• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.79-87
• /
• 2015

To treat leather industry wastewater (LIW) containing high nitrogen concentration, eight aerobic denitrifiers were isolated from sludge existing in an LIW-treatment aeration tank. Among them, one strain named as KH8 had showed the great ability in denitrification under an aerobic condition, and it was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa R12. The aerobic denitrification ability of the strain KH8 was almost comparable to its anaerobic denitrification ability. In lab-scale aerobic denitrifications performed in 1-L five-neck flasks for 48 hr, denitrification efficiency was found to be much improved as the strain KH8 held a great majority in the seeded cells. From the nitrogen balance at the cell-combination ratio of 10:1 (the strain KH8 to the other seven isolates) within the seeded cells, the percentage of nitrogen loss during the aerobic denitrification process was estimated to be 58.4, which was presumed to be converted to $N_2$ gas. When these seeded cells with lactose were applied to plant-scale aeration tank for 56 day to treat high-strength nitrogen in LIW, the removal efficiencies of $COD_{Cr}$ and TN were achieved to be 97.0% and 89.8%, respectively. Under this treatment, the final water quality of the effluent leaving the treatment plant was good enough to meet the water-quality standards. Consequently, the isolated aerobic denitrifiers could be suitable for the additional requirement of nitrogen removal in a limited aeration-tank capacity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of aerobic denitrifiers applied to plant-scale LIW treatment.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.73-78
• /
• 2005

This study was performed to examine the disinfection capability of a Rotating Activated Bacillus Contactor (RABC) system, in which the predominant species, Bacillus sp. was expected to have a removal or inactivation effect of total coliforms. In a settling test with mixtures of E. coli and Bacillus sp., a high removal of E. coli was observed at $20{\sim}40^{\circ}C$, while insignificant removal at $10^{\circ}C$. In a batch test, a 4.5% addition of Bacillus sp. to activated sludge considerably enhanced the removal effect of total coliforms, indicating Bacillus sp. played an important role in improving the settlability of the sludge and coliforms. In a pilot scale RABC system, the concentration of total colifroms reduced remarkably in the settling tank, suggesting that total coliforms in the RABC process were eliminated through coagulation and precipitation, probably due to extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) of Bacillus sp. The fraction of Bacillus sp. in the total cell count in the RABC process was in the range of 4.5%~6.3%. The majority (75%) of the Bacillus sp. in the RABC process was Bacillus subtilis which is known to enhance coagulation and precipitation by producing EPS. Hence, an adoption of a RABC process might be able to eliminate the disinfection unit process from a wastewater treatment system.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.81-88
• /
• 2010

This study was conducted to find the capability of comparison of overall oxygen transfer coefficient in the membrane coupled high performance reactor (MPHCR) in treating high organic loading wastewater. Effluent quality had been analyzed while the influent organic loading rate was changed from 2 to $7kg\;COD/m^3{\cdot}day$. The oxygen transfer coefficients had been investigated using two-phase nozzle for operating variables which were internal circulation flowrate (5~8 L/min), air flow rate (0.0125~0.2 L/min), liquid temperature ($10{\sim}20^{\circ}C$), and pure-oxygen flow rate (0.0125~0.2 L/min). The overall oxygen transfer coefficient was increased with flowrate of internal circulation and air and high temperature. Especially, internal circulation flow rate showed distinct effect on overall oxygen transfer coefficient due to an increase of gas holdup and air-liquid contract area by two-phase nozzle. In the high range of organic loading rate from 4 to $7kg\;COD/m^3{\cdot}day$, the removable efficiency of COD was 91%. Conventional activated sludge process usually treat organic loading from 0.32 to $0.64kg\;COD/m^3{\cdot}day$ however, the MPHCR can treat 10 to 20 times higher if it would be compared to the conventional activated sludge process. Foaming problem often happened and caused biomass wash out of the reactor, therefore, the foaming should be controlled for the enhanced operation.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.23 no.5
• /
• pp.600-606
• /
• 2007

