a g e i s a s PHV f o r p r o p i o n a t e a d d i t i o n a n d a s PHB f o r b u t y r a t e a n d g l u c o s e a d d i t i o n s . -125- glucose dosages necessary removal. As a result, the glucose run, c r e a t i n g mixed liquor (ii) The total compared were excess removed by the system during mass (as i n d i c a t e d by the s o l i d s c o n c e n t r a t i o n s data) and for the normal metabolic Glucose relatively and 4.5 runs suspected to purposes, low i n the feed during ( v a r i e d between 3.6 ( e s p e c i a l l y the have and 3.9 butyrate mg/L). had 60 and 75 mg COD/L runs) a s i g n i f i c a n t l y d i f f e r e n t type of as dicussed in compared to the a c e t a t e , p r o p i o n a t e and b u t y r a t e s e c t i o n 4.6.3) runs. OVERALL NITROGEN REMOVAL Although not thereby runs. organisms ( f a c u l t a t i v e anaerobes, 4.9 phosphorus to the runs with a c e t a t e , p r o p i o n a t e and ( v a r i e d between 3.9 (iii) good phosphorus c o n c e n t r a t i o n the glucose run was mg/L) was more c e l l phosphorus compared to the other induce more COD suspended r e q u i r i n g more to the specifically o v e r a l l nitrogen process c o n f i g u r a t i o n used designed to optimize i n t h i s study nitrogen removal, removal of the system i n c r e a s e d with was the increasing dosages of chemical s u b s t r a t e s , with the e x c e p t i o n of the glucose runs (Fig.4.28). Overall nitrogen removal percentages i n t h i s s e c t i o n were c a l c u l a t e d as f o l l o w s : presented -126- % N i t r o g e n removal = ( f e e d T K N ) - ( e f f l u e n t T K N ) - ( e f f l u e n t NO jxlOO (feed TKN) x The feed throughout NO was x not considered since it was negligible the study. The two most probable reasons f o r the i n c r e a s e i n the n i t r o g e n removal e f f i c i e n c y with i n c r e a s i n g chemical dosages are as f o l l o w s : (i) The simple addition to being chemical the excess phosphorus substrates desired used i n t h i s study, i n substrates f o r the b i o l o g i c a l removal p r o c e s s , a r e a l s o p r e f e r r e d s u b s t r a t e s f o r b i o l o g i c a l n i t r o g e n removal. The d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n these s u b s t r a t e s complex o r g a n i c Gerber et a r e much s u b s t r a t e s present a l . (1986), MLSS.h) f o r a c e t a t e , concentration higher than of the 200 mg those achieved with more i n the butyrate COD/L) level pattern in of the 440 mg/L). overall increasing readily f u n c t i o n of the s i m p l i c i t y feed, except (ii) The incremental Fig.4.29 nitrogen biodegradable of rates and ( i n mg N/g glucose (at a a r e 2.51, 1.68, 2.13 and 0.92 r e s p e c t i v e l y , compared t o 0.64 f o r s e t t l e d COD sewage. A c c o r d i n g to denitrification propionate, r a t e s using sewage ( d i l u t e d shows a g e n e r a l i n c r e a s i n g removal COD the to a of content substrates the system with (which i s a direct present) i n the f o r the g l u c o s e run. decrease in the influent i n c r e a s e of the added chemical TKN/COD ratio by the s u b s t r a t e s might have -127- 72 70 • + O A 68 66 Acetate Propionate Butyrate GIUCODO 64 62 60 o > o 58 C 56 E c s o 0 z 54 52 50 48 46 I 20 40 60 —T— 80 —1— 100 r I 120 - i 140 r 160 Dosage in m g / L as COD Fig. 4.28. O v e r a l l n i t r o g e n removal e f f i c i e n c y d o s a g e , e x p r e s s e d a s COD i n f e e d . 72 of the system vs. the chemical 70 • + 6 68 Acetate Propionate Butyrate 66 64 62 60 o > o 58 £ 56 o 54 E c « L. 52 50 48 46 40 Fig.4-29. I 50 I 60 —T— 70 —r80 RBD COD In feed (mg/L) O v e r a l l n i t r o g e n removal e f f i c i e n c y of the system v s . t h e r e a d i l y b i o d e g r a d a b l e COD i n f e e d ( i n c l u d i n g t h e c h e m i c a l addition). 90 -128- provided improved n i t r o g e n removal valid characteristics (Table 4.13). Although f o r most completely influent parts falls of apart the biological t h i s e x p l a n a t i o n appears acetate f o r the for and butyrate propionate runs, i t run, due v a r i a t i o n of the TKN c o n c e n t r a t i o n s i n the d i f f e r e n t t o the batches of feed used. The relatively lower o v e r a l l a c e t a t e run, compared t o the believed to be due n i t r o g e n removal d u r i n g the propionate and butyrate runs, i s t o the r e l a t i v e l y high TKN/COD r a t i o s of t h e feed d u r i n g t h a t run (Table 4.13). The run was o v e r a l l n i t r o g e n removal pattern the glucose unique among the v a r i o u s runs of t h i s study. The removal was q u i t e low a t higher dosage runs (75 anaerobic COD/L during in zone), and 60 mg COD/L i n the while the runs with lower dosages (45 and 30 mg anaerobic zone) followed the standard pattern e s t a b l i s h e d by the other runs. T h i s was b e l i e v e d t o be due to the higher glucose concentrations, population facultative to denitrifiers, accompanied by as described symptoms of favouring anaerobes in at section a shift the i n organism expense 4.6.3. The of t r u e s h i f t was f e r m e n t a t i v e c o n d i t i o n s , such as low ORP, f o r m a t i o n of s u b s t a n t i a l gas bubbles and gluey appearance. -129- Table 4.13 O v e r a l l N i t r o g e n Removal f o r A l l Runs Chemical Dosage i n Anaerobic Reactor (mg COD/L) Percent N i t r o g e n Removal of the System (%) Ratio of TKN/COD RUN 1 : ACETATE 30 25 20 15 10 5 57.9 56.5 52.9 52.2 51.4 50.9 0.0971 0.1007 0.1015 0.1102 0.1131 0.1121 66.9 68.7 64.1 62.4 58.3 0.0942 0.0970 0.0928 0.0927 0.0898 66.9 66.7 65.7 64.3 61.5 0.0864 0.0802 0.0885 0.0837 0.0897 51.3 59.9 63.2 62.0 0.0564 0.0735 0.0761 0.0785 RUN 2 : PROPIONATE 25 20 15 10 5 RUN 3 : BUTYRATE 30 25 20 15 10 RUN 3 : GLUCOSE 75 60 45 30 -1 30- 4.10 EXPERIMENTAL RUN WITH COMBINED ACETATE AND T h i s p a r t i c u l a r c o m b i n e d run accidental, run w i t h d o s a g e was r e d u c e d t o 10 mg/L a new batch of concentration steady f e e d change dropped was biodegradable mg/L). The and less 1.4 this various parameters the zone), the zone) and phosphorus from t h e two days previous after a decrease i n the the added the e f f l u e n t phosphorus an increase the feed for this i n the (up f r o m readily 59 run are g i v e n in to 71 Tables 4.14. results All the phosphorus r e l e a s e s , e t c . compared study, Although it the well with only was in carbon terms known excellent later. been b e l i e v a b l e readily biodegradable those of batch excess COD storages, the readily readily of phosphorus t h i s was not feed. removals the o t h e r runs biodegradable biodegradable feed i f not i n the overall observed during t h a t the in this particular the w o u l d have compound or compounds c a u s i n g weeks drop i n by mg/L within t h e r e was c o n c e n t r a t i o n of t h e measurement of causing mg/L, sudden for content t h a n 0.1 accompanied None o f t h e s e this e f f l u e n t ortho was of i n the anaerobic s t a r t e d . The to termination i n the a n a e r o b i c (as COD, made. A l t h o u g h was COD ( a s COD, of a b o u t dosage, concentration 4.2 15 mg/L f e e d was state value propionate (acetate plus propionate) r a t h e r than i n t e n t i o n a l . A f t e r the propionate PROPIONATE was identified COD. substrate unusually removal, of high, the until exact two -131- Table 4.14 Phosphorus Uptake, Carbon Consumption and N i t r o g e n Removal d u r i n g the Run with Combined A c e t a t e and Propionate Parameter Values Phosphorus Uptake (mg of P/L of feed) Anaerobic Anoxic Aerobic -16.40 -3.00 22.70 Carbon Consumption (mg/L of feed) as PHV: Anaerobic Anoxic Aerobic -9.1 3.9 5.2 as PHB: Anaerobic Anoxic Aerobic Percent n i t r o g e n removal -12.2 -2.6 14.8 73.8 -1 32- The raw feed samples f o r v o l a t i l e f a t t y a c i d measurements were u s u a l l y preserved and analysed approximately during t h i s study. The v o l a t i l e f a t t y a c i d r e s u l t s f o r the feed, d u r i n g t h i s run, showed the presence a c e t a t e . The c o n c e n t r a t i o n of Knowing biodegradable this of u n u s u a l l y the a c e t a t e 14.7 mg/L as COD compared to almost study. every two weeks information, i n the raw feed was none d u r i n g the r e s t of t h i s an estimate COD i n the feed was made as r e s u l t s obtained h i g h l e v e l s of of the r e a d i l y f o l l o w s , based on the i n s e c t i o n 4.5. Since 1 mg COD/L of a c e t a t e p r o v i d e s 0.80 mg/L of r e a d i l y biodegradable the COD, the c o n t r i b u t i o n from 14.7 mg COD/L of a c e t a t e present i n the feed = 14.7x0.80 = 11.8 mg/L S i n c e 1 mg COD/L