Process Design Parameters for Chinese Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants

The operating characteristics of thirteen municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with design capacities between 50,000 and 300,000 m 3 /d (mean 75,000 m 3 /d) were studied. The treatment processes used by these plants included one biofilter (BIO); two A/O (activated sludge anaerobic and aerobic processes in sequence); four A2/O (modified A/O with anaerobic, annoxic (denitrification) and aerobic cells in sequence); three oxidation ditches (OXD); two A/B (absorption-bio-oxidation two-stage [anaerobic cell followed by aerobic cell]); and one sequencing batch reactor (SBR). The study objective was to determine whether the WWTPs were operating at design conditions, and if not, to try to identify the causes of under-performance. All the WWTPs produced a treated effluent quality which was in compliance with a few exceptions. Nine WWTPs were operating with a mean of 62% of the design hydraulic flows. Thirteen WWTPs were operating at a mean of 56% of the design five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and at 84% of the design total suspended solids (TSS) loadings. Three WWTPs received high-strength wastewater (WW) (BOD >400 mg/L), four normal-strength WW (BOD = 150 to 260 mg/L) and five received weak-strength WW (BOD <150 mg/L). WW strength appeared to be a local characteristic. The mean capital treatment plant costs for one cubic metre of WW per day was 232 USD (104 to 444 USD); consequently, between 80 and 100 MUSD capital investment in WWTPs is unused.