Optimal operation for timely adaptation of activated sludge plants to changes in the surfactant composition of wastewater

The composition of a textile industry wastewater is highly variable, as the industrial process has to follow fashion and season trends. Surfactants represent one of the largest COD fractions in a typical textile wastewater. Therefore, it was the aim of this paper to model the acclimatisation behaviour of an activated sludge system when subjected to composition variations in the surfactant containing feed. The model was based on data obtained in SBR experiments in which a linear alkyl ethoxylate as sole carbon source in the feed was replaced by another with a longer ethoxylate chain. A previously developed model (Fractionated Degradation Model) was applied to each of the 21 SBR cycles carried out in this study. The resulting best-fit parameters were investigated and sub-models were further developed, to create an acclimatisation model, able to predict the sludge acclimatisation level. Using the information given by this model, it was possible to propose an optimal operation scheme to pre-acclimatise the sludge before a surfactant replacement is made in the textile process. A cost analysis was carried out to compare different scenarios, with and without the application of this operation scheme. It was concluded that the proposed pre-acclimatisation process may be cost effective as compared to other scenarios if a cheap surfactant-containing product was employed.