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Studies on the biological treatment of industrial wastewater streams

Article  in  Environmental engineering and management journal · February 2012

DOI: 10.30638/eemj.2012.054

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Environmental Engineering and Management Journal February 2012, Vol.11, No.2, 435-438
http://omicron.ch.tuiasi.ro/EEMJ/

“Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Romania

STUDIES ON THE BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF INDUSTRIAL

WASTEWATER STREAMS

Viktória Pitás, Bence Fazekas, Zsuzsanna Bányai, Károly Reich,

Krisztián Varga, Viola Somogyi
Institute of Environmental Engineering, University of Pannonia, Pf. 158. H-8201 Veszprém, Hungary

Abstract

Two experimental periods have been undertaken to investigate the biodegradability of sewage streams (mainly regarding the
organic substances) produced by a gas cartridge production, filling and distribution company. A sequencing batch reactor (SBR)
was used for the laboratory examinations launched with municipal sewage sludge with a concentration of approx. 3 g MLSS/L.
The various conditions in the reactors followed each other cyclically (fill, anoxic, aerobic, settle, draw) three times a day. The
anoxic to aerobic time ratio was ~1:3. First, an emulsion sewage stream was studied (cartridge production). The adaptation of
microorganisms resulted in the increase of the organic compound removal from 0.07 gCOD/(gMLVSS*d) to 0.2
gCOD/(gMLVSS*d) parallel to increasing the hydraulic load. The other examined sewage stream was a 500 ppm activated
MDEA (aMDEA – N-methyl-diethanolamine, used in gas sweetening processes). The SBR reactor was continuously loaded with
sewage streams generated at the company, leaving enough time for the adaptation of microorganisms to the contaminants. In the
last period, MDEA stream was also added, and then the previous sewage streams were taken away. In the last two weeks the
influent was solely 500 ppm aMDEA. The removal efficiency of organic substances still remained over 95% with an effluent
CODtot concentration below 50 mg/L.
Oxygen uptake rate measurements were carried out with both sewage streams at the beginning of the experimental period and at
the end of it (with the adapted sludge). The results obviously show the necessity of microbial adaptation in the biological
treatment of special industrial sewage streams.

Key words: activated sludge, adaptation, aMDEA, emulsion sewage, oxygen uptake rate

Received: September, 2011; Revised final: January, 2012; Accepted: February, 2012

1. Introduction AS treatment of industrial sewage streams can

The adaptation of activated sludge (AS) plays
a basic role during the biological treatment of various
industrial wastewater streams that are presenting
today in a great amount due to the industrial sector
(Li et al., 2007; Palela et al., 2010, Tchobanoglous et
al., 2003). Activated sludge is a community of
microorganisms using the pollutants of wastewater as
substrate. Adaptation means an alternation of enzyme
system of microorganisms which results in the
increasing biodegradability of the former un- or
slowly biodegradable compounds of wastewater
(Tchobanoglous et al., 2003; von Sperling, 2007).
be much cheaper than chemical treatment if they
contain biodegradable organic matter (Szilveszter et
al., 2010). The aim of the present study was to
investigate the biodegradability of two different
sewage streams parallel to studying the adaptation of
activated sludge to the contaminants.
2. Material and methods
2.1. Analytical methods
The main objective of the experiments was
observing the biodegradability of organic substances


Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed: e-mail: pitasv@almos.vein.hu; Phone:+36 88/624407
 Pitás et al./Environmental Engineering and Management Journal 11 (2012), 2, 435-438
therefore total organic carbon (TOC; according to
MSZ-EN-1484 (1998), with Tekmar-Dohrmann
Apollo 9000 instrument) and/or chemical oxygen
demand (COD; according to MSZ 260-16 (1982),
Chromate method) contents of the effluent were
monitored. Additionally, Oxygen Uptake Rate (OUR)
measurements were carried out as a rapid method of
assessing the organic nutrient utilization capacity of
activated sludge (Spanjers et al., 1996).
The analysis of the influent also contained
measurements of biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD5) with Lovibond ET606 instrument, of total
nitrogen (TN) with Tekmar-Dohrmann Apollo 9000
instrument, of total phosphorous (TP) according to
MSZ 260-20 (1980) and pH measurement with WTW
pH/Oxi 340i instrument.
2.2. Examined sewage streams
The experiment can be divided into two
periods. First an emulsion sewage stream was
examined which is produced during the cartridge
production and cleaning process. For the second time
the biodegradability of sewage stream that consists of
500 ppm aMDEA (activated N-methyl-
diethanolamine) was investigated.
This is a synthetic tertiary amine promoted
with piperazine (a heterocyclic compound containing
two nitrogen atoms). aMDEA is popularly used in gas
sweetening processes due to its high selectivity in the
removal of H2S from natural gas streams (Fürhacker
et al., 2003).
The technology results in various amount of
wastewater contaminated with aMDEA. Table 1
summarizes the concentration of contaminants in the
examined sewage streams.
Fig. 1. Tendency of COD removal in the 1st experimental period
436
Table 1. Average concentration of contaminants in the
examined sewage streams
Emulsion sewage aMDEA 500 ppm
Parameter 1st experimental 2nd experimental
period period
CODtot, mg/L 1000-1200 750
BOD5, mg/L 600-800 0*
TN, mg/L 50-80 70
TP, mg/L 1-2 0
pH 8.5-9.5 10.5
* BOD5 measurements showed no results
2.3. Experimental set-up and operational parameters
A sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with a
useful volume of 2.1 liters was used for the laboratory
examinations launched with activated sludge coming
from a municipal wastewater treatment plant
(WWTP). The special feature of this reactor
construction is that the different processes of
biological wastewater treatment take place in the
same spot but they are separated in time. Filling was
followed by mixing, aeration, then settling and
decantation. The pH of the reactor was controlled
between 7 and 8. The average dissolved oxygen (DO)
concentration during aeration was 3 mg/L. The
average mixed liqueur suspended solid (MLSS)
concentration in the reactor was 3 g MLSS/l (with
approx. 70% MLVSS content – Mixed Liqueur
Volatile Suspended Solids). The biological hydraulic
retention time (HRTbiol; omitting the time of settling)
in the reactor was reduced from 2.4 days to 1.3 days
during the first experimental period, and was kept 1.3
days during the second experimental period. The
anoxic to aeration time ratio was 1:3.
In Results and discussion chapter specific
sludge load per organic sludge content is used (as g
COD/(g MLVSS*d)) and volumetric load is
expressed as kg COD/(m3*d).
 Studies on the biological treatment of industrial wastewater streams