of propionate p r o v i d e s 0.75 mg/L of r e a d i l y biodegradable COD,the c o n t r i b u t i o n from the 20 mg COD/L of propionate added t o the feed = 20x0.75 = 15.0 mg/L Since approximately raw sewage 18% of the t o t a l COD i n the (= 239 mg/L f o r t h i s batch of feed) i s r e a d i l y b i o d e g r a d a b l e , c o n t r i b u t i o n from the feed = 239x0.18 = 4 3.0 mg/L Therefore, t o t a l This compared r e a d i l y biodegradable very well with COD = 69.8 mg/L the measured v a l u e of 71 mg/L, showing the v a l i d i t y of the r e s u l t s obtained i n s e c t i o n 4.5 -133- in e s t i m a t i n g the r e a d i l y biodegradable COD of the sewage used i n t h i s study. T h i s method of e s t i m a t i o n i s p o s s i b l e only i f most of the r e a d i l y chain b i o d e g r a d a b i l i t y of volatile fatty acids, the feed r e s u l t s from the short a common occurrence where the c o l l e c t i o n systems p r o v i d e long d e t e n t i o n times. The been found, than the importance source of the e x t r a b i o d e g r a d a b i l i t y would have never i f i t had r e s u l t e d volatile and fatty the biodegradable COD from any acids. This necessity of the of simple compound other clearly i l l u s t r a t e s the measuring the readily sewages to c h a r a c t e r i z e them, i n order to optimize the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal p r o c e s s . 4.11 LAG RESPONSE DURING DOSAGE The experimental TRANSITIONS runs, with each chemical s u b s t r a t e d u r i n g t h i s study, were s t a r t e d with the h i g h e s t dosage and reduced an i n s t e p s , except interesting f o r the glucose run. With t h i s sequence, phenomenon was observed propionate and b u t y r a t e runs. Whenever there the dosage of the subsequently added chemical during was a the acetate, reduction i n s u b s t r a t e , there was a l a g p e r i o d f o r the e f f l u e n t phosphorus c o n c e n t r a t i o n t o i n c r e a s e to a level corresponding words, the occur f o r the higher to biological a short dosage that excess p e r i o d of before of the reduced phosphorus dosage. In other removal continued t o time a t the l e v e l corresponding t o decreasing to a lower level, -1 34- corresponding longer (4 to the new to 5 reduced days) d u r i n g dosage. the smaller dosages (Figures.4.30, order to lag period 4.31 investigate the t r a n s i t i o n s between and 4.32). and e x p l a i n t h i s l a g response, carbon storage a n a l y s i s was done d u r i n g the t r a n s i t i o n the butyrate S i m i l a r to was runs, in addition the s i t u a t i o n (as PHB) during consumption was the anaerobic, the steady phases of state periods. s t a t e c o n d i t i o n s , carbon zone and consumed i n the a e r o b i c transition periods. This storage zone and accompanied by phosphorus r e l e a s e and phosphorus uptake r e s p e c t i v e l y . the to under steady s t o r e d i n the anaerobic was the t r a n s i t i o n s between the h i g h e r dosages and s h o r t e r (1 to 2 days) d u r i n g In This The p r o f i l e s anoxic and of the aerobic PHB c o n c e n t r a t i o n s i n zones during the entire butyrate run are shown i n Fig.4.33. As soon concentrations new steady until the low in the chemical a l l reactors state concentrations. aerobic lower steady same as PHB was s t a r t e d to However, concentrations reduced, decrease it was phosphorus concentration, to c o n c e n t r a t i o n s reached resulting the higher the new the PHB towards the noticed that were reduced s t a t e values, the e f f l u e n t c o n t i n u e d phosphorus removal corresponding a e r o b i c PHB dosage t o the new to m a i n t a i n i n higher the excess dosage. Once the steady state values, the e f f l u e n t phosphorus c o n c e n t r a t i o n s t a r t e d t o i n c r e a s e towards the new higher steady d e t e r i o r a t i o n of the excess state values, phosphorus removal resulting (Fig.4.30). in the -1 3 5 4 Fig.4-.31. Days P r o f i l e of the e f f l u e n t o r t h o phosphorus f o r the p r o p i o n a t e r u n . A r r o w s i n d i c a t e t h e d a y s on w h i c h t h e d o s a g e was c h a n g e d . * The raw sewage d u r i n g t h i s r u n h a d a n a c e t a t e c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f 14-.7 mg/L a s COD. -1363.5 E £ a « 3 - 2.5 - 2 - 1.5 - £ a 0 £ 0.5 120 Days Fig.4.32. P r o f i l e o f the e f f l u e n t ortho phosphorus f o r the b u t y r a t e A r r o w s i n d i c a t e t h e d a y s on w h i c h t h e d o s a g e was c h a n g e d . run. Anaerobic sone -i \ at £ 5> E c • u c o o O I ft. 120 Days Fig.4.33. Profile butyrate changed. of stored PHB i n t h e r u n . Arrows i n d i c a t e various the zones days of the system on w h i c h t h e for dosage the was -137- At t h i s p o i n t , the reason f o r t h i s behaviour was b e l i e v e d to be as f o l l o w s : Although the PHB synthesis during the a n a e r o b i c phase s t a r t e d to decrease immediately due t o the dosage r e d u c t i o n , the organisms had the l u x u r y of u s i n g the e x t r a PHB a l r e a d y s t o r e d i n them. The a c c e s s i b i l i t y of could have helped to these e x t r a maintain the through h i g h e r carbon consumption, the higher degree of i n t e r n a l carbon r e s e r v e s same uptake of phosphorus l e a d i n g to the c o n t i n u a t i o n of excess phosphorus removal. Once t h i s a v a i l a b l e PHB r e s e r v e i s d e p l e t e d , the carbon consumption to decrease towards reduced phosphorus the extra started lower steady s t a t e v a l u e s , r e s u l t i n g i n uptake and c a u s i n g the lower excess phosphorus removal by the system. However, the phosphorus transition p e r i o d s d i d not phosphorus uptake support the another reduction in mechanism must organisms were a b l e t o maintain the lower phosphorus carbon balances d u r i n g the this hypothesis. and the carbon consumption immediately a f t e r Therefore, and the exist same Both the s t a r t e d to decrease dosage (Table 4.15). through removal, uptake and carbon consumption. which the d e s p i t e the Further research i s necessary t o f u l l y e x p l a i n and understand t h i s behaviour. N e v e r t h e l e s s , one of the reasons f o r the absence behaviour, during the shadowing o f t h i s e f f e c t glucose of t h i s run, might be due to the over- by those of the p o p u l a t i o n s h i f t of the -1 38- Table 4.15 Phosphorus and Carbon Balances f o r the Butyrate Run d u r i n g the Dosage T r a n s i t i o n s Number of Days a f t e r the Dosage Change Phosphorus Uptake (mg of P/L of feed) Carbon Consumption (mg of PHB/L of feed) Anaero Anox Aero Anaero Anox Aero 30 mg COD/L steady s t a t e -12.30 -2.70 19.00 -27.7 -7.1 34.8 1 3 5 -10.30 -8.90 -8.80 -2.70 -2.90 -2.10 17.00 15.80 14.60 -22.8 -20.5 -19.4 -7.2 -6.7 -5.8 30.0 27.2 25.2 25 mg COD/L steady s t a t e -8.80 -1.50 14.10 -19.3 -4.7 24.0 1 3 5 -7.20 -6.40 -5.80 -1.50 -1.10 -0.60 12.50 11.30 9.50 -16.1 -13.7 -11.4 -3.9 -3.7 -3.4 20.0 17.4 14.8 20 mg COD/L steady s t a t e -5.45 -0.75 8.85 -11.3 -2.5 13.8 1 3 5 -4.55 -3.35 -2.15 -0.25 -0.05 -0.25 7.45 5.85 4.65 -8.8 -6.8 -6.3 -2.2 -1.2 0.3 11.0 8.0 6.0 15 mg COD/L steady s t a t e -1.60 -0.10 4.10 -6.0 -0.2 6.2 1 3 -1.10 -0.70 0.70 1.40 2.50 1.10 -4.8 -4.6 -1.0 -0.2 5.8 4.8 10 mg COD/L steady s t a t e -0.20 1.00 0.65 -4.5 0.5 4.0 -139- organisms, as d i s c u s s e d e a r l i e r i n s e c t i o n 4.6.3. On the c o n t r a r y , when the dosage of the was increased, the immediately without T h i s was the excess phosphorus the presence of any simple substrates removal increased significant observed d u r i n g the 10 mg COD/L propionate sewage discussed used in had unusually s e c t i o n 4.9, high levels of lag period. run i n which acetate. As when the c o n c e n t r a t i o n of the simple s u b s t r a t e s e n t e r i n g the system increased from 15 propionate propionate plus 14.7 mg COD/L of acetate, less to 10 mg COD/L of the e f f l u e n t ortho phosphorus dropped than 0.1 mg/L within two mg from 1.4 COD/L of mg/L t o days, i n d i c a t i n g an immediate improvement i n the excess phosphorus removal. The b e n e f i t s of removal f o r a short simple the higher excess phosphorus duration a f t e r a reduction carbon s u b s t r a t e s and excess phosphorus continued the immediate i n dosage of the improvement of the removal e f f i c i e n c y a f t e r an i n c r e a s e i n dosage c o u l d be q u i t e s u b s t a n t i a l . Some of the p o s s i b l e advantages of t h i s behaviour a r e l i s t e d below: (i) The considerable and (ii) biological short-term