Suspended bioreactors

Operating the airlift pump, water enters the reactor through the perforations on top of the
black lid, passes through the cartridge and flows out. When water comes in contact with
the immobilized bacteria on the surface of the beads, nitrification takes place and
dissolved ammonia in the water is converted to nitrates.
The framework of the inner cartridge is made in such a way that larvae, plankton, and
food particles when enters, pass out through the airlift pump without mutilation and
damage.

™ Suspended Bioreactor Types

• Completely mixed activated sludge systems (continuous wastewater feed)
• Plug flow activated sludge systems (continuous wastewater feed)
• Sequencing batch reactors (batch wastewater feed)
• Aerobic digesters (batch or continuous sludge feed)
• Anaerobic digesters (batch or continuous sludge feed)

Mixing Regime

Generally two types of mixing regimes are of major interest in activated sludge process:
plug flow and complete mixing. In the first one, the regime is characterized by orderly
flow of mixed liquid through the aeration tank with no element of mixed liquid
overtaking or mixing with any other element. There may be lateral mixing of mixed
liquor but there must be no mixing along the path of flow.
In complete mixing, the contents of aeration tank are well stirred and uniform throughout.
Thus, at steady state, the effluent from the aeration tank has the same composition as the
aeration tank contents.

The type of mixing regime is very important as it affects (1) oxygen transfer requirements
in the aeration tank, (2) susceptibility of biomass to shock loads, (3) local environmental
conditions in the aeration tank, and (4) the kinetics governing the treatment process.

Applications of Suspended Growth Reactors

• Onsite applications limited to moderate or high strength leachates or ground water
• Inhibitory concentrations of hazardous wastes can prevent onsite application
• PAC addition to activated sludge reactors can extend onsite inhibitory waste
applications
• Alternatively, ground water and leachates can be routed to and processed at
central wastewater treatment plants

Fixed biofilm reactors

Biofilm
A biofilm is defined as a structured community of bacterial cells enclosed in a self-
produced polymeric matrix and adherent to an inert or living surface.

Formation of a biofilm begins with the attachment of free-floating microorganisms to a

surface.

Development of biofilm

There are five stages of biofilm development (In Figure):

1. Initial attachment

The life of a biofilm starts with the planktonic or free floating cell. In order for a
planktonic cell to attach to a surface, it must first interact with the surface. These first
colonies adhere to the surface initially and then attach via van der Waals forces.

2. Irreversible attachment by the production of extracellular polymeric

substances (EPS)
Then the aggregation of microorganisms occur in which cells adhere to each other and/or
to a surface. These adherent cells are frequently embedded within a self-produced matrix
of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS).

EPS serves to bind the cell to the surface and to protect it from the surrounding
environment. EPS can be composed of polysaccharides, proteins, nucleic acids, or
phospholipids. A common EPS produced by bacterial cells in biofilms is the
exopolysaccharide alginate.

3. Early development
EPS provide protection to biofilm cells by providing a diffusive barrier to any toxic
compounds that could harm the cells as well as a barrier to phagocytes and bacteriocides.
The EPS can also represent a barrier to nutrients necessary for cell growth. Cells in the
interior of a biofilm often show a much reduced rate of growth and cell division rate may
be near zero. The reduced growth rate is itself protective because uptake of toxic
substances is also reduced. The presence of the EPS matrix may also serve as a spatial
restrictor of cell growth and division.

4. Maturation of biofilm architecture

Water and nutrient diffusion into the interior of a biofilm is highly limited. As biofilms
mature, water channels can develop that allow water and nutrient access deeper into the
biofilm. These channels partially relieve the diffusion limitation within the biofilm. The
architecture of the biofilm develops in response to shear forces. In low shear
environments, biofilms can form as thick mushroom-like masses. In high shear
environments, biofilms may be flatter or form long strands.

5. Dispersion

A final stage that may occur in the life of a biofilm is reversion of part of the cells to the
planktonic state.
Fig. five stages of biofilm development

Factors enhancing biofilm formation

Several parameters affect how quickly biofilms form and mature, including surface,
cellular, and environmental factors.

