Anaerobicaerobic treatment of industrial and municipal wastewater

Abstract
Anaerobicaerobic systems have been remarkably employed in industrial and municipal
wastewater treatment for many years. While previously most treatment of wastewaters have
been carried out in conventional anaerobicaerobic treatment plants, in recent years, high rate
anaerobicaerobic bioreactors have been increasingly employed for wastewaters with high
chemical oxygen demand (COD). This paper provides a review of the various types of high
rate anaerobicaerobic water treatment techniques currently available including high rate
bioreactors and integrated anaerobicaerobic bioreactors. The integrated bioreactors are
classified into four types, which are integrated bioreactors with physical separation of
anaerobicaerobic zone, integrated bioreactors without physical separation of anaerobic
aerobic zone, anaerobicaerobic Sequencing Batch Reactors (SBR), and combined
anaerobicaerobic culture system. The integration of aerobic and anaerobic degradation
pathways in a single bioreactor is capable of enhancing the overall degradation efficiency.
The merits of different integrated anaerobicaerobic bioreactors are highlighted and
comparison made to identify possible future areas of research to fully utilize these methods of
wastewater treatment. The comparison demonstrates that using an integrated bioreactor with
stacked configuration in treating high strength industrial wastewaters is advantageous due to
minimal space requirements, low capital cost and excellent COD removal efficiencies.
1.

Introduction

Over the last century, continued population growth and industrialization have resulted in the
degradation of various ecosystems on which human life relies on. In the case of ocean and
river quality, such pollution is primarily caused by the discharge of inadequately treated
industrial and municipal wastewater. On initial discharge, these wastewaters can contain high
levels of inorganic pollutants which can be easily biodegradable, but whose impact load on
the ecosystems, either in Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand
(BOD5 ), or Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), may be in the tens of thousands mg/L [1]. To
combat this increasing burden on our aquatic environment, increasingly strict regulation on
pollution discharge is being implemented by various governmental bodies, with focus
primarily on waste reduction. The treatment systems developed by industry are frequently
regarded as a regulatory obligation, increasing capital and running costs and yielding
negative economic returns. Compliance to environ-mental legislations should not necessary l
In the treatment of wastewater, biological treatment appears to be a promising technology to
attain revenue from Certified Emission Reduction (CER) credits, more commonly known as
carbon credits from the CDM as methane gas is generated from anaerobic digestion and can
be utilized as renewable energy. With appropriate analysis and environmental control, almost
all wastewaters containing biodegradable constituents with a BOD/COD ratio of 0.5 or
greater can be treated easily by biological means [2]. In comparison to other methods of
wastewater treatment, it also has the advantages of lower treatment costs with no secondary
pollution [3]. Both aerobic and anaerobic processes can be used; the former involves the use
of free or dissolved oxygen by microorganisms (aerobes) in the conversion of organic wastes
to biomass and CO2 while in the latter complex organic wastes are degraded into methane,
CO2 and H2 O through three basic steps in the absence of oxygen. Aerobic biological

