� Pergamon Wal. Sci. Tech. Vol.29, No.9, pp.79-88, 1994.

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TREATMENT AND PRETREATMENT

REQUIREMENTS FOR INDUSTRIAL
WASTEWATERS IN MUNICIPAL
ACTIVATED SLUDGE PLANTS

W. Wesley Eckenfelder, Jr and John L. Musterman

Eckenfelder & Binnie Ltd., Grosvenor House, 69 London Road, Redhill,

Surrey RHl lLQ, UK

ABSTRACT

Industrial wastewaters may have a significant impact on municipal activated sludge plants. Depending on the
degradability of the wastewater, the overall reaction coefficient, K, may be increased or decreased. Readily
degradable wastewaters will render the process more susceptible to filamentous bulking. Increasing the
soluble BOD fraction will increase the temperature effect. Sludge dewaterability may be decreased with
readily degradable soluble wastewaters or increased with pulp and paper mill wastewaters containing pulp and
fibre. Volatile organics which do not biodegrade require source treatment. Effluent toxicity should be
controlled by industrial pretreatment where possible. In some cases, PAC will eliminate toxicity in the
activated sludge process.

KEYWORDS

Industrial wastewater pretreatment; effect ofindustrial wastes on municipal systems; activated sludge

BACKGROUND

There are several reasons for pretreatment of industrial wastewaters prior to discharge to a Publicly Owned
Treatment Works (POTW). In addition to control of conventional pollutants (BOD, TSS and NH3) which
may affect effluent or sludge quality in the POTW, pretreatment may be required for removal ofinhibitory or
biotoxic compounds which would interfere with the operation or performance of the plant or cause effluent
toxicity as defined by a bioassay; removal of priority pollutants which do not degrade in the POTW and would
therefore violate effluent discharge criteria; control of volatile organic compounds (VOC) entering the plant;
and removal of heavy metals which would concentrate in the sludge, and create sludge disposal problems.

A fundamental factor which must be considered in evaluating pretreatment requirements is the chemical
nature of the BOD being treated, i.e. its degradability and its potential to cause filamentous sludge bulking.
The BOD in domestic sewage is generally composed of three fractions; suspended, colloidal, and soluble. In
most sewages, the soluble fraction varies from 20 to 30 percent of the total. By contrast, many industrial
wastewaters contain close to 100 percent soluble organics. In the activated sludge process, the suspended
and colloidal organics are rapidly removed by bio-coagulation with the soluble organics being removed more
slowly by biooxidation. In the case of industrial wastewaters, rapid biosorption will occur in the case of
readily degradable wastewaters, while little or no biosorption occurs in the case of poorly degradable
wastewaters. The importance of this phenomenon will be discussed later.

79

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 80 W. W. ECKENFELDER, JR and J. L. MUSTERMAN

BOD REMOVAL KINETICS

Only the soluble BOD affects the organic removal kinetics in the activated sludge process. The removal
kinetics can be estimated from the relationship developed by Grau (1975) and Adams et aI. (1975) for multi­
component substrates in a complete mix system.

(1)

in which

So = influent soluble BOD

Se = effluent soluble BOD
Xv= MLVSS
t aeration basin detention time
K = composite rate coefficient

The composite rate coefficient, K, has been determined for a variety of industrial wastewaters as shown in
Table 1.

TABLE 1 COMPOSITE RATE COEFFICIENT FOR INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATERS

Wastewater Characteristics K200 days -l

Readily Degradable 16-30

(food process, brewery)

Moderately Degradable 8-15

(petroleum, pulp and paper)

Poorly Degradable 2-6

(chemical, textile)

The soluble fraction of domestic sewage has been observed to have a rate coefficient (K20) of 8.0/day by
McCauley (1974). This falls under the moderately degradable category. It is apparent from Equation (1) that
the introduction of a poorly degradable wastewater will reduce the overall K value and require either a longer
hydraulic detention period or a higher MLVSS to achieve the same effluent quality. Therefore, in considering
pretreatment requirements for an industrial wastewater discharge to an existing POTW, a higher degree of
pretreatment will be required for poorly degradable wastewater than for a readily degradable wastewater. An
approach to calculate the pretreatment requirements is to mathematically average rate coefficients of the
sewage and the industrial wastewater in proportion to their individual BOD mass loading rates. This
approach is shown in Example 1.

