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Assessing the Nonbiodegradable Fraction of the Thickened Waste Activated Sludge
Author(s) -
Elbeshbishy Elsayed,
Dhar Bipro Ranjan,
Nakhla George
Publication year - 2015
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 - 10.2175/106143015x14338845156821
Subject(s) - fraction (chemistry) , volatile suspended solids , chemical oxygen demand , biosolids , chemistry , waste management , biomass (ecology) , activated sludge , pulp and paper industry , activated carbon , anaerobic digestion , waste treatment , methane , sewage treatment , chromatography , organic chemistry , oceanography , adsorption , engineering , geology
In this study, the feasibility of using three methods to estimate the nonbiodegradable fraction of five thickened waste activated sludge (TWAS) samples was evaluated using long‐term biochemical methane potential tests at four substrate to biomass ratios. The nonbiodegradable fraction was calculated based on the remaining volatile suspended solids (VSS), remaining total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD), and remaining total organic carbon (TOC). It was evident that the nonbiodegradable fraction of TWAS ranged from 12 to 27%. The average nonbiodegradable fractions of TWAS were 21, 18, and 23% based on remaining VSS, TCOD, and TOC, respectively. The proposed method can be potentially used to characterize biosolids for design and modeling anaerobic treatment processes.