Research Output
1 - 10 of 11
Publication
From "fills" to filter : insights into the reuse of dewatered alum sludge as a filter media in a constructed wetland
2007-07, Babatunde, A.O., Zhao, Y.Q., Yang, Y., Kearney, P.
Dewatered alum sludge, a by-product of drinking water treatment plants, hitherto consigned to landfills was used to develop a novel bio-filter in form of a constructed wetland. Performance results have demonstrated the benefits of the alum sludge cakes in a lab-scale system in enhancing phosphorus (P) removal from an animal farm wastewater. Although P and organic matter were concurrently removed in the system, there was a probable “one off” release of organics from the system, and this coincided with an increase in inlet P concentration from 39.2 mg-P/l to 163.0 mg-P/l. A conceptual model was then proposed to explain and discuss this.
Publication
Re-use of dewatered aluminium-coagulated water treatment residual to immobilize phosphorus : batch and column trials using a condensed phosphate
2008-03-01, Babatunde, A.O., Zhao, Y.Q., Yang, Y., Kearney, P.
The aluminium content in dewatered aluminium-coagulated water treatment residual (DAC-WTR) can lead to a high phosphorus (P) removal capacity. Therefore, DAC-WTR has been used as adsorbent/soil amendment to remove P in several studies, focusing mostly on orthophosphates (ortho-P). This study is concerned with extending such reuse of DAC-WTR to remove P using a condensed phosphate as the model P source. Using a 48-hr equilibration time and a 1.18mm (mean particle size); (1) P removal was found to increase with increasing DAC-WTR dosage, but specific uptake of P per mass of DAC-WTR was decreased (2) A maximum adsorption capacity of 4.52mg-P/g of DAC-WTR was obtained at a pH of 4.0.
In the continuous flow test, P removal efficiency decreased from 90 to 30% when loading was increased from 3.9 to 16.5g-P/m2.d. An average 45% removal efficiency was obtained after an intentional P loading surge. At the end of the continuous flow test, an operating removal capacity of 2.66 mg-P/g of DAC-WTR was determined which was 83.3% of the adsorption maxima obtained in the batch tests. There was no excessive loss of solids during the continuous flow test and aluminium content in the effluent remained below 0.1mg-Al3+/l. These results have demonstrated that dewatered DAC-WTR can further be used as a low-cost adsorbent media for condensed phosphate removal.
Publication
Reuse of aluminium-based water treatment sludge to immobilize a wide range of phosphorus contamination : equilibrium study with different isotherm models
2007-10, Zhao, Y.Q., Razali, Melanie, Babatunde, A.O., Yang, Y., Bruen, Michael
The adsorption equilibrium of a wide range of phosphorus species by an aluminium-based water treatment sludge (Al-WTS) was examined in this study. Four kinds of adsorption-isotherm models, namely Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich, were used to fit the adsorption equilibrium data. In order to optimise the adsorption-isotherm model, correlation coefficient (R2) and four error functions were employed to facilitate the evaluation of fitting accuracy. Experiments have demonstrated that the Al-WTS may be an excellent raw material to adsorb P in polluted aqueous environment with adsorption ability in the order of KH2PO4 (ortho-P) > Na(PO3)6 (poly-P) > C10H14N5O7P·H2O (organic-P). More importantly, this study provides an entire comparison of the four isotherms in describing the P adsorption behaviour. By considering both the standard least-square based R2 and the results of four error functions analysis, this study reveals that the Freundlich isotherm appears to be the best model to fit the experimental equilibrium data. Langmuir and Temkin isotherms are also good models in current experimental conditions while Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm poorly described the adsorption behaviour. The error analysis in this study provides vital evidence to reflect its role in facilitating the optimisation in adsorption isotherm study. Obviously, R2 seems inadequate in optimising multi-isotherm models due to its inherent bias resulting from the least-squares linearisation.
Publication
A promising approach of reject water treatment using a tidal flow constructed wetland system employing alum sludge as main substrate
2011-06, Yang, Y., Zhao, Y.Q., Wang, S.P., Guo, X.C., Ren, Y.X., Wang, L., Wang, X.C.