processes are commonly used in the treatment of organic wastewaters for achieving high
degree of treatment efficiency, while in anaerobic treatment, considerable progress has been
achieved in anaerobic biotechnology for waste treatment based on the concept of resource
recovery and utilization while still achieving the objective of pollution control [4,5].ead to the
creation of additional costs, but can instead provide a secondary source of income. In general,
aerobic systems are suitable for the treatment low strength wastewaters (biodegradable COD
concentrations s than 1000 mg/L) while anaerobic systems are suitable for the atment of high
strength wastewaters (biodegradable COD concentrations over 4000 mg/L).
Highly polluting industrial wastewaters are preferably treated an anaerobic reactor due to the
high level of COD, potential energy generation and low surplus sludge production. How-er in
practical applications, anaerobic treatment suffers from the w growth rate of the
microorganisms, a low settling rate, pross instabilities and the need for post treatment of the
noxious aerobic effluent which often contains ammonium ion (NH4 + ) d hydrogen sulfide
(HS ) [8]. In most applications, despite the ciency of the anaerobic process is high, complete
stabilization the organic matter is impossible anaerobically due to the high ganic strength of
the wastewater. The final effluent produced the anaerobic treatment contains solubilized
organic matter. is is suitable for aerobic treatment, indicating the potential of ng anaerobic
aerobic systems [9] and subsequent post treatment using aerobic treatment is required to meet
the effluent charge standard.
New technologies have been developed over the years to overcome the disadvantages of
conventional anaerobicaerobic systems. Anaerobicaerobic system using high rate
bioreactors (such as upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB), filter bioreactor, fluidized bed
reactor, membrane bioreactor) are adopted in order to provide a treatment process which is
both technologically and economically viable with the dual goals of resource recovery and
compliance with current legislation for effluent discharge. A more intensive form of
biodegradation can also be achieved by integrating anaerobic and aerobic zones within a
single bioreactor. Essentially, there are four types of integrated anaerobicaerobic bioreactor.
These are integrated bioreactors with physical separation of anaerobicaerobic zone,
integrated bioreactor s without physical separation of anaerobicaerobic zone, Sequencing
Batch Reactors (SBR) based on temporal separation of the anaerobic and the aerobic phase,
and (iv) combined anaerobicaerobic culture system based on the principle of limited oxygen
diffusion in microbial biofilms. An overview of the most frequently applied bioreactors is
delineated in Tables 24, with specific attention on the evaluation of their treatment
efficiency in terms of organic removal.
1. Anaerobicaerobic systems using high rate bioreactors
The right combination and sequence of treatment methods is the key to the successful
handling of industrial and municipal wastewater. The combinations of different anaerobic and
aerobic bioreactors have been applied to treat a broad range of industrial wastewater
including textile industry wastewater, food solid waste leachate, pulp and paper industry
wastewater, pharmaceutical industry wastewater, mixture of olive oil mill wastewater and
primary municipal wastewater, starch industry wastewater, green olive debittering
wastewater, slaughter house wastewater, and palm oil mill effluent (POME). The anaerobic
aerobic systems using high rate bioreactors reviewed in this paper achieve high COD removal
(in excess of 70%) at short HRT (ranging from few hours to few days). Therefore, the

anaerobicaerobic treatment is an efficient method to treat industrial and municipal

wastewater.
2.

Integrated anaerobicaerobic bioreactors

In recent years, substantial attention has been paid towards the compact high-rate bioreactors
for wastewater treatment to meet the strict constraints with respect to space, odor, view, and
biosolids production. Thus, the integrated bioreactors which combine the aerobic and
anaerobic processes in a single reactor are seen as a viable alternative.

A combination of aerobic and anaerobic degradation path-ways in a single reactor is capable

of enhancing the overall degradation efficiency [66]. The integrated bioreactors are cost
effective, efficient and have smaller foot prints as compared to the aforementioned
anaerobicaerobic systems. Nonetheless, the design, operation and process development of
integrated anaerobicaerobic bioreactors are still in its infancy and limited to a few studies.

3. Conclusion
Anaerobicaerobic treatments receive great attention over the past decades due to their
numerous advantages such as low energy consumption, low chemical consumption, low
sludge production, vast potential of resource recovery, less equipment required and high
operational simplicity. However, conventional anaerobicaerobic systems are found to have
operational limitations in terms of long HRT, space requirement and facilities to capture
biogas. The applications of newly developed high rate bioreactors address these limitations
and provide increased organic matter removal at shorter HRT and higher methane yields for
biogas production.

In order to meet strict constraints with respect to space, odors and minimal sludge production,
considerable attention has been directed towards the integrated anaerobicaerobic bioreactors
which combine the aerobic and anaerobic process in a single bioreactor. With simple yet cost
effective technology, the generation of renewable energy and outstanding treatment
efficiency, it is envisaged that the compact integrated bioreactors will be able to treat a wide
range of high organic strength industrial and municipal wastewater. However, most of the
integrated bioreactors reported in this work lack large scale implementation within industry
and further work is required to evaluate the performance of these promising reactors on a
larger scale. Besides, further improvements such as installation of biogas capture system and
utilization of sus-pended carrier or packing medium are considered essential.

