title: High rate treatment by aerobic upflow sludge blanket (AUSB) with external oxygenation.
abstract: A 3-year study was conducted using an aerobic upflow sludge blanket (AUSB) reactor to achieve high-rate biological treatment through maintenance of a high biomass concentration (7-10 g VSS/L) together with a high oxygen flux. The AUSB reactor was not aerated directly; instead, oxygenation was provided in an external chamber with flow recirculation. The oxygenation was provided at four different pressurizations: 0, 15, 20 and 25 psig. The AUSB reactor was also pressurized to avoid the flotation of biomass. The flow recirculation rate was varied from 400% to 1,500% in order to ensure adequate oxygen supply. It was found that the AUSB system was able to handle a volumetric loading of as high as 10 kg COD/m3-day with a removal efficiency of 92%. Despite a high upflow velocity through AUSB, the effluent suspended solid concentration was mostly below 60 mg/L. The active fraction of biomass in the AUSB sludge was about 3 times higher than that of the regular activated sludge. This was indicated by a very high specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR), up to 180-250 mg O2/g VSS-hr. The sludge yield in the entire system was only 0.09 to 0.13 g VSS/g COD removed. This was mainly caused by additional auto-oxidation of biosolids in the oxygenation chamber due to flow recirculation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clearwater Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D001420:Bacteria, Aerobic / Q000378:metabolism*; D018533:Biomass; D019149:Bioreactors; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism*; D011312:Pressure; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D010100:Oxygen