Abstract
In the present study, treatment of low-strength synthetic wastewater through upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB)–clariflocculator integrated system was carried out. Synthetic wastewater containing sucrose as a carbon source and phosphate as a nutrient was passed through the UASB reactor followed by clariflocculator. Water treatment sludge (WTS) was used as a coagulant in the clariflocculator. Box–Behnken design methodology with response surface methodology was used for optimizing the parameters including WTS dose, hydraulic retention time (HRT) and pH of UASB reactor. The phosphate removal was considered as a response. The observed values of responses were fitted by using second-order polynomial to compute the model. The suitability of this second-order polynomial model was checked by performing ANOVA test. Fisher’s test was done to analyze the significance of each factor and interactions between each other. With this methodology, the optimum operational condition of integrated system was obtained at 20 g/L as a WTS dose, HRT 7.68 h and pH 9. The UASB–clariflocculator integrated system removed 72.5% of phosphate at this optimum condition, whereas the phosphate removal through UASB reactor alone was obtained in the range of 8–20% only. The results suggested that water treatment sludge can be used as a coagulant to enhance the removal of phosphate from UASB reactor effluent treating low-strength wastewater and integrated system can be considered as a promising alternative of conventional system for the removal of nutrient from the effluent of UASB reactor.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahmad, T., Ahmad, K., & Alam, M. (2016). Sustainable management of water treatment sludge through 3‘R’ Concept. Journal of Cleaner Production,124, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.02.073.
Aljbour, S. H., Al-Harahsheh, A. M., Aliedeh, M. A., Al-Zboon, K., & Al-Harahsheh, S. (2016). Phosphate removal from aqueous solutions by using natural Jordanian zeolitic tuff. Adsorption Science & Technology,35(3–4), 284–299. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263617416675176.
Al-Zboon, K. K. (2017). Phosphate removal by activated carbon–silica nanoparticles composite, kaolin, and olive cake. Environment, Development and Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-017-0012-z.
American Public Health Association (APHA), American Water Works Association (AWWA), and Water Environmental Federation (WEF). (2005). In L. Clesceri, A. Greenberg, & A. Eaton (Eds.), Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater (21st ed.). Washington, DC: American Public Health Association.
Babatunde, A. O., & Zhao, Y. Q. (2007). Constructive approaches toward water treatment works sludge management: An International Review of Beneficial Reuses. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology,37(2), 129–164. https://doi.org/10.1080/10643380600776239.
Babatunde, A. O., & Zhao, Y. Q. (2010). Equilibrium and kinetic analysis of phosphorus adsorption from aqueous solution using waste alum sludge. Journal of Hazardous Materials,184(1–3), 746–752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2010.08.102.
Bhatti, Z. A., Maqbool, F., Malik, A. H., & Mehmood, Q. (2014). UASB reactor startup for the treatment of municipal wastewater followed by advanced oxidation process. Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering,31(3), 715–726. https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-6632.20140313s00002786.
Chernicharo, C. A. L. (2006). Post treatment options for the anaerobic treatment of domestic wastewater. Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology,5(1), 73–92. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11157-005-5683-5.
Central Pollution Control Board. (2013). Performance evaluation of sewage treatment plants under NRCD. Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi, India. Source: http://re.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/STP_REPORT.pdf.
Gibbons, M. K., & Gagnon, G. A. (2011). Understanding removal of phosphate or arsenate onto water treatment residual solids. Journal of Hazardous Materials,186(2), 1916–1923. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2010.12.085.
Hou, Q., Meng, P., Pei, W., Hu, W., & Chen, Y. (2018). Phosphorus adsorption characteristics of alum sludge: Adsorption capacity and the forms of phosphorus retained in alum sludge. Materials Letters,229, 31–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2018.06.102.
Khan, A. A., Gaur, R. Z., Tyagi, V. K., Khursheed, A., Lew, B., Mehrotra, I., et al. (2011). Sustainable options of post treatment of UASB effluent treating sewage: A review. Resources, Conservation and Recycling,55(12), 1232–1251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2011.05.017.
Kunaschk, M., Schmalz, V., Dietrich, N., Dittmar, T., & Worch, E. (2015). Novel regeneration method for phosphate loaded granular ferric (hydr)oxide—A contribution to phosphorus recycling. Water Research,71, 219–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2015.01.001.
