Kinetic rates and mass balance of COD, TKN, and TP using SBR treating domestic and industrial wastewater.

Abstract

To assess the performance of SBR to treat three different types of wastewater from domestic, hospital, slaughterhouse and investigate the kinetic rates of active biomass. Mass balance calculation of COD, TKN and TP was further performed to explain the mechanisms of the biological nutrient removals processed in the SBR system. The measured kinetic rates were in turn used to evaluate the process performances under different types of wastewater. Experimental research involving 3 similar SBR lab-scales were installed and operated at the Sanitary Engineering Laboratory. The reactors were seeded with sludge biomass obtained from the Sri-Phraya Domestic Wastewater Treatment Plant in Bangkok. The slaughterhouse, hospital and domestic wastewaters were treated by SBR system for biological organic carbon (COD), nitrogen (TKN) and phosphorus removals. Biological methods for kinetic rates evaluation were conducted in five replicated batch tests. The removal efficiencies of COD and TKN were greater than 90% for all three types of wastewater while the biological phosphorus removal for domestic and hospital wastewaters were less than 60% and phosphorus removal for slaughterhouse exceeded 95%. The kinetic rates of nitrification and denitrification of hospital wastewater was lower than those the domestic and slaughterhouse wastewaters. Phosphorus release and uptake rates of slaughterhouse wastewater were high but domestic and hospital wastewaters were very low. The result of system removal efficiency and batch test for kinetic rates confirmed that the domestic and hospital wastewaters were in deficiency of organic carbon with respect to its ability to support successful biological phosphorus removal.