excess phosphorus removal process stability; i.e. phosphorus l o a d i n g s need not balance The addition b i o l o g i c a l excess of extra phosphorus shows a the p r e f e r r e d s u b s t r a t e on a r e a l - t i m e b a s i s . simple carbon s u b s t r a t e s i n the removal treatment plants may be -1 40- optimized dosages using cyclic resulting further research loading i n reduced i s necessary chemical However, fashion without any i l l - e f f e c t s the p r o c e s s . (iii) There i s an emerging excess phosphorus removal t r e n d i n the d e s i g n of the b i o l o g i c a l systems t o i n c o r p o r a t e primary sludge fermenters ahead of the anaerobic zones design of the o v e r a l l fermenter process t r a i n process may set-up f o r two or in be accomplished the f u l l - s c a l e treatment p l a n t by p r o v i d i n g more p r o c e s s t r a i n s , with each r e c e i v i n g the fermenter e f f l u e n t The type of behaviour observed t o generate the necessary s u b s t r a t e s (Rabinowitz and Oldham, 1985). A b e t t e r simple carbon one consumption. t o i n v e s t i g a t e as to how long the system c o u l d be s t r e s s e d i n t h i s to p a t t e r n s with higher and lower dicussed in in turns. t h i s section was a l s o b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus i n Kelowna, B r i t i s h Columbia. removal When the primary sludge t h i c k e n e r supernatant ( c o n t a i n i n g simple p r e f e r r e d carbon s u b s t r a t e s ) flow was phosphorus removal deterioration in i n the from one to a v a i l a b l e improved which almost only 2 module to the o t h e r , f i r s t module d i d not show any s i g n of f o r another 3 days, whereas the module reported that changed the thickener immediately days were the phosphorus supernatant removal was made (Oldham, 1985). I t was a l s o r e q u i r e d t o r e - e s t a b l i s h a good phosphorus removal, a f t e r 13 days of upset i n a b i o l o g i c a l phosphorus removal (Manning and I r v i n e , system 1985). excess -141- CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSIONS AND 5.1 RECOMMENDATIONS CONCLUSIONS Significant aspects of the progress has been biological made i n excess phosphorus d u r i n g the course of t h i s r e s e a r c h . The study have contributed mechanism of helped in the towards excess assessing be summarized removal results process obtained in t h i s b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the removal suitability b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus r e s e a r c h may a phosphorus the u n d e r s t a n d i n g many removal. of The under three a process given and have sewage f o r conclusions different of this c a t a g o r i e s as follows: 5.1.1 CONCLUSIONS DIRECTLY RELATED TO OBJECTIVES (1) The technique quantification sewage, was proposed of r e a d i l y proved to technique cannot for the biodegradable s u b s t r a t e s a v a i l a b l e in a be e f f e c t i v e be used short (in Section and reliable. 3.2) However, t h i s as a f i e l d t e s t , s i n c e i t r e q u i r e s the o p e r a t i o n of a sludge age, completely-mixed, sludge system under continuous flow c o n d i t i o n s . activated -1 42- (2) Almost a l l the d i f f e r e n t phosphorus aerobic removal p r o c e s s (such as anaerobic phosphorus phosphorus uptake, overall storage and carbon consumption) carbon elements of the b i o l o g i c a l excess substrates expressed i n terms used of in phosphorus release, removal, carbon compared w e l l among the d i f f e r e n t this readily study when t h e i r dosages were biodegradable COD, r a t h e r than t o t a l COD, moles,moles of carbon e t c . . In other words, r e l a t i v e l y the the excess same behaviour of observed, readily with biodegradable e n t e r i n g the all different the phosphorus carbon removal elements mechanism system was r e a d i l y b i o d e g r a d a b l e COD) used as the u n i t mentioned removal s u b s t r a t e a d d i t i o n s , when the s u b s t r a t e s (as system were above phosphorus of of measurement. A l s o , the biological excess i n c r e a s e d with i n c r e a s i n g readily biodegradable s u b s t r a t e s e n t e r i n g the system. T h e r e f o r e , i t may be given sewage for biological concluded the sewage; t h i s biodegradable COD c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n of phosphorus the excess phosphorus d i r e c t l y with the c o n c e n t r a t i o n of the of that readily efficacy of a removal w i l l vary biodegradable COD i n d i c a t e s the v a l i d i t y of u s i n g the r e a d i l y as a major parameter for a general sewage w i t h respect to the b i o l o g i c a l excess removal. T h i s c o n c l u s i o n was r e i n f o r c e d when the sewage used d u r i n g one of the runs i n t h i s study c o n t a i n e d abnormally h i g h l e v e l s of acetate. The biodegradable increase COD in the concentration of the feed was the f i r s t of the readily indication of t h i s -1 4 3 - situation and explained phosphorus removal e f f i c i e n c y . T h e r e f o r e , the measurement r e a d i l y biodegradable the observed process, i n c r e a s e i n the COD e n t e r i n g the system e i t h e r feed or through the fermenter e f f l u e n t , to e f f e c t i v e l y drastic of the through the i f p r e s e n t , c o u l d be used optimize the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus especially with regard to the removal requirements of the e x t e r n a l supplementary simple carbon sources n e c e s s a r y t o p r o v i d e the d e s i r e d degree of phosphorus 5.1.2 removal. OTHER CONCLUSIONS RELATED TO READILY BIODEGRADABLE COMPOUNDS IN GENERAL (1) A direct uptake in anaerobic release l i n e a r r e l a t i o n s h i p e x i s t e d between the zone. promoted resulting aerobic In zone other higher and the phosphorus words, aerobic i n good o v e r a l l phosphorus relationship between the t h e phosphorus aerobic higher r e l e a s e i n the a n a e r o b i c phosphorus phosphorus uptake and thereby removal by the phosphorus system. The uptake and the 2 anaerobic phosphorus r e l e a s e was found t o be as being 0.970 (where R i s the c o r r e l a t i o n P uptake T h i s equation first term coefficient). (mg/L) = 1.21 + 1.701 x P r e l e a s e (mg/L) of best f i t i s s c i e n t i f i c a l l y d e f e n s i b l e , w i t h the r e p r e s e n t i n g the t o t a l biomass f o l l o w s , with R i n the system, b a s i c metabolic requirement of the w h i l e the c o e f f i c i e n t of the second -1 44- term i s determined by the degree to which i n f l u e n t preferred substrate is limiting the process, phosphorus or as discussed in S e c t i o n 4.6.2. (2) The presence of r e a d i l y e n t e r i n g the a n a e r o b i c removal system aerobic phosphorus removal. minimum of 25 mg/L anaerobic zone zone ensured subsequent biodegradable of a good uptake, results of r e a d i l y f o r any biological anaerobic phosphorus The A definite and the direct phosphorus of phosphorus this feed excess phosphorus and biodegradable release, overall study COD excess showed t h a t a should enter the s i g n i f i c a n t b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal to take p l a c e , as d i s c u s s e d (3) s u b s t r a t e s i n the link e x i s t e d between release process. This observation in Section during supports 4.8. the carbon the anaerobic the kinetic storage phase of model the f o r the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal mechanism proposed by Comeau et a l . ( 1 9 8 5 ) , as phosphorus discussed occurs to Section facilitate carbon s u b s t r a t e s (such as c e l l wall s t o r e d as to be in the carbon the PHB or consumption PHV by l i n k was and The transport acetate, propionate motive f o r c e i n the c e l l . A s i m i l a r between 4.7.1. the r e l e a s e of of the simple etc.) across maintaining also a the proton found to e x i s t uptake of phosphorus d u r i n g the a e r o b i c phase ( S e c t i o n 4.7.2). (4) Whenever there was simple carbon a substrates, reduction in there was the dosage a lag of the added period before a -1 45- deterioration i n phosphorus removal o c c u r r e d . In other words, the s t e a d y - s t a t e b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal c o n t i n u e d short p e r i o d of time at the same higher l e v e l before to the new lower l e v e l , r e f l e c t i n g the reduced T h i s l a g p e r i o d was longer between higher dosages and transitions between smaller (1 to dosages. 