Wisconsin Wastewater Operators' Association - Excellence in … · Wisconsin Wastewater Operators...
Transcript of Wisconsin Wastewater Operators' Association - Excellence in … · Wisconsin Wastewater Operators...
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Excellence in Engineering Since 1946
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Strand Associates, Inc.® ( )
Troubleshooting Activated Sludge:Identifying and Mitigating Impacts of Drought Conditions
Wisconsin Wastewater Operators Association47th Annual ConferenceOctober 23, 2013
Troy A. Larson – Wastewater Operations Specialist
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Outline of Presentation
• Background
• Identifying Treatment Stresses: Background
• Proactive Observations
• Underlying Triggers
• Mitigating Actions
• Case Studies
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Background
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2012 Produced Drought Conditions Through Much of the Midwest
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Drought Conditions Reduced River Levels and the Potential for Inflow and Infiltration along with the Associated Dilution
Bottom 25th Percentile
Low River Flows Typical in Impacted Areas
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Drought Conditions Selected Undesirable Conditions in Our Yards…
…unless you like dandelions.
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• Visual Observations• Rapid Setting Sludge
• Poor Flocculation• Murky Supernatant in Settling
Test• Murky (pea green) Appearance at
Clarifiers• Increase in Effluent Suspended
Solids
Drought Conditions Selected Undesirable Conditions in Our Activated Sludge Systems
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Identifying Treatment Stresses: Background
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Stable Conditions are Required for Proper FlocFormation
• “The following factors can adversely affect floc formation:• Sludge Age*• Slug Discharges• Toxicity• Surfactants• Excessive Shearing*”
• Toni Glymph, Wastewater Microbiology: A Handbook for Operators
* Ruled out as early steps in troubleshooting process, not a significant part of this presentation.
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Description of Treatment Stress
• Potential Analytical Observations• Influent
• Temperature Increase• Soluble Fraction Increases• Sulfides• pH Changes
• Effluent• TSS Spike• BOD Spike• Ammonia Spike• Nitrite (NO2) Spike
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Description of Treatment Stress
• Nitrification stress might be defined as:• Effluent ammonia concentrations are not as low as typical or expected• Nitrite is present in effluent when not typical
• 12.9 lbs of Cl2 consumed per mg/L NO2- per MGD
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Description of Treatment Stress
• Process Observations• Automation Changes
• Less Air Required• More Air Required• Lower Residuals
Detected; More Chlorine Required
• Oddities in Optical Measurements
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Proactive Observations
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Microscopy Can Indicate if Toxicity may be a Factor
• Microscopy Evaluations• Changes in indicator organisms
• More Flagellates• More amoeba• Testate or shelled indicator
organisms• Fewer higher life forms or inactive
higher life forms• Stress to filamentous bacteria• Stress to floc formation
• Get trusted sources for reference• Do in-house and do so
consistently
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Regular SOUR or OUR Analysis May Identify Meaningful Changes in Characteristics
Respiration Rate (SOUR)
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RESP.RATE mg/hr/g
Normal
Abnormally Low – Check for Toxicity
Abnormally High – Check for Increased Load
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Trends of Key Information Such as Settling Characteristics Provides Timely Information
Database shortcuts to meaningful trends
Trend of Settling Characteristics
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In Situ Instruments Can Assist In Identifying Unwanted Changes In Influent Characteristics
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ORP Spike
Start-up Acclimation Upset Recovery
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Underlying Triggers
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Underlying Triggers
• Loss of Dilution• Chemicals • Metals• Organic Loads
• Change in Hydraulic Detention Times• Sewer• Process Tanks
• Change in Temperature• Less volume, more time, warm ambient conditions = Warm Activated Sludge
The gradual changes associated with droughts makes identification of
stresses difficult.
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Chemicals of Interest Include:
• Quaternary Amines• Used in cleaning chemicals• Accumulate through adsorption• Degrade slowly
• Anionic Surfactants• Used in cleaning chemicals• Coats bacteria surface causing deflocculation• Foam may be associated with these wastewaters
If your industries use a chemical to kill bacteria at their facility, they should understand what it does at yours.
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Wastewater Characteristic Changes of Interest Include:
• Volatile Fatty Acid Formation• Can impact floc characteristics• May be indication of increase in anaerobic environments• May promote filamentous growth
• Sulfide Toxicity• Very pH Dependant• May indicate new or greater sources of H2S
“ Sulfide toxicity to activated sludge is more common than currently recognized.” Michael Richard Ph.D. Activated Sludge Microbiology
Problems and Their Controls
@ a pH of 7.0 s.u., 1 mg/L H2S decreased oxygen uptake by 50 %@ a pH of 8.0, 100 mg/L H2S was required to get the same response
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Mitigating Actions
Anecdotal Feedback and Experience From Multiple Facilities
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Wasting Rates
• Sludge Ages that had been traditionally successful may be too old for current (drought/low flow) conditions.• This may indicate that issues were centered around bio accumulative stresses such
as metals or persistent biocides/cleaning chemicals.
• Subtle increases in wasting seemed to help although sludge ages did not appear to be the trigger.
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Dissolved Oxygen
• Aerobic processes that are being stressed typically benefit from generous dissolved oxygen targets.
• Facilities without DO automation appeared to suffer when they had not in the past.
• One facility may have had lower oxygen consumption because of loss of nitrification, the automation may have lowered the air flow to a point that dead zones were created. • Control adjustments protected against future occurrences.
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Polymer Addition
• Polymer can be used to improve floc formation.• Lab results frequently out perform temporary set-ups because:
• Lack of flow pacing• Limitations at application point
• Tips for improving polymer application• Work with supplier• Set temporary pacing • Add to well mixed area• Monitor floc at clarifier stilling well• Add in conjunction with coagulant as necessary
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Industrial Pretreatment
• Communicate with pretreatment coordinator – In House
• Gain political will if necessary• Respectfully proceed
• Discuss Cause and Effect Relationships with Industry• Raw Materials• Cleaning Chemicals• By-Products• Products
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Case Studies
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Case Study - Small Facility with Rapid Change in Settling and Murky Effluent
• Community of 1400• Flow of ~ 60,000/day• 43 gpd per person• Treatment stress
identified• Collected samples,
opened manholes• Found paint being
dumped
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Case Study – 20 mgd Facility with Murky Effluent at Low Flows
• Quick changes in settling characteristics blamed on DO control• Addition of DO control greatly reduced occurrence, but did not eliminate
• Significant industrial base• SCADA included pH at influent to indicated significant changes• Operators suspected industrial influence; a data review was
requested• Following review of the data a meeting was set with one industry and favorable
results were achieved
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Rapid Change in Settling Characteristics Had Become a Precursor to Poor Treatment
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Industrial Activities Have Been More Impactful During Lower Flow Conditions
Historically Operators Note Difficulties Operating Less than 12 mgd
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2010 WWTP TSS vs Industry Ammonia (or Amines)
Industry Eff NH3 WWTP Eff TSS
Industrial Ammonia Discharges Determined to Be Amines Linked to WWTP Treatment Stress
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Closing Thoughts
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Additional Closing Thoughts
• Improvements to cleaning chemicals, biocides, and other important products may have a negative impact on wastewater treatment
• Drought conditions may allow hidden stresses to reveal themselves
• Monitoring and proactive responses can improve performance
• Industrial pretreatment may be improved through simple communications
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Questions and Answers
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Excellence in Engineering Since 1946