The fifth operational mode is the extended aeration activated sludge method.

We
could also call it the complete oxidized activated sludge method. Its main
characteristic is low organic loading. The activated sludge is in endogenous
respiration period. The amount of excess sludge is quite little and the excess
sludge quality is more stabilized. Normally stabilizing treatment won’t be needed.
The second characteristic is that the discharge water quality is very good and
stable. The tolerance to impact load is very strong. In some case, it could
function without a primary sedimentation tank. Of course its main disadvantages are
large tank volume, long aeration time, high construction area, high construction
cost and operating cost. It is usually used when the requirements to the water
quality are strict, and the scale is relatively small, treatment capacity under
3000 m3/d. Its key design parameters are shown in this table. We could see that,
the sludge loading is very low, between 0.05-0.15 kgBOD5/(kgMLSS·d) The volume
loading is between 0.1-0.4 kgBOD5/(m3·d), also very low. Its sludge retention time,
which is 20-30 days, is far longer than the other methods. Hydraulic retention
time, which is 18-48 h，is also very long. Its BOD5 removal efficiency is very
good, it could reach over 95%. The sixth operational mode is the high load
activated sludge method. We could also call it short time aeration activated sludge
method or inadequate aeration activated sludge method. Its most significant
characteristics are high organic load, short aeration time, relatively poor
treatment effect. The extended aeration activated sludge method and the high load
activated sludge method are not essentially distinctive with the plug flow
activated sludge method or the complete-mixing activated sludge method, when it
comes to the technical process and the aeration tank structure. The design
parameters show that the sludge load is extremely high in the high load activated
sludge method. It could be 1.5-5.0 kgBOD5/(kgMLSS·d) The volume loading could be
1.2-2.4 kgBOD5/(m3·d) Sludge retention time is very short, 0.25-2.5 days. The
hydraulic retention time is also very short, 1.5-3.0 h. The BOD5 removal efficiency
is consequently low, 60%-75%. The seventh operational mode is the pure oxygen
aeration activated sludge method For all the activated sludge methods, Air is used
as oxygen source, supplying the microorganism in the activated sludge. But, we all
know that in the air, the oxygen content is only 21%. This will create great energy
loss when you do the aeration with air. So, someone suggested using pure oxygen,
namely gas with oxygen content higher than 90% or even 95%, to supply oxygen to the
activated sludge in the aeration tank. Since we already choose pure oxygen, in
order to increase the dissolving of oxygen in the water, we could apply an enclosed
tank, using specially designed aerator, so as to make the oxygen dissolve as much
as it can. The whole technical process has no significant difference from the
traditional activated sludge method. Only the aeration tank needs special design.
We could see that the water and the return sludge flow in from the head end, and
the pure oxygen are aerated successively, in a graded way. At the tail end of the
aeration tank, we control the oxygen content, limit the pure oxygen supply rate in
order to make sure the oxygen is used effectively. The main characteristics of pure
oxygen aeration is that the oxygen partial pressure of pure oxygen is 5 times
higher than of the air. Pure oxygen aeration could impressively improve the oxygen
transfer. The transfer efficiency could be 80%-90%, when the transfer efficiency of
air aeration is only 5%-25%, approximately. Since the oxygen transfer efficiency is
very high, the dissolved oxygen supply could be quite abundant, Thus the sludge
concentration in the aeration tank could be 4000-7000 mg/L The volume loading could
be significantly raised. Because the activated sludge usually stays under a high
dissolved oxygen state, the excess sludge amount is relatively small. SVI is also
very low, which makes sludge bulking quite a rare case. Its design parameters are
shown in this table. Its sludge loading could be properly raised to 0.4-1.0
kgBOD5/(kgMLSS·d) The volume loading also could be raised to 2.0-3.2k gBOD5/(m3·d)
The sludge retention time is 5-15 days. The aeration time, which is equal to the
hydraulic retention time, is 6-10 h. Its dissolved oxygen concentration is 6-10
mg/L BOD5 removal is 75%-95% The eighth operational mode is low pressure shallow
aeration activated sludge method. The theoretical basis of this method is that only
when the air bubble forms or breaks, the oxygen transfer rate is the highest. Based
on this, someone suggests that it is not necessary to prolong the time when the
bubbles are moving in the water. We could set the aerator at a relatively shallow
position. For low pressure shallow aeration activated sludge method, its aerator is
installed 0.8-0.9 m under water surface. 70 Its oxygen transfer rate is very low,
only about 2.5%. But, we could set a guide plate in the tank, makes the mixture
flows in a circular way. This is a sketch map of the low pressure shallow aeration
activated sludge method. The aerator could be very close to the water surface.
Oxygen supply of the aeration tank could be secured with low pressure aeration.
Another opinion is quite the opposite to low pressure shallow aeration activated
sludge method. Some people think that the distance that the bubble moves through in
the water is very important for raising the oxygen transfer rate. So, they create
the deep aeration activated sludge method Its main characteristic is the depth of
the aerator is usually 7-8 m or even 10 m and more. The oxygen transfer rate could
be raised due to high water pressure, and could also prolong the moving distance of
the bubbles. In this way, the oxygen transfer rate is raised, which could in turn
accelerate the degradation rate of the organic matters in the water. Due to the
high depth of the water, the tank takes up much smaller space. Usually it has two
different ways. One is deepen the aeration tank, without changing the installing
position of the aerator. The oxygen supply efficiency is raised through guide
plates. The other way, which is more popular, is placing the aerator at the bottom
of the deepened aeration tank. The depth of the tank could be 10 m. In this way the
aeration efficiency could be raised. The tenth, which is also the last operational
mode, is the deep well aeration activated sludge method We could also call it
ultra-deep water aeration method Actually, this method is created with the
inspiration of deep aeration activated sludge method Some engineers thought that
why not make the tank extremely deep. For how deep? 50 m, or even 150 m. Usually we
use abandoned mine shaft. We add some clapboard, install the aerator, drag the air
bubbles to the bottom of the tank by hydraulic flow. Thus we create a circular. We
could significantly raise the transfer rate between the air bubbles and the water,
and make the site area to an extremely small degree. Normally the diameter of this
kind of tank could be 1-6 m. Its depth is usually 50-150 m. Its main
characteristics are high oxygen transfer rate, which is normally 10 times higher
than usual, high dynamic efficiency, small site area, and maintenance and operation
convenience. Its tolerance to impact load is very high, which makes the primary
sedimentation tank unnecessary. But its disadvantage is that this method is
severely limited by site conditions. Normally we won’t suggest using this method.
Its parameters are shown in this table, its sludge loading is 1.0-1.2
kgBOD5/(kgMLSS·d) Volume loading is 3.0-3.6 kgBOD5/(m3·d) Sludge retention time is
around 5 days. Hydraulic retention time is 1-2 hours. The BOD5 removal efficiency
could be 85%-90%. So, that’s all for the class. Thank you!