2710 Q IWA Publishing 2010 Water Science & Technology—WST | 62.

11 | 2010

Upgrading of an activated sludge wastewater treatment

plant by adding a moving bed biofilm reactor as pre-
treatment and ozonation followed by biofiltration for
enhanced COD reduction: design and operation experience
Nikolaus Kaindl

ABSTRACT

A paper mill producing 500,000 ton of graphic paper annually has an onsite wastewater Nikolaus Kaindl
3 SCA Graphic Laakirchen AG,
treatment plant that treats 7,240,000 m of wastewater per year, mechanically first, then Schillerstraße 5,
A-4663, Laakirchen,
biologically and at last by ozonation. Increased paper production capacity led to higher
Austria
COD load in the mill effluent while production of higher proportions of brighter products E-mail: nikolaus.kaindl@sca.com

gave worse biodegradability. Therefore the biological capacity of the WWTP needed to be
increased and extra measures were necessary to enhance the efficiency of COD reduction.
The full scale implementation of one MBBR with a volume of 1,230 m3 was accomplished
in 2000 followed by another MBBR of 2,475 m3 in 2002. An ozonation step with a capacity
of 75 kg O3/h was added in 2004 to meet higher COD reduction demands during the
production of brighter products and thus keeping the given outflow limits. Adding a moving
bed biofilm reactor prior to the existing activated sludge step gives: (i) cost advantages
when increasing biological capacity as higher COD volume loads of MBBRs allow smaller
reactors than usual for activated sludge plants; (ii) a relief of strain from the activated
sludge step by biological degradation in the MBBR; (iii) equalizing of peaks in the COD
load and toxic effects before affecting the activated sludge step; (iv) a stable volume
sludge index below 100 ml/g in combination with an optimization of the activated
sludge step allows good sludge separation—an important condition for further treatment
with ozone. Ozonation and subsequent bio-filtration pre-treated waste water provide:
(i) reduction of hard COD unobtainable by conventional treatment; (ii) controllable COD
reduction in a very wide range and therefore elimination of COD-peaks; (iii) reduction of
treatment costs by combination of ozonation and subsequent bio-filtration; (iv) decrease
of the color in the ozonated wastewater. The MBBR step proved very simple to operate
as part of the biological treatment. Excellent control of the COD-removal rate in the
ozone step allowed for economical usage and therefore acceptable operation costs in
relation to the paper production.
Key words | advanced treatment, biofiltration, COD reduction, hard COD, moving bed biofilm
reactor, MBBR, ozone, upgrading of activated sludge wastewater treatment plants

