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Resource Recovery from

Wastewater Opportunities and


Achievements

What can we get from Wastewater?


Water
(x 100)

Salts

(Organic) Fertiliser

Water Reuse
Bio-Energy

Nutrients Organics

Vision
Wastewater treatment plants become resource
recovery plants
Future hub for key resources
Should be energy neutral or negative

Should be public and private sector orientated


Products should not be directly linked to source
Optimal integration of sources and users
AND: Always ensure public health protection

Water Use Reduction & Efficiencies

SEQ Water Strategy, QWC

2010

2011/2012

Water Recycling in Industry (Brewery)

Operating Cost ~ $0.85 / kL


Savings:
$1.5-2.5 / kL fresh water intake
$2 - 3 / kL effluent (trade waste) discharge

Future Water Supply Concepts


Sources

Processes

Uses

River/ Dam/
Sea Water

Domestic
Wastewater

Industrial
Wastewater

Stormwater/
Run-off

Centralised Decentralised Specialised


Physical Chemical Biological Disinfection etc.

Drinking
Water

Non-potable
Domestic

Industrial
Uses

Irrigation/
Farming

Resource Efficient Recycling Options

Stage 1
Carbon Removal
Nutrient Recovery

Stage 2
Nitrogen
Removal

Stage 3
Water Polishing/
Disinfection

Agricultural irrigation
Low-quality industrial

Environmental flows
Industrial reuse
Restricted irrigation

Non-potable domestic
Industrial reuse
Unrestricted irrigation
Potable domestic

Resource Efficient Recycling Options


Stage 1
Carbon Removal
Nutrient Recovery

Stage 2
Nitrogen
Removal

Stage 3
Water Polishing/
Disinfection

Novel & Existing Processes Options


Stage 1

Anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR)

Granular high rate anaerobic (UASB/IC, EGSB, Baffled


Anaerobic Reactor)
High-rate aerobic (activated sludge) process

Stage 2

Temperature phased anaerobic digestion (TPAD)


Nitritation/anammox combined Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor
Nitritation/anammox combined Sequencing Batch Reactor

Stage 3

Denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO)


Biologically activated carbon (BAC)
Low pressure (membrane) filtration

Anaerobic MBR Concept


Key Challenges:
- Low flux large membrane areas
- Energy for membrane cleaning
- Fouling potential to be determined

Veolia/Biothane

Energy Self-suffient Process


WWTP Strass (Austria, A/B Process)

200,000 EP
Nutrient Removal Plant

Courtesy Bernard Wett

High Rate Aerobic Processes


HRT = 0.25h
SRT = 0.5 d

Wett & Alex, (2003) WST 48(4)

High-rate Aerobic Treatment of Industrial WW


Laboratory scale SBR optimisation
(Feed COD: 2000 mg/L, HRT: 0.5 day, SRT: 2-4 days)

COD removal > 85%, 20-25% oxidised


Total Nitrogen removal 50-60%
Total Phosphorus removal > 80%

Sludge degradability > 80%

Temperature-Phased Anaerobic Digestion


Mesophilic
Reactor
T 35C,
10-14d HRT
Thermophilic
Reactor
T > 55C,
2d HRT

Damien Batstone, Paul Jensen, AWMC

Nutrient Recovery - Motivation


Peak Phosphorus limited resource
Rise in P prices due to increasing
fertilizer demand

Nitrogen/urea price fluctuations


linked to energy/LPG prices
N and P are major challenges for

waste and wastewater management

Pipe blocked due to struvite precipitation

N & P Recovery as Struvite


Works well in concentrated
streams eg. digester effluent
but not in dilute solutions
Mg feed often beneficial as
concentrated magnesium
hydroxide or MgCl2 solution
Increasing pH improves
performance
Precipitation/crystallisation
conditions critical for success
Feed
P-PO4 (ppm) 110 -150
N-NH4 (ppm) 950-1000
pH
7.5 7.7

Effluent
0.5 2
800 850
8.5 8.7

Struvite recovery unit at sewage


treatment plant in Brisbane, QLD
Chirag Mehta, Damien Batstone, AWMC

P recovery from Iron Phosphate Sludge


FeCl3
Waste
Water

Primary
Treatment

Secondary
Treatment
V

eFe3+, S0
Fe2+, S2-

Secondary
effluent

NaCl

e-

P
removal

RO
Treatment

Drinking
water

Na2S

FePO4

PO43- in
solution

HS-

FeSx

S0

NaHS
ANODE

CATHODE

Stage II:
Electrochemical
process

Stage I: FeS
precipitation
process
Elena Likosova, Stefano Freguia, AWMC

N, K Recovery using Electrodialysis

CEM

NH+

K+

CEM

AEM

Anion Exchange
Membrane (AEM)

K+

K+

NH+

NH+

NH+

K+

NH+

K+

NH+

Cathode (-)

Anode (+)

Cation Exchange
Membrane (CEM) AEM

Concentrate

K+

Wastewater
Chirag Mehta, Damien Batstone, AWMC

Resource Efficient Recycling Options


Stage 1
Carbon Removal
Nutrient Recovery

Stage 2
Nitrogen
Removal

Stage 3
Water Polishing/
Disinfection

What is Anammox?
Conventional

Nitritation/Anammox

Nitrification

NH4+

Partial
Nitritation

NH4+
0.84 O2
(42%)

2 O2 (100%)

NO3-

0.45 NH4+

0.55 NO2-

C-Source
(e.g. methanol:
2.2 kg/kgN;
COD: >5kg/kgN)

0.5 N2
Denitrification

0.44 N2 + 0.12 NO3Anaerobic ammonia oxidation

A. Joss, EAWAG

Anammox-type process scale-up


Approximately 18-24 month process for first full-scale installation
Much shorter (0-6 months) for subsequent installations

Wett & Dengg (2006)

Full-scale plants in operation


Austria

Strass, plus others

Switzerland

Zrich, Thun, Glarnerland, Limmattal, Niederglatt, St. Gallen. In


planning: Bazenheid, Bern, Geneva

Germany

Several plants

The Netherlands

Rotterdam, Lichtenvoorde, Olburgen, Mie (others?)

Rest of the world


Biggest plant: Industrial in China, 11,000 kgN/d
A. Joss, EAWAG

ANAMMOX granules
The key for continuous & successful
operation:
Simple and compact one step process
Stable and robust operation

Tolerant to peak nitrite levels


Tolerant to peak Suspended Solids levels

25

SRT Control - Cyclone for selecting for DEMON Granules

MLSS

Overflow

Underflow

Nitritation/anammox Combined in
Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR)

ANITATM-Mox

Dewatering Liquor Treatment in Zurich

Two SBR tanks; 2800m3 total volume; 1800m3/d flow; 1200 kgN/d load

Denitrifying anaerobic methane


oxidation (DAMO)

Still under development at lab-scale, very slow bacterial growth but could have
good potential in conjunction with anaerobic and anammox processes
Shihu Hu, Zhiguo Yuan, AWMC

Resource Recovery Options

Stage 1
Carbon Removal
Nutrient Recovery

Stage 2
Nitrogen
Removal

Stage 3
Water Polishing/
Disinfection

Agricultural irrigation
Low-quality industrial

Environmental flows
Industrial reuse
Restricted irrigation

Non-potable domestic
Industrial reuse
Unrestricted irrigation
Potable domestic

Concluding Thoughts
Water recycling justified by economics and supply security
but needs to improve environmental footprint
--Energy recovery valuable for WWTP operation, plus
economic in industrial situations and/or for (bio-)products
--Nutrient recovery needed for supply security (P) and
increasingly economics (N & K)

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