PROCESS ANALYSIS AND

SELECTION
TYPES OF REACTORS

 Batch reactor
 Activated sludge biological treatment in a sequence batch reactor

 Complete-Mix reactor
 Aerated lagoon, aerobic sludge digestion

 Complete-Mix reactor with recycle

 Activated sludge

 Plug flow reactor

 Chlorine contact basin, oxidation ditch

 Plug flow reactor with recycle

 Activated sludge

 Complete-Mix reactor in series

 Packed-bed
 Trickling filter, air stripping
 Gas Gas Gas

Feed Feed

Feed
Completely mixed Anaerobic contact process Up-flow packed bed
Gas
Gas Gas
Feed Feed
Recycle

Feed
Downflow packed bed Sequencing Batch Reactor Fluidized bed
Gas Gas Gas

Recycle

Feed Feed
Feed
UASB incorporating separate settler
Expanded bed UASB
Gas Gas Gas
Feed
Feed

Baffled reactor Membrane

Feed
Hybrid UASB Gas Membrane solids separation

Stage Reactor
Feed
MASS-BALANCE ANALYSIS

 Accumulation = inflow – outflow + generation

 Steady-state condition
 Dynamic condition
REACTIONS

 Type of reactions
 Homogeneous reactions
 Simple reaction
 Consecutive reaction
 Reversible vs irreversible reaction

 Heterogeneous reaction
 Reaction kinetics
 Rate of reaction
 Reaction order
PROCESS SELECTION

 Involved detail evaluation of various factors in selection

of unit operation and unit processes to meet objectives
 Table 4-11 (pg. 298 Metcalf and eddy)
 FUNDAMENTALS OF
BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT
OBJECTIVES OF
BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT

 Transform (or oxidise) dissolved and particulate

biodegradable constituents into acceptable end
products
 Capture and incorporate suspended and nonsettleable
colloidal solids into a biological floc or biofilm
 Transform or remove nutrients, e.g. N & P
TYPICAL FLOW DIAGRAM
TYPICAL FLOW DIAGRAM
ROLE OF MICROORGANISMS

 Removal of dissolved and particulate carbonaceous BOD

is accomplished biologically using variety of
microorganisms principally bacteria
 For aerobic processes:

COHNS + O2 + NH3 + PO43- → → → new cells + CO2 + H2O

METABOLIC FUNCTION

 Aerobic (oxic) processes – Biological treatment

processes that occur in the presence of oxygen
 Anaerobic processes – Biological treatment processes
that occur in the absence of oxygen
 Anoxic processes – The process by which NO3-N is
converted biologically to N2 gas in the absence of
oxygen – denitrification process
 Facultative processes – Biological treatment processes
in which the organisms can function in the presence or
absence of molecular oxygen
CELL COMPONENTS
Typical internal structure of cells: (a) prokaryotic and
(b) eukaryotic
CELL COMPONENTS

 Cell wall – provides strength to maintain the cell shape and

protects cell membrane
 Cell membrane – controls the passage of dissolved organics
and nutrients into the cell and the waste materials and
metabolic b-products out of cell
 Cytoplasm – contains the material within the cell to carry
out cell functions and includes water, nutrients, enzymes,
ribosomes and small organic molecules
 Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) – A double-stranded helix-
shaped molecule that contains genetic information that
determines the nature of cell protein and enzymes that are
produced
 Fimbria and pili – Short protein hairlike structures that
enable bacteria to stick to surface and each other
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

 Composed of a series of nucleotides

 Each nucleotides consists of carbon, nitrogen and
phosphate molecule
 The sequence of nucleotides in DNA contains necessary
genetic codes for the cell
 Determine the specific proteins and enzymes that the
bacteria can produce
 E-coli has 4.7 million nucleotides in each DNA strand
CELL ENZYMES

 Consist of protein and a cofactor such as metal ion which

determine the metabolic capability of microorganisms in
wastewater treatment
 Large organic molecules
 Catalyse biological reactions necessary for cell functions
 Hydrolysis, oxidation-reduction reactions, cell synthesis reactions

 Extracellular enzymes
 Enzyme produces for activity outside cell
 Eg. Hydrolysis of particulates and large molecules to be transported across
membrane

 Type of enzymes
 Constitutive – produced continuously by cell
 Inducible – produced in response to the presence of particular compound

 Enzyme activity is affected by temperature and pH

CELL COMPOSITION
Cell 80% water

20% dry material

90% organic 10%

(53% is C) inorganic

Major nutrients
Micro nutrients
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

 Temperature
 Growth rate doubles with ~10oC increase in T
 10-30oC (optimum 12-18oC): Psychorphilic
 20-50oC (optimum 25-40oC): Mesophilic
 35-75oC (optimum 55-65oC): Thermophilic
 pH
 Optimum: 6.5-7.5
 Intolerable: > 9.5 or < 4.0
MICROBIAL METABOLISM