THE PAPER MILL

The paper mill “SCA Graphic Laakirchen AG” (SCA Cellulosa Aktiebolaget” (SCA) and is located in Upper
Laakirchen) is part of the Swedish group “Svenska Austria at the northern entrance of the Salzkammergut
doi: 10.2166/wst.2010.938
 2711 N. Kaindl | Upgrading of an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant
Lake District, see Figure 1. The river Traun is used
as recipient for the treated wastewater of the paper
production. The Traun is also well known for its excellent
water quality and therefore valued for fly fishing worldwide.
The production capacity of SCA Laakirchen is 485,000
tons of SC- and Offset-paper per year. The paper is
produced on the paper machines PM 10 (built 1987,
width 7,400 mm, Valmet) and PM 11 (built 2002, width
8,800 mm, Voith). Mechanical pulp and de-inked pulp
are produced on site, chemical pulp and filler are bought
in and dispersed.
IMPROVEMENT OF THE EXISTING BIOLOGICAL
WASTEWATER TREATMENT
The wish for expansion of the paper production capacity led
to an innovative concept for wastewater treatment as it was
not permissible to increase the effluent loads to the
recipient. SCA Laakirchen evaluated the new concept in
cooperation with the consultant CM Consult and the
consulting engineers Machowets & Partner and published
the promising results of laboratory and pilot tests (Kaindl
1999; Kaindl et al. 1999). The concept has also been
acknowledged by nomination in 1999 for the Austrian
“Neptun Water Prize” which is supported by three Austrian
ministries. In the following simplified flowchart the new
steps are accentuated and the advantages are summarized
(Table 1).
Figure 1 | SCA graphic Laakirchen AG.
Water Science & Technology—WST | 62.11 | 2010
Table 1 | Concept for the improvement of the existing biological wastewater
treatment plant
Enhancement of the existing WWTP
Primary clarifier
Drawn up first in 1996 and verified in
laboratory and pilot tests in 1996/97
Built: MBBR step
2000
High loaded first biological step as a 2002
moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) to provide: Suspended sludge
Improved sludge settlement in the suspended sludge step
Stabilised total COD-reduction rates in biological system Suspended sludge
Tolerance towards inflow peaks and toxic effects
Secondary clarifier
Ozonation with subsequent biofiltration to provide: Built:
Enhanced COD-reduction (persistent substances) 2004
Controllable COD-reduction in a wide range Ozonation
Reduction of treatment costs by limitation to peak loads and
partial oxidation with following biofiltration
Decolorisation of ozonated waste water
Biofiltration
At SCA Laakirchen the integration of moving bed
biofilm reactors as pre-treatment to the suspended sludge
steps has been realised at stream “A” of the wastewater
treatment plant in 2000 when a new bleaching step has
been installed at the paper production site and at stream
“B” in 2004, when the paper mill was enhanced by the new
paper machine PM 11.
With consultation of the author, the first realisation of
the ozone step has been performed at the paper mill “Lang
Papier” in Ettringen, Germany in 1999 (Schmidt & Lange
2000). The results of this full scale installation proved the
model developed for SCA Laakirchen to fit very well and
valuable findings for the realisation in Laakirchen have been
derived. In order to cope with an increase of COD load and
decrease of biodegradability at the same time—as a conse-
quence of an increase of paper bleaching—the next full scale
ozonation has been built at SCA Laakirchen in 2004.
WWTP OVERVIEW
A wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) has been erected
to purify 7,240,000 m3 per year of wastewater from
the production sites of the paper mill “SCA Graphic
Laakirchen AG” (Figure 2).
The wastewater from paper production is already
cooled down at the source to under 368C with heat
 2712 N. Kaindl | Upgrading of an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant Water Science & Technology—WST | 62.11 | 2010

Buffer B, mixing,
Primary clarifier
screen, distribution Nutrients P, N WWTP – Line B

Moving bed Secondary

Activated sludge Cooling
biofilm reactor clarifier
Buffer tank
1800 m3 Air Air

To deinking plant
Primary clarifier
Nutrients P, N
WWTP – Line A
Ozonation
Moving bed Secondary
Activated sludge
biofilm reactor clarifier
Cooling of waste water
Air Air
(Heat exchanger vs.
fresh water PM 10, 11) Nutrients Biofiltration
P, N
To deinking plant
Odour-
Odour-
removal
Mechanical fiber removal
preparation, deinking Brick industry,
Thickener Belt filter press Recipient
plant, PM 10 and 11, fluidised bed boiler
Traun
wood store, others
Waste water treatment plant
SCA Graphic Laakirchen AG

Figure 2 | Layout of the wastewater treatment plant SCA Laakirchen.

exchangers at the inflow of the treatment plant. After
equalization in an inflow buffer tank and subsequent
screening, the wastewater is distributed into two streams
and sent to the treatment lines A and B.
The particles are separated from the wastewater in the
primary clarifiers by sedimentation, so that only dissolved
substances are sent to the next step. The first biological
purification step is a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR).
At this step, easy degradable substances are degraded by
biofilms growing on free floating plastic carriers. The
second biological purification step is a conventional
activated sludge type. The outflow of all secondary clarifiers,
purified mechanically and biologically as far as possible,
13.9 kg/m3 d and a hydraulic retention time of 2 h; the
design filling rate for carriers will be 50% when the
full load is reached. As the paper mill did not yet reach
the full planned capacity it has been decided to build the
reactor volumes for the maximum load and meanwhile run
the reactors with a filling rate of 30%.
Air is introduced through perforated stainless steel
tubes which are fixed on the bottom of the reactors (see
Figure 3). This coarse bubble aeration system keeps the
Moving bed biofilm reactor
Nutrients
Inflow
Anti-foam system
Defoamer

is collected and sent to advanced treatment with ozonation

and biofiltration.