Effect of Rate Coefficient

Example 1. A 20,000 m3/d municipal activated sludge plant is presently operating at a FIM of 0.3/day and
producing an effluent soluble BOD (Se) of 10 mg/L. A chemical complex has requested to discharge
4,500 m37d of wastewater with a BOD of1,500 mg/L to the plant. What level of pretreatment is required at
the chemical complex in order for the POTW to maintain an effluent solubility of 10 mg/L assuming the
following conditions?

Municipal Sewage Characteristics

Flow 20,000 m3/d

Influent Total BOD 200 mg/L
Influent Soluble BOD 50 mg/L

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 Municipal activated sludge plants 81

FIM 0.3/day
MLVSS 2,5oo mgIL
Eflluent Soluble BOD 10 mgIL
K20 8/day
t 0.27 day

Industrial Wastewater

Flow 4,500 m3/day

BOD 1,500 mgIL
K20 2.2/day

If the chemical wastewater were added without pretreatment the BOD load weighted average would be
reaction rate. Introduction of the chemical wastewater will be:

.
[(20, 000 ·8· SO) + (4, 500 . 2. 2 . 1, 500)]
K 20 = = 2. 95 / day
(20, 000 SO) + (4, 500 . 1, 500)

and the new hydraulic detention time in the existing aeration basins would be:

t = 0. 27 ( 20,000 )
20,000 + 4, 500

= 0. 22 day

The required influent soluble BOD (So) to the POTW needed to maintain the current eflluent soluble BOD
concentration of 10 mgIL can be calculated by rearranging Equation (1) and assuming that K20 2.95/day, =

t 0.22 day and MLVSS 2,500 mgIL.

= =

(So)PI =
{to + [( 10)2 + (4·2.95·2,500·0.22·10)0. 5]} /2
132 mgIL
=

The concentration of BOD required in the pretreated industrial wastewater can then be calculated by writing a
material balance for soluble BOD in the combined influent to the POTW. The balance for the existing influent
wastewater to the POTW (designed as IIPII) and the pretreated industrial wastewater (designed as " I") can be
determined from Equation (2).

Qp(So)p + QI(So)I (Qp + QI)(So)PI

= (2)
(20,000· SO) + (4,500)(So)1 (20,000 + 4,500)(132)
=

(So)1 500 mgIL =

Pretreatment is therefore required to reduce approximately 67 percent of the soluble BOD in the industrial
wastewater.

EFFECT OF INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATERS ON MIXED LIQUOR

SETTLEABILITY

It has long been known that the introduction of a readily degradable wastewater to a POTW that treats
primarily domestic wastewater frequently results in filamentous bulking. This phenomenon has been attributed
to insufficient mixed liquor dissolved oxygen, nutrients, or mode of operation of the process resulting in a
BOD limitation for the biological floc.

The oxygen limitation can be related to the oxygen uptake rate or more simply the organic loading rate (FIM)
of the process. The phenomenon is shown in Figure 1 for the introduction of a pulp mill wastewater to an
activated sludge plant. The implication of Figure 1 is that increasing the FIM by addition of a readily
degradable industrial wastewater will require an increased dissolved oxygen level in the mixed liquor in order

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 82 W. W. ECKENFELDER, JR and J. L. MUSTERMAN

to maintain a low SVI. The available oxygenation capacity may limit the operating dissolved oxygen
concentration, which, in tum, would restrict the quantity of industrial wastewater added to the plant. This
phenomenon is illustrated in Example 2.

'i
a
68
l1li
�
"
0
'tI
� 2

1
.!l
Q Numbers Indicate SV]
1

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

l
FIM. day-

Fig. I. Relationship Between FIM and Dissolved Oxygen Relative to Sludge Bulking

Example 2. Oxygen Limitations - The municipal treatment plant in Example I is planning on accepting
1,900 m3/d ofa brewery wastewater with a soluble BOD of 2,200 mg/L. Determine what changes need to be
made to avoid filamentous bulking.

The projected total BOD load is:

BOD Load [(20,000·200) + (1,900· 1,200)]/1,000

6,280 kg/d
287 mg/L

The new hydraulic detention time is:

( 20, 000 ) . 0.27 = 0.245 days

2 1, 900

Ifthe MLVSS is increased to 3,000 mg/L, the FIM will be,

287
F /M = ----- . 0.245 = 0.39 / day
(3,000 . 0.245)

The present oxygen requirements can be calculated from Equation (3) assuming a'=0.55, b'=0.15/day and
Xd=0.60.

