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Science & Technology Asia, 28, 2, 143-151

This study investigated the impact of five different carrier media on oxygen transfer efficiency and flow mixing in a 2 m3 moving attached growth system pilot-plant. The five media studied varied in shape (cylindrical and spherical), size, voidage and protected surface area (112–610 m2/m3). In clean water tests, the media enhanced the overall oxygen transfer efficiency by 23–45% and hydraulic efficiency (HE) by 41–53%, compared with operation with no media. When using spherical media (Media 1, 2 and 3), the presence of biofilm increased the HE to 89, 93 and 100%, respectively. Conversely, Media 4 and 5 with biofilm contributed to a reduction in HE to 74 and 63%, respectively. The media protected surface area, the parameter traditionally selected to design biofilm processes, did not correlate with HE or with oxygen transfer efficiency in clean water tests. This study provides clear evidence that other media physical properties play a role in the mixing and oxygen transfer in moving attached growth systems. A correlation (R2) of 0.89 and 0.90 was obtained between the media dimensionality times voidage (Di × Voi) and HE, with and without biofilm development, respectively. The combination of parameters (Di × Voi/HE) also correlated well with oxygen transfer efficiency in clean water (R2 of 0.92 without biofilm and R2 of 0.88 with biofilm). Dimensionality and voidage should be utilised to design and optimise media size and shape, to enhance mixing and oxygen transfer, ultimately contributing to energy savings and higher removal efficiencies.

We studied new micro-perforated diffuser concepts for the aeration process in wastewater treatment plants and evaluated their aeration efficiency. These are micro-perforated plate diffusers with orifice diameters of 30 µm, 50 µm and 70 µm and a micro-perforated tube diffuser with an orifice diameter of 50 µm. The oxygen transfer of the diffuser concepts is tested in clean water, and it is compared with commercial aerators from the literature. The micro-perforated tube diffuser and micro-perforated plate diffusers outperform the commercial membrane diffusers by up to 44% and 20%, respectively, with regard to the oxygen transfer efficiency. The most relevant reason for the improved oxygen transfer is the fine bubble aeration with bubble sizes as small as 1.8 mm. Furthermore, the more homogenous cross-sectional bubble distribution of the micro-perforated tube diffuser has a beneficial effect on the gas mass transfer due to less bubble coalescence. However, the pressure drop of micro-perforated diffusers seems to be the limiting factor for their standard aeration efficiencies due to the size and the number of orifices. Nevertheless, this study shows the potential for better aeration efficiency through the studied conceptual micro-perforated diffusers.

In the last years, the upgrading of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) could be required in order to comply with the more stringent regulation requirements. Nevertheless, the main issue is related to the surface availability. A proper solution could be represented by the attached biomass processes, in particular the moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBR), that have a significant footprint reduction with respect to conventional activated sludge (CAS). However, MBBR showed an important disadvantage: the poor aeration energy efficiency due to the use of coarse bubble diffusers, which guarantee high reliability and low maintenance costs with respect to fine bubble ones. Moreover, the presence of carriers inside the reactor emphasizes this aspect. The aim of this work is to verify the benefits achievable by installing a fine bubble aeration system inside a MBBR system. The comparison, in terms of oxygen transfer efficiency, between a medium bubble aeration system and a fine ceramic bubble diffuser was studied and the effect of biofilm growth on oxygen transfer was assessed. Several tests were carried out in order to test the operation of a coarse and a fine bubble side aeration at different air flow rates, both in clean water conditions, in order to evaluate the influence of carriers (Chip M type) on the aeration efficiency, both in wastewater conditions with the aim to assess the effect of bacteria growth on the carriers. The main results are the following: (i) the fine bubble system placed off-center ensured good mixing even without using the mixer; (ii) the fine bubble side aeration system compared to the coarse ones did not show significant advantages in terms of oxygen transfer efficiency; (iii) the increase in specific air flow rate negatively influenced the aeration efficiency; (iv) the presence of biomass had a positive effect on the oxygen transfer yield.