Biofilm formation also tends to increase with the hydrophobicity of the surface material.
Biofilms form much more rapidly on Teflon and other plastics than glass or metal.
Possibly this is due to differences in hydrophobicity of the surfaces and ionic charges.
Biofilm reactors in biological wastewater treatment

The application of biofilm technology in wastewater treatment originated from the

industrial operation of trickling filters in the early 1880s in Wales, Great Britain [45].
Biofilm processes in wastewater treatment can be divided into two categories: namely (1)
the fixed-medium systems where the biofilm media are static in the reactors and the
biological reactions take place in the biofilm developed on the static media, and (2) the
moving-medium systems where the biofilm media are kept continually moving by means
of mechanical, hydraulic, or air forces. The moving-medium systems include rotating
biological contactors, moving-bed biofilm reactors, vertically moving biofilm reactors,
and fluidized bed biofilm reactors; while the fixed-medium systems include trickling
filters and biological aerated filters. Rotating biological contactors (RBC) have been
widely used in biological treatment of wastewater for reducing chemical oxygen demand
(COD)/biological oxygen demand (BOD) and nitrification/denitrification purposes.
Rotating biological contactors treat wastewater streams using a thin biofilm of aerobic
microorganisms on rotating cylinders or biodiscs. The rate of rotation is selected to
provide optimum contact of the waste stream with the biofilm for efficient oxygen
transfer and bioactivity.
Figure
Schematic diagrams of various types of biofilm reactors and biofilm particles.

Activated sludge

Activated sludge is a process for treating sewage and industrial wastewaters using air
and a biological material composed of bacteria and protozoans.

An important part of the municipal wastewater treatment is the BOD-removal. The

removal of BOD is done by a biological process, such as the suspended growth treatment
process.
The activated sludge process was discovered in 1913 in the UK by two engineers,
Edward Ardern and W.T. Lockett, conducting research for the Manchester Corporation
Rivers Department at Davyhulme Sewage Works. Experiments on treating sewage in a
draw-and-fill reactor produced a highly treated effluent. Believing that the sludge had
been activated (in a similar manner to activated carbon) the process was named activated
sludge. Not until much later was it realized that what had actually occurred was a means
to concentrate biological organisms, decoupling the liquid retention time (ideally, low,
for a compact treatment system) from the solids retention time (ideally, fairly high, for an
effluent low in BOD5 and ammonia.)

A generalized, schematic diagram of an activated sludge process.

Arrangement

The general arrangement of an activated sludge process for removing carbonaceous

pollution includes the following items:

• Aeration tank where air (or oxygen) is injected in the mixed liquor.
• Settling tank (usually referred to as "final clarifier" or "secondary settling tank")
to allow the biological flocs to settle, thus separating the biological sludge from
the clear treated water.

Treatment of nitrogenous matter or phosphate involves additional steps where the mixed
liquor is left in anoxic condition (meaning that there is no residual dissolved oxygen).
Aerated lagoon
Lagoons and ponds refer broadly to basins constructed in, or on the ground surface, using
earthen dikes to retain the wastewater within which natural stabilization processes occur
with the necessary oxygen coming from atmospheric diffusion, photosynthetic and/or
mechanical sources.
An aerated lagoon or aerated basin is a holding and/or treatment pond provided with
artificial aeration to promote the biological oxidation of wastewaters.

Methods of aerating lagoons or basins

There are many methods for aerating a lagoon or basin:

™ Coarse Bubble Static Tubes

Course bubble static tubes create bubbles by pushing air through a series of
baffles(panel in vessels) that break up the air flow into bubbles. aeration systems try
to dissolve oxygen into the wastewater by creating bubbles that contain oxygen. As
 the bubbles move through the water, air and oxygen will diffuse into the bulk liquid
by transferring across the bubbles surface.

™ Fine Bubble Aerators

Fine bubbles are much more efficient at transferring air because they create a larger
transfer surface area per unit volume of added air.
If a given volume of air is broken into large bubbles, while an equal amount of air is
broken into small bubbles, the smaller bubbles will create a greater opportunity for
oxygen to transfer into the water. This is because the smaller bubbles will contain the
same volume of air in a greater number of air bubbles. As the number of bubbles
increase, so does the available surface area over which air can be transferred into
water.

™ Floating Aerators

Motor driven, mechanical aerators provide a combination of liquid aeration and mixing.
Some mechanical aerators produce the gas - liquid interface by entraining air from the
atmosphere and dispersing it into bubbles.
Sludge suspension and it's associated mixing requirements in the activated sludge process
is usually satisfied when the aerators are selected on the basis of oxygen transfer. For
aerated lagoons sludge suspension and the associated mixing usually determine aeration
equipment size selection.
Motor driven, mechanical aerators provide a combination of liquid aeration and mixing.
Some mechanical aerators produce the gas - liquid interface by entraining air from the
atmosphere and dispersing it into bubbles. Other types disperse liquid in the form of
droplets or they produce jets or thin films that contact the ambient air. Some other types
even generate both liquid droplets and air bubbles.

