Activated Sludge Treatment and

SBRs – “ATUs”
• Pre-class questions
• Name 4 components necessary to have
an “activated sludge” system for
wastewater treatment.
– Aeration tank
– Sludge recycle
– Clarification tank
– Oxygen supply
– Sludge wasting
 clarifier
Oxygen supplied

Flow, Q
Aeration Tank Effluent
BOD
TKN
TSS
Sludge recycle Waste sludge

Clarifiers for small system should be designed at hydraulic loads

of 200 gal/d-ft2 compared to 600 gal/d-ft2 for larger systems

Why is that?
 What is the definition of MCRT? –
Mean cell residence time –
average time bacteria and solids are in the aeration tank

Also more commonly called solids retention time (SRT)

MCRT or SRT =
lbs of solids in reactor or aeration tank divided by the lbs wasted per day
The lbs wasted per day on average equals the lbs produced per day.

If a system has shorter SRT, a larger fraction of its solids are removed per day
Thus less solids in system, less bacteria to consume food
and lower efficiency

But the removal efficiency is in general only a problem

when the SRT gets below some critical level
Why do you suppose nitrification system requires a
longer MCRT, per Table 7-10.

• The ammonia oxidizing bacteria have

slower kinetics
– grow slower than heterotrophic bacteria
– need more time to achieve the same
efficiency of substrate removal
 Define SVI and what does it indicate about
an activated sludge system?

• SVI is the volume in mL that 1.0 gr (dry

weight) of sludge occupies after 30
minutes of settling.
– Higher SVI means poorer settling
• Example – 2 liter cylinder
sludge conc. = 3000 mg/L
settled volume at 30 min = 600 mL
SVI = mL/g
High Growth of Filaments
Sludge Volume Index > 300 mL/g
Prefer SVI = <150 mL/g
 What does SBR stand for?
• Sequencing Batch Reactor
• One tank used for aeration and settling
• Steps
– Feed or fill
– React
– Settle
– Decant – effluent withdrawal
– Idle
Batch-Fed Activated Sludge
Process:
TIME

Fill Mix Aerate Settle Withdraw Idle

20 - 30 React 30 -40% 15 - 20%15 - 20 %

%
Cycle %
Rules to remember about activated
sludge treatment
• They all produce excess sludge that has to be
removed and disposed
• Oxygen is required at sufficient rate
– 2.0 to 2.5 lb O2/lb BOD including nitrification
– Provided with proper aeration design
• Conservative designs needed for small systems
– High peak flows (3-4 times average daily
– Most of the flow can be in a few hours each day
– 18 to 24 hour aeration time good baed on avg flow
– Clarifies at 200 gpd/ft2 based on average flow
Design Guidelines

Nitrification
Temperature, 0C Min. SRT, days
10 20
15 15
20 10
Nitrification
Temperature, 0C Min. SRT, days
10 20
15 15
20 10

SRT, days lb O2/lb BODr

5 1.03
10 1.17
15 1.26
18 1.30
Oxygen Required 20 1.32
25 1.36
30 1.39
40 1.43
60 1.48

y = 0.183Ln(x) + 0.7559
X=SRT
Oxygen Required
SRT, days lb O2/lb BODr
5 1.03
10 1.17
15 1.26
18 1.30
20 1.32
25 1.36
30 1.39
40 1.43
60 1.48

y = 0.183Ln(x) + 0.7559
X=SRT
 y = 0.9967x-0.2453 y = 1.2463x-0.1184
No
With primary primary

settling settling
y
Net Yield, Net Yield
=
Net sludge SRT, days g TSS/g BOD g TSS/g BOD

1 0
0.87 1.23
Yield Values .
2 0.82
9 1.18
4 9
0.75 1.09
6
6 0.69 1.03
7
7 x
0.66 1.00
-
10 0.60 0.94
0
12 0.57
. 0.91
15 2
0.53 0.87
4
20 0.48
5 0.82
25 3
0.45 0.82
30 0.42 0.82
40 0.38 0.82
60 0.33 0.82
Simple activated sludge design

Important to check vendor unit supply

Is the tank volume sufficient?
Is the oxygen supply sufficient at peak loads?
Is the clarification area sufficient?
Did they estimate sludge production accurately?
Is sludge handling design adequate?
 Package Units for small flows
• Modules installed in ground for <~30,000
gal/day
• Field assembly for <200,000 gal/day
• Large usually engineered and concrete or
steel tank construction
• Modules contain clarifier, sometimes filter
• Include aeration blowers and pumps etc.
• Electrical controls
Treats flow for
about 40 homes –
SBR system
Small Flow
WWT
Plant Owner
 SBR System components
• Tank (depth can vary from 6 ft to 25 ft)
• Decant system and effluent pump
• Aeration and mixing equipment
• Feed pump
• Effluent collection chamber
• Level sensors
• Computer controller for cycle times and on/off
controls
• Influent valves for multiple tanks
Effluent Quality from well-designed
well operated SBRs

• BOD < 8.0 mg/L

• TSS < 8.0 mg/L
• NH4-N < 1.0 mg/L
• NO3-N <10.0 mg/L
 Advantages
• Single tank design provides simple
installation
• Quiescent settling provides low effluent
TSS
• Can provide good nitrogen removal if
properly designed and enough carbon and
alkalinity
• Can be used to provide flow equalization
Disadvantages?
 Key design elements
• SRT – gets total volume
• Cycle Times
• Fill Volume/decant volume
Effluent volume = fill volume
VF

Vs = settled volume
Vs VF = fill volume
VF+VS= total tank liquidvolume
VF/VT= critical design parameter
What is a good value for VF/VT?
Given the following for a 2 tank SBR system, what is the time per cycle of fill,
aerate, settle, decant and idle and what is the aeration time per cycle?

Average Flow = 10,000 gal/d = 416.6 gal/hr

Based on SRTand load, volume/tank = 10,000 gallons

Assume: VF/VT = 0.20

Settle time = 1.0 hr

Decant time = 0.5 hrs
Idle time = 0.3 hrs
 Typical Design (2 tanks)
Average Flow = 10,000 gal/d = 416.6 gal/hr
Based on SRTand load, volume/tank = 10,000 gallons

Assume: VF/VT = 0.20, VF=0.2(10000) = 2000 gallons

# of cycles per day/tank =10,000 gal/day divided by 2 tanks
divided by 2000 gal/cycle
= (10000)/(2*2000gal/fill) = 2.5 per day per tank

Cycle time = 24/2.5 = 9.6 hrs

Total cycle time = Tfill+Taerate+Tsettle+Tdecant+Tidle = 9.6 hrs

Fill time, = 2000 gal/416.6 gal/hr = 4.8 hrs

Settle time = 1.0 hr
Decant time = 0.5 hrs
Idle time = 0.3 hrs
Aeration/react time = 9.6-4.8-1.0-0.5-0.3 =3.0 hrs
Fraction of aeration time =3/9.6 = 0.31