Livestock wastewater containing concentrated organic matters and nutrients has been known as one of the major pollutants. It is difficult to apply the conventional activated sludge process to treat livestock wastewater because of high Non-biodegradable (NBD) matter and ammonia. The objectives of this study are to remove NBD matters including aromatic compounds and ammonia in livestock wastewater using Coagulation-Fenton oxidation-Zeolite (CFZ) processes and ascertain applicable feasibility in the field through pilot plant experiment. NBD matters and color remained in the treated water were removed over 92% by Fenton oxidation as the second treatment process. Ammonia was removed by over 99.5% in the zeolite ion exchange process as the last treatment method. From $UV_{254}$, $E_2/E_3$ ratio and GC/MS analyses of treated water at each process, the aromatic compound was converted to aliphatic and aromaticity was decreased. In pilot scale test, organics and ammonia removal efficiencies were not much different from the result of lab-scale test at various operation conditions. Furthermore, reaction time and dosage of Fenton reagent in pilot scale experiment reduced by 40 min and 50% rather than in lab-scale test. $BOD_5$, $COD_{Mn}$, SS, T-N and T-P of treated water in the pilot-scale experiment also met the effluent standards.

• Proceedings of the KAIS Fall Conference
• /
• 2007.05a
• /
• pp.112-115
• /
• 2007

Currently an increase in domestic sewage and industrial wastewater causes serious water pollution in Korea. To solve water pollution problems, conventional activated sludge (CAS) system is generally used in wastewater treatment plant but this process is so ineffective in nitrogen and phosphorus. Even if CAS system is the major process, it must be improved instantly so as to remove nitrogen and phosphorus. Otherwise, the serious water pollution problems can't be resolved with CAS system. Therefore this study focused on the comparison of the treatment characteristics between ASA system and CAS system. And also the mass balance of each process of ASA system. The results from operating advanced step aeration (ASA) system indicated that the removal efficiency of BOD, COD, and SS was 89.9%, 74.5%, and 89.0% respectively. In comparison, the removal efficiency of BOD, COD, and SS for CAS system was 89.5%, 71.8%, and 89.5% respectively. In addition to the results, the TN removal efficiency of ASA system was 76.5% comparing to 32.7% of CAS system. It was concluded that the TN removal efficiency of ASA system was 44% higher than CAS system. And the TP removal efficiency was 81.4% in ASA system comparing to 25.2% in CAS system. It also means that over 56% of TP was removed in ASA system comparing to CAS system.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.250-257
• /
• 2006

The objective of this study is to propose an alternative process for the small sewage treatment plants in rural communities. A biofilter has been used for biological wastewater treatment, which is becoming the alternative to the conventional activated sludge system. The proposed process used in this study, which is packed with floating media (i.e. expanded polystylene), has advantages of biofilter system and alternative flow system and they are incorporated into one process. Pilot and bench scale studies were performed using domestic wastewater. In the results of pilot plant study, it was observed that the stable effluent water quality was achieved and it met the present effluent criteria of suspended solid (SS), organic matters, T-N and T-P. In the study for determination of the cycle of backwashing, it was observed that the cycle of backwashing depended on BOD loading rates of influents. In the BOD loading rates of $0.5kg\;BOD/m^3{\cdot}day$ and $1.0kg\;BOD/m^3{\cdot}day$, the backwashing cycle of 28 hour and 16 hour were needed, respectively. The optimum backwashing time was 120~80 seconds at the media expansion rate of 50%. In the removal of SS, organic matters, T-N and T-P, SS removal was rather achieved by physical filtration than biological mechanism and the removal of organic matters except for SS, T-N and T-P were mainly rather achieved by biological mechanism than physical filtration. In bench-scale study, the effects of recirculation rate was investigated on removal of SS, TCOD, T-N and T-P. It was observed that the recirculation made removal efficiencies of SS, TCOD, T-N and T-P increased. Especially, in T-N removal, the increase of T-N removal efficiency of 40% was observed in the reicirculation rate of 1Q compared with 0Q.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
• /
• v.8 no.5
• /
• pp.395-409
• /
• 2017

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) is a compact and efficient wastewater treatment and reclamation technology; but, it is limited by membrane fouling. The control of membrane fouling significantly increases operational and maintenance costs. Bacteria and their byproducts - extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) - are major contributors to membrane fouling in MBRs. A recent attempt at fouling mitigation is the development of aerobic granular sludge membrane bioreactor (AGMBR) through the integration of a novel biotechnology - aerobic granulation - and MBR. This paper provides an overview on the development of AGMBR to mitigate membrane fouling caused by bacteria and EPS. In AGMBR, EPS are used up in granule formation; and, the rigid structure of granules provides a surface for bacteria to attach to rather than the membrane surface. Preliminary research on AGMBR using synthetic wastewater show remarkable membrane fouling reduction compared to conventional MBR, thus improved membrane filtration. Enhanced performance in AGMBR using actual municipal wastewater at pilot-scale has also been reported. Therefore, further research is needed to determine AGMBR optimal operational conditions to enhance granule stability in long-term operations and in full-scale applications.

