Development of aerobic granular sludge for the simultaneous removal of organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus from sanitary sewage

Abstract

The project is related to the production of aerobic granular sludge, an alternative sewage treatment recently discovered, very promising and not yet developed in our country. In this case, operate one activated sludge in the sequencing batch scheme, providing reduced settling range, which allows selection of dense granules, active and with good processing properties. In the proposed study will initially be studied in bench scale the conditions for sludge granulation. Subsequently, in pilot scale reactor, is conducted an experiment in which it is varied the amount of oxygen supplied to the biological sludge, maintaining a predetermined operating cycle. For each aeration condition or experimental phase, the raw sewage samples collected will be made of treated sewage and biological sludge, in order to identify the potential of the process in removing organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus wastewater. At the same time, special tests of different types will be realized. With molecular biology resources, q-PCR, DGGE and FISH is intended to identify and quantify the major groups of organisms of interest, particularly nitrifying and phosphorus removers. By means of the respirometric tests, it is intended to determine the primary kinetic coefficients related to nitrogen removal. It is intended to also perform hydrodynamic studies in the reactor in order that the hydraulic system is particularly crucial in the granulation phenomenon. Morphological aspects of beads will also be determined. Believed to be possible to contribute to the advancement of this sewage treatment process in Brazil, producing essential technical information for the understanding of the phenomena involved and, consequently, their future use. (AU)