Date of Award
Spring 1970
Document Type
Thesis - Restricted
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Civil and Environmental Engineering
First Advisor
Zanoni, Alphonse E.
Second Advisor
Kipp, Raymond J.
Abstract
Phosphorus is one of the key elements responsible for the algal blooms in lakes and streams. The conventional waste water treatment removes 20% to 80% of the phosphates from the waste waters. The treated effluents have still high phosphates which fertilize the receiving bodies of water and thus accelerate the eutrophication of the receiving waters. The wide variation in the effectiveness of the conventional activated sludge process to remove phosphates warrants a detailed study of the mechanism involved in the removal of phosphates by activated sludge flocs. Presently in the considerable body of literature concerning the fate of phosphates in the activated sludge process, there are two distinct schools of thought. One is that, under certain conditions, activated sludge flocs incorporate more phosphate than that required for their metabolic growth thus leading to sludges containing two to three times greater phosphate concentrations than the normal sludges. The second view point is that the biologically incorporated phosphorus in the cell mass is between 2% to 3% based on the volatile mass of the sludges, and any further incorporation of phosphorus in the flocs is due to its precipitation with metallic cations. The aims of this research project are to study the kinetics of the phosphate uptake by the activated sludge floc, to differentiate between the biological and the cationic phosphorus uptake, to evaluate the response of phosphorus starved activated sludge flocs to sudden exposures of phosphate, and to study the effectiveness of activated sludge flocs to remove phosphates and chemical oxygen demand at different phosphate saturation levels. Thus this research will possibly offer an explanation for the wide variations in the phosphorus removal obtained by different activated sludge waste water treatment plants and thus enable to design or modify the activated sludge process for the desired phosphorus removal.
Recommended Citation
Aggarwal, Raj Kumar, "Phosphate Removal by Activated Sludge Floc" (1970). Master's Theses (1922-2009) Access restricted to Marquette Campus. 3875.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/theses/3875