2 decreasing s u b s t r a t e dosage. (4 to 5 days) d u r i n g shorter the t r a n s i t i o n s days) d u r i n g the As a c o r o l l a r y , when the dosage of the simple carbon s u b s t r a t e s was i n c r e a s e d , phosphorus removal any significant behaviour i n c r e a s e d immediately without lag period, could as d i s c u s s e d successfully be fora the excess the presence of in Section 4.11. T h i s used i n o p t i m i z i n g biological excess phosphorus removal systems. 5.1.3 OTHER CONCLUSIONS RELATED TO SPECIFIC READILY BIODEGRADABLE COMPOUNDS (1) The degree inverse function of biodegradability of the complexity was of molecule. For the same dosage as COD, the the f o l l o w i n g decreasing appeared the to added be some substrate v a r i o u s s u b s t r a t e s had order of e f f e c t i v e n e s s i n terms of t h e i r degree of b i o d e g r a d a b i l i t y . a c e t a t e > propionate > butyrate > g l u c o s e Oxygen uptake r a t e r e s u l t s showed that 1 mg p r o v i d e d approximately of a c e t a t e 0.80 mg of r e a d i l y biodegradable (as COD) COD. The -1 46- corresponding 0.75, (2) values f o r p r o p i o n a t e , butyrate and glucose were 0.45 and 0.27 r e s p e c t i v e l y . Different simple carbon substrates exhibited a range of e f f e c t i v e n e s s i n phosphorus r e l e a s e d u r i n g the anaerobic phase of the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal process when COD was used as the u n i t of measurement. The anaerobic phosphorus r e l e a s e appeared t o be molecule the added of a direct function of s u b s t r a t e . For v a r i o u s s u b s t r a t e s had the the simplicity of the the same COD dosage, the following decreasing order of e f f e c t with r e s p e c t t o anaerobic phosphorus r e l e a s e . a c e t a t e , propionate > b u t y r a t e > glucose (3) Carbon was s t o r e d i n t r a c e l l u l a r l y d u r i n g the a n a e r o b i c phase and consumed d u r i n g the a e r o b i c phase. The primary carbon compound was carbon poly-B-hydroxybutyrate s u b s t r a t e was for the butyrate a d d i t i o n of simple carbon and (PHB) simple p o l y - B - h y d r o x y v a l e r a t e (PHV) p r o p i o n a t e . The substrate involved when the added storage two a d d i t i o n of glucose as the carbon storage compounds, PHB and g l y c o g e n . Contrary to in the a n a e r o b i c the glucose what happened with PHB, glycogen was consumed zone and s y n t h e s i z e d i n the a e r o b i c zone, during runs, supporting the o b s e r v a t i o n s made by Mino et a l . ( 198.7). I t i s s p e c u l a t e d that glycogen consumption d u r i n g the anaerobic phase p r o v i d e d the NADH r e q u i r e d f o r the PHB s y n t h e s i s , -1 47- through Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) dicussed in Section 4.7.4. e x i s t e d between the PHB with the PHB (4) s y n t h e s i s and estimated mean o x i d a t i o n , as linear relationship the glycogen consumption, value f o r the i n c r e a s e i n the amount of 0.41, on a basis. For the same amount of chemical COD) the overall d e c r e a s i n g order this indicates for excellent and per u n i t of glycogen consumed being approximately weight as An pathway phosphorus of e f f e c t the degree s u b s t r a t e dosage removal among the had following v a r i o u s s u b s t r a t e s added; of e f f e c t i v e n e s s b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus the (expressed of these s u b s t r a t e s removal. a c e t a t e > propionate > b u t y r a t e > g l u c o s e (5) The presence of glucose i n the b i o l o g i c a l excess removal system promoted zone. These bacteria fermentative conditions probably ( f a c u l t a t i v e anaerobes) denitrifiers". Thus, a c t i v e i n the anoxic phosphorus uptake, the enriched at "bio-P zone, c a u s i n g the a h i g h e r than the anoxic biocommunity expense denitrifiers" in of of "non-bio-P might have been expected anoxic as d i c u s s e d i n S e c t i o n 4.6.3. T h i s o b s e r v a t i o n i n d i c a t e s that a sub-population denitrifiers. conditions phosphorus of the bio-P b a c t e r i a are a l s o -1 48- 5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS Further research work i s recommended i n the f o l l o w i n g areas. (1) Development of a simpler and p r e f e r a b l y a chemical technique f o r the measurement of the r e a d i l y biodegradable COD of the f e e d , s i n c e the method used i n t h i s study r e q u i r e d the o p e r a t i o n of a short sludge age continuous a c t i v a t e d sludge system. (2) The r o l e of secondary carbon PHB and PHV) such as glycogen t h i s study should be to the presence storage compounds (other than found d u r i n g the glucose runs o f i n v e s t i g a t e d . A t t e n t i o n should be given t o of carbohydrates in feed, t h e i r storage i n c e l l mass and t h e i r d i r e c t or i n d i r e c t c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal mechanism. (3) A s e r i e s of batch t e s t s c o u l d be performed fate excess of the added phosphorus simple removal l a b e l i n g techniques. more than one storage carbon s u b s t r a t e s i n the b i o l o g i c a l process, T h i s would compound t o determine t h e using radioactive isotope be of p a r t i c u l a r i s involved in i n t e r e s t , when the phosphorus removal mechanism. (4) The behaviour removal f o r a s h o r t simple carbon of the c o n t i n u e d higher excess period after s u b s t r a t e s and the phosphorus a reduction i n the dosage o f immediate improvement of the -1 49- phosphorus further could after an investigated. A better be incorporated removal removal very important, increase i n the dosage should be understanding since it could of this behaviour successfully be i n t o the designs of the b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus systems to optimize them. -1 50- BIBILIOGRAPHY Alarcon, G.O. 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(1986), "Metabolic Behaviour of A c i n e t o b a c t e r spp. i n Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal - A B i o c h e m i c a l Model", Water S.A., 12, 4, 209-224. W i l d e r e r , P.A., Jones, W.L. and Dau, U. (1987), "Competition i n Denitrification Systems Affecting Reduction Rates and Accumulation of N i t r i t e " , Wat. Res., 21, 2, 239-245. W.P.C.F. (1977), "Wastewater Treatment P l a n t D e s i g n " , Manual of P r a c t i c e No.8, Water P o l l u t i o n C o n t r o l F e d e r a t i o n , Washington, D.C. - 1 5 7 - APPENDIX A1 DEVELOPMENT OF THE METHOD USED FOR THE DETERMINATION OF THE READILY BIODEGRADABLE COD -1 58- A1.1 INTRODUCTION This gives a method used COD brief f o r the outline of the development d e t e r m i n a t i o n of the r e a d i l y laboratory scale systems, of the biodegradable of the f e e d . Two schematic identical diagram in Fig.Al.l(a), were as shown by the operated a f t e r having decided to use the s t e p change i n the oxygen uptake r a t e , at the termination the of the biodegradable COD A1.2 feed, as the basis for readily measurement. SYSTEM START-UP The two continuous systems were flow completely mixed operated a t a sludge age of 6 days. The in the s t a r t - u p of these u n i t s was of the p i l o t a c t v a t e d sludge o b t a i n e d from the a e r o b i c zone s c a l e b i o l o g i c a l excess phosphorus removal p l a n t s i t u a t e d a t the U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia p i l o t plant was the for sludge c o n s i d e r e d to sludge used treatment campus. The o p e r a t i n g at a sludge age of 20 days a t the time these units be a c h i e v e d the c o n c e n t r a t i o n of the showed a p p r o x i m a t e l y were taken. Steady state when the d a i l y oxygen uptake a e r o b i c mixed steady v a l u e s . was r a t e and l i q u o r suspended s o l i d s -159- A1.3 INITIAL OPERATION During the p e r i o d of steady nitrification l e v e l s were in systems around 20-25 between 20 and was both 30 mg/L. mg/L No was rate high. with The at the nitrate values varying i n f l u e n t TKN feed of ammonia systems. to the high degree of n i t r i f i c a t i o n , drop, aerobic s i g n i f i c a n t concentration found in the e f f l u e n t s of the Due s t a t e o p e r a t i o n , the degree of termination, not the oxygen uptake only included c e s s a t i o n of oxygen requirement f o r the metabolism of the biodegradable oxygen COD for nitrification. oxygen uptake r a t e drops than those A1.4 s u b s t r a t e s alone, T h i s r e s u l t e d i n higher expected due i n the to the readily feed. SUPPRESSION OF UNWANTED NITRIFICATION The estimates of c o n c e n t r a t i o n of the feed expected, due