Activated Sludge Treatment Process

ACTIVATED SLUDGE TREATMENT PROCESS
Activated sludge refers to a mass of microorganisms cultivated in the treatment process to break
down organic matter into carbon dioxide, water, and other inorganic compounds.
The activated sludge process has three basic components:
A reactor in which the microorganisms are kept in suspension, aerated, and in contact with the
waste they are treating
Liquid-solid separation
A sludge recycling system for returning activated sludge back to the beginning of the process.
There are many variants of activated sludge processes, including variations in the aeration method and
the way the sludge is returned to the process.
While many activated sludge treatment works have been built in developing countries, very few work
as well as intended. Activated sludge can be appropriate where high removal of organic pollution is
required, funds and skilled personnel are available for operation and maintenance, and land is scarce
or expensive. Since activated sludge requires the continuous operation of oxygen blowers and sludge
pumps, a steady energy supply is a key requirement. The system usually needs some form of pretreatment, such as screening and primary sedimentation.
Advantages of Activated Sludge

Efficient removal of BOD, COD and nutrients
when designed and professionally operated
according to local requirements. The process
itself has flexibility and numerous modifications
can be tailored to meet specific requirements
such as for nitrogen removal. Activated sludge is
the best documented and most widely used form
of secondary wastewater treatment.
Disadvantages of Activated Sludge
Expensive in terms of both capital and O&M

costs, requires a constant energy supply, needs
trained operators who can monitor the system and
react to changes immediately, and the availability
of spare parts and chemicals may be an obstacle.
The track record of activated sludge plants in the
developing world is very poor, and few operate as
designed or intended.
Technical Features and Requirements

There is a vast literature on the design of various forms of the activated sludge treatment
process. General considerations include wastewater characteristics, local environmental conditions
including temperature, possible presence of toxic or other inhibitory substances will the process
receive industrial effluents, oxygen transfer requirements and reaction kinetic.
Operation of the activated sludge process requires more operator control than the other
treatment processes discussed. The operator must adjust aeration, return rates and waste rates to
maintain the balance of food, organisms and oxygen. Operators must observe operation of the aeration
basin to check on mixing pattern, type and amount of foam (normally small amounts of crisp white
foam), colour of activated sludge (normally dark, chocolate brown), and odours (normally musty or
earth odour). In regard to the settling tank, observations include flow pattern (normally uniform
distribution), settling, amount and type of solids leaving with the process effluent (normally very
clean).
In process control operations, sampling and testing are important. Testing may include settle
ability testing to determine the settled sludge volume; suspended solids testing to determine influent
and mixed liquor suspended solids, return activated sludge solids, and waste activated sludge
concentrations; determination of the volatile content of the mixed liquor suspended solids; dissolved
oxygen and pH of the aeration tank, BOD and/or COD of the aeration tank influent and process
effluent; and microscopic evaluation of the activated sludge to determine the predominant organism.
In addition, support equipment, including return pumps, waste pumps, flow measurement devices for
return and waste, as well as equipment to provide aeration (mixers and/or blowers) is also required.
Primary effluent is mixed with return activated sludge to form mixed liquor. The mixed liquor
is aerated for a specified length of time. During the aeration the activated sludge organisms use the
available organic matter as food producing stable solids and more organisms. The suspended solids
produced by the process and the additional organisms become part of the activated sludge. The solids
are then separated from the wastewater in the settling tank. The solids are returned to the influent of
the aeration tank (return activated sludge). Periodically the excess solids and organisms are removed
from the system (waste activated sludge). Failure to remove waste solids will result in poor
performance and loss of solids out of the system over the settling tank effluent weir.
To obtain desired level of performance in an activated sludge system, a proper balance must be
maintained between the amounts of food or organic matter, organisms that are activated sludge and
oxygen. There are a number of factors that affect the performance of an activated sludge treatment
system. These include:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
Temperature
Return rates
Amount of oxygen available
Amount of organic matter available
Ph
Waste rates
Aeration time
Wastewater toxicity
Rotating Biological Contactors (RBC)

