CE 202: Wastewater Engineering, Spring 2014-15

Problem Set # 7
1. A conventional completely mixed activated sludge process is operated with a mean cell
residence time of 10 day. The reactor volume is 7500 cum. The system is operated with MLSS
concentration of 3000 mg/L. Determine a) the rate of sludge production per day, b) The sludge
wasting flow rate. The recycle line has MLSS concentration of 10,000 mg/L.
2. An activated sludge secondary treatment unit is to treat an inflow Q = 0.5 m3/s with an inflow
BOD concentration So = 150 mg/L so that the outflow from the unit has a BOD concentration S =
30 mg/L. The MLVSS of the plant is to be maintained at X = 2000 mg/L, and the concentration of
the solids in the flow leaving the secondary clarifier is Xs = 10,000 mg/L. Determine the bacterial
growth rate(), the sludge age (c), the aeration tank volume (V), the sludge return flow Qr, the
sludge volume outflow Qs, and the F/M ratio. Assume that Y = 0.5 mg VSS/mg BOD, m = 2.5/day,
and Ks = 100 mg/L.
3. An activated sludge process is to treat 3500 cum/d of wastewater with 200 mg/L of BOD 5. The
process loading rate is 0.3 kg BOD5/(kg of MLSS.day). The hydraulic retention time is 6 hours.
Find out the value of MLVSS in aeration tank.
4. Design an activated sludge process with the following data:
a) Population served = 50,000
b) Average sewage flow rate= 150 lpcd
c) BOD of raw sewage = 250 mg/L
d) Efficiency required=85%.
Assume any other data that are required for the design.
5. Design a completely mixed Activated sludge process to treat 0.25 cum/sec of wastewater with
250 mg/L BOD5. The effluent should have 30 mg/L of BOD5. The inlet microbe concentration is
negligible. Concentration of return sludge MLSS is 10,000 mg/L. MLVSS to be kept in the reactor
is 3500 mg/L. MCRT is 10 days. Find out the volume of air required per hour considering that
there is 21% oxygen in air and oxygen transfer efficiency of the aeration equipment is 10
percent. Keep a safety factor of 2 while finding out the design capacity of the air-blowers.
6. An activated sludge unit is being used to treat 1500 cum/day of wastewater containing a BOD 5
concentration of 250 mg/L. Measured parameter for this particular unit are as follows: Y= 0.6,
m=2.0 per day, kd=0.1 per day, Ks= 4 mg/L. Make the typical assumptions for activated sludge
process modeling. (a) Calculate the mean cell residence time and volume of the reactor
(aeration basin) required for 99% removal of BOD for a system with no sludge recycling b)
Repeat the same design considering that the system recycles 50 percent of the cells in percent of
the influent flow. Assume that the secondary settling tank works perfectly.
7. Wastewater from a primary treatment tank is to undergo secondary treatment in an activated
sludge unit. The following data and operational parameters are specified:
a) HRT= 6hr; b)MCRT = 10 days; c)m= 3 per day d)kd= 0.05 /day e)Ks=30 g/cum; f) Y=0.4 and g)
S0=150 mg/L
Two identical reactors are designed to operate in parallel and to process a combined wastewater
flow rate of 0.5 cum/sec. Assume the units operate ideally.
1) Find out the volume of the reactor
2) What is the rate at which the cell mass will be wasted from the units in steady-state
operation (in tons per day)