Since t h i s the readily of the feed, but a l s o i n c l u d e d the c e s s a t i o n of requirement biodegradable the readily to the biodegradable readily using these presence of s i t u a t i o n was taken to suppress the the systems were h i g h degree of unacceptable COD of the for higher COD than nitrification. the d e t e r m i n a t i o n of feed, v a r i o u s steps were n i t r i f i c a t i o n . These in the f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n s . biodegradable are b r i e f l y outlined -1 60- A1.4.1 REDUCTION OF SLUDGE AGE The sludge age was reduced i n steps from 6 days to 2.5 days w i t h no apparent change i n the degree of n i t r i f i c a t i o n . at the short sludge aerobic of i n d i c a t i n g a high degree nitrification. nitrifying to 2.5 days, the n i t r a t e l e v e l s i n the r e a c t o r averaged around 20 mg/L, S i n c e the the age of Even systems were initially p o p u l a t i o n of micro-organisms (from the p i l o t p l a n t a t U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h restart Columbia), i t was d e c i d e d at t h i s stage the systems using a mixed l i q u o r p o p u l a t i o n , o b t a i n e d from the f u l l Squamish, A1.4.2 s t a r t e d - u p u s i n g a good British with low nitrifying s c a l e sewage teatment p l a n t i n Columbia. USE OF LOW NITRIFYING MIXED LIQUOR The two systems were r e s t a r t e d , at a sludge age of 3 days, using the aerobic plant in Squamish, mixed liquor British from the f u l l Columbia. The s c a l e treatment aerobic c o n c e n t r a t i o n of the p l a n t , at the time the sludge was around 5 nitrate taken, was mg/L. However, the n i t r a t e l e v e l s of the a e r o b i c r e a c t o r s of the laboratory days, systems started reached a steady to i n c r e a s e s t e a d i l y and w i t h i n c o n c e n t r a t i o n of approximately 20 30 mg/L. -161- Following t h i s unsuccessful nitrification in the attempt systems, to control i t was the decided degree of to use a nitrification inhibitor. A1.4.3 ADDITION OF NITRIFICATION INHIBITOR 2 chloro i n h i b i t o r to - 6 ( t r i c h l o r o methyl) control n i t r i f i c a t i o n . standard BOD t e s t , a t a p y r i d i n e was This concentration used as the i s widely used i n the of 10 mg/L, to i n h i b i t nitrification. The nitrification i n h i b i t o r was added t o systems i n four d i f f e r e n t ways and the r e s u l t s Table A1.1. During the period of this one of the two are summarized i n addition, system II (without the a d d i t i o n of i n h i b i t o r ) c o n s i s t e n t l y had high degree of n i t r i f i c a t i o n the a d d i t i o n of compared t o the system I (with i n h i b i t o r ) . As expected, i t was a l s o noted that rate of the system decreased with the oxygen uptake increased a d d i t i o n of the inhibitor. A1.4.4 REDUCTION OF HYDRAULIC RETENTION TIME (HRT) The results presented in e f f e c t i v e c o n t r o l of n i t r i f i c a t i o n a continuous addition Table could of the i n h i b i t o r , A1.1 only show that the be achieved through a t c o n c e n t r a t i o n s above -1 62- Table Al.1. Summary o f t h e i n h i b i t o r effects on t h e p r o c e s s i n t h e measurement o f r e a d i l y b i o d e g r a d a b l e CONCENTRATION OF INHIBITOR DURATION OF used COD RESULTS ADDITION I. 10 mg/1 with respect Instantaneous No change Instantaneous N i t r a t e l e v e l dropped from 22 mg/1 to reactor volume II. 100 mg/1 with respect to 8 mg/1 the next day; gradually to reactor volume increased to around 20 mg/1 i n 12 days III. 100 mg/1 with respect 2 days to l e s s than 0.5 mg/1 to i n f l u e n t 75 mg/1 with respect N i t r a t e l e v e l reduced from 21 mg/1 2 days Less than 0.5 mg/1 2 days Less than 0.5 mg/1 2 days Less than 0.5 mg/1 to i n f l u e n t 50 mg/1 with respect to i n f l u e n t 25 mg/1 with respect to i n f l u e n t 10 mg/1 with respect to i n f l u e n t 20 days Slowly increased to 16 mg/1 i n 20 days and was s t i l l i n c r e a s i n g ; decided to increase the duration of i n h i b i t o r addition - 1 6 3 - Table A l . l . (continued) CONCENTRATION Cf INHIBITOR DURATION OF ADDITION RESULTS IV. 100 mg/1 with respect 4- days Nitrate l e v e l decreased to 0.8 mg/1 4 days Less than 0.5 mg/1 k days Less than 0.5 mg/1 to i n f l u e n t 75 mg/1 with respect to i n f l u e n t 50 mg/1 with respect to i n f l u e n t 25 mg/1 with respect 20 days to 3 mg/1 and stayed around 3 mg/1 to i n f l u e n t 10 mg/1 with respect to i n f l u e n t Within 10 days n i t r a t e l e v e l increased 18 days Slowly increased to 12 mg/1 and was showing an upward trend -164- 10 mg/L. Since the a d d i t i o n of i n h i b i t o r during oxygen uptake r a t e d e t e r m i n a t i o n s was to decrease the HRT of the systems. the p e r i o d s of not d e s i r e d , i t was d e c i d e d The nominal HRT of both systems were reduced from 6 hours, i n steps of 2 hours. (a) HRT of 4 hours During the 15 days of o p e r a t i o n at 4 hours of nominal the average c o n c e n t r a t i o n of n i t r a t e s i n 10 mg/L, compared t o 15-20 mg/L system I i n system e s t i m a t e s of the r e a d i l y biodegradable COD was HRT, l e s s than I I . T h i s caused the using system II to be c o n s i s t e n t l y higher than those o b t a i n e d using system I . (b) HRT of 2 hours During the 30 days of o p e r a t i o n at t h i s nominal HRT, n i t r a t e c o n c e n t r a t i o n i n system I was to 5-10 mg/L l e s s than 5 mg/L, i n system I I . However, both systems gave e s t i m a t e s of the r e a d i l y biodegradable COD of the the compared comparable f e e d . At this p o i n t , i t was d e c i d e d to operate one s c a l e d down system, as shown by the schematic diagram i n F i g . A 1 . 1 ( b ) , h i g h requirement of feed. i n order to reduce the -1 65- A1.5 SLUDGE BULKING After about 4 months of s u c c e s s f u l o p e r a t i o n , a b u l k i n g problem o c c u r r e d and the system began to the through solids examination of significant The being lost the mixed filamentous following liquor the c o l l a p s e due effluent. revealed severe the to Microscopic presence of growth. remedies were taken to c o n t r o l the sludge b u l k i n g and none of them worked. (1) The d i s s o l v e d oxygen c o n c e n t r a t i o n of the a e r o b i c r e a c t o r was 2.5 (2) (3) i n c r e a s e d above 4 mg/L - The d i s s o l v e d oxygen c o n c e n t r a t i o n of the a e r o b i c r e a c t o r was decreased The e n t i r e system was The below 1 mg/L. r e s t a r t e d with a f r a c t i o n of i t s liquor. supply of a i r was terminated for d i f f e r e n t time to c r e a t e temporary anaerobic c a r r i e d out with and without (5) 1.5 mg/L. s e t t l e d mixed (4) from the normal l e v e l of The environments. These were feeding. organic l o a d i n g to the system was high food to micro-organism lengths of ratio. i n c r e a s e d to c r e a t e a -166- (6) (7) The o r g a n i c l o a d i n g to the system was low food to micro-organism decreased ratio. Phosphorus c o n c e n t r a t i o n i n the feed was e l i m i n a t e any i n c r e a s e d to possible nutrient deficiency. (8) The system was fed using a 12 hour c y c l i c (9) The system was t r e a t e d with hydrogen peroxide c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of 100, to the f e e d , over (10) The system was 150, 200 and 250 mg/L, subjected to anaerobic the system was eliminating the system redesigned r e t e n t i o n tank During the reduced to 0.5 due sludge f o r the optimization bulking to found r e s t a r t e d with incorporate r e t u r n sludge, period, HRT. in proved the l i t r e s per hour, without to the i n c r e a s e d respect to of hydrogen of mixed l i q u o r suspended When every p o s s i b l e remedy was with treatment. f o r 48 hours, 100 mg/L at conditions prior (11) A f t e r t r e a t i n g the system with 300 mg/L than loading. 24 hour p e r i o d s . the hydrogen peroxide peroxide to c r e a t e a solids. the to be a less l i t e r a t u r e for ineffective, permanent the anaerobic as shown i n F i g . A 1 . 