Ozone Technology for Sludge Bulking Control

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Ozone Technology for Sludge Bulking Control

Ozone Technology for Sludge Bulking Control 

Erik Wijnbladh
 

Bulking sludge causes major problems in wastewater treatment plants that deal with biological nutrient removal in activated sludge processes. Bulking sludge is caused by filamentous bacteria, which have a negative impact on the sludge settling properties. Himmerfjärden wastewater treatment plant suffers from this type of problem with bulking sludge which creates a stable layer at the surface that does not settle in the clarifier. In order to solve this problem, on site generated ozone was used to decrease the amount of filamentous bacteria in the return activated sludge flow. Ozone is a strong oxidant is suitable for non-specific bulking control. It stresses the filamentous bacteria causing inactivation through cell wall disintegration. The ozone treatment resulted in decreased abundance of filamentous bacteria. Ozone treatment of the recycled activated sludge improves the settling properties of bulking sludge, without interfering with other important microbiological processes e.g. nitrification.

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