Jules B. van Lier

The attainable loading potentials of anaerobic sludge bed systems are strongly dependent on the growth of granular biomass with a particular wastewater. Experiments were conducted to determine the effects of high salinity wastewater on the biological and physical properties of methanogenic sludge. Sodium concentration of 5 g/L and 15 g/L were added to the influent of upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) systems. After 100 days of operation, the methanogenic activity, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), and granular strength were analyzed. The results show a high removal of organic matter but with accumulating propionate concentrations in the effluents. Meanwhile, wash-out of active methanogenic biomass in the effluent of the reactors was observed, likely as a results of the high Na+ concentrations. The rinsed biomass was characterized by a considerable specific methanogenic activity (SMA) on acetate, propionate and hydrogen as the substrates. On the other hand, results show that the SMA evolution was not affected by high salt concentrations. Also the amount and composition of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were similar in all sludges. However, results clearly show a sharp drop in the granule strength as a results of high Na+ concentration.

By using sewage nutrients in irrigation, both the costs for nutrient removal and costs for fertilisers at the farm can be distinctly reduced. The present study describes the wastewater use scheme in the Seil Al-Zarqa and Middle Jordan Valley regions, Jordan. Through field studies, information on water and nutrient flows were gathered on 13 fields using semi-quantitative methods and processed in a simplified nutrient mass balance model. Outcomes show a complete mismatch between nutrient demand and nutrient supply. While the N-supply is up to a factor of 7-8 in excess, data nearby the sewage treatment plant show a P excess up to a factor 30! Elevated nutrient concentrations were measured up to 70 km downstream the sewage treatment plant. However, farmers dose chemical fertilisers as if they are dealing with clean fresh water. The nutrients and particularly the N over-dosages have considerable negative impacts on crops and environment. Treatment facilities should better adjust their effluent quality to the subsequent needs, while farmers should be better informed on the effluent quality and be trained how to adjust their irrigation and additional fertilization to this reality.

Decades of developments and implementations in the field of high-rate anaerobic wastewater treatment have put the technology at a competitive level. With respect to sustainability and cost-effectiveness, anaerobic treatment has a much better score than many alternatives. Particularly, the energy conservation aspect, i.e. avoiding the loss of energy for destruction of organic matter, while energy is reclaimed from the organic waste constituents in the form of biogas, was an important driver in the development of such systems. Invoked by the present greenhouse alert, the energy involved is nowadays translated into carbon credits, providing another incentive to further implement anaerobic technology. Anaerobic conversion processes, however, offer much more than cost-effective treatment systems. Selective recovery of metals, effective desulphurization, recovery of nutrients, reductive detoxification, and anaerobic oxidation of specific compounds are examples of the potentials of anaerobic treatment. This paper presents a survey on the state of the art of full-scale anaerobic high-rate treatment of industrial wastewaters and highlights current trends in anaerobic developments.

Several anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR) were operated, under various conditions, applying different reactor configurations. Applicable fluxes were strongly determined by the physical properties of the sludge present in the reactors. Results show that particle size is a key determining factor for the attainable fluxes. Under thermophilic conditions, small sludge particle size was observed, resulting in low critical fluxes reaching 6-7 L/m2h for the submerged configuration and acidified substrate. In contrast, under mesophilic conditions critical fluxes of 20 L/m2h were obtained. The acidification level also showed a strong effect. Under thermophilic conditions, the presence of a significant fraction of non-acidified organic matter induced the growth of suspended acidogenic biomass that seriously affected the applicable fluxes, both in submerged and side-stream configurations. Under all conditions tested cake formation showed to be the limiting factor determining the applicable fluxes. Only low levels of irreversible fouling were observed. Due to technical and economical considerations, most interesting perspectives for the application of AnMBR are expected with the treatment of high-strength particulate wastewaters, and with extreme wastewaters characterised by high temperature, salinity, etc.

