Investigating the influence of elongated anaerobic feeding strategy on aerobic sludge granulation and characteristics in sequencing batch reactor.

In this research, two sequencing batch reactors (R1 and R2) were operated with different feeding strategies to investigate the effects of elongated anaerobic feeding mode on the granulation process. For this purpose, R1 was operated in a short-feed strategy (5 min) as a reference, whereas an extended anaerobic feeding of 85 min was applied in R2. Results showed that aerobic granules formed in R1 were denser and more uniform with lower sludge volume index than those formed in R2. Investigation of tightly bound extracellular polymeric substances (TB-EPS) showed that aerobic granules in R1 produced lower amounts of TB-EPS than those in R2. This was due to the bigger and more compact granules cultivated in R1 in comparison with looser structure granules in R2 with higher flocculent sludge percentage. The relative hydrophobicity of granules in both reactors was increased with culture time and reached about 63 and 65% at day 70 for R1 and R2, respectively. Moreover, no significant correlation between protein/polysaccharide ratio and hydrophobicity was found, which showed that protein in loosely bound extracellular polymer substances was not the predominant hydrophobic component. Considering the outcomes of this study, it can be concluded that the elongated anaerobic feeding strategy was unfavourable for cultivating aerobic granules.

Techno-economical optimization of Reactive Blue 19 removal by combined electrocoagulation/coagulation process through MOPSO using RSM and ANFIS models.

In this research, Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) models were applied for optimization of Reactive Blue 19 removal using combined electrocoagulation/coagulation process through Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO). By applying RSM, the effects of five independent parameters including applied current, reaction time, initial dye concentration, initial pH and dosage of Poly Aluminum Chloride were studied. According to the RSM results, all the independent parameters are equally important in dye removal efficiency. In addition, ANFIS was applied for dye removal efficiency and operating costs modeling. High R(2) values (≥85%) indicate that the predictions of RSM and ANFIS models are acceptable for both responses. ANFIS was also used in MOPSO for finding the best techno-economical Reactive Blue 19 elimination conditions according to RSM design. Through MOPSO and the selected ANFIS model, Minimum and maximum values of 58.27% and 99.67% dye removal efficiencies were obtained, respectively.

Successful treatment of high azo dye concentration wastewater using combined anaerobic/aerobic granular activated carbon-sequencing batch biofilm reactor (GAC-SBBR): simultaneous adsorption and biodegradation processes.

The application of a granular activated carbon-sequencing batch biofilm reactor (GAC-SBBR) for treatment of wastewater containing 1,000 mg/L Acid Red 18 (AR18) was investigated in this research. The treatment system consisted of a sequencing batch reactor equipped with moving GAC as biofilm support. Each treatment cycle consisted of two successive anaerobic (14 h) and aerobic (8 h) reaction phases. Removal of more than 91% chemical oxygen demand (COD) and 97% AR18 was achieved in this study. Investigation of dye decolorization kinetics showed that the dye removal was stimulated by the adsorption capacity of the GAC at the beginning of the anaerobic phase and then progressed following a first-order reaction. Based on COD analysis results, at least 77.8% of the dye total metabolites were mineralized during the applied treatment system. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that more than 97% of 1-naphthyalamine-4-sulfonate as one of the main sulfonated aromatic constituents of AR18 was removed during the aerobic reaction phase. According to the scanning electron microscopic analysis, the microbial biofilms grew in most cavities and pores of the GAC, but not on the external surfaces of the GAC.

Study on the removal of acid dyes using chitosan as a natural coagulant/coagulant aid.

Chitosan was selected as a natural coagulating agent for the removal of acid dyes (Acid Blue 292; AB292, and Acid Red 398; AR398) from dye-containing solutions. The study was organised in two phases. In phase 1, chitosan was used alone as a natural coagulant for the removal of the dyes. For this purpose, the effect of different parameters including pH, chitosan dosage and initial dye concentration on the dye removal efficiency was examined. In phase 2 of the study, the application of chitosan as a natural coagulant aid in conjunction with polyaluminium chloride (PAC) was assessed. According to the results of phase 1, the best removal efficiencies occurred in an acidic pH range (less than 6) for both of the dyes. Also, excellent dye removal results (about 90%) were achieved with relatively low dosages of chitosan (30-35 mg L(-1) for AB292 and 50-60 mg L(-1) for AR398). However, the initial concentration of the dyes severely influenced the coagulation performance of chitosan, which can constrain the performance of chitosan as a natural coagulant. On the basis of the results of phase 2, chitosan, as a natural coagulant aid, noticeably enhanced the dye removal efficiency of PAC, especially in the case of AB292. Small amounts of chitosan (3 or 5 mg L(-1)) enhanced the dye removal efficiency of PAC up to 2.5 times for AB292.

A comparison study on Acid Red 119 dye removal using two different types of waterworks sludge.