Liu, J., Wan, L., Zhang, L., & Zhou, Q. (2011). Effect of pH, ionic strength, and temperature on the phosphate adsorption onto lanthanum-doped activated carbon fiber. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science,364(2), 490–496. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2011.08.067.
Metcalf & Eddy Inc. (2003). Wastewater engineering, treatment and reuse (5th ed., pp. 1005–1012). New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education Private Limited.
Mirzoyan, N., & Gross, A. (2013). Use of UASB reactors for brackish aquaculture sludge digestion under different conditions. Water Research,47(8), 2843–2850. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2013.02.050.
Muisa, N., Hoko, Z., & Chifamba, P. (2011). Impacts of alum residues from Morton Jaffray Water Works on water quality and fish, Harare, Zimbabwe. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C,36(14–15), 853–864. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2011.07.047.
Myers, R. H., Montgomery, D. C., & Anderson-Cook, C. M. (2009). Response surface methodology: Process and product optimization using designed experiments (3rd ed., pp. 1–11). New York: Wiley.
Nair, A. T., & Ahammed, M. M. (2015). Water treatment sludge for phosphate removal from the effluent of UASB reactor treating municipal wastewater. Process Safety and Environmental Protection,94, 105–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2015.01.004.
Nair, A. T., Makwana, A. R., & Ahammed, M. M. (2013). The use of response surface methodology for modelling and analysis of water and wastewater treatment processes: A review. Water Science and Technology,69(3), 464–478. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2013.733.
Pei, H.-Y., Ma, C.-X., Hu, W.-R., & Sun, F. (2014). The behaviors of Microcystis aeruginosa cells and extracellular microcystins during chitosan flocculation and flocs storage processes. Bioresource Technology,151, 314–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2013.10.077.
Radaideh, J. A., Ammary, B. Y., & Al-Zboon, K. K. (2010). Dewaterability of sludge digested in extended aeration plants using conventional sand drying beds. African Journal of Biotechnology,9(29), 4578–4583.
Rastegar, S. O., Mousavi, S. M., Shojaosadati, S. A., & Sheibani, S. (2011). Optimization of petroleum refinery effluent treatment in a UASB reactor using response surface methodology. Journal of Hazardous Materials,197, 26–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.09.052.
Rizvi, H., Ahmad, N., Abbas, F., Bukhari, I. H., Yasar, A., Ali, S., et al. (2015). Start-up of UASB reactors treating municipal wastewater and effect of temperature/sludge age and hydraulic retention time (HRT) on its performance. Arabian Journal of Chemistry,8(6), 780–786. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arabjc.2013.12.016.
Singh, S., Singh, S., Lo, S.-L., Kumar, N., Kazmi, A. A., & Fakour, H. (2017). Preparation and reuse of iron and aluminum oxides activated sewage sludge based coagulants for the post-treatment of up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor effluent. Journal of Cleaner Production,149, 1020–1032. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.02.130.
Tanada, S., Kabayama, M., Kawasaki, N., Sakiyama, T., Nakamura, T., Araki, M., et al. (2003). Removal of phosphate by aluminum oxide hydroxide. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science,257(1), 135–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0021-9797(02)00008-5.
Torkian, A., Eqbali, A., & Hashemian, S. J. (2003). The effect of organic loading rate on the performance of UASB reactor treating slaughterhouse effluent. Resources, Conservation and Recycling,40(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0921-3449(03)00021-1.
Wang, C., & Pei, Y. (2013). A comparison of the phosphorus immobilization capabilities of water treatment residuals before and after settling from lake water. Separation and Purification Technology,117, 83–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2013.04.003.
Yan, Y., Sun, X., Ma, F., Li, J., Shen, J., Han, W., et al. (2014). Removal of phosphate from wastewater using alkaline residue. Journal of Environmental Sciences,26(5), 970–980. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1001-0742(13)60537-9.
Acknowledgements
The financial support provided by National Institute of Technology (NIT) Patna, Bihar, India, is gratefully acknowledged by the authors.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kumar, S., Quaff, A.R. Treatment of domestic wastewater containing phosphate using water treatment sludge through UASB–clariflocculator integrated system. Environ Dev Sustain 22, 4537–4550 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-019-00396-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-019-00396-3