1 ( c ) . influent any flow nitrification rate was problem -1 6 7 - Inf. a) (b) 1 1/h V Waste A E R O B I C f. 1 1 Vol = 6 1J • Vol\ef= 1:1 Recycle Waste Inf. / AEROBIC Y \ / eff. 1 1/h ' Vol = 1 1 1:1 Recycle Vvol = 1 1J \ (c) 1:1 Recycle Fig. Al.l. Different stages i n the development used i n t h e measurement of r e a d i l y of the process biodegradable COD - 1 6 8 - Th i s s y s t e m with performed n e i t h e r h i g h degree of being present. mg/L was An always oxygen u t i l i z a t i o n cessation of effluent nitrification the throughout nor sludge ammonia c o n c e n t r a t i o n maintained at successfully to eliminate termination nitrification. of the any the bulking of a t decrease feed study, due ever least 5 in the to the -1 6 9 - APPENDIX RAW DATA FROM T H E V A R I O U S A2 E X P E R I M E N T A L RUNS -170- RAW DATA OF PHOSPHORUS FROM THE ACETATE RUNS Dosage i n Day # anaerobic after zone as steady mg COD/L s t a t e Total P (mg/L) inf eff Ortho - P (mg/L) i n f anae anox aero e f f Aero. Slud. %P 1 4 7 1 1 14 4.6 4.4 4.6 4.6 4.5 <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 3.2 3.0 3.1 3.4 3.3 18.2 18.6 17.8 17.9 18.0 16.2 16.8 14.3 15.1 15.4 <0. 1 <0. 1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 5.8 5.9 5.5 5.6 5.9 1 4 8 11 15 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.4 3.9 <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 3.2 3.4 3.3 3.0 3.1 16.4 15.8 16.6 14.4 16.6 13.4 15.9 14.4 11.6 12.4 <0. 1 <0.1 <0.1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 5.4 5.6 5.1 5.8 5.5 1 5 8 12 15 19 4.2 4.0 4.2 4.0 4.1 4.2 0.-4 0,2 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.3 3.2 3.3 3.3 2.9 3.1 3.4 11.6 1 1 .4 8.4 10.6 10.4 10.6 8.4 9.2 7.9 8.8 8.4 6.4 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.4 o.a 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 4.6 4.7 5.0 4.8 4.7 5. 1 1 5 8 12 15 19 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.6 4.2 4.3 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.8 1.0 0.8 3.1 3.3 3.4 3.4 2.9 3.3 6.8 3.4 7.1 5.4 5.6 2.8 4.2 2.9 7.1 5.8 3.2 3.2 0.4 0.5 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.8 4.5 4.8 4.6 4.5 4.7 4.3 1 5 8 12 15 4.1 4.0 3.9 4.1 4.2 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.8 2.1 2.9 3.1 3.1 3.2 2.9 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.4 2.9 3.8 4.0 2.7 3.2 2.9 1.7 1 .6 1.8 1 .6 1.8 1.7 1 .8 1.8 1 .8 1.9 3.2 2.9 3.0 2.7 3.1 1 5 8 12 15 4.3 4.5 4.2 4.4 4.5 3.4 3.4 3.3 3.5 3.5 3.2 3.6 3.4 3.6 2.8 3.5 3.2 3.3 3.6 3.5 3.2 3.6 3.4 3.6 3.8 3.4 3.3 2.8 2.9 3.1 3.4 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.4 1 .6 1 .3 1 .7 1 .7 1 .4 -171- RAW DATA OF NITROGEN FROM THE ACETATE RUNS Dosage i n anaerobic zone as mg COD/L Day # after steady state TKN (mg/L) inf eff NO (mg?L) inf anae anox aero eff 30 1 4 7 11 14 27.5 26.9 26.4 27.1 27.8 1.8 1.8 1.3 2.4 2.9 0.1 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 10.4 9.8 8.8 9.1 9.8 10.3 9.4 8.8 8.9 9.8 25 1 4 8 11 15 27.8 26.6 27.6 27.2 28.7 2.4 2.2 1.8 2.8 2.4 0.1 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 0.3 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.1 <0.1 0.2 10.3 10.0 10.6 9.4 8.6 10.6 9.8 10.6 9.2 8.2 1 5 8 12 15 19 26.9 27.3 28.2 26.8 27.4 27.6 2.6 3.1 2.3 3.2 3.4 2.1 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0. 1 <0. 1 <0. 1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0.1 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.1 <0. 1 9.8 8.6 10.2 10.6 10.9 11.2 9.6 8.4 9.8 10.4 10.6 11.6 1 5 8 12 15 19 29.4 29.8 28.4 28.0 30.2 29.0 3.6 3.8 4.8 5.1 3.3 3.5 0.2 0.2 0.1 <0. 1 <0. 1 0.1 <0. <0. <0. <0. <0. <0. 1 1 1 1 1 1 <0.1 <0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.2 9.8 1 1 .8 8.8 8.4 10.6 10.7 9.6 1 1 .6 8.8 8.4 10.4 10.7 1 5 8 12 15 29.6 30. 1 29.4 28.6 29.4 4.4 3.9 3.3 4.8 4.5 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 <0.1 <0. <0. <0. <0. <0. 1 1 1 1 1 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 0.2 0.3 11.6 1 1 .6 10.3 8.8 8.6 1 1 .4 11.6 10.5 8.6 8.6 1 5 8 12 15 28.4 29. 1 28.1 29.2 28.8 3.4 3.8 3.3 2.9 4.2 <0.1 0.2 <0. 1 <0.1 0.2 <0. 1 <0. 1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0. 1 0.2 0.2 <0. 1 <0.1 <0.1 10.4 10.8 11.6 9.6 10.6 10.2 10.8 1 1 .4 9.8 10.6 -1 72- RAW Dosage i n anaerobic zone as mg COD/L DATA OF SOLIDS FROM THE ACETATE RUNS Day # after steady state TSS (mg/L) VSS (mg/L) anae anox aero eff anae anox aero eff 1 4 7 1 1 14 1220 1260 1310 1240 1200 2380 2380 2340 2360 2380 2340 2340 2320 2290 2300 20 29 21 10 16 850 880 890 840 800 1920 1880 1940 1960 1900 1960 1990 1930 1960 1820 14 18 18 1 4 8 1 1 15 1280 1240 1 1 30 1280 1220 2340 2310 2320 2360 2380 2320 2300 2340 2290 2330 1 1 15 27 39 34 820 870 880 900 810 1960 1920 1880 1870 1840 1720 1920 1890 1880 1760 6 14 23 30 25 1 5 8 12 15 19 1210 1200 1 1 20 1320 1 340 1290 2320 2350 2280 2340 2300 2340 2340 2340 2250 2360 2280 2320 39 35 1 1 10 25 19 920 860 840 890 880 910 1820 1860 1740 1840 1730 1710 1810 1860 1830 1820 1700 1800 26 22 6 1 5 8 12 15 19 1210 1 1 30 1 190 1260 1200 1 180 2340 2280 2300 2300 2320 2370 2320 2240 2290 2300 2320 2310 20 29 14 23 26 30 740 810 800 800 770 730 1820 1630 1780 1810 1830 1800 1760 1740 1690 1820 1870 1740 14 22 10 16 20 23 1 5 8 12 15 1200 1 180 1220 1230 1 1 90 231 0 2290 2340 2360 2300 2280 2240 2300 2320 2290 29 20 16 15 9 840 850 860 920 900 1800 1770 1 780 1820 1850 1890 1820 1880 1790 1820 22 14 9 10 1 5 8 12 15 1210 1230 1 190 1230 1230 2310 2390 2330 2320 2300 2250 2270 2300 2290 2280 20 15 16 22 17 930 830 850 840 820 1840 1870 1830 1800 1740 1800 1830 1790 1820 1760 18 10 9 14 1 1 - 1 1 - 18 14 - -1 73- RAW DATA OF COD AND ORP FROM THE ACETATE RUNS Dosage i n anaerobic zone as mg COD/L Day # after steady state Influent COD (mg/L) Effluent COD (mg/L) Total RBD COD of feed (mg COD/L) ORP (mV) anae anox 30 1 4 7 1 1 14 219 227 203 221 227 32 35 30 41 38 87 79 83 86 85 -342 -346 -341 -348 -350 -168 -167 -156 -164 -142 25 1 4 8 1 1 15 228 231 219 226 218 43 37 31 49 41 74 78 80 79 73 -341 -338 -340 -340 -329 -158 -156 -160 -1 72 -1 54 20 1 5 8 12 15 19 242 218 235 224 230 231 32 27 34 36 32 31 73 71 73 69 70 69 -321 -319 -315 -319 -320 -322 -128 -120 -1 45 -149 -149 -1 54 15 1 5 8 12 15 19 227 238 244 220 236 240 27 33 31 22 29 31 63 59 64 68 60 66 -31 1 -332 -328 -310 -316 -321 -1 40 -143 -1 39 -1 38 -141 -151 10 1 5 8 12 15 251 238 235 228 249 34 29 33 37 28 57 59 54 51 54 -326 -314 -298 -300 -294 -146 -1 46 -123 -1 46 -142 5 1 5 8 12 15 241 239 256 249 246 29 39 43 33 38 46 49 48 47 49 -289 -220 -288 -297 -281 -143 -139 -147 -1 52 -1 42 -174- RAW DATA OF PHOSPHORUS FROM THE PROPIONATE RUNS Dosage i n anaerobic zone as mg COD/L Day # after steady state inf eff inf anae anox 25 1 5 8 12 15 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.2 3.2 3.2 3.4 3.0 3.0 14.1 13.6 13.9 13.8 13.2 11.5 11.2 10.5 1 1 .8 12.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 5.4 5.6 5.4 5.5 5.5 20 1 4 8 1 1 15 4.0 4.2 4.1 4.1 4.3 0.9 0.8 1.0 1.0 0.9 3.1 2.9 2.9 3.0 3.1 10.4 10.2 9.8 11.2 9.8 8.4 8.6 9.2 8.4 8.8 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.7 0.9 0.8 0.9 4.5 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.4 15 1 5 8 12 15 4.1 4.1 4.2 4.4 4.2 1 1 1 1 1 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.2 3.4 5.4 4.9 5.6 5.6 4.8 4.2 4.6 4.1 3.9 4.0 1 1 1 1 1 1 .5 1.4 1 .6 1 .5 1 .4 3.6 3.7 3.6 3.8 3.6 1 5 8 12 15 3.9 3.9 4.0 3.9 3.8 <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 2.9 2.9 3.0 2.9 2.8 15.4 15.8 16.2 15.0 14.9 11.2 10.8 1 1 .8 1 1 .4 10.9 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0. 1 <0. 1 <0. 1 5.3 5.4 5.0 5.2 5.2 10 1 4 8 1 1 15 4.0 4.1 4.0 3.9 4.2 2.6 2.7 2.5 2.4 2.6 3.2 3.1 3.1 2.9 3.2 3.3 4.5 3.8 4.6 4.1 3.3 3.8 3.2 3.9 4.0 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.6 2.5 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.1 2.1 2.2 2.1 5 1 5 8 12 15 4.0 3.9 4.1 4.2 4.1 3.1 3.0 3.2 3.2 3.1 2.9 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.3 2.9 3.6 3.7 3.3 3.0 2.7 2.9 3.4 3.1 2.8 3.1 2.9 3.0 3.0 3.1 3.1 3.0 3.0 3.1 3.2 1 1 1 1 1 this run * 10 Total P (mg/L) .6 .4 .6 .8 .5 Ortho - P (mg/L) The raw sewage d u r i n g c o n c e n t r a t i o n of 14.7 mg/L as COD. aero eff .5 .3 .7 .5 .4 had Aero. Slud. %P an .5 .4 .5 .3 .3 acetate -175- RAW DATA OF NITROGEN FROM THE PROPIONATE RUNS Dosage i n anaerobic zone as mg COD/L Day # after steady state 25 1 5 8 12 15 26.2 26.0 25.8 25.7 26.2 20 1 4 8 1 1 15 15 TKN (mg/L) inf NO (mg?L) v inf anae anox aero eff 2.1 1 .8 1 .4 1 .8 2.0 <0. 1 <0.1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.1 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.1 7.2 6.8 6.6 6.8 7.0 7.0 6.8 6.4 6.6 7.0 25.8 25.8 26.0 26.2 25.7 1 .7 2.1 1.6 1.5 1.5 <0.1 <0.1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.2 0.1 <0.1 0.1 <0.1 6.8 6.0 6.6 6.5 6.8 6.8 5.9 6.4 6.5 6.2 1 5 8 12 15 24.7 24.6 24.3 24.0 24.8 1.8 1.8 1 .6 1 .4 2.0 <0. 1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0.1 0.2 0.2 <0.1 0.1 <0.1 7.1 6.9 7.3 7.3 7.5 7.1 7.0 7.2 6.9 7.5 1 5 8 12 15 27.4 27.0 27.2 26.8 27.2 2.1 2.0 2.1 1 .8 1 .6 <0.1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0. 1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 5.2 5.1 5.0 5.8 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.0 5.6 5.2 10 1 4 8 1 1 15 23.9 24. 