™ Injection of air through submerged diffusers

An air diffuser or membrane diffuser is an aeration device typically in the shape of
a disc, tube or plate, which is used to transfer air and with that oxygen into sewage or
industrial wastewater. Oxygen is required by microorganisms/bacteria residents in the
water to break down the pollutants.
Submerged diffused air is essentially a form of a diffuser grid inside a lagoon. There
are two main types of submerged diffused aeration systems for lagoon applications:
floating lateral and submerged lateral.
Waste Stabilization

Waste Stabilization Ponds (WSPs) are large, manmade water bodies. The ponds are filled
with wastewater that is then treated by naturally occurring processes. The ponds can be
used individually, or linked in a series for improved treatment. There are three types of
ponds, (1) anaerobic, (2) facultative and (3) aerobic (maturation), each with different
treatment and design characteristics.

(1) Anaerobic Pond:

For the most effective treatment, WSPs should be linked in a series of three of more
with effluent being transferred from the anaerobic pond to the facultative pond and
finally the aerobic pond. The anaerobic pond reduces solids and BOD as a pre-
treatment stage. The pond is a fairly deep man-made lake where the entire depth of
the pond is anaerobic. Anaerobic ponds are built to a depth of 2 to 5m and have a
relatively short detention time of 1 to 7 days. The actual design will depend on the
wastewater characteristics and the loading; a comprehensive design manual should be
consulted for all types of WSPs. Anaerobic bacteria convert organic carbon into
methane and in the process, remove up to 60% of the BOD. Anaerobic ponds are
capable of treating strong wastewaters.

(2) Facultative Pond:

A facultative pond is shallower than an anaerobic pond and both aerobic and
anaerobic processes occur within the pond. The top layer of the pond receives oxygen
 from natural diffusion, wind mixing and algaedriven photosynthesis. The lower layer
is deprived of oxygen and becomes anoxic or anaerobic. Settleable solids accumulate
and are digested on the bottom of the pond. The aerobic and anaerobic organisms
work together to achieve BOD reductions of up to 75%. The pond should be
constructed to a depth of 1 to 2.5m and have a detention time between 5 to 30 days.

(2) Maturation Pond:

An aerobic pond is commonly referred to as a maturation, polishing, or finishing
pond because it is usually the last step in a series of ponds and provides the final level
of treatment. It is the shallowest of the ponds, usually constructed to a depth between
0.5 to 1.5m deep to ensure that the sunlight penetrates the full depth for
photosynthesis. Because photosynthesis is driven by sunlight, the dissolved oxygen
levels are highest during the day and drop off at night. Whereas anaerobic and
facultative ponds are designed for BOD removal, maturation ponds are designed for
pathogen removal. Dissolved oxygen in the lake is provided by natural wind mixing
and by photosynthetic algae that release oxygen into the water. If used in combination
with algae and/or fish harvesting, this type of pond is effective at removing the
majority of nitrogen and phosphorus from the effluent.

To prevent leaching, the ponds should have a liner. The liner can be clay, asphalt,
compacted earth, or another impervious material. To protect the pond from runoff and
erosion, a protective berm should be constructed around the pond using the excavated
material

Advantages & Disadvantages/limitations

Advantages Disadvantages/limitations
- High reduction in pathogens. - Requires expert design and supervision.
- Can be built and repaired with locally - Variable capital cost depending on the
available materials. price of land.
- Construction can provide short-term - Requires large land area.
employment to local labourers. - Effluent/sludge require secondary
- Low operating cost. treatment and/or appropriate discharge.
- No electrical energy required.
- No real problems with flies or odours if
designed correctly.

Maintenance

To prevent scum formation, excess solids and garbage from entering the ponds, pre-
treatment (with grease traps) is essential to maintain the ponds. The pond must be
desludged once every 10 to 20 years. A fence should be installed to ensure that people
and animals stay out of the area and excess garbage does not enter the ponds. Rodents
may invade the berm and cause damage to the liner. Raising the water level should
prompt rodents to evacuate the berm. Care should be taken to ensure that plant material
does not fall into the ponds. Vegetation or macrophytes that are present in the pond
should be removed as it may provide a breeding habitat for mosquitoes and prevent light
from penetrating the water column.

Stabilization ponds are used for municipal waste water treatment in many countries with
ample sunshine, including Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Jordan,
Morocco, Nicaragua, Tunisia and Uganda.