As part of the Water Institute's WaterTalks lecture series, Dr. Belinda Sturm, Director Kansas NSF EPSCoR, Professor and Ross McKinney Faculty Fellow, University of Kansas, Kansas, US, will present: Wastewater process intensification: Using biological process design to increase the hydraulic
and treatment capacity of a municipal wastewater treatment plant.
This event is in person in DC 1302 with a networking lunch reception to follow in DC 1301 (The Fishbowl).
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Municipal water and resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) serve as a catchment for urban water systems, with influent loads of carbon, nutrients, pathogens and emerging contaminants, such as microplastics. These facilities are under pressure to expand capacity due to urbanization, climate change, and increasingly stringent discharge requirements. The treatment capacity of wastewater treatment plants is often limited by the settling properties (clarifier operation) of the sludge rather than the conversion/removal capacity, especially during wet weather conditions. Sludge densification or the formation of granular sludge aims to provide a biological process in which slow-growing populations (nitrifiers, polyphosphate-accumulating organisms, and anaerobic ammonia oxidizers) can be maintained within a fast-settling particle. While the majority of AGS research has focused on factors that affect granule formation and efficient biological nutrient removal, the AGS matrix has significant advantages for removing pathogens and other contaminants, which make this technology even more impactful for WRRFs. This presentation will provide an overview of design approaches within continuous flow and sequencing batch reactor systems that have been shown to improve sludge settleability and form granules. The resulting solids flux curves have been measured to determine the implications for clarifier and overall plant capacity. The presentation will address how sludge densification or granular sludge can be used for process intensification and improved plant resiliency.