CVG 3132

Dr. R. M. Narbaitz TUTORIAL #4 B

3. (65 points, 2001 MIDTERM) The small town of Flushalot is expected to grow tremendously as it is
located within commuting distance of an expanding high-tech facility. The town has an a wastewater
treatment plant consisting of an activated sludge process followed by chlorine disinfection (which will be
ignored in this problem) (see attached diagram). The plant flow is indirectly limited by the capacity of the
pumps for the return activated sludge and the waste activated sludge. It is assumed that the 4000 m3/d
pump at the bottom of the clarifier that generates the stream S is the limiting factor to plant capacity. The
town is looking into the possible need for infrastructure expansion and you are assigned to calculate
maximum flow the Flushalot wastewater treatment plant can treat while maintaining current operating
conditions.

The raw wastewater contains 150 g TSS/m3, 120 g BOD5/m3 and 8.1 g P/m3. To obtain significant
phosphorus (P) removal alum (Al2(SO4)3.14.3H2O) is added to the aeration basin so as to provide Al for
AlPO4 precipitation. The effluent concentrations are 15 g TSS/m3 and 15 g BOD5/m3. For the plant to
operate well the TSS concentration exiting the aeration basin has to be 800 g TSS/m3 and the TSS in the
return activated sludge has to be 6000 g TSS/m3.

Determine:
a) (66 points) The maximum flowrate for the feed A this plant in m3/d.

BONUS: b) (10 points) The effluent P concentration in stream B. If you cant calculate A assume
A= 15,000 m3/d

Alum
C E
Effluent
A B
1 Aeration
BOD=15 g/m
3 Secondary BOD=15 g/m3
Basin Clarifier TSS=30 g/m3
BOD=120 g/m3 TSS=800 g/m
3

TSS=150 g/m3
VSS=100 g/m3
P=8 g/m3

Q=4000 m3/d
TSS=6000 g/m3
R BOD=15 g/m3

Recycled Sludge
W
Assume:
1) That unless otherwise indicated that density of all streams is 1000 kg/m3
2) The biodegradation of BOD in the aeration basin leads to the formation of bacteria, which results in an
increase in the VSS concentration. The mass of new bacterial VSS equals 0.5 of the decrease in BOD
mass.
HINT: in the evaluation of the VSS formed it may be worthwhile to use balances around the combination of
the mixing point and the aeration basin.
3) There is no biodegradation in the secondary clarifier. So assume the BOD in the effluent and the waste
activated sludge equals to that of the influent to the secondary clarifier.
4) Assume the volumetric flowrate of the alum stream is negligible, however the mass of alum added is not.

Additional Information pertaining to the alum addition

1) Alum would be added directly to the aeration basin.
2) The alum reacts in a fraction of a second to form AlPO4 and Al(OH)3.,
3) The reactions are:
Al+3 + PO4-3 ------ AlPO4 9
+3
Al + 3 H2O ------ Al(OH)3 9 + 3 H+
4) Due to the competing simultaneous reactions with water that produces Al(OH)3, only a fraction of the Al
is used to precipitate the P.
5) Assume that the alum added represents 2.5 the stoichiometric requirement out lined by the reaction
forming AlPO4 and is based on the feed flowrate.
5B) This 2.5 times actually removes 95% of the P, but the sake of FSS generation assume 100% of the P
forms AlPO4
6) Assume that the rest of the alum forms Al(OH)3.
7) Assume that all of the Al(OH)3 & AlPO4 precipitates and ends up in the sludge.
9) The phosphorus in the influent and effluents are considered to be dissolved solids (i.e., not suspended
solids, so they do not count towards the FSS and the TSS).
10) AlPO4 and Al(OH)3 that ends up in the sludge are considered FSS created by the process.
11) As the reactions proceed so quickly this FSS can be considered to be formed in the aeration basin,
however it does not precipitate there.

Name Formula Molecular

Weight
Phosphorus P 31
Orthophosphate PO4-3 79
.
Alum Al2(SO4)3 14.3H2O 600
Aluminum Al 27
Oxygen O 16
Water H2O 18
Sulphate SO4 96
Aluminum Phosphate AlPO4 122
Aluminum Hydroxide Al(OH)3 78