1 24.0 24.5 24.7 1 .7 1.7 1 .6 1.6 1 .7 <0.1 <0. 1 <0. 1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0. 1 0.1 <0. 1 <0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 <0.1 0.1 7.2 7.9 7.6 7.6 7.2 7.1 7.9 7.4 7.2 7.2 5 1 5 8 12 15 22.3 22.8 22.8 23. 1 22.9 1 .9 2.1 1 .8 1 .8 1.9 <0.1 <0. 1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0. 1 <0.1 0.1 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.1 0.1 <0. 1 0.2 0.1 8.0 6.8 7.8 7.8 8.1 7.9 6.8 7.8 7.6 7.9 10 * eff * The raw sewage d u r i n g c o n c e n t r a t i o n of 14.7 mg/L as COD. this run had an acetate -176- RAW Dosage i n anaerobic zone as mg COD/L DATA OF SOLIDS FROM THE PROPIONATE RUNS Day # after steady state TSS (mg/L) VSS (mg/L) anae anox aero eff anae anox aero e f f 1 5 8 12 15 1220 1230 1220 1240 1240 2290 2290 2280 2200 2290 2310 2300 2270 2320 2310 22 24 28 18 20 840 850 880 840 830 1830 1820 1830 1800 1810 1840 1830 1830 1810 1790 16 12 18 13 14 1 4 8 1 1 15 1200 1210 1210 1 220 1210 2280 2300 2280 2300 2290 2300 2300 2290 2280 2270 24 22 27 16 20 820 800 830 810 820 1820 1800 1900 1840 1800 1800 1810 1880 1820 1800 20 24 22 1 5 8 12 15 1200 1 200 1 180 1200 1 190 2260 2240 2240 2260 2230 2290 2280 2300 2280 2310 26 28 26 25 20 860 840 820 820 830. 1800 1860 1840 1800 1820 1790 1840 1850 1810 1810 20 26 19 18 14 1 5 8 12 15 1230 1240 1260 1240 1230 2320 2320 2340 2350 2340 2360 2340 2340 2360 2340 18 26 12 20 15 820 840 860 860 810 1860 1880 1880 1860 1840 1880 1890 1900 1840 1840 8 1 1 1 1 1 4 8 1 1 15 1 1 1 1 1 180 190 190 170 190 2250 2240 2230 2230 2240 2270 2260 2270 2270 2280 28 20 16 10 22 810 800 790 810 790 1810 1800 1800 1810 1790 1820 1800 1 790 1790 1800 22 16 1 1 8 16 1 5 8 12 15 1200 1 160 1 180 1 170 1 180 2250 2250 2220 2230 2260 2270 2260 2240 2260 2290 30 22 20 18 26 800 780 780 800 780 1800 1780 1770 1800 1800 1790 1 790 1780 1790 1790 21 this run had The raw sewage d u r i n g c o n c e n t r a t i o n of 14.7 mg/L as COD. an - 15 6 - 18 16 12 14 acetate -177- RAW DATA OF COD AND ORP FROM THE PROPIONATE RUNS Dosage i n anaerobic zone as mg COD/L Day # after steady state Influent COD (mg/L) 25 1 5 8 12 15 220 225 228 230 227 24 26 27 27 20 20 1 4 8 1 1 15 230 229 224 225 229 1 5 1 5 8 12 15 Effluent COD (mg/L) Total RBD COD of feed (mg COD/L) ORP (mV) anae anox 68 72 73 72 72 -354 -354 -352 -350 -354 -180 -182 -180 -178 -180 23 28 24 24 24 67 67 66 64 66 -344 -342 -342 -340 -328 -180 -178 -174 -178 -170 230 232 229 239 238 22 21 21 22 20 58 59 58 61 61 -325 -320 -322 -320 -310 -160 -162 -168 -170 -160 1 5 8 12 15 238 235 240 242 240 27 29 24 30 28 70 70 72 73 70 -360 -355 -350 -358 -360 -180 -186 -182 10 1 4 8 1 1 15 234 240 243 245 242 24 22 22 30 26 49 51 52 53 52 -310 -308 -306 -310 -310 -150 -148 -148 -152 -150 5 1 5 8 12 15 240 244 242 248 245 24 23 23 26 24 45 46 46 47 46 -300 -290 -290 -285 -290 -148 -146 -150 -150 -149 * 10 The raw sewage d u r i n g c o n c e n t r a t i o n of 14.7 mg/L as COD. this run had an -188 -180 acetate -1 78-' RAW DATA OF CARBON STORAGE FROM THE PROPIONATE RUNS Dosage i n anaerobic zone as mg COD/L Day # after steady state anae anox aero anae anox aero 25 8 11.6 11.5 4.1 15.2 14.9 2.3 20 8 7.2 9.9 2.4 9.6 8.7 2.1 15 12 6.3 4.0 5.9 7.8 7.1 3.3 * PHB (mg/L) PHV (mg/L) 10 10 5 11.0 9.8 2.4 6.7 4.3 1.7 8 8.1 6.4 4.1 5.7 5.2 3.7 5 8 6.8 3.8 3.5 3.5 3.6 3.3 The raw sewage during c o n c e n t r a t i o n of 14.7 mg/L as COD. this run had an acetate -179- RAW DATA OF PHOSPHORUS FROM THE BUTYRATE RUNS Dosage i n Day # anaerobic after zone as steady mg COD/L s t a t e Total P (mg/L) Ortho - P (mg/L) aero e f f Aero. Slud. %P inf eff i n f anae anox 1 5 8 12 15 19 4.2 4.2 4.0 4.1 4.0 4.2 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.6 3.3 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.2 12.6 13.2 12.8 13.0 12.6 13.0 9.8 10.0 9.6 9.8 10.0 9.4 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6 4.3 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.8 4.4 1 4 8 1 1 1 5 4.2 4.2 4.0 4.3 4.4 0.9 1 .0 1.0 0.9 0.8 3.2 3.3 3.1 3.1 3.2 10.4 8.8 10.3 9.9 11.3 8.1 7.9 7.4 7.8 7.5 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 1 .1 1.0 0.9 1.1 0.9 4.1 4.3 3.9 4.6 4.4 1 5 8 1 2 15 3.7 3.8 4.1 3.9 4.0 1 .8 1.9 1 .9 1 .7 1 .8 3.1 2.9 3.0 2.8 3.1 7.0 7.4 7.5 8.0 7.1 5.7 5.9 6.4 6.7 5.0 1.7 1.6 1.6 1 .8 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.6 1 .8 1.7 2.7 2.7 3.0 2.6 2.4 1 4 8 1 1 15 4.1 4.2 4.0 4.4 4.3 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.4 3.1 3.2 3.4 3.2 3.0 5.0 5.1 4.3 4.5 4.7 4.6 3.9 3.8 4.3 4.0 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.5 1.9 2.0 2.4 2.2 1 .8 1 5 8 12 15 4.1 3.8 3.8 4.3 3.9 3.1 3.4 3.0 2.8 3.2 2.8 3.0 3.0 2.9 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.0 3.7 3.0 3.1 3.2 2.6 3.4 3.2 2.9 2.9 2.8 3.0 3.0 2.9 3.0 2.8 2.9 1.5 1.5 1 .7 1 .6 1 .8 -180- RAW DATA OF NITROGEN FROM THE BUTYRATE RUNS Dosage i n anaerobic zone as mg COD/L Day # after steady state TKN (mg/L) NO (mg?L) inf eff inf anae anox aero eff 30 1 5 8 12 15 19 24.8 23.2 24.9 24.0 23.8 24.6 2.2 1 .8 2.1 2.2 2.0 2.3 <0. 1 <0.1 <0. 1 0.2 <0.1 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.1 <0.1 0.1 6.0 5.8 6.1 6.0 5.9 6.6 5.8 6.0 6.2 5.8 6.2 5.2 25 1 4 8 1 1 15 22.4 23.0 21.1 21 .2 21 .9 1 .8 2.1 1 .1 1 .1 0.8 <0.1 <0.1 0.1 <0.1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.1 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 6.0 6.4 5.8 6.0 5.3 6.1 6.4 5.6 5.9 5.3 20 1 5 8 12 15 23.8 24.2 25.0 23.1 23.6 2.0 2.2 1 .3 1 .6 1 .6 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0. 1 <0. 1 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 6.9 7.0 5.7 6.0 6.0 6.8 7.0 5.8 5.9 6.1 15 1 4 8 1 1 15 22.0 22.8 21 .3 23.2 21 .1 1 .1 1.0 0.8 1 .1 1 .7 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.2 <0.1 <0. 1 0.1 6.8 7.6 7.4 6.0 6.5 6.8 7.4 7.4 6.1 6.5 10 1 5 8 12 15 24.1 23.4 23.8 22.1 23.5 2.1 2.3 3.1 1.6 1 .1 <0.1 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 0.1 <0. 1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0. 1 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 7.8 6.9 6.8 6.9 6.2 8.0 6.9 6.8 7.0 6.2 -181- RAW DATA OF SOLIDS FROM THE BUTYRATE RUNS Dosage i n anaerobic zone as mg COD/L Day # after steady state TSS (mg/L) VSS (mg/L) anae anox aero eff anae anox aero eff 1 5 8 12 15 19 1230 1230 1 300 1220 1260 1210 2290 2300 2320 2340 2290 2300 2290 2320 2320 2330 2320 2310 18 23 31 19 12 23 890 900 900 920 890 930 1800 1 790 1830 1880 1820 1800 1820 1820 1850 1830 1800 1840 14 19 24 13 8 12 1 4 8 1 1 15 1 190 1230 1 230 1270 1 180 2260 2400 2370 2290 2210 2280 2390 2390 2270 2190 28 31 21 32 14 930 980 920 990 880 1 720 1770 1690 1 780 1680 1730 1770 1680 1810 1620 21 24 16 22 9 1 5 8 12 15 1 150 1 170 1090 1 140 1020 2230 2230 2180 2190 2080 2200 2230 2220 2210 2060 23 19 31 15 22 870 890 920 860 790 1 620 1690 1580 1610 1490 1600 1710 1600 1640 1490 18 15 27 10 14 1 4 8 1 1 15 1000 1210 1 160 1 040 1060 21 10 2220 2200 2090 2130 2090 2180 2190 2100 2210 30 27 19 9 1 1 760 870 820 790 800 1 600 1660 1690 1 540 1590 1580 1610 1720 1590 1630 22 20 1 1 1 5 8 12 15 1050 990 1010 1 120 980 2100 2070 2090 2210 1990 2170 21 30 2060 2260 2040 18 31 30 19 28 830 710 830 860 690 1610 1570 1560 1690 1480 1630 1610 1550 1700 1520 10 23 21 12 20 -7 -1 82- RAW DATA OF COD AND ORP FROM THE BUTYRATE RUNS Dosage i n anaerobic zone as mg COD/L Day # after steady state Influent COD (mg/L) Effluent COD (mg/L) Total RBD COD of feed (mg COD/L) ORP (mV) anae anox 30 1 5 8 12 15 19 222 218 220 216 225 217 29 31 37 36 39 32 71 71 69 68 70 67 -362 -358 -350 -370 -370 -364 -190 -200 -194 -198 -204 -196 25 1 4 8 11 15 226 231 219 225 212 40 43 29 34 43 63 66 70 62 71 -365 -360 -366 -370 -360 -163 -175 -165 -159 -159 20 1 5 8 12 15 236 242 227 219 224 45 51 22 41 39 59 64 68 53 65 -362 -355 -358 -360 -351 -145 -189 -135 -148 -1 47 15 1 4 8 1 1 15 251 230 227 231 229 38 36 41 33 49 63 59 59 51 64 -370 -345 -367 -339 -342 -165 -155 -153 -149 -162 10 1 5 8 12 15 241 255 251 223 236 38 25 42 46 21 48 53 51 56 44 -344 -352 -338 -339 -329 -134 -143 -131 -129 -139 -183- RAW DATA OF CARBON STORAGE FROM THE BUTYRATE RUNS Dosage i n anaerobic zone as mg COD/L Day # after steady state anae anox aero anae anox aero 30 1 8 19 26.8 24.3 25.2 22.4 24.2 22.7 5.8 6.3 4.9 7.9 3.8 5.9 6.2 3.2 4.9 3.6 4.0 3.1 25 1 8 15 17.4 18.4 17.6 15.9 16.6 16.3 5.1 3.9 4.0 3.6 3.0 2.9 2.3 1.9 2.9 0.9 1 .3 1 .5 20 1 12 15 8.9 10.9 12.3 11.1 9.4 9.9 3.3 3.9 2.5 1.9 1 .6 3.0 2.1 2.6 3.0 1 .6 0.9 1 .3 15 1 8 15 4.9 6.2 5.9 6.1 5.4 4.8 3.0 2.1 1.8 0.9 1 .9 1.0 - 1 .6 0.9 1.0 0.2 0.3 0.5 10 1 8 15 4.3 4.9 3.8 4.3 4.1 3.8 1.9 2.3 2.0 0.8 0.6 2.1 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.3 0.5 0.3 PHB (mg/L) PHV (mg/L) -184- RAW DATA OF CARBON STORAGE AND PHOSPHORUS FROM THE BUTYRATE RUNS (Transient Dosage i n anaerobic zone as mg COD/L Day # after dosage change State) PHB (mg/L) anae anox Ortho - P (mg/L) aero anae anox aero 30 1 3 5 21 .5 19.3 18.1 20.2 18.1 16.8 5.2 4.5 4.2 11.4 10.4 10.2 8.8 8.2 7.9 0.5 0.5 0.8 1 3 5 15.0 12.9 1 1 .0 13.9 12.1 10.6 3.9 3.4 3.2 8.9 8.1 7.8 6.9 6.3 6.1 0.9 0.9 1 .6 1 3 5 8.5 6.6 5.8 8.2 6.4 5.3 2.7 2.4 2.3 6.6 5.7 4.9 5.2 4.6 4.2 1 .7 1 .9 2.1 1 3 4.9 4.5 5.0 4.4 2.1 2.0 4.2 3.8 3.6 3.2 2.6 2.9 25 20 15 10 -185- RAW DATA OF PHOSPHORUS FROM THE GLUCOSE RUNS Dosage i n Day # anaerobic after zone as steady mg COD/L s t a t e Total P (mg/L) Ortho - P (mg/L) anox aero e f f Aero. Slud. %P inf eff i n f anae 1 5 8 19 23 3.6 3.4 3.6 3.5 3.7 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.8 2.8 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.8 11.4 10.9 10.8 11.3 11.6 6.7 6.6 6.8 7.1 6.