Screen

Outflow
MOVING BED BIOFILM REACTORS AS BIOLOGICAL Blowers
EXTENSION BEFORE ACTIVATED SLUDGE STAGE
Carriers
Description of process and installations Pneumatic
pump Window

The moving bed biofilm process is a system where Aeration

microorganisms are attached on the surface of carriers

which are floating free in a reactor. With respect to the
outcome of the pilot trials (Kaindl et al. 1999) the bio-
film reactors have been built for a COD-volume load of Figure 3 | Moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR).
 2713 N. Kaindl | Upgrading of an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant
carriers moving and provides the oxygen which is needed
for biological degradation of substances in the wastewater.
The oxygen concentration in the wastewater is measured
online and the dosage of air is controlled automatically so
that is not lower than 3.5 mg/l. The movement of the
carriers can be controlled through a porthole which is
fitted into the reactor at a height of about 1 m above
the aeration system. Pneumatic pumps are used to control
the growth of biofilm on the carrier and avoid clogging.
As the wastewater has a disposition to create foam, a
system of spraying nozzles has been installed to destroy
foam when it reaches a certain level.
After biological treatment in the MBBR the wastewater
is introduced into the suspended sludge step without
separation of biofilm flocs which have been sheared off
from the carriers. A screen with a gap width of 15 mm
avoids the loss of carrier material.
Initially the reactors were equipped with “Bioflow 30”
carrier material. As a progressive destruction happened to
the carriers of reactor “B” this material has been changed to
“Bioflow 40” in 2006. Since faulty material has caused the
damage, the supplier was responsible for the replacement
(Figures 4 and 5).
Results and experience
Before the wastewater is divided to stream A and B it is
being mixed. Therefore it suffices to report the parameters of
one stream.
In Table 2 mean values of the period from 1. 6. 2002 to
30. 5. 2003 in wastewater treatment stream A are given (the
difference in the flow rates between inflow and outflow is
a result of the dosage of spray water for foam destruction).
The hydraulic retention time has been calculated to 3.4 h
and the COD volume load to 7 kg/m3 d. Corresponding to
Type
Diameter
Height
Spec. surface
Protected surface
Density
Material
Figure 4 | Specification of carrier bioflow 30.
Water Science & Technology—WST | 62.11 | 2010
Type Bioflow 40
Diameter mm 40/45
Height mm 35
Spec. surface m2/m3 305
Protected surface m2/m3 210
Density g/cm3 0.96
Material PE
Figure 5 | Specification of carrier bioflow 40.
the statement of other authors (Helble 2002) the daily
measured reduction rates are quite varying, but mean values
can be compared better.
Related to the BOD inflow load (outflow of primary
sedimentation) 46% of BOD has been reduced in the
biofilm reactor and 53% has been reduced in the suspended
sludge step. When the reduction in the suspended sludge
step is related to the filtered outflow of the biofilm reactor, a
BOD reduction of 98% can be calculated.
Related to the COD inflow load (outflow of primary
sedimentation) 27% of COD has been reduced in the
biofilm reactor and 59% has been reduced in the suspended
sludge step. When the reduction in the suspended sludge
step is related to the filtered outflow of the biofilm reactor, a
COD reduction of 82% can be calculated (Figure 6).
In the pilot trials a COD reduction of about 50% has
been reached in the MBBR (Kaindl et al. 1999). This
elimination rate was not achieved at the full scale installa-
tions. One reason may be the lower filling rate in the full
scale reactors (30% instead 50%). At the present situation
this is however no threat as the full degradation capacity of
the reactors will be needed only if the next step of the
enhancement of the paper mill will be realised.
Another positive effect monitored at the pilot trials was
the improvement of sludge settlement in the following
suspended sludge step when the wastewater was pre-treated
in the biofilm reactor. Compared to the full scale plant the
Bioflow 30 sludge volume index (SVI, not stirred) could be reduced
mm 30/35 noticeably. Kaindl et al. (1999) noted however, running a
mm 29
m2/m3 320 biofilm reactor alone is not sufficient, it is also necessary to
m2/m3 280
g/cm3 0.96 tune the operation parameters of the suspended sludge
PE
step the right way, like nutrient supply and sludge load
(e.g. reduction of suspended sludge step volume to adapt the
system to additional biological reduction in the MBBR;
Figure 7). If that is done properly, steady good sludge
 2714 N. Kaindl | Upgrading of an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant Water Science & Technology—WST | 62.11 | 2010