 Energy and carbon are required for synthesis of new

cell material along with inorganic elements as nutrient
and organic nutrients as growth factor
CARBON SOURCES

 Needed for cell growth (“raw material”)

 Two carbon sources
 Organic matter (heterotrophs)
 Carbon dioxide (autotrophs)
 Carbon dioxide → cellular carbon
 A reductive process
 Requires net energy input
 Autotrophs organisms spend more of energy for synthesis
than heterotrops
 Lower yields of cell mass and growth rate
ENERGY SOURCES

 Needed for cell synthesis

 Supplied by light or chemical oxidation reactions
 Light as energy source – phototrophs
 Heterotrophs (sulfur reducing bacteria)
 Autotrophs (algae and photosynthetic bacteria)
 Energy from chemical reactions – chemotrophs
 Heterotrophs (protozoa, fungi and most bacteria) –
oxidation of organic compounds
 Autotrophs (i.e. nitrifying bacteria) – oxidation of reduced
inorganic compounds such as ammonia, nitrite, ferrous
iron and sulphide
CHEMOTROPHS

 Oxygen used as electron acceptor – aerobic reaction

 Organisms that meet their energy needs ONLY with oxygen
are called obligate aerobic
 Other electron acceptor – anaerobic reaction
 Anoxic – when nitrite or nitrate is used as electron
acceptor under anaerobic condition (reduced to N2 gas -
denitrification)
 Organisms that generate energy through fermentation and
can only exits in oxygen-devoid condition are called
obligate anaerobes
OXIDATION-REDUCTION
REACTIONS IN CHEMOTROPHS

 Involve transfer of electrons from electron donor to

acceptor
 Electron donor is oxidized while electron acceptor is
reduced
 Electron donor or acceptor can be either organic or
inorganic compounds, depending on microorganism
 Electron acceptor can be either within the cell or can be
obtained from outside cell (i.e. dissolved oxygen)
 External electron acceptor – respiratory metabolism
 Internal electron acceptor – fermentative metabolism (less
efficient)
CHEMOTROPH CLASSIFICATION
NUTRIENT AND GROWTH FACTOR
REQUIREMENTS

 Limiting materials for microbial cell synthesis and growth

 Major inorganic nutrients: N, S, P, K, Mg, Ca, Fe, Na, Cl
 Minor nutrients: Zn, Mn, Mo,Se, Co, Cu, Ni
 Organic nutrients
 Also called growth factors
 Compounds that cannot be synthesized from other C sources
 Fall under three classes (1) amino acids, (2) nitrogen bases (i.e. purines and
pyrimidines), and (3) vitamins

 Sufficient nutrients are generally present in municipal

wastewater
 Lack of nutrient in industrial wastewater with high organic
content
 Nutrient requirements
 12.2 g of N and 2.3 g of P per 100 g of cell biomass
BACTERIAL GROWTH
 Bacterial reproduction by binary
fission
 Generation time vary from days
to less than 20 minutes
 Growth pattern
1. Lag phase
2. Exponential growth phase
3. Stationary phase
4. Death phase
BIOMASS YIELD

 Cell growth occurs concurrent with the oxidation of

organic and inorganic compounds (termed as substrates)
 The ratio of the amount of biomass produced to the
amount of substrate consumed (g biomass/g substrate)
is defined as biomass yield.
e.g. g biomass/g COD or BOD removed
 Estimating biomass yield
 Stoichiometry approach (page 568 M&E)
 Bioenergetics (page 571 M&E)
 Similar to half-reaction calculation in Chemical oxidation

Example 7-1 to 7-4

 TYPICAL BACTERIA SYNTHESIS YIELD
COEFFICIENTS
Growth Electron acceptor
Condition Electron donor Synthesis Yield
Aerobic Organic compound Oxygen 0.40 g VSS/g COD
Aerobic Ammonia Oxygen 0.12 g VSS/g NH4-N
Anoxic Organic compound Nitrate 0.30 g VSS/g COD
Anaerobic Organic compound Organic compound 0.06 g VSS/g COD
Anaerobic Acetate Carbon dioxide 0.05 g VSS/g COD
MICROBIAL GROWTH KINETICS

 Describe the dynamics of substrate utilization and

microbial growth
 Terms
 Biodegradable COD (bCOD) or ultimate BOD (Lo):
measurement of mixed biodegradable compound in
wastewater
 Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Volatile Suspended Solids
(VSS): quantify the biomass solids in bioreactors
 Mixed Liquor Suspended Solids (MLSS) or Mixed Liquor
Volatile Suspended Solids (MLVSS): mixture of solids from
recycled sludge and influent wastewater in bioreactor
Rate of Soluble Substrates Utilization