Dans les écosystèmes aquatiques, l’oxygène dissous est consommé par les processus chimiques et biologiques de l’autoépuration (oxydoréduction, dégradation de la matière organique,...) ainsi que par la respiration des espèces aquatiques. L’autoépuration sera donc favorisée par une amélioration de l’aération et le taux d’oxygène dissous constituera un indicateur de la qualité de l’eau. Les structures hydrauliques telles que les cascades jouent le rôle de système d’aération en favorisant l’absorption dans l'eau de l’oxygène atmosphérique. Afin d’évaluer le potentiel d’aération de ces ouvrages aux faibles débits, une étude a été réalisée sur une cascade de laboratoire représentative des petits cours d’eau et équipée de plusieurs marches modulables en nombre et en taille. Le transfert d’oxygène dans les cascades est fortement dépendant de l’aire de l’interface d’échange rapporté au volume d’eau, du type d’écoulement diphasique et de la turbulence dans le fluide. Du point de vue hydrodynamique, trois régimes d’écoulement ont été identifiés pour un débit inférieur à 3 L•-s-1, deux régimes de type nappe et un régime de transition. L’efficacité du transfert d’oxygène mesurée varie de 15 % à 40 % en fonction du débit d’eau, du nombre et de la longueur des marches de la cascade. Les résultats ont montré une amélioration de l’aération avec le débit (en régime nappe) et avec le nombre de marches. Sur les différents systèmes de cascades étudiés, une relation de linéarité entre le nombre de marches et l’efficacité d’aération a été constatée. L’ajout de graviers sur les marches provoque une légère amélioration de la capacité d’aération, dépendant du niveau d’immersion des graviers. À hauteur donnée, l’augmentation de la longueur des cascades défavorise le transfert d’oxygène., In aquatic ecosystems, dissolved oxygen is consumed by the chemical and biological processes involved in natural self-purification (oxidation-reduction, degradation of organic matter,…) and by the respiration of the aquatic species. The self-purification can be enhanced by water aeration improvement and the dissolved oxygen level is thus an indicator of the water quality. Hydraulic structures such as cascades play the role of an aeration system by improving the dissolution of atmospheric oxygen in water. To estimate the aeration potential of these structures in low discharges corresponding to small natural streams, a study was realized on a laboratory cascade model equipped with a modular number of size-adjustable steps. Oxygen transfer in stepped cascades is strongly dependent on the interfacial exchange area per water volume, the multiphase flow structure and the turbulence in the fluid. From the hydrodynamic point of view, three flow regimes were identified for a flow rate lower than 3 L•s-1: two nappe regimes and one transition regime. The measured oxygen transfer efficiency varies between 15% and 40% depending on water flow rates, and the number and length of steps in the cascade. The results showed an improvement of the aeration with the flow rate (in the nappe flow) and with the number of steps. On the various studied systems of cascades, a linear relation between steps number and aeration efficiency was demonstrated. The addition of gravel on the step surfaces increases the cascade aeration capacity slightly, depending on the immersion level of the gravel. For a given total height, an increase in the cascade length disadvantages the oxygen transfer.

The oxygen transfer at a hydraulic structure happens by self-aeration through the spillway and by flow aeration in the hydraulic jump downstream of the hydraulic structure. Spillways with their water-air controlling mechanisms are important not only for their structural properties but also for their effects on stream ecology. Spillway types also affect the efficiency of aeration. Decisions on the types of spillway should be made by taking the environmental conditions and flow rates into consideration. This paper compares the aeration efficiency of stepped and smooth spillways. Empirical correlations predicting length of the non-aerated flow region and aeration efficiency are developed. Smooth and stepped spillways cause increased dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations at the downstream part of the channel. DO concentration changes are shown to depend on the flow types, discharge rates, tail-water depth and travelling times.