title: Reduction of sludge generation by the addition of support material in a cyclic activated sludge system for municipal wastewater treatment.
abstract: An innovative biomass carrier (Biobob®) was tested for municipal wastewater treatment in an activated sludge system to evaluate the pollutant removal performance and the sludge generation for different carrier volumes. The experiment was carried out in a pilot-scale cyclic activated sludge system (CASS®) built with three cylindrical tanks in a series: an anoxic selector (2.1 m(3)), an aerobic selector (2.5 m(3)) and the main aerobic reactor (25.1 m(3)). The results showed that by adding the Biobob® carrier decreased the MLVSS concentration, which consequently reduced the waste sludge production of the system. Having 7% and 18% (v/v) support material in the aerobic reactor, the observed biomass yield decreased 18% and 36%, respectively, relative to the reactor operated with suspended biomass. The addition of media did not affect the system's performance for COD and TSS removal. However, TKN and TN removal were improved by 24% and 14%, respectively, using 18% (v/v) carrier.
authors.affiliation: Bio Proj Tecnologia Ambiental, Rua Major José Inácio, 2920, 13560-161 São Carlos, SP, Brazil. moacir@bioproj.com.br
authors.forename: Moacir Messias de
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Araujo
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lermontov
authors.forename: Philippe Lopes da Silva
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Araujo
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zaiat
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D012722:Sewage; D062065:Wastewater; D018508:Water Purification / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Biomass yield; MBBR; Polyurethane foam; SBBR; Sewage