Wastewater Treatment and Archaea
Archaea provides a new dimension in wastewater treatment.
1. Sludge reduction
All biological waste treatment processes produce sludge which has to be removed and disposed of. The costs of sludge removal and disposal are one of the highest components in waste treatment. Reducing the amount of sludge that is formed during the purification process produces significant savings for the operator.We have achieved sludge reduction in activated sludge, trickling filters, pond systems, sludge lagoons.
2. Reduction of aeration
The addition of Archaea to aerobic treatment processes results in an increased oxygen uptake rate (as measured for example by an MSL respirometer) but paradoxically a reduced oxygen demand per unit of COD removed.A conventional activated sludge or sequencing batch reactor which is constrained by aeration capacity can be de bottlenecked instantaneously by the use of our Archaea.The reduction of aeration requirement also increases the effectiveness of trickling filter technology such that the advantages of process simplicity can be realized cost effectively.
3. Plant Capacity
Addition of Archaea to an existing process increases the capacity to breakdown load. As long as the plant has sufficient hydraulic capacity marked increases in capacity are achievable due to the combination of increased OUR and decreased specific oxygen requirement on aerobic processes. On trickling filters we use a design loading up to 3000 g/m3 per day.On anaerobic processes capacity increases of 120% have been demonstrated
4. Xenobiotics
Archaea have different metabolic processes to bacteria in that they do not rely on the development of an enzyme pathway to breakdown new chemicals. The rate at which the human race is developing new chemicals is massively greater than the rate of evolution of bacteria capable of breaking them down. We have seen Archaea attack and breakdown man made wastes which have resisted biological degradation for over a decade.
In wastewater treatment processes Archaea can assist in the breakdown of residual drugs and metabolites discharged by the human body.
5. Extreme conditions
Industrial treatment plants in particular are subject to shock loadings of concentrated chemicals which often upset the treatment process, sometimes for extended periods. The use of Archaea in such processes enables the process to adjust to the shock load more quickly and to minimize the disruption.
Archaea have assisted clients with high pH, low pH, high salinities, temperature shocks, high organic loadings, normally toxic chemical discharges eg phenols etc. |