Table 2 | Wastewater parameters measured for MBBR evaluation

Wastse water parameters (1. 6. 2002–30. 5. 2003)

Parameter unit Flow (m3/d) BOD5 (mg/l) COD (mg/l) BOD/COD ( 2 ) SS (mg/l) pH ( 2 ) Temperature (8C)

Inflow MBBR-A
Mean value 8.329 425 1.032 0.42 27 7
Maximum 12.702 680 1.490 0.69 155 8
Outflow MBBR-A
Mean value 9.139 210 679 0.31 54 8 30
Maximum 13.512 420 1.062 0.64 172 9 36

settlement parameters in the secondary clarifier can be tendency to produce biofilms at the sensor of the online
expected. Figure 7 shows the accomplished improvements measurement as well and therefore disturbes the system. To
in line B of the treatment plant. put the things right, a self cleaning electrode (Hach-Lange,
type LDO, with a wiper for permanent cleaning of the
Further remarks electrode) was installed. Additionally the sensor has to be
controlled and cleaned if necessary once per shift. When the
After the start up of the reactor a quick growth of biofilm on
reactor has a lower load it also may be necessary to dose
the carriers could be observed. Biological degradation of the
more air as necessary for degradation to keep the carriers
wastewater tooke place after less than 3 weeks (Figure 8).
moving.
When choosing an aeration system, robustness is the
To avoid clogging of the carriers, pneumatic pumps
major criteria. It should be taken into consideration that
for enhanced carrier movement are installed and used
any maintenance requires the removal of all carriers from
periodically simultaneous to normal operation. By the
the reactor. The carriers need to be stored temporarily
higher shear forces going along with the pumping, the
and—if not damaged—reused. Therefore, the reactors at
biofilm is removed mechanically. To determine a
Laakirchen are equipped with a simple aeration system with
convenient interval, the carriers are controlled visually
perforated stainless tubes with no moving parts. An efficient
and weighed. Typical cleaning intervals are 2 £ 70 min. at
oxygenation capacity could be reached as well by careful
reactor A (V ¼ 1,230 m3) and 4 £ 45 min. at reactor B
engineering and choosing a depth of 14 m.
(V ¼ 2,475 m3) every 8 hours of operating time.
To keep the oxygen concentration at the design value of
3.5 mg/l it is measured online at the outflow of the reactor.
It turned out, that the wastewater at that position also had a
ENHANCED COD REDUCTION BY OZONATION AND
Meanvalues MBBR :
100%
SUBSEQUENT BIOFILTRATION
90% Filling rate = 30 %

80%
27 HRT in MBBR = 3,4 hr.
Reason
CODin = 1032 mg/l
70% 46 CODout = 679 mg/l

60%
BOD/CODin = 0.42 In 2003 the newly built paper machine PM 11 reached the
BOD/CODout = 0.31

50%
59 Elim.-rate-COD = 27%
planned production capacity, the de-inking plant and the
(82)*
40% ()* elimination rates of mechanical fiber preparation were running at the limit of
53 the suspended sludge
30% (98)* step when calculated
separately
their capacity. At the same time the sale of brighter paper
20% Total red. Total red.
in both in both (as meanvalues of grades increased and the trend to even brighter paper
steps : steps : WWTP line A in the
10%
86 %
99 % period from 1.6.2002 to
30.5.2003)
grades on the market continued consistently. To produce
0%
BOD COD
brighter paper it is necessary to increase the bleaching of
Ouflow secondary clarifier Elimination in the suspended sludge Elimination in the MBBR step
mechanical pulp and to use chelating agents and optical
Figure 6 | Biological BOD and COD reduction. brighteners. These chemicals are hard to be degraded with
 2715 N. Kaindl | Upgrading of an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant Water Science & Technology—WST | 62.11 | 2010

