Anaerobic Processes As the Core Technology for Sustainable Domestic Wastewater Treatment: Consolidated Applications, New Trends, Perspectives, and Challenges

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Anaerobic Processes As the Core Technology for Sustainable Domestic Wastewater Treatment: Consolidated Applications, New Trends, Perspectives, and Challenges Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology (2006) 5:3–19 Ó Springer 2006 DOI 10.1007/s11157-005-4630-9 Anaerobic processes as the core technology for sustainable domestic wastewater treatment: Consolidated applications, new trends, perspectives, and challenges Eugenio Foresti*, Marcelo Zaiat & Marcus Vallero Departamento de Hidra´ulica e Saneamento, Escola de Engenharia de Sa˜o Carlos, Universidade de Sa˜o Paulo, Av. Trabalhador Sa˜o-Carlense, 400 Centro, 15566-590, Sa˜o Carlos, SP, Brazil (*author for correspondence: e-mail: [email protected]; phone: +55 16 3373 9671; fax: +55 16 3373 9550) Key words: anaerobic processes, domestic sewage, improved anaerobic reactor design, post-treatment, resources recovery, sustainability Abstract Anaerobic digesters have been responsible for the removal of large fraction of organic matter (minerali- zation of waste sludge) in conventional aerobic sewage treatment plants since the early years of domestic sewage treatment (DST). Attention on the anaerobic technology for improving the sustainability of sewage treatment has been paid mainly after the energy crisis in the 1970s. The successful use of anaerobic reactors (especially up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors) for the treatment of raw domestic sewage in tropical and sub-tropical regions (where ambient temperatures are not restrictive for anaerobic digestion) opened the opportunity to substitute the aerobic processes for the anaerobic technology in removal of the influent organic matter. Despite the success, effluents from anaerobic reactors treating domestic sewage require post-treatment in order to achieve the emission standards prevailing in most countries. Initially, the composition of this effluent rich in reduced compounds has required the adoption of post-treatment (mainly aerobic) systems able to remove the undesirable constituents. Currently, however, a wealth of information obtained on biological and physical-chemical processes related to the recovery or removal of nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur compounds creates the opportunity for new treatment systems. The design of DST plant with the anaerobic reactor as core unit coupled to the pre- and post-treatment systems in order to promote the recovery of resources and the polishing of effluent quality can improve the sustainability of treatment systems. This paper presents a broader view on the possible applications of anaerobic treatment systems not only for organic matter removal but also for resources recovery aiming at the improvement of the sustainability of DST. 1. The emergence of anaerobic process The application of anaerobic processes, however, for domestic sewage treatment can be traced to the time of the first engineered wastewater treatment plants (McCarty 1982). For The proposition of anaerobic processes as the instance, anaerobic processes have been exten- core technology for domestic sewage treatment sively applied for the digestion of primary and (DST) is quite recent. This proposition derives secondary sludge in wastewater treatment plants from a more general concept of sustainable envi- based on conventional aerobic systems such as ronmental protection and resource conservation the activated sludge and trickling filter systems. (EPRC) applied for wastewaters and solid The settleable solids fraction in the raw sewage wastes, as proposed by Lettinga et al. (1997). (separated in primary settlers) corresponds to 4 about 40–50% of the total influent organic mat- obic filter, that is an up-flow reactor with a fixed ter, whereas the organic-rich supernatant is trea- bed for anaerobic biofilm attachment (Young & ted in aerobic units, where a considerable McCarty 1969); (4) the anaerobic expanded/fluid- fraction of dissolved organics is converted into ized bed reactor, that is an up-flow reactor with biological solids. A fraction of produced biologi- expanded/fluidized bed for anaerobic biofilm cal solids is returned to the aeration units (acti- attachment (Switzenbaun & Jewell 1980); (5) the vated sludge systems) but ultimately most of it is up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reac- discharged from secondary settlers as excess tor, that is an up-flow reactor equipped with an sludge. Therefore, the suspended solids fraction internal solid/liquid/gas (SLG) separation device (sum of primary and secondary sludges) may ac- to keep the biological solids inside the reaction count for about 40–60% of the total organic zone (Lettinga et al. 1980); (6) the anaerobic matter (present in raw sewage) to be treated in rotating biological reactor, that contains rotating anaerobic digesters