This study aims to compare the performance of two waterworks sludge samples, ferric chloride sludge (FCS) and polyaluminium chloride sludge (PACS), as coagulants to remove Acid Red 119 (AR119) dye from aqueous solution. A series of batch experiments were performed to investigate the effect of initial pH, coagulant dosage and initial dye concentration on coagulation/flocculation process efficiency. Results showed that the dye removal was strongly pH-dependent and followed the same trend for both coagulants, increasing steadily with decreasing initial pH in the range of 3-12. With the increase of coagulant dosage, the dye removal efficiency increased and no re-stabilization phenomenon was observed. However, the coagulant dosage needed for the maximum dye removal efficiency was much lower for FCS (150 mg dried sludge/L) in compare with PACS (5.5 g dried sludge/L). It seems that both charge neutralization and sweep flocculation mechanisms were involved in removal of AR119 using FCS and PACS. With the increase of initial dye concentration, Q (the amount of the removed dye per unit mass of coagulant) steadily increased and reached to a maximum value of 0.96 mg dye/mg sludge and 0.029 mg dye/mg sludge for FCS and PACS, respectively. FCS was more effective than PACS for AR119 dye removal due to the higher amount of dye removed per unit mass of sludge.

Comparison of three combined sequencing batch reactor followed by enhanced Fenton process for an azo dye degradation: Bio-decolorization kinetics study.

The purpose of this research was to compare three combined sequencing batch reactor (SBR) - Fenton processes as post-treatment for the treatment of azo dye Acid Red 18 (AR18). Three combined treatment systems (CTS1, CTS2 and CTS3) were operated to investigate the biomass concentration, COD removal, AR18 dye decolorization and kinetics study. The MLSS concentration of CTS2 reached 7200 mg/L due to the use of external feeding in the SBR reactor of CTS2. The COD concentration remained 273 mg/L and 95 mg/L (initial COD=3270 mg/L) at the end of alternating anaerobic-aerobic SBR with external feeding (An-A MSBR) and CTS2, respectively, resulting in almost 65% of Fenton process efficiency. The dye concentration of 500 mg/L was finally reduced to less than 10mg/L in all systems indicating almost complete AR18 decolorization, which was also confirmed by UV-vis analysis. The dye was removed following two successive parts as parts 1 and 2 with pseudo zero-order and pseudo first-order kinetics, respectively, in all CTSs. Higher intermediate metabolites degradation was obtained using HPLC analysis in CTS2. Accordingly, a combined treatment system can be proposed as an appropriate and environmentally-friendly system for the treatment of the azo dye AR18 in wastewater.

Performance of coarse pore filtration activated sludge system.

A coarse pore filter can be applied inside the aeration tank to facilitate the separation of sludge from liquid instead of sedimentation. This filter has pores, which are irregular in shape, and the pore size is bigger than those of MF. The objectives of the study were to maintain as much as MLSS in the activated sludge process with coarse pore filter and to investigate the performance under high MLSS condition. Small-scale reactor results so far show good quality of effluent specially after starting the sludge bulking in the system in terms of SS, TOC, DOC and turbidity. The average carbon removal for 62 days operation of this system was about 94% (based on effluent DOC) and 87% (based on effluent TOC). The average sludge yield in this system is about 0.44 kg MLSS/kg TOC which is about 0.24 kg MLSS/kg BOD. This amount is less than those of conventional activated sludge and trickling filter.

Performance and microbial dynamics in the coarse pore filtration activated sludge process at different SRTs (solids retention times).

In this research, three SRTs (about 10, 30 and 75 days (without wasting the sludge except for sampling)) were applied to three reactors equipped with non-woven and coarse pore filter modules. The flux was adjusted to about 1 m/d during operation. The main objective of the study was to compare the performance and microbial population dynamics under different SRTs in this process. The results of reactors with SRTs of about 10 and 30 days have shown very good effluent quality without any clogging problem for more than 4 months of operation. For the reactor with long SRT (75 days), the filter clogging was observed after about 80 days of operation and caused an increase in the operation pressure and deterioration effluent quality on some days. Excessive abundance of filamentous bacteria was observed in the reactor with SRT of about 10 days, which had the best effluent quality. According to the FISH results, type 021N was predominant in the reactor with long SRT, which had the clogging problem. On the other hand, other reactors (with SRTs of about 10 and 30 days) did not contain much type 021N, but some other filamentous bacteria dominated. Maximum EPS concentration (as mg/L) was observed in the reactor with long SRT. Also the abundance of two types of metazoa (Pristina sp. and tardigrades) was observed in the reactor with long SRT, which had the clogging problem and poor effluent quality.

Evaluation of integrated anaerobic/aerobic fixed-bed sequencing batch biofilm reactor for decolorization and biodegradation of azo dye acid red 18: comparison of using two types of packing media.

Two integrated anaerobic/aerobic fixed-bed sequencing batch biofilm reactor (FB-SBBR) were operated to evaluate decolorization and biodegradation of azo dye Acid Red 18 (AR18). Volcanic pumice stones and a type of plastic media made of polyethylene were used as packing media in FB-SBBR1 and FB-SBBR2, respectively. Decolorization of AR18 in both reactors followed first-order kinetic with respect to dye concentration. More than 63.7% and 71.3% of anaerobically formed 1-naphthylamine-4-sulfonate (1N-4S), as one of the main sulfonated aromatic constituents of AR18 was removed during the aerobic reaction phase in FB-SBBR1 and FB-SBBR2, respectively. Based on statistical analysis, performance of FB-SBBR2 in terms of COD removal as well as biodegradation of 1N-4S was significantly higher than that of FB-SBBR1. Spherical and rod shaped bacteria were the dominant species of bacteria in the biofilm grown on the pumice stones surfaces, while, the biofilm grown on surfaces of the polyethylene media had a fluffy structure.