350
Reduction of volume of the suspended sludge step
from 14.550 m3 to 9.700 m3 12. 6. 2002
300
Sludge volume index (SVI) [ml/g]

250

200

150 Startup of PM11

1. 5. 2002

100 Startup of MBBR ARA-

B 4. 3. 2002

50

0
02

02

02

02

02

02

02

02

02

02

02

02

03

03

03

03

03

03

03

03
20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

0.

1.

2.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.
.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.1

.1

.1

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0
01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01

01
Figure 7 | Evaluation of sludge volume index in line B.

biological waste watertreatment. Higher bleaching dissolves To meet the demands of the market for brighter
more lignin which is hard to be degraded as well. products and to keep the given discharge limits, it has
Summarizing these effects, we obtain higher COD loads been decided to realise the next step of the enhancement of
for the wastewater treatment plant and at the same time the the wastewater treatment plant. As shown in Kaindl (1999)
wastewater becomes harder to degrade. In relation to the advanced treatment with ozonation and subsequent
production of standard paper grades an estimation of these biofiltration should be installed to limit the COD loads to
effects results in 13– 22% higher COD loads on the inflow of the recipient at times of production of higher paper grades.
the wastewater treatment plant. The forecast for the outflow To counteract the expected warm-up of the wastewater in
to the recipient was, caused by worse biodegradability, the ozonation step, cooling towers were installed.
39 –40% higher. These theoretical reflections have been
proven correct in practise. As a result, the COD removal Plant design
efficiency in the biological stage of the wastewater treatment
plant drops and additional measures for enhanced COD The ozonation plant has been designed to keep the given
reduction have to be taken to keep the given discharge COD-discharge limits at the actual (2003) production
limits. capacity even for brighter products. To calculate the demand
of ozone, the highest daily COD discharge loads found in
2003 have been taken into consideration. To cope with
this, an extra COD reduction of 36% was needed. By the
use of the results published in Kaindl (1999) and Kaindl
et al. (1999, 2004) a specific ozone dosage of SOE ¼ 0.33
g O3 dissolved/g COD inflow has been calculated.
It has been one of the findings of the pilot trials
performed in Laakirchen, that the effect of COD reduction
should not be related to the amount of ozone dosed, it
should better be calculated just in relation to the amount of
ozone used in the system (dissolved ozone ¼ ozone in
the feed gas—ozone loss in the offgas ! SOE ¼ g O3
dissolved/g COD inflow). By taking this into consideration
Figure 8 | Biofilm on carrier line A, August 2003. we could get better correlations. By applying this finding it
 2716 N. Kaindl | Upgrading of an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant Water Science & Technology—WST | 62.11 | 2010

is also possible to clearly separate the responsibility of Wastewater, as far as possible purified by mechanical
wastewater owner and treatment plant supplier. and biological treatment, is collected from the secondary
It is the plant supplier’s responsibility to produce ozone clarifiers of the existing wastewater treatment plant and
with a guaranteed specific need of electrical energy and to sent to the inflow buffer tank of the cooling tower. These
dissolve it into the wastewater (use it in the system) with a cooling towers provide a wastewater temperature of 328C
guaranteed efficiency. In the pilot plant trials it was in all cases. Then the wastewater is sent to the inflow
possible, to use 98% of the produced ozone in the system buffer tank of the ozonation unit. From this buffer tank the
which was a demand for the full scale plant as well. water is pumped to an automatic backwashed filtration
The effect of dissolved ozone on the substances in the unit (1 mm—to protect the following system from larger
wastewater has to be evaluated in pilot trials and depends particles) and the ozone introduction system. In the
on the composition of the wastewater. This is the following Injector we have an intense mixing of waste-
responsibility of the owner of the wastewater. The function water and gas streams and therefore an introduction of
in Figure 10 can be used to define a guarantee agreement. ozone into the water. The mixture of wastewater and gas is
At the end, a tender for the delivery of an ozonation led into a reaction tank, using radial diffusers to get an
plant with an ozone generation unit to produce 75 kg O3/h optimal distribution of gas bubbles in the tank. This
and a guaranteed efficiency of ozone solution better than provides an optimal usage of the rest ozone which is still
98% has been sent to relevant suppliers. Therefore the not dissolved in the wastewater. At the top of the reaction
possible COD reduction with ozonation þ biofiltration will tank the remaining gas is removed and sent to the
be 1,830 kg/d in the mechanical and biological pre-treated biofiltration unit after passing a catalytic converter to
wastewater. The design of the plant allows an enhancement destruct rest ozone.
up to 3 ozone generation units, which will then provide a The wastewater is then sent to a retention tank which
total capacity of 225 kg O3/h. allows the finishing of longer lasting reactions and the
decrease of a possible ozone concentration in the water.
Layout wastewater cooling, ozonation and biofiltration
Afterwards, the wastewater is led into a granular biofilter
The layout has been designed according to the layout of the unit to degrade these substances which are now better
pilot plant, which has been published in Kaindl (1999) and biological degradable after the ozone treatment. The
Kaindl et al. (1999) before (Figure 9). outflow of the biofiltration unit is sent to the recipient.

