• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.99-108
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• 1997

This study examined the feasbility of upgrading D waste water treatment plant which treats incoming wastewater by primary sedimentation only. By adding 20-40 ppm of Hi-PAX into the outlet of the aerated grit chamber, BOD and SS removal efficiences were improved from 29% and 36% to 53 % and 73%,respectively. However, chemically enhanced primary treatment failed to meet the upcoming wastewater quality standard(BOD and SS <20 mg/l) consistently. This was suspected to result from the deteriorated plant return stream. The wastewater treatment by chemical treatment should have increased the amount of the sludge to be removed as the sludge production was increased. Chemically enhanced primary treatment is anticipated to consistently produce effluent of the 1996 standards quality by adjusting the amount of the sludge to be removed. Besides BOD and SS removal, chemically enhanced primary treatment resulted in the improved T-P removal from 30% to 64-74%. However, such benefit was not observed in T-N removal. Improved T-P removal will be expected to help control water pollution in Masan bay.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.322-331
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• 2020

By introducing chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) in the first stage of sewage treatment, organic matter in sewage can be effectively recovered. Because CEPT sludge contains a high biodegradable organic matter in volatile solids (VS), it is feasible to convert the collected CEPT sludge into energy through anaerobic digestion. This study examined the properties and biochemical methane potential (BMP) of the CEPT sludge obtained from a sewage treatment plant located in an ocean area. The CEPT sludge contains a VS content of 37,597 mg/L, which is higher than that of excessive sludge (ES), i.e., 33,352 mg-VS/L. In the methane generation reaction, the lag period was as short as 1 to 2 days. The BMP for the CEPT sludge was 0.57 ㎥-CH₄/kg-VS_removed which is better than that of ES, i.e., 0.36 ㎥-CH₄/kg-VS_removed. Unfortunately, the CEPT sludge showed a high salinity as 0.56~0.75% probably due to the saline sewage. Due to the salinity, repeated BMP testing in a sequencing batch reactor showed significantly low methane production rates and BMPs. Also, the ES showed a strongly reduced BMP when the salinity was adjusted from 0.20 to 0.70% by NaCl. The ES mixture with higher CEPT content showed a better BMP, which is suitable for co-digestion. Besides, anaerobic digestion for 100% CEPT sludge can be a considerable option instead of co-digestion.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.121-131
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• 2018

Domestic sewage treatment plants (STPs) consume about 0.5 % of total electric energy produced annually, which is equivalent to 207.7 billion Korean won per year. To minimize the energy consumption and as a way of mitigating the depletion of energy sources, the sewage treatment strategy should be improved to the level of "energy positive". The core processes for the energy positive sewage treatment include A-stage for energy recovery and B-stage for energy-efficient nitrogen removal. The integrated process is known as the A/B-process. In A-stage, chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) or high rate activated sludge (HRAS) processes can be utilized by modifying the primary settling in the first stage of sewage treatment. CEPT utilizes chemical coagulation and flocculation, while HRAS applies returned activated sludge for the efficient recovery of organic contents. The two processes showed organic recovery efficiencies ranging from 60 to 70 %. At a given recovery efficiency of 80 %, 17.3 % of energy potential ($1,398kJ/m^3$) is recovered through the anaerobic digestion and combustion of methane. Besides, anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) can recover 85% of organic contents and generate $1,580kJ/m^3$ from the sewage. The recovered energy is equal to the amount of energy consumption by sewage treatment equipped with anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX)-based B-stage, $810{\sim}1,620kJ/m^3$. Therefore, it is possible to upgrade STPs as efficient as energy neutral. However, additional novel technologies, such as, fuel cell and co-digestion, should be applied to achieve "energy positive" sewage treatment.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.55-68
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• 2020

Because of the intensified environmental problems such as climate change and resource depletion, sewage treatment technology focused on energy management has recently attracted attention. The conversion of primary sludge from the primary sedimentation tank and excessive sludge from the secondary sedimentation tank into biogas is the key to energy-positive sewage treatment. In particular, the primary sedimentation tanks recover enriched biodegradable organic matter and anaerobic digestion process produces methane from the organic wastes for energy production. Such technologies for minimizing oxygen demand are leading the innovation regarding sewage treatment plants. However, sewage treatment facilities in Korea lack core technology and operational know-how. Actually, the energy potential of sewage is higher than sewage treatment energy consumption in the sewage treatment, but current processes are not adequately efficient in energy recovery. To improve this, it is possible to apply chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT), high-rate activated sludge (HRAS), and anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) to the primary sedimentation tank. To maximize the methane production of sewage treatment plants, organic wastes such as food waste and livestock manure can be digested. Additionally, mechanical pretreatment, thermal hydrolysis, and chemical pretreatment would enhance the methane conversion of organic waste. Power generation systems based on internal combustion engines are susceptible to heat source losses, requiring breakthrough energy conversion systems such as fuel cells. To realize the energy positive sewage treatment plant, primary organic matter recovery from sewage, biogas pretreatment, and co-digestion should be optimized in the energy management system based on the knowledge-based operation.