Tratament anaerob aerob a apelor uzate industriale i municipale

Abstract
Sisteme anaerobe aerobic au fost utilizate remarcabil n tratarea apelor uzate
industriale i municipale de mai muli ani. n timp ce majoritatea anterior
tratamentul apelor uzate au fost efectuate n instalaiile convenionale de
epurare-anaerobe aerobic, n ultimii ani, rata nalt anaerobe aerobic Bioreactori au fost folosite din ce n ce ape uzate cu cerere mare de oxigen chimic
(COD). Aceasta lucrare ofera o revizuire a diferitelor tipuri de rata mare
anaerobe aerobic de tratare a apei tehnologie-tehnicilor disponibile n prezent,
inclusiv bioreactoare mare rata i bioreactoare integrate anaerobe aerobic.
Bioreactoare integrate sunt clasificate n patru tipuri, care sunt bioreactoare
integrate cu fiz-iCal separare a zonei anaerob aerobic, bioreactoare integrate
fr separarea fizic a-anaerob aerobic zone, (iii)-anaerobe aerobic reactori
secventiere lot (SBR), i (iv) sistem combinat de cultur-anaerob aerobic.
Integrarea ci de degradare aerobe i anaerobe ntr-un singur bioreactor este
capabil de a spori eficiena global degradare. Meritele diferitelor-anaerobe
aerobic bioreactoare ras-inte sunt evideniate i compararea fcut pentru a
identifica posibile domenii viitoare de cercetare s utilizeze pe deplin aceste
metode de tratare a apelor uzate. Comparaia demonstreaz c, utiliznd un
bioreactor integrat cu configurare stivuite n tratarea nalt rezisten industriale
wastew-Aters este avantajoas datorit cerinelor de spaiu minime, costuri de
capital reduse i eficien de ndeprtare excelente COD (peste 83%).
1. Introducere
n ultimul secol, creterea populaiei a continuat i Indus-trialization au dus la
degradarea diferitelor ecosisteme n care viaa uman se bazeaz pe. n cazul
ocean i de calitate ru, astfel poluarea este cauzat n primul rnd de deversarea
INAD-equately tratate a apelor uzate industriale i municipale.Pe de descrcare
de gestiune iniial, aceste ape uzate pot conine niveluri ridicate de poluanti
anorganici care pot fi uor biodegradabil, dar al cror impact sarcin asupra
ecosistemelor, fie n total solide n suspensie (TSS), Bio-chimic de oxigen
(CBO5), sau consumul chimic de oxigen ( COD), poate fi n zeci de mii mg / l
[1]. Pentru a combate aceast povar tot mai mare asupra mediului acvatic,
reglementarea n ce mai stricte privind descrcarea de poluare este implementat
de diferite organisme guvernamentale, cu accent n primul rnd pe reducerea
deeurilor. Sistemele de tratare dezvoltate de industrie sunt adesea considerate
ca fiind o obligaie de reglementare, creterea de capital i costurile de
funcionare i rezultnd profituri economice negative. Respectarea legislaiilorEnviron mental ar trebui s nu am nevoie n tratarea apelor reziduale, epurare
biologic pare a fi o tehnologie promitoare pentru a atinge venituri de la
Certified Emis-sion reducere (CER) de credite, mai cunoscut sub numele de
credite de carbon din CDM ar fi gaz metan este generat prin digestia anaerob i
pot fi utilizate ca energie regenerabil. Cu analiza dup caz i de control al
mediului, aproape toate apele reziduale care conin componeni biodegradabili