Three UASB reactors were operated at different salinity levels in order to assess the effects on the granular sludge properties. High levels of activity inhibition were observed at sodium concentrations over 7 g Na+/L, which resulted in low applicable organic loading rates and VFA accumulation in reactor effluents. However, either sludge adaptation or selection for saline resistant microorganisms occurred, which could be concluded from the observed increase in the 50% activity inhibitory concentrations of sodium during continuous flow experiments. Changes in Na+ susceptibility in time are likely to be expected when treating saline wastewaters. The latter was evidenced by the high sodium tolerance of granular methanogenic sludge coming from a full-scale industrial reactor treating such wastewater. High salinity conditions resulted in a reduced granule strength, predicting process instabilities during long term reactor operation. Batch tests showed that high sodium concentrations seemed to displace the calcium from the granular sludge, a factor known to affect anaerobic granules formation.

High rate anaerobic technologies offer cost-effective solutions for "sewage" treatment in the temperate climate of Palestine and Jordan. However, local sewage characteristics demand amendments to the conventional UASB reactor design. A solution is found in a parallel operating digester unit that stabilises incoming solids and enriches the UASB sludge bed with methanogenic activity. The digester operational conditions were assessed by operating eight CSTRs fed with primary sludge. The results showed a high degree of sludge stabilization in the parallel digesters at SRTs>or=10 and 15 days at process temperatures of 35 and 25 degrees C, respectively. The technical feasibility of the UASB-digester combination was demonstrated by continuous flow pilot-scale experiments. A pilot UASB reactor was operated for 81 days at 6 hours HRT and 15 degrees C and was fed with raw domestic sewage. This period was subsequently followed by an 83 day operation period incorporating a parallel digester unit, which was operated at 35 degrees C. The UASB-digester combination achieved removal efficiencies of total, suspended, colloidal and dissolved CODs of respectively 66, 87, 44 and 30%. Preliminary model calculations indicated that a total reactor volume of the UASB-digester system corresponding to 8.6 hours HRT might suffice for sewage treatment in Palestine.

Membrane separation technology represents an alternative way to achieve biomass retention in anaerobic bioreactors for wastewater treatment. Due to high biomass concentrations of anaerobic reactors, cake formation is likely to represent a major cause of flux decline. In the presented research, experiments are performed on the effect of biomass concentration and level of gas sparging on the hydraulic capacity of a submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor. Both parameters significantly affected the hydraulic capacity, with biomass exerting the most pronounced effect. After 50 days of continuous operation the critical flux remained virtually unchanged, despite an increase in membrane resistance, suggesting that biomass characteristics and hydraulic conditions determine the bio-layer formation rather than the membrane's fouling level. The concept of bio-layer management is introduced to describe the programmed combination of actions performed in order to control the formation of biomass layer over membranes.

The discharge of dye-colored wastewaters in surface water represents a serious environmental problem because it may decrease the water transparency, therefore having an effect on photosynthesis, and a public health concern because dyes and their reducing products are carcinogenic. In recent years, big achievements have been made in the use of anaerobic granular sludge not only on colored wastewaters but also on the detoxification of other xenobiotics compounds. This paper compiles some important findings related to the potentials of high-temperature anaerobic treatment and redox mediators on the reductive decolorization of azo dyes from textile wastewaters.

The effects of temperature, hydraulic retention time (HRT), and the redox mediator, anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS), on electron transfer and subsequent reductive decolorization of dyes from textile wastewater was assessed in mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic bioreactors. The results clearly show that compared to mesophilic anaerobic treatment, thermophilic treatment at 55 °C is an effective approach for increasing the electron transfer capacity in bioreactors, and thus improving the decolorization rates. At an HRT of 2.5 h and in the absence of AQDS, the color removal was 5.3-fold higher at 55 °C compared to 30 °C. Furthermore, similar decolorizations were found at 55 °C between the AQDS-free and AQDS-supplemented reactors, whereas a significant difference (up to 3.6-fold) on dye reduction occurred at 30 °C.