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Use of Biodegradable Dissolved Organic Carbon to Assess Treatment Process Performance in Relation to Solids Retention Time
Author(s) -
Babcock Roger W.,
King Stacey,
Khan Eakalak,
Stenstrom Michael K.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
water environment research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1554-7531
pISSN - 1061-4303
DOI - 10.2175/106143001x139597
Subject(s) - effluent , dissolved organic carbon , wastewater , biochemical oxygen demand , chemistry , total organic carbon , activated sludge , sewage treatment , biodegradation , chemical oxygen demand , pulp and paper industry , environmental chemistry , environmental engineering , environmental science , organic chemistry , engineering
A biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) method has been developed and used to analyze secondary‐ and advanced‐treated wastewater effluents and to investigate correlations between residual organic content and the solids retention time (SRT). Conventional biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) bottles and a 28‐day incubation period were used. Secondary wastewater effluents from Hawaii were found to contain between 9.0 and 14.0 mg/L of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), of which 23 to 35% was biodegradable in the 28‐day BDOC test (from a survey of nine treatment plants). Bench‐scale, continuous‐flow activated‐sludge biological reactors treating synthetic wastewater were operated at SRTs between 2 and 15 days, and effluent BDOCs were determined. A good BDOC prediction equation was developed that incorporates the initial DOC, the DOC remaining after 5 days, and the SRT of the system from which the sample originated. This equation can be used to determine the BDOC value using data that can be obtained during a conventional 5‐day BOD test. The determined equation was found to be appropriate for some of the full‐scale wastewater effluent survey data.