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Optimization of the Proportion of the Activated Sludge Irradiated with Low-Intensity Ultrasound for Improving the Quality of Wastewater Treatment

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Abstract

The proportion of irradiated sludge for the enhancement of the biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal from wastewater by low-intensity ultrasound was optimized through contrast experiment between two anaerobic–aerobic–anoxic–aerobic sequencing batch reactors ((AO)2SBR) with and without ultrasound. Ultrasound with the intensity of 0.2 W cm−2 was employed to irradiate a certain proportion of the condensed sludge in one of the (AO)2SBRs for 10 min every 12 h. Results showed that the optimal sludge proportion for ultrasonic promotion of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total phosphorus (TP), and total nitrogen (TN) removal was from 12.0% to 13.5%. In addition, the effluent COD, TP, and TN of the ultrasonic reactor could be decreased of 37%, 40%, and 5.8% on average compared with the control reactor (without ultrasonic irradiation) under the optimal condition. Furthermore, the settling ability of the sludge was affected but not deteriorated by ultrasonic irradiation.

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Acknowledgements

The research was supported by the Major Projects on Control and Rectification of Water Body Pollution by the Ministry of Science and Technology of PRC (No.2009ZX07317-006-03) and the Innovation Foundation of BUAA for PhD Graduates. The authors also appreciate the Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education.

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  1. Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Life Support Technology, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China

    Beizhen Xie & Hong Liu

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  1. Beizhen Xie
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  2. Hong Liu
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Correspondence to Hong Liu.

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Xie, B., Liu, H. Optimization of the Proportion of the Activated Sludge Irradiated with Low-Intensity Ultrasound for Improving the Quality of Wastewater Treatment. Water Air Soil Pollut 215, 621–629 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0504-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0504-z

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