Phosphorus Removal Within Existing Wastewater Treatment Facilities

The various projects reported herein were undertaken to assist in the implementation of the Province of Ontario's phosphorus control program. Under this five-year program, phosphorus removal was to be initiated on the discharges of more than 170 existing wastewater treatment plants serving some five million persons. In order to implement this program, a methodology to predict the coagulant best suited for phosphorus removal at any particular treatment facility was required. It was also necessary to determine whether the chemicals used for phosphorus removal would have any physical or process effects on present wastewater treatment processes, facilities, methods of sludge treatment, and subsequent sludge disposal practices. This report discusses coagulation prediction and prime coagulant selection, and the operational results, problems and design considerations derived from a series of full scale studies. The study concluded that phosphorus removal may be readily implemented with minimal capital expenditure at operating municipal wastewater treatment facilities of all designs currently in use in Ontario.

Biological phosphorus (bio-P) removal has become a reliable and well-understood process within wastewater treatment, despite being one of the most complex processes in the activated sludge process. Extended fundamental and full-scale research has been carried out into the bio-P process and the state-of-the-art is described in this report. A summarising historical overview gives insight into the establishment of the appropriate microbiological and biochemical basis of the process and the development of bio-P configurations in practice. Aspects of the bio-P process that have a direct influence on the efficiency of phosphorus removal are subjected to an in-depth investigation. This report presents guidelines for design and dimensioning in order to introduce and/or optimise the bio-P process in practice. Twelve bio-P installations are extensively described and the operational results and experiences are related to existing bio-P knowledge and guidelines. Based on a number of parameters, a comparison is made between the described bio-P plants. A steady state model is verified with extensive periods of practical experience of the plants. The bio-P model, which is provided on CD-ROM (available for download here), offers a reliable insight into the bio-P process, coupled with sensitivity analyses regarding wastewater characteristics and process parameters for the anaerobic volume and the P-ortho concentration in the final effluent. The report ends with a systematic approach to the design of the bio-P process, based on the background of the bio-P process itself, much practical experience and the analysis of operational bio-P plants. Also presented is a systematic approach to tackle operational aspects of the bio-P process in order to generate an acceptable low P effluent concentration. This optimisation of the bio-P process operation is supported by a decision diagram. Biological Phosphorus Removal will be an invaluable source of information for all those concerned with wastewater treatment, including plant managers, process designers, consultants and researchers.

This comprehensive text provides the reader with both a detailed reference and a unified course on wastewater treatment. Aimed at scientists and engineers, it deals with the environmental and biological aspects of wastewater treatment and sludge disposal.The book starts by examining the nature of wastewaters and how they are oxidized in the natural environment. An introductory chapter deals with wastewater treatment systems and examines how natural principles have been harnessed by man to treat his own waste in specialist reactors. The role of organisms is considered by looking at kinetics, metabolism and the different types of micro-organisms involved. All the major biological process groups are examined in detail, in highly referenced chapters; they include fixed film reactors, activated sludge, stabilization ponds, anaerobic systems and vegetative processes. Sludge treatment and disposal is examined with particular reference to the environmental problems associated with the various disposal routes. A comprehensive chapter on public health looks at the important waterborne organisms associated with disease, as well as removal processes within treatment systems. Biotechnology has had an enormous impact on wastewater treatment at every level, and this is explored in terms of resource reuse, biological conversion processes and environmental protection. Finally, there is a short concluding chapter that looks at the sustainability of waste water treatment. The text is fully illustrated and supported by over 3000 references.

This valuable new book offers practical guidance regarding the design and operation of systems for reducing effluent nitrogen and phosphorus. The principles of nitrogen and phosphorus removal are discussed, including sources of nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater, removal options, nitrogen and phosphorus transformations in treatment, process selection, and treatment. The book also covers the design and operation of nitrogen and phosphorus removal systems, including system options, system design, facility design, facility costs, and operation. Practical case studies are provided as examples of successful system implementations that may be able to help you decide what will work best in your plant.

This valuable new book offers practical guidance regarding the design and operation of systems for reducing effluent nitrogen and phosphorus. The principles of nitrogen and phosphorus removal are discussed, including sources of nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater, removal options, nitrogen and phosphorus transformations in treatment, process selection, and treatment. The book also covers the design and operation of nitrogen and phosphorus removal systems, including system options, system design, facility design, facility costs, and operation. Practical case studies are provided as examples of successful system implementations that may be able to help you decide what will work best in your plant.

This comprehensive book provides an up-to-date and international approach that addresses the Motivations, Technologies and Assessment of the Elimination and Recovery of Phosphorus from Wastewater. This book is part of the Integrated Environmental Technology Series.

This investigation addressed the technical and economic feasibility ofretrofitting existing Canadian municipal wasterwater treatment plants forenhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). Various EBPR processes werereviewed briefly and the practicality of using these technologies compared toconventional chemical precipitation technology for removing phosphorus frommunicipal wastewaters was assessed. An attempt was made to identify thetype and size of existing treatment plants in Canada that would be mostamenable to retrofit for enhanced biological phosphorus removal. Costs werecompared for a number of EBPR alternatives and chemical precipitation. Thisstudy was not limited to a single specific plant, but was conducted inbroader context so that those conditions under which either chemical orenhanced biological phosphorus removal was more cost-effective could beidentified.