cu un raport BOD / COD de 0,5 sau mai mare pot fi tratate cu uurin prin
intermediul biologice [2]. n comparaie cu alte metode de tratare a apelor uzate,
aceasta are, de asemenea avantaje de costuri de tratament mai mici fr polRezo- secundar [3]. Ambele procese aerobe i anaerobe pot fi folosite; fostul
implic utilizarea de oxigen liber sau dizolvat de microor-ganisms (aerobe), n
conversia deeurilor organice pentru biomas i CO2 n timp ce n urm
deeurilor organice complexe sunt degradate n metan, CO2 i H2O prin trei
etape de baz (hidroliz, acidogenez inclusiv acetogenezei i metanogeneza),
n absena oxigenului.Aerobic procese biologice sunt de obicei utilizate n
tratamentul apelor uzate organice pentru realizarea grad ridicat de eficien
tratament, n timp ce n tratamentul anaerob, progrese considerabile au fost
realizate n domeniul biotehnologiei anaerobe pentru tratarea deeurilor bazat pe
conceptul de recuperare a resurselor i de utilizare n timp ce nc atingerea
obiectivului de control al polurii [4,5] .ead la crearea de costuri suplimentare,
dar poate oferi n schimb o surs secundar de venit. n general, sistemele de
aerobic sunt potrivite pentru tratament a apelor uzate rezisten sczute
(biodegradabile COD concentraii s dect 1000 mg / l) n timp ce sistemele
anaerobe sunt potrivite pentru atment a apelor reziduale de nalt rezisten
(COD biodegradabil con-ntrations peste 4000 mg / l). foarte poluante apele
uzate industriale sunt, de preferin, un reactor anaerob tratate din cauza
nivelului ridicat de COD, potenialul de generare de energie i producia sczut
de nmol excedent. Cum-er in aplicatii practice, tratament anaerob sufer de
rata de cretere n greutate a microorganismelor, o rat sczut de decantare,
instabilitile pro-SS i nevoia de tratament post a efluentului aerobic nocive
care conine adesea ion amoniu (NH4 +) d hidrogen sulfur (HS-) [8]. In
majoritatea aplicaiilor, n ciuda efici- al procesului anaerob este stabilizare
ridicat, complet materia organic este imposibil anaerob datoreaz rezistenei
Ganic ridicat al apei uzate. Efluentul final realizat tratamentul anaerob conine
materie organic solubilizat. este este potrivit pentru tratamentul aerob, indicnd
potenialul sistemelor anaerobe aerobic ng [9] i este necesar dup tratament
ulterior-nt folosind tratament aerob pentru a satisface standardele de ncrcare a
efluenilor. Noile tehnologii au fost dezvoltate de-a lungul anilor pentru a depi
dezavantajele sistemelor anaerobe aerobic convenionale. Sistemul utilizeaz
bioreactoare mare rata (cum ar fi flux ascendent ptur nmol anaerob (UASB),
filtru bioreac-tor, reactor cu pat fluidizat, membrana bioreactor)-anaerob
aerobicsunt adoptate pentru a asigura un proces de tratare care este att
tehnologic i economic viabil cu obiectivele duble de recuperare a resurselor i
respectarea legislaiei n vigoare pentru evacuarea apelor reziduale. O form
mai intens de biodegradare se poate realiza prin integrarea anaerobe si zone de
aerobic ntr-o singur bioreac-tor. n esen, exist patru tipuri de bioreactor
integrat-anaerob aerob. Acestea sunt (i) integrat bioreactoare cu separarea fizic
a zonei anaerob aerobic, (ii) bioreactor integrate s, fr separare fizic a zonei
anaerob aerobic, (iii) Reactori secventiere Batch (SBR), pe baza temporal

