Nicholas Erickson John Kanis Jason Mello Degree of Bachelor of Science

1 An automated bench-scale sequencing batch reactor was designed and built to demonstrate the treatment of wastewater using an activated sludge process. LabVIEW 8.0 development software was used to build a user interface to control timing sequence, pumping, aeration, and temperature of the physical reactor set-up. The bench-scale sequencing batch reactor can be effectively used for scaled-back laboratory testing for an actual wastewater treatment plant as proven by the results of the chemical oxygen demand testing. However, there were a few potential improvements that were determined to increase the efficiency of our bench-scale reactor.. 2 Bench-scale testing has long been a valuable way to perform research on large-scale processes that cannot be feasibly tested without a scale reduction. Modern bench-scale testing has become an essential tool in process optimization and design of wastewater treatment processes. The advancement of technology over the past century has lent itself to vast improvements in bench-scale bioreactor design. It is now possible to completely automate a benchscale process using a computer and the appropriate combination of hardware and software. The objective of this project was to design and build an automated bench-scale sequencing batch reactor to demonstrate the treatment of wastewater using an activated sludge process.
.

Nicholas Wilbur

3 Reactor Seeding

Artificial Substrate Production

MLSS Concentration

Reactor pH

Parameter Monitoring ( MLSS concentration, influent and effluent COD, reactor pH, DO concentration, temperature)

DO Concentration

Reactor Temperature

Effluent COD Concentration

The bench-scale bioreactor set-up

LabVIEW 8.0

5 The bench-scale sequencing batch reactor that was built can be effectively used for scaled-back laboratory testing for an actual wastewater treatment plant. Optimally, an actual wastewater treatment plant needs to remove more than 60 percent of the COD from the influent wastewater. Therefore, there were a few potential improvements that were determined to increase the efficiency of the benchscale reactor. Further research and experimentation must also be performed to determine the most effective way to have an automated feed system and more accurate temperature control.