02/day= 0.55 Sr + 0. 15 Xd Xv (3)

02/day = [(0.55· 190) + (0.15·0.60·2,500·0.270)] (20,000/103)

= 3,300 kg/d

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 Municipal activated sludge plants 83

At the present FIM (0.3/day), a minimum mixed liquor dissolved oxygen concentration of 1.6 mg/L (Figure 1)
is required to provide complete oxygen transfer into the biological floc. At the increased FIM of 0.39/day, the
dissolved oxygen must be raised to at least 2.6 mg/L. The present aeration equipment is transferring 0.7 kg
021HP-HR at a 1.6 mg/L D.O. and the present aeration power level is 200 HP. The new oxygen requirements
are:

02/day = [(0.55 277)

• + (0. 15 0.6.3,000.0.245)](21,9001103)
•

= 4,785 kg/d

The oxygenation rate of the equipment must be corrected to the new dissolved oxygen concentration,
assuming a mixed liquor saturation concentration of 8.6 mg/L.

(0.7) . [ 8.6 - 2.6

8.6 _ l.6
] = 0.58 kg 0 2 /lIP-HR

The required power for oxygenation must be increased to:

. 4,785
lIP required = = 343
24 . 0.58

An additional 150 lIP will therefore be required to maintain an adequate mixed liquor dissolved oxygen level.
Flow modifications, such as multi-stage or plug flow can also be considered.

Filamentous bulking due to nutrient limitations have also been observed in some POTWs that receive
industrial wastewaters. For example, alum sludge was periodically discharged to a POTW. This resulted in
precipitation of the available phosphorus and the onset of filamentous bulking. Discontinuance of the alum
sludge discharge restored the sludge quality.

It has been observed by several investigators that filamentous bulking occurs in completely mixed basins at
low F1M levels in the presence of readily degradable wastewaters. This can be attributed to a food limitation
in the biological floc in a manner similar to the oxygen limitation previously discussed. The solution to this
problem is to employ a plug flow regime in the aeration basin or to use a selector to increase the FIM in the
early stages of the process. The oxygen distribution would also have to be changed in this case.

TEMPERATURE CONSIDERAnONS

Temperature affects all biological reactions and can be estimated over the range of 4°C to 31 °C by the
relationship.

Kt K o(T-20) (4)
200C
=

In the case of soluble industrial wastewaters, the coefficient, 9, has been found to vary from 1 .03 to 1 . 1 0. A
typical value is 1.065. In the case of domestic sewage, however, a major portion of the BOD is removed by
bio-coagulation which is relatively insensitive to temperature. In these wastewaters, the overall coefficient
has been observed to have a value of 1.01 5. The implication of this is that the introduction of large quantities
of soluble industrial wastewaters will increase the coefficient 9, frequently resulting in poorer effluent quality
during the winter.

The temperature effects on an activated sludge plant are i1Justrated in Example 3.

Example 3 Temperature Effects. Determine the change in MLVSS from 2,500 mg/L which will be required
-

when the temperature coefficient (9) increases from 1.01 5 to 1.04 due to an increase in soluble industrial
wastewater BOD. The seasonal temperature change is from 20°C to lOoC.

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 84 W. W. ECKENFELDER, JR and J. L. MUSTERMAN

The ratio ofK values for the municipal sewage is:

K20 = (1.015)10 =
1.16
KIO

and for the mixture of municipal sewage and industrial wastewater is:

K20 = (1.04)10 = 1.48

KIO

The increase in MLVSS required can be calculated.

1.48 .
2,500 mg I L = 3,110 mg I L
1.16

High temperature in the aeration basin will also have a deleterious affect on mixed liquor settling
characteristics and biofloc quality. Temperatures above 96°F have been shown to result in a loss of protozoa
and a dispersed floc, with an increase in filaments. Results from one plant are shown in Figure 2. The
implication of a reduced mixed liquor zone settling velocity is that for a given final clarifier size, a lower
MLSS must be maintained in the aeration basin to prevent excessive solids loading on the clarifier.

