A new concept of upflow clarification in activated sludge separation

Abstract

An experimental investigation was conducted to evaluate a new concept of upflow clarification. A novel sludge removal mechanism that used the entire floor area for the removal of solids was incorporated in an upflow clarifier. The operating characteristics and design features of the continuous flux upflow clarifier (CFLUC) are described in detail. The laboratory study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the CFLUC clarifier in separating sludges with different settling characteristics. The different sludge types were produced by an activated sludge system treating a synthetic dairy waste at four different food to microorganism (F: M) ratios. At low organic loadings (0.10–0.24 (g COD)(g MLVSS)−1 (d)−1), the CFLUC clarifier removed 70% of the pinpoint floe that remained during quiescent batch settling conditions. At high organic loadings (0.41–0.83 (g COD)(g MLVSS) −1 (d) −1), the CFLUC clarifier was capable of separating filamentous bulking sludges with poor settling characteristics. Based on the results of the experimental study the upflow clarifier effectively separated all sludge types over the range of organic loadings investigated. Key words: CFLUC clarifier, secondary clarification, upflow clarification, sludge blanket, bioflocculation, bulking sludge, gravity sedimentation.