Offgas scrubber Ozone destructor

Inflow buffer Inflow buffer
cooling tower ozonation
Cooling tower
O2
second sediment
Wastewater from

Biofiltration
Injector
Filter

To recipient

Air
Reactor, Retention
degasing tank
Liquid oxygen Ozone generator

Heat Cooling Ozone treatment

Evaporator at SCA Laakirchen
Exch.

www.mup.at
MACHOWETZ PARTNER

Figure 9 | Layout of ozone treatment Laakirchen.

 2717 N. Kaindl | Upgrading of an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant Water Science & Technology—WST | 62.11 | 2010

Effect of O3+BF - Pilot trials 1997 against full scale Laakirchen 2005

100
Pilot trials Laakirchen, equalized with polynom
90 of 2nd degree and boundary at [0/12]

80

70
COD reduction (%)

60

50

40

30

20 Results Pilot Laakirchen 1997

Actual Laakirchen 2005
10 Pilot Laakirchen (Polynomisch)
0
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20 1.40 1.60 1.80 2.00
Spec. mass of ozone dissolved (g O3 dissolved/g COD inflow)
© 2005, Nikolaus Kaindl

Figure 10 | Comparison of the pilot trials 1997 to full scale results 2005.

The complete equipment for the ozonation step was Results of the full scale installation
delivered by Ozonia—Switzerland. Total project costs
amounted to e7.600 million, of which e1.561 million Although the pilot trials are dating 8 years back, we found a
where used for the wastewater cooling and e3.508 million perfect correspondence to the full scale implementation.
for the installation of the ozonation step. The rest of the One outcome of the evaluation of the pilot trials was, that it
costs went for engineering, oxygen supply and shared is possible to define a relation between the specific ozone
installations. dosage [g O3 dissolved/g COD inflow] and the enhanced COD

COD-loads to O3 and to the recipient - July-August 2005

6,000
July 05 August 05
Prop. brighter prod.: 28 % Prop. brighter prod.: 39 %
COD-removal biol.: 86.0 % COD-removal biol.: 83.6 %
5,000

COD after biological step

4,000
COD-Loads (kg/d)

Limit max.
Limit 80 %

3,000

COD after O3+BF

2,000 Production brighter prod.

1,000

0
1. Jul.
3. Jul.
5. Jul.
7. Jul.
9. Jul.
11. Jul.
13. Jul.
15. Jul.
17. Jul.
19. Jul.
21. Jul.
23. Jul.
25. Jul.
27. Jul.
29. Jul.
31. Jul.
2. Aug.
4. Aug.
6. Aug.
8. Aug.
10. Aug.
12. Aug.
14. Aug.
16. Aug.
18. Aug.
20. Aug.
22. Aug.
24. Aug.
26. Aug.
28. Aug.
30. Aug.

Figure 11 | Keeping the outflow limits by ozonation.