VOLATILE ORGANIC CARBON (VOC)

New air pollution regulations in the United States severely restrict the emission of volatile organics (VOC)
from wastewater treatment plants. The biodegradability of the volatile compound depends on the number of
chlorine atoms associated with the molecule as shown in Table 2. In addition, at a constant SRT both the
power level in the aeration basin and the type of aeration equipment affect the amount of a compound that
will strip. This is shown in Figure 3. In order to avoid covering the aeration basins and providing treatment
of the off-gas, non-degradable VOCs should be removed by pretreatment and degradable VOCs restricted to
influent levels that will biodegrade in the actual sludge process.

o +-------�--�--_r--�
" wo W5 IW
AERATION BASIN TEMPERATURE, OF

Fig. 2. Zone settling velocity as a function of temperature at a MLSS concentration of 5,000 Mg/I

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 Municipal activated sludge plants 85

TABLE 2 FATE OF TOXIC ORGANICS IN ACCLIMATED ACTIVATED SLUDGE BIOREACTORS

OPERATED AT A 6-DAY SRT UNDER STEADY-STATE CONDITIONS (Weber et aI., 1983)

EfIluent Percent of Influent

Compound Off-Gas Biosorbed Biodegraded

Nitrobenzene 2 <1 0 98
Benzene <1 16 0 84
Toluene <1 17 0 83
Ethylbenzene <1 22 0 78
o-Xylene <1 25 0 75
Chlorobenzene <1 20 0 80
1,2-Dichlorobenzene 6 59 0 35
1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene 10 90 <1 0

40

...
1:1
� 30 Surface Aeration
8-
-g
g: 20

�
�
N 10 L--�..--- Diffused Aeration

o +-------�--_+--�
80 100 150 200
Power Level - HPIMG

Fig. 3 . Stripping of benzene in the activated sludge process as related to power level

EFFLUENT TOXICITY

Aquatic toxicity as defined by a bioassay is now being applied to all industrial and municipal wastewater
treatment plants in the United States . Toxicity can be caused by the introduction ofinorganics (e.g.. metals),
non-biodegradable organics or by the generation ofsoluble microbial products (SMP) in the activated sludge
process itself A rapid bio-oxidation test using the Fed Batch Reactor (Watkin et al. 1989) or other
respirometric technique should identitY whether the wastewater is biodegradable and/or exhibits aquatic
toxicity. If the wastewater is nondegradable and toxic, it should be pretreated at the source. Available
technologies are shown in Figure 4.

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 86 W. W. ECKENFELDER. JR and J. L. MUSTERMAN

TO DISCHARGE
RECYCLE OR
TREA'lMENT

VOLATB..E
PROCESS HEAVY ORGANIC ORGANICS
WASTEWATER METALS CHEMICALS AMMONIA

Fig. 4. Applicable technologies for treatment of toxic wastewaters

If effiuent toxicity is the result of microbial by-products (SMP), however, pretreatment may not solve the
problem. In this case, the introduction of powdered activated carbon (PAC) to the aeration basin has proven
to be effective. The carbon effectively adsorbs the toxic molecules. The effect of PAC dosage on reducing
effiuent toxicity is shown in Figure 5.

10

:!
;:l
6
.ll
Ie
,.
'il 4

�
I<l
2

0 100 200 300 400 1100

PAC Do •• ge (mg/L)

Fig. 5. Typical toxicity reduction through the PACT® system (Lankford et aI., 1988)

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 Municipal activated sludge plants 87

It has also been shown that inhibition of nitrifiers closely parallels toxicity to many aquatic species. In this
case,nitrification can be maintained by increasing the sludge age or by the addition of PAC. In one case, the
introduction of a chemical plant effluent increased the required sludge age for nitrification from 4 days at
20°C to 25 days. Introduction of PAC effectively reduced the required sludge age to noninhibitory levels. In
such a case economics would dictate the mode of operation.

PRIORITY POLLUTANTS

There is an increasing restriction on the discharge of specific organic and inorganic pollutants from
wastewater treatment plants. Depending on the organic in question and the required effluent level, a greatly
increased sludge age may be required. In the same manner as with VOCs, increasing the number of
substituted chlorine atoms reduces the biooxidation rate and hence increases the required sludge age as shown
in Table 3. For example, in one case, a sludge age of 21 days was required to meet an effluent BOD of
15 mgIL. In order to meet an effluent requirement of 0.02 mgIL of 2,4 dichlorophenol, the sludge age would
have to be increased to 39 days.