Rotating biological contactors (RBC), also called rotating biological filters, are fixed-bed
reactors consisting of stacks of rotating disks mounted on a horizontal shaft. They are partially
submerged and rotated as wastewater flows through. They are used in conventional wastewater
treatment plants as secondary treatment after primary sedimentation of domestic grey- or blackwater,
or any other biodegradable effluent. The microbial community is alternately exposed to the
atmosphere and the wastewater, allowing both aeration and assimilation of dissolved organic
pollutants and nutrients for their degradation.
Advantages
High contact time and high effluent

quality (both BOD and nutrients)
High process stability, resistant to shock
hydraulic or organic loading
Short contact periods are required
because of the large active surface
Low space requirement
Well drainable excess sludge collected in
clarifier
Process is relatively silent compared to
dosing pumps for aeration
No risk of channelling
Low sludge production
Disadvantages
Continuous electricity supply required

(but uses less energy than trickling filters
or activated sludge processes for
comparable degradation rates)
Contact media not available at local
market
High investment as well as operation and
maintenance costs
Must be protected against sunlight, wind
and rain (especially against freezing in
cold climates)
Odour problems may occur
Requires permanent skilled technical
labour for operation and maintenance
Technical Features and Requirements
The surface of the disk is covered with a biological slime similar to that on the media of a
trickling filter. RBC units are usually installed in a concrete tank so that the surface of the wastewater
passing through the tank almost reaches the shaft. This means that about 40% of the total surface area
of the disks is always submerged. The shaft continually rotates at 1 to 2 rpm, and a layer of biological
growth 2 to 4 mm thick is soon established on the wetted surface of each disk. The organisms in the
slime assimilate (remove) organic matter from the wastewater for aerobic decomposition. The disk
continues to rotate, leaving the wastewater and moving through the air. During this time, oxygen is
transferred from the air to the slime. As the slime re-enters the wastewater, excess solids and waste
products are stripped off the media as sloughing. These sloughing are transported with the wastewater
flow t a settling tank for removal.
Typically, a single contactor is not sufficient to achieve the desired level of treatment, so a group
of contactors are used in series. Each individual contactor is called a stage and the group is known as
a train. Most RBC systems consist of two or more trains with three or more stages in each. One major
advantage of the RBC system is the level of nitrification that can be achieved if sufficient stages are
provided.
During operation, observations of the RBC movement, slime colour, and appearance are helpful in
determining system performance; that is, they can indicate process conditions. If the unit is covered,
observations are usually limited to that portion of the media that can be viewed through the access
door. The following may be observed:
Grey, shaggy slime growth - indicates normal operation
Reddish brown, golden shaggy growth - nitrification
White chalky appearance - high sulphur concentrations
No slime - severe temperature or pH changes
In regard to typical performance, a well-maintained, properly operated RBC typically produces

a high quality effluent with BOD at 8-95% and Suspended Solids Removal at 85-95%. The process
may also reduce the levels of organic nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen significantly if designed for this
purpose.
Operation and Maintenance

Large-scale RBCs are often covered to protect them from cold temperatures, rain, wind and
sun. Sometimes, artificial aeration is required to keep the process aerobic when the systems are
covered. During operation, the system must be supervised by professional operators. Maintenance
includes lubrication of moving parts, motors and bearings; replacing seals, motors, servicing bearings,
and cleaning the attached-growth media. The discs may be also checked for debris accumulation,
ponding and excessive or not sufficient biomass accumulation.
Although fixed film units such as RBC and trickling filters are operation and maintenance
intensive, they do not require seeding with bacterial cultures and the start-up phase is therefore
considerably shorter. However, it takes 6 to 12 weeks for the biofilm to establish for a good treatment
performance.

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ACTIVATED SLUDGE TREATMENT PROCESS

Advantages of Activated Sludge

Disadvantages of Activated Sludge

Expensive in terms of both capital and O&M

Technical Features and Requirements

Rotating Biological Contactors (RBC)

High contact time and high effluent

Continuous electricity supply required

Technical Features and Requirements

Grey, shaggy slime growth - indicates normal operation

Reddish brown, golden shaggy growth - nitrification

White chalky appearance - high sulphur concentrations

No slime - severe temperature or pH changes

In regard to typical performance, a well-maintained, properly operated RBC typically produces

Operation and Maintenance

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