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A Conventional Activated Sludge Treatment Conventional Aeration
A Conventional Activated Sludge Treatment Conventional Aeration
Table of contents
1 General recommendations guideline....................................................................2 2 AOR-to-SOR conversion ........................................................................................3 3 Complete mix activated sludge aeration design considerations .......................4 3.1 Fine bubble aeration estimates ..........................................................................4 3.2 Fine bubble considerations ................................................................................4 3.3 Aeration tank sizing and equipment configurations ............................................4
3.3.1 Sizing and density of diffusers ............................................................................................... 4 3.3.2 Non-tapered aeration............................................................................................................. 5 3.3.3 Tapered aeration ................................................................................................................... 5
Design recommendation
The field conditions are needed to estimate the actual oxygen requirements (AOR): What is the sites elevation? Site temperature and climate, the varying temperatures on an annual basis What are the BOD variations: peak, average, and minimum loadings What are the working dissolved oxygen (DO) levels? Diffuser submergence Alpha and Beta factors
AOR and standard oxygen requirement (SOR) specifications recommendations: If possible, perform an AOR-to-SOR conversion to avoid confusion If that is not possible, provide the oxygen requirements as AOR and provide as much information that is available to assist the supplier in this conversion. SOR determines the sizing and design of aeration equipment.
It is important to consider the stream loadings. These are BOD loadings that are returned to the aeration process. If they are transported back to the aeration process, they may elevate the oxygen requirements significantly, for example downstream the sludge treatment. Possible sources of loadings are: Septage receiving stations
Design recommendation
Centrifuge concentrate Effluent from dissolved air flotation thickeners Supernatant from aerobic or anaerobic digestion Filter press or vacuum filter filtrate
2 AOR-to-SOR conversion
SOR calculations are needed to estimate the size of the aeration equipment. The AOR demand is the sum of the following sources: BOD. For solids retention times of 5-10 days, the kg of oxygen per kg of BOD usually varies from 0.92-1.07. A conservative value of 1.1 kg O2/kg BOD is used on occasion. Higher values are valid for long detention times with low organic loadings and additional sludge oxidation. Ammonia. Usually one kg of ammonia requires 4.3-4.6 kg of oxygen. Oxygen requirements are reduced if denitrification occurs in the treatment step as oxygen is released when nitrite is reduced to nitrogen gas. This could be used as a safety factor in the overall design. Sidestream loading must be considered
Generally, the following equation (1) can be used to convert AOR to SOR for equipment sizing:
SOR = AOR Csat 20 Pfield DO field T 20 Csat T P msi
(1)
Where AOR = actual oxygen requirements (field conditions) SOR = standard oxygen requirements (standard conditions) KL a wa s t e wa t e r = KL a t a p wa t e r = saturation factor Pfield = barometric pressure at the treatment site Pmsi = barometric pressure at mean sea level T = operating temperature of wastewater (C) Csat20 = surface DO saturation concentration at 20C and standard conditions for the particular aeration equipment at the design submergence CsatT = Surface DO saturation concentration at design temperature T and 14.7 PSIA for the particular equipment at the submergence DOfield = dissolved oxygen in wastewater = temperature correction factor
Design recommendation
Alpha () is generally the most difficult parameter to estimate. It is often affected by: BOD loading Type of aeration Process (nitrifying or non-nitrifying) Type of mixing Location in the tank Waste type Submergence of device
Design recommendation
Basins with high length to width ratio or waste with low organic strength, the air required to mix liquors could exceed the oxygen demand at some points, which is defined as mixing limited. Use valve throttling.
The tank floor is covered with diffusers and can be expressed as an AT/AD (area tank/area diffusers) ratio. A large number means less density. Practical range: 4.5-20 Values larger than 20 may not keep solids suspended or mix liquors.
3.3.2 Non-tapered aeration In an activated sludge system, an oxygen gradient may exist along the tank with high oxygen demands at the head of the basin. Non-tapered systems have a uniform distribution of diffusers on the basin floor. Non-tapered systems are suitable for complete mix reactors. For SBR, the valves must be throttled to match the oxygen gradients and prevent over aeration at the basin tail. Overall blower output requires the re-throttling of the aeration valves. System operates at the least efficiency at the head of the basin.
3.3.3 Tapered aeration In tapered systems, the distribution of the equipment is proportional to the oxygen demand gradient. Consistent OTE means better overall efficiency
Design recommendation
No diffusers operate at excessively low or high rates Substantial reduction in power consumption.
3.4.2 Pressure monitoring Porous ceramics may require regular maintenance For gas cleaning purposes, there is no real minimum for the number of diffusers per aeration grid Preferred design maximum of diffusers per aeration grid is 1,000 to 1,500. Absolute maximum number of diffusers per grid is 2,000.