Enhanced physicochemical-biological sewage treatment process in cold regions

Water Sci Technol. 2014;70(9):1456-64. doi: 10.2166/wst.2014.376.

Abstract

Biological treatment processes give relatively poor pollutant removal efficiencies in cold regions because microbial activity is inhibited at low temperatures. We developed an enhanced physicochemical-biological wastewater treatment process that involves micro-membrane filtration, anaerobic biofilter, and aerobic biofilter to improve the pollutant removal efficiencies that can be achieved under cold conditions. Full-scale experiments using the process were carried out in the northeast of China, at outdoor temperatures of around -30 °C. The average removal efficiencies achieved for chemical oxygen demand, total phosphorus, ammonia nitrogen, and suspended solids were 89.8, 92.9, 94.3, and 95.8%, respectively, using a polyaluminium chloride dosage of 50 mg L⁻¹. We concluded that the process is effective to treat sewage in cold regions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis
  • China
  • Cold Temperature*
  • Filtration
  • Phosphorus / chemistry
  • Phosphorus / metabolism
  • Sewage / analysis
  • Sewage / chemistry*
  • Waste Disposal, Fluid / methods*
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / chemistry*
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / metabolism*

Substances

  • Sewage
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • Phosphorus