Aeration Tank –

Aeration in an activated sludge process is based on pumping air into a tank, which promotes the
microbial growth in the wastewater. The microbes feed on the organic material, forming flocs which
can easily settle out.

Bacteria’s require the following needs for their proper growth -

a. Food – BOD & COD present in stp water

b. Air – Provided by Blower

c. Right Environment - The STP effluent should not vary too much w.r.t. pH (6.5 to 8pH) and
temperature (<40 degrees).Moreover any chemicals which are harmful should not be put into the
STP. This may kill the bacteria’s which would make the stp plant instable.

Maintenance Required :

1. Blowers

The blowers should run for 24 hrs basis. If the blowers are kept off, this would kill the bacteria’s in
the aeration tank.

A. Oil change – Change the oil in the blowers at every 1 – 2 months of time with the right oil
specification.

B. Switch over – The Standby and working blower should be switched over in 12 hrs of time.

c. Belt – Check the alignment of the belt regularly due to small vibrations

Please maintain the air blowers as per manufacturers manual.

2. Process Requirement in Aeration Tank

In case if the BOD and COD is less as compared to the design values

1. Add external nutrients. – Please contact Shubham Inc. for external nutrients and culture

In case if the BOD and COD is more as compared to the design values

1. This generally arises if the utilization of water is more as compared to the design values.
Please Contact Shubham Inc. for the solution.
3. MBBR Media

Bacteria are attached to MBBR Media and hence they must not be wasted. Check if the media is
getting passed on to tube settler and fix the leakage.

4. Excessive Foam Formation-

The main reason for the foaming in the stp is usually due to presence of slowly biodegradable
surfactants (eg. household detergents) from industrial or municipal wastewater. This could be due to
proliferation of filamentous organisms as well.

To control the same follow the following steps –

• Try to reduce unnecessary surfactants

• Check for pH & Temperature –
• Filamentous bacteria are important in forming stable foam. The growth rate of filamentous
bacteria is found not affected significantly for range of pH from 6.7 to 8.0, only slightly
decreased at pH 8.4. Low pH of water favours filamentous bacterial growth
• Oil present in the aeration tank – Oil presence in the aeration tank favours filamentous
bacterial growth
• Dissolved Oxygen – Filamentous bacterias require low oxygen level. Check the blower and
make sure that air is sufficient so that the growth of filamentous bacterias are controlled.
• Low flow rates – If the flow rate is 1/6th of the designed value then this favours filamentous
bacteria’s.

5. Observe Jar Test –

Check the settlement time of sludge. It should be less than 30 mins. If the outlet colour of aeration
tank is dark yellowish, then it might be due to low organic loading and the aeration tank may require
external nutrients.

Frequency –

1. It is recommended to check proper alignment of the blowers on daily basis.

2. Do the jar test on daily basis and check the settling time of sludge.