TABLE 3 EFFECT OF CHLORINE SUBSTITUTION ON DEGRADATION

RATE OF PHENOLICS (PITTER AND CHUDOBA, 1 990)

Maximum Degradation Rate

Compound g COD/g VSS-day

Phenol 1 .92
2-Chlorophenol 0.6
2,4-Dichlorophenol 0.25

Temperature also plays an important role in the removal of priority pollutants. It would require a sludge age
of 11 days to reduce phenol to 15 IlgIL at 20°C. If the temperature was reduced to 1 0°C, the required sludge
age would increase to 47 days.

SLUDGE HANDLING

The impact of introducing industrial wastewaters to a POTW on sludge handling operations must also be
considered. In most cases, introduction of a soluble industrial wastewater will result in an increase in waste
activated sludge production. An increase in SVI due to filamentous bulking will severely affect both the
thickening and dewatering of the waste sludge. For example, sludge with an SVI of 1 00 mL/g thickened to 4
to 5 percent in a DAF, while sludge with an SVI of 300 mL/g only thickened to 1 .8 percent. These
conditions will have a detrimental effect on thickening and dewatering operations and usually result in an
increased usage of dewatering chemicals and a reduced cake solids. One exception to this was observed when
a pulp and paper mill reduced their discharge of primary suspended solids to a POTW. Since the fiber from
the pulp mill served as a filter aid in the vacuum filters at the POTW a marked reduction in sludge filtration
rate was observed following reduction of the pulp mill discharge.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

It is apparent that significant industrial discharges to a municipal activated sludge plant can markedly affect
effluent quality,sludge quality and sludge handling. It is suggested that a laboratory activated sludge study be
conducted to determine these effects and provide the basis for pretreatment requirements. The primary
factors to be evaluated include reaction kinetics and temperature effects, dissolved oxygen requirements,
effluent toxicity,and sludge characteristics.

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 88 W. W. ECKENFELDER, JR and J. L. MUS1ERMAN

CONCLUSIONS

When industrial effluents are introduced into municipal plants, there are a number of factors which must be
considered. Readily degradable wastewaters will enhance filamentous bulking so that a plug flow
configuration or the use of a selector needs to be considered. Refractory wastewaters will usually require an
increased sludge age in order to meet effluent limitations. In general, increasing the soluble fraction of the
BOD will increase the temperature effect, frequently requiring longer sludge ages during winter operation.
Recent legislation in the United States limits volatile emissions from wastewater treatment plants, restricts
aquatic toxicity, and places limits on specific organics such as phenol. In most cases, industrial pretreatment
is required to meet these limitations. Depending on the characteristics of the industrial effluent, sludge
handling and disposal may require modificatIon.

REFERENCES

Adams,C. E.,Eckenfelder,W. W.,and Hovious,1., 1975. A Kinetic Model for Design of Completely Mixed
Activated Sludge, Water Research, 2, 37.
Chudoba, 1., et aI., 1 973. Control of Activated Sludge Filamentous Bulking, Water Research, 1, 1380.
Grau, P., 1 975. Kinetics of Multi-component Substrate Removal by Activated Sludge, Water Research, 2,
637.
Lankford, P. W., Eckenfelder, W. W., and Torrens, K. D., 1 988. Reducing Wastewater Toxicity, Chemical
Engineering, � 1 6.

McCauley,D.C., 1 974. Union Carbide Research Report.

Palm, 1. D., Jenkins, D., and Parker, P.S., 1 980. Relationship Between Organic Loading Dissolved Oxygen
and Sludge Settleability in the Complete Mix Activated Sludge Process, Journal Water Pollution
Control Federation, 51, 2,484.

Pitter, P. and Chudoba, J., 1 990. Biodegradability of Organic Substances in the Aquatic Environment. CRC
Press, Boca Raton,Florida.
Watkin, A. and Eckenfelder, W. W., 1989. A Technique to Determine Non-Steady State Inhibition in the
Activated Sludge Process, Water Science Technology, 2 1 (617),593-602.
Weber, W. J. and Jones, B., 1 983. Toxic Substances Removal in Activated Sludge and PAC Treatment
Systems. USEPA NTIS No. PB-86-1 8242J/AS.

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