 2718 N. Kaindl | Upgrading of an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant
reduction [%] obtained with ozonation þ biofiltration. Figure
10 shows, that the model created after the pilot trials is
sufficient for the use of scaling up the process.
From the time of start-up on 1 December 2004 until
today, the whole installation worked without a major hitch.
Starting with the first day of operation it was possible to
keep the given outflow limits also in times of production of
brighter products.
Figure 11 shows as an example of Jul/Aug 2005, that
without the ozonation step the given COD outflow limits
would exceed for many days. Hence it is clear, that the
production of brighter products was possible from the
environmental view only with this installation for advanced
waste watertreatment. Further, if we compare July and
August we can see, that with a higher proportion of brighter
production we have more hard degradable substances in the
Figure 12 | Process control with the target to keep a specified COD-outflow load.
Water Science & Technology—WST | 62.11 | 2010
wastewater and therefore COD reduction rate in the
mechanical/biological step of the treatment drops.
As yearly average of 2005 the following costs (running
costs without depreciation) have been spent for waste
watertreatment:
COD reduction with biological step 0:27 e=kg CODel
COD reduction with ozone þ biofiltration
1:33 e=kg CODel
These costs are very close to those that have been
predicted in Kaindl et al. (2004) (O3 þ BF ! 1.40 e/kg COD
eliminated) but still noticeable higher than with biological
treatment. That way also the layout of the plant is
confirmed, because first the substances in the wastewater
are degraded as far as possible in the mechanical/biological
 2719 N. Kaindl | Upgrading of an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant
step. Only these substances (hard COD) which can not be
degraded in this first step are eliminated in the
ozonation þ biofiltration step. Therefore, when we relate
the costs to the paper production we can see, that we have a
much better relation:
COD reduction with biological step e3:68=ton of paper
COD reduction with ozone þ biofiltration
e0:53=ton of paper
If we base a selling price of e700 per ton of paper it is
obvious, that advanced treatment is affordable. These costs
include a proportion of 30% brighter products of the total
paper produced. If the proportion of brighter products will
be raised, the costs for advanced treatment will raise as well.
To mark the efficiency of the ozone process control, an
index has been defined to characterise the optimal
control—“only that much ozone should be dosed as it is
necessary to keep the COD-outflow limit ¼ 100%”.
With the installed control system it was possible to reach
an efficiency of 90% in the first year of operation.
By use of the findings of the pilot trials it was possible to
realise an automatic multi step control system for the whole
process of advanced treatment. At the highest level of
automation the daily COD load is limited automatically to a
given value. On-line volume and COD measurement has
been installed on the inflow to the ozonation step and the
outflow of the biofiltration step. The dosage of ozone is
calculated in advance with the relations published in Kaindl
(1999) and adjusted automatically by the hour.
This way the control system regulates the ozone dosage
to reach the given limit for COD-release at the end of the
day. Variations in the wastewater flow rate are considered
automatically as well as variations in COD concentrations
and even short maintainance shutdowns of the plant.
To cope with a failure of on-line measurement, several
levels of automation have been programmed, which can be
chosen by the operator.
Figure 12 is a screen shot of the process control system
and shows in the upper diagram the chosen target for the
COD outflow load vs. the evaluation of the—automatically
controlled—COD load to the recipient over the day. In the
Water Science & Technology—WST | 62.11 | 2010
middle we can see the COD-load to the ozonation step
(upper) vs. the amount of ozone dosed. In the lower
diagram we can find the volume of wastewater to be treated
(upper) vs. the COD concentration of the outflow of
secondary clarifiers.
CONCLUSION
Herewith it can be summarized, that all steps for advanced
treatment fulfilled the expectations perfectly. For the first
time in wastewater treatment we can now regulate a desired
COD-reduction automatically and therefore exactly reach
the demand. The disadvantage of higher specific costs for
COD-reduction can be eliminated by having the advanced
treatment step at the right place in the process, using
biofiltration for additional elimination and regulation of the
ozone dosage to demand. Finally, it was possible with this
process only, to keep the strict outflow limits also at times of
the production of brighter products at SCA Laakirchen.
REFERENCES
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