3. Results and discussion
3.1. First experimental period
During the increase of the volumetric load
(from 0.4 kg COD/(m3*d) to 0.9 kg COD/m3*d) of
the reactor in the first experimental period, its ability
of the organic compound removal increased from
0.07 g COD/g MLVSS*d to 0.2 g COD/g MLVSS*d.
It was equal to more than 90% COD removal
efficiency. The average COD of the inlet was 1000
mg/L (Table 1). The effluent COD remained under
100 mg/L due to the adaptation of activated sludge.
Fig. 1 shows the specific sludge load (g COD/(g
MLVSS*d)), the COD removal efficiency and the
effluent COD concentration (mg/L). It can be seen,
that there was a significant decrease in effluent COD
concentration (increase in COD removal efficiency)
as the specific load was increased threefold.
3.2. Second experimental period
During the 2nd experimental period the reactor
was continuously loaded with sewage streams
presenting at the company (preceding Stage 1), while
the HRTbiol was kept 1.3 days from the beginning of
the experiment. In Stage 1, MDEA stream was also
added, and then the previous sewage streams were
taken away gradually (Table 2, Fig. 2).
The inlet COD and nitrogen concentration
varied according to the mixture ratio, but a COD of
700 mg/L and total nitrogen (TN) of 70 mg/L can be
regarded as average. The volumetric and specific load
of the reactor is summarized in Table 3.
Fig. 2 shows the effluent COD and TOC
concentrations. It can be seen, that the addition of
aMDEA into the influent wastewater caused a
significant increase in the effluent COD
concentration. About 10 days were needed for the
reactor to recover (by continuous influent flow), and
thereafter the removal of other sewage streams did
not cause any decrease in the organic compound
removal capacity.
In Stage 3, when solely aMDEA 500 ppm was
the influent of the reactor, the effluent COD remained
under 50 mg/L, which means that the removal
efficiency of organic substances still remained over
95%.

Table 2. Mixture ratio of sewage streams during the 2nd experimental period (Stage 1 means the full load, previous stages are not
mentioned)

Sewage streams Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3

%
Emulsion sewage 45 - -
Municipal wastewater 22 40 -
Industrial wastewater with high nitrate content (~500 mg 6 - -
NO3-N/L) from dental gas production
500 ppm aMDEA 27 60 100

Table 3. Loading rates of the reactor during the 2nd experimental period

Loading rate Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3

COD, g COD/g MLVSS*d 0.20 0.13 0.20
COD, kg/m3*d 0.26 0.35 0.53

COD total COD filtered TOC

300
First time 500 ppm aMDEA is added to
the other sewage streams in the influent
250
60% 500 ppm aMDEA
40% municipal sewage in the influent
COD, TOC, mg/l

200
solely 500 ppm
aMDEA influent
150

100

50

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Days

Fig. 2. The effluent COD and TOC concentrations in the 2nd experimental period

437
 Pitás et al./Environmental Engineering and Management Journal 11 (2012), 2, 435-438
a)
Fig. 3. Variation of OUR measured in various conditions: a) with the emulsion sewage; b) with 500 ppm aMDEA
3.3. Oxygen Uptake Rate measurements
Oxygen uptake rate measurements were
conducted with both sewage streams at the beginning
of the experimental period and at the end of it. OUR
measurements usually results figures that have the
shape of the typical Monod kinetics, and their form,
maximum and the half-saturation constant give
information about the biodegradability of a sewage
stream. Regarding the emulsion sewage, reactor
sludge at the end of the experiment (adapted sludge)
was able to degrade the organic substances of
wastewater with a rate one and a half as much as that
of the municipal sludge (Fig. 3a). In case of aMDEA,
municipal sludge was not able to degrade the
wastewater at all, but finally, at the end of the
experiment, the degradability of the organic
substances became considerable (Fig. 3b).
4. Conclusions
The results shown clearly support the
assumption that the adaptation of sewage sludge to
the specific contaminants of industrial wastewater
streams significantly improve the removal efficiency
of organic substances. The altered population of
microorganisms is able to degrade contaminants that
seem to be undegradable in short time tests (e.g.
BOD5 measurement, cf. Table 1). These long-term
biological experiments play a great role in supporting
the design of industrial wastewater treatment.
438
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b)
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