before final disposal. Thus, it biodiscs in a air-tight tank (Blanc et al. 1983; is evident that anaerobic processes have played Tait & Friedman 1980); (7) and the anaerobic an important role in the organic load abatement baffled reactor, that is a series of up- and down- and sludge manageability, mainly in large flow chambers separated by baffles to provide the conventional aerobic treatment plants. SLG separation along the reactor length (Bach- Since about 1882 experiments had been car- mann et al. 1985). ried out on the aeration of settled sewage with In any case, anaerobic digestion was consid- research efforts in the last two decades of the ered to be feasible for high-strength wastewater nineteenth century concentrated on wastewater and only for temperature conditions above treatment by the promising biological filtration 20–25 °C (Kalogo & Verstraete 2001) so that the theories (Cooper 2001). Important developments first anaerobic reactor configurations were of the activated sludge process and its many vari- designed for industrial wastewater treatment. The ants (including anaerobic sludge digesters) has use of anaerobic processes for the treatment of turned it into the main technique for secondary high-strength industrial wastewater, especially sewage treatment and has had probably the big- those from food processing and pulp and paper gest impact of all processes on environmental industries, became a very attractive option be- improvement in the past century. In the last half cause expensive aeration equipment (used in aer- of the past century, however, economical con- obic processes) are not needed, resulting in lower straints, due to the sharp increase in energy pri- investment and energy costs. In addition, the net ces and environmental sustainability awareness, production of excess sludge is also lower and the stimulated an impressive development of anaero- methane gas produced can be used as energy bic processes for wastewater treatment. Unques- source. The anaerobic digestion of high strength tionably the greatest development for success of wastewater in temperate climate countries is the the anaerobic digestion was the design of new appropriate choice because the great volume of reactor concepts (as compared to the aerated methane gas produced is used to heat the reactor units) that allowed the retention of a high con- to a desired operational temperature (30–35 °C). centration of biomass, enabling a sharp decrease More recently, however, the anaerobic pro- in the hydraulic retention time (HRT) needed to cesses proved also to be suited for the treatment achieve acceptable waste removal efficiencies un- of low-strength domestic sewage, notwithstand- der anaerobic conditions (McCarty 1982). ing that the successful full-scale application and From 1950 to 1980, several anaerobic reactor operation of anaerobic reactors is still restricted configurations were developed for industrial to tropical regions (no need for heating), where wastewater treatment (McCarty 1982): (1) the sewage temperatures generally exceed 20 °C anaerobic clarigester, that couples a sedimenta- (Lettinga 2001). Nevertheless, the presence of tion zone on top of the reaction zone; (2) the suspended solids (including fats) in raw sewage is anaerobic contact process, that incorporates a a drawback for its treatment in anaerobic reac- separate settler for retaining and returning the tors. The suspended solids correspond to about biomass to the anaerobic reactor (Seyfried et al. 50% of the total chemical oxygen demand 1984; Anderson & Donnelly 1977); (3) the anaer- (COD) of sewage, making hydrolysis the limiting 5 step. Therefore, some anaerobic reactor configu- phosphorus (as phosphate) and sulfur (as S0). rations successfully applied for industrial waste- As such, in terms of sustainability the use of water treatment may not be applied to raw anaerobic reactors as the core unit of a DST sewage treatment, as the suspended solids in sew- system is most suited for this purpose. In addi- age clog fixed beds (Zaiat et al. 2000; Jawed & tion to the removal of organic matter with low Tare 2000), or they cannot be properly retained (if any) energy consumption and with a net pro- (and therefore digested) in anaerobic reactors duction of methane gas, the presence of phos- operated at high up-flow velocities (Mahmoud phate, nitrogen and sulfur reduced compounds et al. 2003). in the effluent opens the opportunity for the Research and application on the anaerobic development of economically feasible processes treatment of DST have put little emphasis on the to recover these compounds of interest. In fact, possibilities of improving bioreactor design and the development of post-treatment units of treatment systems in order to further improve anaerobic reactors is not only important to their performance in comparison to existing improve the effluent quality for environmental anaerobic reactors configurations. This paper pre- protection, but also to
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