Project Info


Enhancement of Activated Sludge Settling through Hydraulic Selection

Tzahi Cath | tcath@mines.edu

In the U.S., 70-75% of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) use the conventional activated sludge (CAS) process. While this is an effective treatment method, the main problem of the process is sludge bulking due to the presence of filamentous bacteria that reduce the microbial floc settling rates. Research conducted at the Mines Park Water Reclamation Facility (MPWRF) utilizes methods to increase settling rates and reduce bulking in CAS systems. Three hydraulic selectors, developed at MPWRF, have been installed in the secondary clarifier to remove filamentous microorganisms in order to produce a denser floc that will settle faster and allow for faster influent flow rates. Faster wastewater processing would reduce the need for facility expansion and furthermore reduce operating cost.
Furthermore, preliminary research at Mines Park demonstrated that along with faster settling of biosolids, a new form of microorganism communities (granular sludge) was developed that treat/remove nutrients from wastewater much faster.

More Information

http://inside.mines.edu/~tcath/publications/index.html

Grand Engineering Challenge: Provide access to clean water

Student Preparation


Qualifications

Basic knowledge in water and wastewater treatment and analytical methods.

Time Commitment

60 hours/month

Skills/Techniques Gained

Advanced water quality analysis, operation of automated systems, applied math and statistics

Mentoring Plan

Weekly meeting, request preparation of weekly reports, participation in meeting with graduate students.