Long-term operation of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor coupled with a two-stage constructed wetland for domestic wastewater treatment
- PUBLICATIONS
- Nov 15, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Authors: Taxiarchis Seintos, Asimina Koukoura, Evangelos Statiris, Constantinos Noutsopoulos, Daniel Mamais, Fabio Masi, Oscar Prado, Anacleto Rizzo, Albert Bartroli, Athanasios S. Stasinakis, Simos Malamis
Journal: Chemical Engineering Journal
Year: 2024
Keywords: Anaerobic reactor, Biogas, Decentralized wastewater treatment, Ambient temperature, Treatment wetlands, Water reuse
Highlights
Coupling of anaerobic process with constructed wetlands.
Full-scale sub-mesophilic sewage treatment with high-purity CH4 recovery.
Anaerobic reactor COD utilization correlation with temperature.
>94 % BOD5 and > 97 % TSS removal from the integrated system.
Nutrient-rich reclaimed water suitable for fertigation.
Abstract
This work investigated the long-term (>1000 days) performance of an integrated process consisting of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) coupled to a two-stage (saturated and unsaturated) vertical subsurface flow constructed wetland (VSSF-CW) for the treatment of up to 91.3 ± 10.3 m3/d domestic wastewater. The UASB reactor operated under ambient conditions during both the winter (temperature of 13.5 ± 0.7 °C) and the summer (temperature of 26.4 ± 0.8 °C). The two-stage CW treated the UASB effluent to maximize the total suspended solids (TSS) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of the integrated process and oxidize ammonium to nitrate. The UASB reactor was able to remove 50 % ± 17 % to 83 % ± 9 % of TSS and 43 % ± 18 % to 76 % ± 3 % of COD, producing on average 0.36 Nm3 CH4 kg CODrem–1 of biogas, which varied significantly with season. The two-stage CW contributed to the further removal of the pollutants achieving overall removal of TSS ranging from 97 % ± 3 % to 99 % ± 0 % and COD from 91 % ± 2 % to 96 % ± 1 %. The influent ammonium nitrogen removal ranged between 87 % ± 4 % and 99 % ± 0 % via nitrification. This operation scheme allowed nutrient retention in the final effluent as the total nitrogen and total phosphorus removal was only partial (no more than 41 % ± 7 % and 44 % ± 13 %, respectively). The results suggest that the UASB – CW integration is a very promising solution to produce energy and Class A reclaimed water (EU Regulation 2020/741). The robustness and effectiveness of the treatment process against loading and temperature fluctuations can prevent the quality compromise of the final effluent.
Citation: Seintos, T., Koukoura, A., Statiris, E., Noutsopoulos, C., Mamais, D., Μasi, F., Prado, O., Rizzo, A., Bartroli, A., Stasinakis, A.S. and Malamis, S., 2024. Long-term operation of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor coupled with a two-stage constructed wetland for domestic wastewater treatment. Chemical Engineering Journal, 500, p.157216.
Citation: Seintos, T., Koukoura, A., Statiris, E., Noutsopoulos, C., Mamais, D., Μasi, F., Prado, O., Rizzo, A., Bartroli, A., Stasinakis, A.S. and Malamis, S., 2024. Long-term operation of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor coupled with a two-stage constructed wetland for domestic wastewater treatment. Chemical Engineering Journal, 500, p.157216.
Link to publication: doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2024.157216
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