separa-TION a anaerob i faza aerob, i (iv) sistemul de cultur anaerob aerob

combinat bazat pe principiul difuziei oxigenului limitate n biofilme microbiene.
O privire de ansamblu asupra bioreactoare cele mai fre-quently aplicate este
delimitat n tabelele 2-4, cu o atenie deosebit pe evaluarea eficienei
tratamentului n ceea ce privete eliminarea organice. 2. Sisteme anaerobe
aerobic utiliznd bioreactoare rata mare combinaia potrivit i secvena metode
de tratament este cheia pentru manipularea cu succes a industriale i municipale
wastewa-ter. Combinaiile de diferite anaerobe i aerobe bioreactoare au fost
aplicate pentru a trata o gama larga de ape uzate industriale, inclusiv industria
apelor uzate textile, produse alimentare levigatului deeuri solide, industria
celulozei i hrtiei apelor uzate, industria apelor uzate farmaceutice, amestec de
msline apelor uzate fabrica de ulei i ap uzat municipal primar, amidon
industrie a apelor uzate, msline verde deb-ittering apelor uzate, abator apelor
uzate, precum i de palmier presa de ulei apelor reziduale (POME). Tabelul 2
prezint sistemele de anaerobe aerobic utiliznd bioreactoare mari rata de cazul
n care tratamentul se efectueaz n dou bioreactoare separate, conectate n
serie. Sistemele-anaerobe aerobe utiliznd bioreactoare rat mare analizate n
aceast lucrare obine o ndeprtare COD ridicat (peste 70%) la HRT scurt (de
la cteva ore pn la cteva zile).Prin urmare, tratamentul anaerob-aerob este o
metod eficient de a trata apele uzate industriale i municipale. 3. Bioreactoare
integrate anaerobe aerobic n ultimii ani, o atenie important a fost acordat
ctre compacte bioreactoare rata mare de epurare a apelor uzate pentru a
satisface constrngerile stricte cu privire la spaiu, miros, vedere, i producia
biosolids. Astfel, bioreactoare integrate care combin procesele aerobe i
anaerobe ntr-un singur reactor sunt privite ca o alternativ viabil. O
combinaie de degradare aerobe i anaerobe de cale-moduri ntr-un singur
reactor este capabil de a spori eficiena degradrii global [66]. Bioreactoare
integrate sunt rentabile, eficient i au printuri picior mai mici n comparaie cu
sistemele de anaerobe aerobic menionate mai sus. Cu toate acestea, proiectarea,
funcionarea i dezvoltarea procesului de bioreactoare integrate-anaerobe aerobe
sunt nc n faz incipient i limitat la cteva studii. 4. Concluzie tratamente
anaerob-aerob primi o atenie deosebit n ultimele decenii ca urmare a
numeroaselor lor avantaje, cum ar fi consumul redus de energie, consum redus
chimic, producia de nmol redus, potenial mare de recuperare a resurselor,
echipamente mai puin solicitate i simplitate operaional ridicat. Cu toate
acestea, sistemele anaerobe aerobic convenionale gasite de a avea limit iioperaionale n ceea ce privete HRT lung, cerina de spaiu i faciliti pentru a
captura de biogaz. Cererile de rata mare Biore-actori nou dezvoltate aborda
aceste limitri i s ofere ndeprtarea materiei organice a crescut la HRT scurt
i randamente mai mari de metan pentru producerea de biogaz. Pentru a
rspunde constrngerilor stricte cu privire la spatiu, mirosuri i de producie
minim de nmol, o atenie deosebit a fost ndreptat spre bioreactoare
integrate anaerobe aerobic care combin procesul aerobe i anaerobe ntr-un

singur Biore-actor.Cu simpla costa nc tehnologie eficient, generarea de

energie din surse regenerabile i a eficienei tratamentului remarcabil, este ca
bioreactoare integrate compacte vor putea trata o gama larga de rezisten
organic ridicat a apelor uzate industriale i municipale de vrst ENVIS. Cu
toate acestea, cele mai multe dintre bioreactoare integrate raportate n aceast
lucrare lipsa de punere n aplicare pe scar larg n industrie i n munc este
necesar pentru a evalua performana acestor reactoare promitatoare pe o scar
mai larg. n plus, mbuntirea n continuare, cum ar fi instalarea unui sistem
de captare a biogazului i utilizarea purttor melor-sus sau mediu de ambalare
sunt considerate eseniale.