 Removal of substrate ≡ depletion of electron donor

 Aerobic – organics, ammonia or nitrite

 Substrate utilisation rate (Monod equation)

kXS (7-12)
rsu  
Ks  S
where rsu = rate of substrate concentration change due to utilization,
g/m3∙d
k = maximum specific substrate utilization rate, g substrate/g
microorganism∙d
X = biomass (microorganism) concentration , g/m3
S = growth-limiting substrate concentration in solution, g/m3
Ks = half velocity constant, substrate concentration at ½ maximum
substrate utilisation rate, g/m3
 Rate of Soluble Substrates Utilization
 Maximum substrate utilization rate
occurs at high soluble concentration
 As substrate concentration decrease,
rate utilization also decrease linearly
 Maximum rate of substrate utilization
correspond to maximum growth

m
m = kY (7-13) and k  (7-14)
Y
where
m = max. specific bacterial growth
rate, g new cells/g cells∙d
Y = true yield coefficient, g/g
m XS
rsu   (7-15)
Y (Ks  S )
Rate of Biomass Growth with
soluble Substrate

 Biomass growth rate is proportional to substrate

utilisation rate by synthesis yield coefficient
 Biomass decay is proportional to biomass present
where
rg = net biomass production rate,
rg = - Yrsu – kdX (7-21) g VSS/m3 ∙ d
kd = endogenous decay coefficient,
kXS g VSS/g VSS ∙ d
Y  kd X (7-22)
 = specific biomass growth rate,
Ks  S g VSS/g VSS ∙ d
rg kS
  Y  kd
X Ks  S (7-23)
Kinetic Coefficients

 k, Ks, Y, kd – vary as a function of wastewater

characteristics, microbial population, and
temperature
Value
Determine
 Coefficient from bench
Unitscale or full-scale study
Range Typical
 Typical kinetic values at 20oC for activated sludge
k g bsCOD/g VSS∙d
process treating domestic wastewater:2-10 5
mg/L BOD 25-100 60
Ks
mg/L bsCOD 10-60 40
mg VSS/mg BOD 0.4-0.8 0.6
Y
mg VSS/mg bsCOD 0.3-0.6 0.4
kd g VSS/g VSS 0.06-0.15 0.10
Rate of Oxygen Uptake

 Related to the organic utilization rate and growth rate

ro = -rsu – 1.42rg (7-24)

where
ro = oxygen uptake rate, g O2/m3∙d
1.42 = COD of cell tissue, g bsCOD/g VSS
TOTAL VSS AND ACTIVE BIOMASS

 Total VSS comprised of active biomass, cell debris (10-

15% of original cell weight), and non-biodegradable VSS
(nbVSS) in the influent
 Rate of production of cell debris α endogenous decay
rate where
rxd = rate of cell debris production, gVSS/m3∙d
fd = fraction of biomass remains as cell debris,
rXd = fd (kd) X (7-25) 0.10-0.15 g VSS/g VSS
Total VSS
 TVSS production rate in aeration tank is given as
follows: net VSS nbVSS nbVSS
from sbCOD from cells in influent

rX T ,VSS  Yrsu  k d X  f d (k d ) X  QX o ,i / V (7-26)

where rXT,VSS = total VSS production rate, g/m3∙d

Q = influent flow rate, m3/d
Xo,i = influent nbVSS concentration, g/m3
V = volume of reactor, m3
Active Biomass

 Active fraction of biomass in the MLVSS is the ratio of

the sum of the growth and decay term divided by the
total MLVSS production

FX,act = (-Yrsu – kdX)/rXT,VSS (7-27)

where FX,act = active fraction of biomass in MLVSS, g/g

Biomass Yield

 Net Biomass Yield - to estimate the amount of active

microorganisms in the system

Ybio = -rg/rsu (7-28)

where Ybio = net biomass yield, g biomass/g substrate used

 Observed Yield – to estimate the amount of sludge production

Yobs = -rXT,VSS/rsu (7-29)

where Yobs = observed yield, g VSS produced/g substrate used

EXAMPLE 7-5

For an industrial wastewater activated sludge process, the

amount of bsCOD in the influent wastewater is 300 g/m3
and the influent nbVSS concentration is 50 g/m3. The
influent flowrate is 1000 m3/d, the biomass concentration
is 2000 g/m3, the reactor bsCOD concentration is 15 g/m3,
and the reactor volume is 105 m3. If the cell debris
fraction fd, is 0.10, determine the net biomass yield, the
observed solids yield, and the biomass fraction in the
MLVSS. Use the kinetic coefficient given earlier.
TYPE OF BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES

 Suspended-growth processes – The microorganisms

responsible for the treatment are maintained in
suspension within the liquid
 Attached-growth or fixed-film processes - The
microorganisms responsible for the treatment are
attached to inert medium, such as rocks, specially
design ceramic or plastic material
SUSPENDED GROWTH

Activated Sludge
SUSPENDED GROWTH

Aerated Lagoon
ATTACHED GROWTH

Rotating Biological Contactor

Trickling Filter