Upgrading of a wastewater treatment plant with a hybrid moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR)

Luigi Falletti; Lino Conte; Andrea Maestri; Luigi Falletti; Lino Conte; Andrea Maestri

doi:10.3934/environsci.2014.2.45

AIMS Environmental Science

2014, Volume 1, Issue 2: 45-52. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2014.2.45

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Upgrading of a wastewater treatment plant with a hybrid moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR)

1.
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, via Marzolo 9-35127 Padova, Italy;
2.
Polesine Acque SpA, via B. Tisi da Garofolo 11-45100 Rovigo, Italy

Received: 25 September 2014 Accepted: 25 November 2014 Published: 27 November 2014

The wastewater treatment plant of Porto Tolle (RO, Italy) was originally projected for 2200 person equivalent (p.e.) and it was made of a pumping station, an activated sludge oxidation tank (395 m³), a settler (315 m³), and two sludge drying beds. Other units were not yet in use in 2008: a fine screen, a sand and grit removal unit, a new settler (570 m³), a disinfection tank and a sludge thickener. Effective hydraulic load was 245% higher, organic load was 46% lower and nitrogen load was 39% higher than project values. Moreover, higher pollutant loads and more strict emission limits for nitrogen were expected. So the plant was upgraded: the old settler was divided into a sector of 180 m³ that was converted into a predenitrification tank, and a sector of 100 m³ that was converted into a hybrid MBBR tank filled with 50% AnoxKaldnes^TM K3 carriers; the new settler was connected to the hybrid MBBR, and the other units were started. Biofilm growth was observed two months after plant restarting, its concentration reached 1.1 g_TS/m² (0.26 kg_TS/m³), while activated sludge concentration was 2.0-2.8 kg_TSS/m³ in all the period of study. The upgraded plant treats 1587 m³/d wastewater with 57 kg_COD/d, 23 kg_BOD/d and 13.3 kg_N/d, and has a significant residual capacity; the effluent respects all emission limits.
- hybrid moving bed,
- nitrogen,
- biofilm,
- activated sludge,
- wastewater treatment,
- upgrading
Citation: Luigi Falletti, Lino Conte, Andrea Maestri. Upgrading of a wastewater treatment plant with a hybrid moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR)[J]. AIMS Environmental Science, 2014, 1(2): 45-52. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2014.2.45

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Abstract

The wastewater treatment plant of Porto Tolle (RO, Italy) was originally projected for 2200 person equivalent (p.e.) and it was made of a pumping station, an activated sludge oxidation tank (395 m³), a settler (315 m³), and two sludge drying beds. Other units were not yet in use in 2008: a fine screen, a sand and grit removal unit, a new settler (570 m³), a disinfection tank and a sludge thickener. Effective hydraulic load was 245% higher, organic load was 46% lower and nitrogen load was 39% higher than project values. Moreover, higher pollutant loads and more strict emission limits for nitrogen were expected. So the plant was upgraded: the old settler was divided into a sector of 180 m³ that was converted into a predenitrification tank, and a sector of 100 m³ that was converted into a hybrid MBBR tank filled with 50% AnoxKaldnes^TM K3 carriers; the new settler was connected to the hybrid MBBR, and the other units were started. Biofilm growth was observed two months after plant restarting, its concentration reached 1.1 g_TS/m² (0.26 kg_TS/m³), while activated sludge concentration was 2.0-2.8 kg_TSS/m³ in all the period of study. The upgraded plant treats 1587 m³/d wastewater with 57 kg_COD/d, 23 kg_BOD/d and 13.3 kg_N/d, and has a significant residual capacity; the effluent respects all emission limits.

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