• 수도
• /
• v.24 no.5 s.86
• /
• pp.16-28
• /
• 1997

As sewerage works has become one of the major public works in Korea, the employment of advanced and more appropriate sewerage technology has become essential to improve the efficiency of sewerage works. During last 10 years, the Korean Government has made tremendous amount of investment on sewerage works so that treatment plants in 58 cities have treatment capacity which is equivalent to 52.8% of total daily sewage generation in Korea. This remarkable development, however, has heavily depended on one technology, the conventional activated sludge process as more than 95% of the existing plants employ this process, Recently, the Korean Government and local authorities have plans to introduce more appropriate sewage treatment technologies and research and development in this area has become very active. To encourage employing new and appropriate technologies, however, the proper technology evaluation and verification program for new process is needed. The public sector should play a key role in this program since the sewerage works is one of the major public works. In this paper, the technology evaluation and verification programs related with sewerage facilities in the US and Japan are briefly reviewed. The Innovatived and Alternative Technology programs which was operated by US EPA until recently and Environmental Technology Verification(ETV) program which was commenced in 1995 are introduced. The technology verification programs operated in Japan and also in Korea are also reviewed in this paper to propose a future direction for development of the appropriate evaluation and verification system.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.55 no.3
• /
• pp.251-257
• /
• 2022

Monitoring and assessing aquatic ecosystems using the behavior of organisms is essential for sustainable ecosystem management. Oligochaetes, which inhabit various freshwater ecosystems, are frequently used to evaluate the environmental conditions of freshwater ecosystems. Tubifex tubifex (Müller, 1774) (Oligochaeta, Tubificidae) is tolerant to organic pollution and has been used to evaluate the toxicity of toxicants, including heavy metals. We studied the behavioral responses of T. tubifex to three different copper concentrations (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 mg L^-1). The specimens were exposed to copper in an observation cage containing 150 mL of dechlorinated water. Movement behavior (diameter, speed, acceleration, meander, and turning rate) was continuously observed for two hours before and after the copper treatments. After the treatments, the diameter shrank and showed rapid twisting movement under all the copper conditions. The turning rate had a positive correlation with meander and acceleration both before and after treatment at all three concentrations, whereas speed and meander had a negative correlation. Length and turning rate also showed a negative correlation. The correlation coefficient between speed and acceleration in the highest copper concentration changed from positive before treatment (r=0.64) to negative (r= -0.52) after treatment. Our results present the possibility of using behavioral parameters to detect copper contamination in freshwater ecosystems.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.31 no.6
• /
• pp.599-609
• /
• 2015

In order to investigate why OSA (oxic-settling-anaerobic) process produces less sludge than CAS (conventional activated sludge) process, sequential cultivation through 1^st aerobic-anaerobic-2^nd aerobic conditions, were carried out. Then, the intracellular concentrations of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD and NADH), and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP and NADPH) were monitored for these three stages. Results showed that the concentrations of these energy substances rapidly decreased through time in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions but the anaerobic culture contained the lower energy level than aerobic culture. The 2^nd aerobic culture that experienced anaerobic condition showed lower concentration of these energy substances than those of the 1^st aerobic culture. Meanwhile, the anaerobic culture corresponding to the sludge holding stage of OSA was subjected to different soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) levels, detention time, and temperature to evaluate the effects of these variations on the energy level difference between the 1^st and 2^nd aerobic stages. The lower the SCOD concentration, the longer detention time; and the higher temperature in the anaerobic stage tended to further reduce the intracellular level of the 2^nd aerobic culture. On the average, the intracellular energy level of the anaerobic and 2^nd aerobic stage were 57.73% and 39.12% of the 1st aerobic culture, respectively. These indicated that the insertion of an anaerobic stage between two aerobic stages could lower the intracellular energy levels, hence the lower the sludge in OSA than CAS process. Moreover, manipulation of the operating conditions of the intervening anaerobic stage can change intracellular energy levels thereby controlling sludge production.