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Immobilization of activated sludge by PVA-boric acid method
1Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamada Oka Suita-shi, Osaka 565, Japan.
Biotechnology and Bioengineering
|July 1, 1987
Summary
A novel polyvinyl alcohol-boric acid method offers inexpensive and effective activated sludge immobilization for wastewater treatment. This approach achieves high organic carbon removal and provides key kinetic data for process optimization.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Biotechnology
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Activated sludge is crucial for wastewater treatment.
- Effective immobilization methods are needed to enhance performance and reduce costs.
- Existing methods may be expensive or less efficient.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an inexpensive and effective method for immobilizing activated sludge.
- To evaluate the performance of immobilized activated sludge in treating synthetic wastewater.
- To determine the kinetic parameters of the immobilized activated sludge process.
Main Methods:
- Developed a new immobilization technique using polyvinyl alcohol and boric acid (PVA-boric acid method).
- Treated synthetic wastewater using activated sludge immobilized with the PVA-boric acid method.
- Operated the treatment process at high loading rates (0.5-2.35 kg TOC/m³ day).
- Measured removal efficiencies for Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Total Nitrogen (TN).
- Determined kinetic constants (Y and b) for the immobilized activated sludge process.
Main Results:
- Achieved high removal efficiencies: 93% for TOC and 30-40% for TN.
- Demonstrated effective wastewater treatment at high loading rates.
- Calculated kinetic constants: Y = 0.594 g MLSS/g TOC and b = 0.0219 day⁻¹.
- The PVA-boric acid immobilization method proved to be extremely cost-effective.
Conclusions:
- The PVA-boric acid method is a viable, inexpensive, and effective approach for activated sludge immobilization.
- Immobilized activated sludge demonstrates high efficiency in removing organic pollutants from wastewater.
- The determined kinetic constants provide valuable insights for optimizing immobilized activated sludge systems.