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.7 3.5 3.3 3.5 3.6 3.1 1 4 8 1 1 15 3.9 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.7 1.8 1.5 1.7 1.8 1.6 3.0 2.8 2.7 2.8 2.8 6.8 7.4 6.2 6.8 7.0 6.0 6.2 5.9 6.1 6.0 1.7 1 .6 1 .5 1.7 1.6 1 .7 1.5 1 .6 1 .7 1 .6 2.8 2.7 2.7 2.6 2.9 1 5 8 12 15 3.7 3.7 3.9 3.7 3.5 2.4 2.3 2.5 2.5 2.3 2.6 2.8 2.6 2.9 2.8 3.8 4.2 4.4 4.2 3.9 3.0 3.4 3.4 3.0 2.9 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.6 2.4 2.0 2.3 1.7 1 .7 1.8 1.6 1.8 1 6 8 12 15 4.0 3.9 4.1 3.8 3.9 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.2 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.1 13.2 13.6 13.8 12.9 12.9 7.1 6.9 7.2 6.6 6.8 <0. 1 <0. 1 4.1 0.1 4.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 4.0 <0.1 <0. 1 4.1 0.1 0.2 3.9 -186- RAW DATA OF NITROGEN FROM THE GLUCOSE RUNS Dosage i n Day # anaerobic after zone as steady mg COD/L s t a t e 45 TKN (mg/L) inf eff NO (mg?L) inf anae anox aero eff 1 5 8 19 23 23.2 22. 1 24. 1 22.3 21.9 2.1 2.9 1.8 2.0 2.5 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.3 6.2 7.0 7.4 6.8 7.0 6.1 6.8 7.4 6.9 6.9 1 4 8 11 15 22.6 21.3 21.7 20.8 23.4 2.4 1.8 3.4 1.4 2.8 <0.1 <0.1 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 6.2 6.4 6.0 5.9 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.2 5.9 6.2 1 5 8 12 15 20.9 22.3 21.4 21.8 20.9 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.6 2.0 <0. 1 <0. 1 <0. 1 <0. 1 <0.. 1 <0. <0. <0. <0. <0. 1 1 1 1 1 0.1 <0. 1 0.2 0.2 0. 1 6.4 6.9 5.4 6.8 6.6 6.2 6.6 5.2 6.9 6.6 1 6 8 12 15 19.8 18.9 20.0 19.4 18.6 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.4 1 .2 <0. 1 <0. 1 <0.1 0.2 <0. 1 <0. <0. <0. <0. <0. 1 1 1 1 1 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 8.3 9.8 7.4 7.2 8.1 8.4 9.8 7.1 7.3 8.1 -187- RAW DATA OF SOLIDS FROM THE GLUCOSE RUNS Dosage i n Day # anaerobic after zone as steady itate 60 TSS (mg/L) anae anox aero 1 5 8 19 23 1410 1380 1430 1290 1330 2540 2480 2590 2520 2540 2560 2490 2580 2550 2500 1 4 8 1 1 15 1290 1300 1340 1280 1260 2320 2400 2310 2310 2300 1 5 8 12 15 1240 1260 1 190 1240 1290 1 6 8 12 15 1620 1660 1610 1590 1620 VSS (mg/L) eff anae anox aero 24 23 10 8 20 1030 1075 11 20 980 1020 2070 1920 2100 2040 1990 2080 1990 2140 2180 2060 18 18 6 4 12 2320 2360 2290 2360 2340 4 18 10 21 20 960 980 1000 990 1020 1850 1900 1870 1820 1860 1860 1920 1800 1790 1900 18 8 16 16 2400 2300 2340 231 0 2430 241 0 2290 2310 2340 2410 10 14 23 22 15 940 960 820 940 990 1790 1740 1810 1810 1820 1770 1780 1820 1810 1830 8 1 1 20 16 10 2800 2800 2810 2740 2790 2810 2790 2840 2820 2740 20 10 5 21 20 1 190 1220 1200 1 180 1260 2250 2190 2320 2310 2240 2300 2210 2330 2310 2260 16 8 eff - - 14 13 -1 88- RAW DATA OF COD AND ORP FROM THE GLUCOSE RUNS Dosage i n anaerobic zone as mg COD/L 60 Day # after steady state Influent COD (mg/L) Effluent COD (mg/L) Total RBD COD of feed (mg COD/L) ORP (mV) anae anox 190 198 176 210 172 36 39 26 32 23 70 74 66 77 64 -398 -390 -393 -382 -390 -136 -131 -121 -129 -1 36 4 8 1 1 15 190 201 176 232 198 26 29 36 43 32 61 66 58 67 59 -386 -362 -344 -366 -362 -179 -171 -169 -188 -1 72 30 1 5 8 12 15 222 206 232 204 208 29 28 31 23 26 58 52 58 47 53 -360 -350 -358 -356 -342 -1 42 -1 44 -148 -151 -1 47 75 1 174 180 204 194 208 29 36 39 38 42 77 79 87 84 88 -401 -412 -408 -390 -406 -129 -131 -128 -110 -1 17 1 5 8 19 23 45 1 6 8 12 15 -189- RAW DATA OF CARBON STORAGE FROM THE GLUCOSE; RUNS Dosage i n anaerobic zone as mg COD/L Day # after steady state PHB (mg/L) Glycogen (mg/L) anae anox aero anae anox aero 60 1 8 23 23.6 25.2 25.3 16.3 18.7 17.4 5.0 4.3 3.6 183 1 79 180 440 429 421 442 461 475 45 1 8 15 10.9 1 1 .7 11.1 9.7 10.3 2.2 2.9 3.1 169 180 175 380 362 394 389 402 396 30 1 8 15 6.4 5.8 6.0 4.5 3.9 5.4 2.9 2.5 1 .6 1 64 169 151 329 342 335 341 363 322 75 1 6 15 32.4 31 .8 29.9 19.8 20.5 19.0 4.9 4.9 4.2 159 162 172 - 450 422 437 498 463 472 -1 90- RAW DATA OF THE EFFLUENT ORTHO-P PROFILE ( s e c t i o n 4.11) Days 1 4 7 1 1 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 28 32 35 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 53 56 60 63 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 ACETATE Ortho-P 0. 1 0.1 0. 1 0. 1 0. 1 0. 1 0. 1 0. 1 0. 1 0. 1 0. 1 0.1 0. 1 0. 1 0.1 0. 1 0. 1 0. 1 0.1 0. 1 0. 1 0. 1 0. 1 0.1 0. 1 0. 1 0. 1 0. 1 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.7 PROPIONATE Days Ortho-P 1 5 8 12 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 29 33 36 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 54 57 61 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 75 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.5 0.8 1 .0 0.9 0.7 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 1 .1 1 .2 1 .2 1 .4 1 .5 1 .5 1 .4 1 .6 1 .5 1 .4 1 .2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Days 1 5 8 12 15 19 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 36 40 43 47 49. 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 61 64 68 71 73 74 75 76 77 78 BUTYRATE Ortho-P 0.5 0.4 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.8 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.8 1 .1 1 .0 0.9 1 .0 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9 1 .4 1 .6 1 .8 1 .7 1 .8 1 .8 1.7 1 .6 1 .8 1 .7 1 .7 1 .8 1.9 2.1 2.1 2.3 (continued) -191- RAW DATA OF THE EFFLUENT ORTHO-P PROFILE ( s e c t i o n 4.11) Days ACETATE Ortho-P 75 76 77 81 84 88 91 95 98 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 1 10 1 1 1 1 12 1 13 116 119 123 127 131 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 145 148 152 155 159 162 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.8 1.0 1.3 1.7 1 .6 1.7 1.7 1.8 1.7 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.9 1 .8 1.8 1 .8 2.1 3.1 3.0 3.5 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.4 PROPIONATE Days Ortho-P 78 82 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 • 93 94 95 96 99 102 106 110 1 1 1 1 12 113 1 14 115 1 16 1 17 118 1 19 120 124 127 131 134 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.7 0.9 1.3 2.0 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.5 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.8 3.1 3.0 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.2 3.1 3.0 3.0 3.1 3.2 BUTYRATE Days Ortho 79 80 81 82 85 89 92 96 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 110 113 1 17 120 - 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.9 3.0 3.0 2.9 3.0 3.0 3. 1 3.0 2.9 3.0 2.8 2.9 -1 9 2 - APPENDIX A3 RAW DATA FROM THE COLD STORAGE TESTINGS -1 93- RAW DATA FROM THE COLD STORAGE TESTING I ( A l l c o n c e n t r a t i o n s a r e i n mg/L) Day # BOD COD NO Total P PO.-P T o t a l VFA 110 119 263 268 <0.1 <0.1 28.3 29.4 4.4 4.1 3.3 3.3 <3 <3 104 112 251 257 <0.1 <0.1 27.6 27.1 4.3 4.3 3.1 3.1 <3 <3 98 107 255 255 <0.1 <0.1 28.1 28.2 4.4 4.5 3.4 3.4 <3 <3 106 106 261 249 <0.1 <0.1 26.9 27.3 4.2 4.1 3.4 3.4 <3 <3 110 104 246 252 0.1 <0.1 27.3 27.9 4.2 4.2 3.3 3.2 <3 <3 10 117 122 237 241 <0.1 <0.1 29.4 28.2 4.4 4.1 3.0 3.0 <3 <3 12 103 99 252 239 <0.1 0.1 26.3 26.9 4.2 4.0 3.3 3.3 <3 <3 14 102 104 248 239 <0.1 <0.1 28.8 27.1 4.3 4.0 3.2 3.1 <3 <3 X TKN ft -1 9 4 - RAW DATA FROM THE COLD STORAGE TESTING II ( A l l c o n c e n t r a t i o n s are i n mg/L) TKN Total P P0 ~P T o t a l VFA <0.1 0.1 24.3 24.6 4.1 4.0 3.2 3.2 <3 <3 228 219 <0.1 <0.1 23.1 22.9 4.2 4.3 3.2 3.1 <3 <3 97 98 227 230 <0.1 <0.1 24.0 24.0 4.2 4.2 3.1 3.1 <3 <3 81 80 234 234 0.1 0.1 24.6 25.1 4.1 4.0 3.3 3.4 <3 <3 86 81 225 219 <0.1 <0.1 23.4 24.0 4.0 3.9 3.3 3.3 <3 <3 10 90 94 217 224 <0.1 <0.1 23.5 23.8 4.2 4.3 3.4 3.4 <3 <3 12 83 85 230 231 <0.1 <0.1 22.4 22.9 4.2 4.1 3.1 3.1 <3 <3 14 79 88 224 218 <0.1 <0.1 23.1 23.6 4.0 4.0 3.3 3.2 <3 <3 Day # BOD COD NO 89 87 232 236 92 83 x 4