This study examined a novel reuse of the alum sludge, an inescapable by-product of the production of drinking water when aluminium salt is added as a coagulant, as the main medium in a laboratory-scale multi-stage constructed wetland (CW) system for reject water treatment. Such reject water is a main concern in municipal wastewater treatment plant (MWWTP) for increasing the organic and nutrient loading. A “tidal flow” strategy was employed to enhance the wetland aeration to stimulate organic pollutants and N oxidation while the “step feed” operation was adopted to supply the necessary amount of carbon source for denitrification. The results reveal that alum sludge acted as P adsorbent can secure the P removal. Meanwhile, high removals of ammoniacal-nitrogen and organic matters can also be obtained due to the active bacteria attached growth on the alum sludge surface. The results show that average removal efficiencies of 65.4 ± 12.3% for COD, 67.8 ± 9.2% for BOD5, 33.6 ± 17.0% for N and 99.5 ± 0.49% for P can be achieved over a period of 190 days. This indicates that novel reuse of alum sludge as medium in CW system can provide a promising approach for reject water treatment. Therefore, it will significantly reduce the amount of pollutants feedback through reject water recycling in a MWWTP.
Publication
Characteristics and mechanisms of phosphate adsorption on dewatered alum sludge
2006-09, Yang, Y., Zhao, Y.Q., Babatunde, A.O., Wang, L., Ren, Y.X., Han, Y.
The adsorption characteristics of phosphate adsorption on the dewatered alum sludge were identified as a function of pH and ion strengths in solution. In addition, adsorption mechanisms were investigated by conducting batch tests on both the hydrolysis and P-adsorption process of the alum sludge, and making a comparative analysis to gain newer insights into understanding the adsorption process. Results show that the adsorption capacity decreased from 3.5 to 0.7 mg-P/g-sludge when the solution pH was increased from 4.3 to 9.0, indicating that adsorption capacity is largely dependent upon the pH of the system. The results of the competitive adsorption between phosphate and typical anions found in wastewater, such as SO42- and Cl-, onto alum sludge reveal that alum sludge can selectively adsorb phosphate ions. The insignificant effect of SO42- and Cl- on P-adsorption capacity indicates that phosphate adsorption is through a kind of inner-sphere complex reaction. During the adsorption process, the decrease of phosphate concentration in solution accompanied with an increase in pH values and concentrations of SO42-, Cl- and TOC (total organic carbon) suggests that phosphate replaced the functional groups from the surface of alum sludge which infers that ligand exchange is the dominating mechanism for phosphate removal. At the same time, the simultaneous decreases in PO43- and total aluminium concentration in solution indicate that chemical reaction and precipitation are other mechanisms of phosphate removal.
Publication
Two strategies for phosphorus removal from reject water of municipal wastewater treatment plant using alum sludge
2009-12, Yang, Y., Zhao, Y.Q., Babatunde, A.O., Kearney, P.
In view of the well recognized need of reject water treatment in MWWTP (municipal wastewater treatment plant), this paper outlines two strategies for P removal from reject water using alum sludge, which is produced as by-product in drinking water treatment plant when aluminium sulphate is used for flocculating raw waters. One strategy is the use of the alum sludge in liquid form for co-conditioning and dewatering with the anaerobically digested activated sludge in MWWTP. The other strategy involves the use of the dewatered alum sludge cakes in a fixed bed for P immobilization from the reject water that refers to the mixture of the supernatant of the sludge thickening process and the supernatant of the anaerobically digested sludge. Experimental trials have demonstrated that the alum sludge can efficiently reduce P level in reject water. The co-conditioning strategy could reduce P from 597-675 mg P/L to 0.14-3.20 mg P/L in the supernatant of the sewage sludge while the organic polymer dosage for the conditioning of the mixed sludges would also be significantly reduced. The second strategy of reject water filtration with alum sludge bed has shown a good performance of P reduction. The alum sludge has P-adsorption capacity of 31 mg-P/g-sludge, which was tested under filtration velocity of 1.0 m/h. The two strategies highlight the beneficial utilization of alum sludge in wastewater treatment process in MWWTP, thus converting the alum sludge as a useful material, rather than a waste for landfill.
Publication
Co-conditioning of the anaerobic digested sludge of a municipal wastewater treatment plant with alum sludge : benefit of phosphorus reduction in reject water
2007-12, Yang, Y., Zhao, Y.Q., Babatunde, A.O., Kearney, P.
In this study, alum sludge was introduced into co-conditioning and dewatering with an anaerobic digested activated sludge to examine the role of the alum sludge in improving the dewaterbility of the mixed sludge and also in immobilizing phosphorus in the reject water. Experiments have demonstrated that the optimal mix ratio for the two sludges is 2:1 (anaerobic digested sludge: alum sludge; volume basis), and this can bring about 99% phosphorus reduction in the reject water through the adsorption of phosphorus by Al in the sludge. The phosphorus loading in wastewater treatment plants is itself derived from the recycling of reject water during the wastewater treatment process. Consequently, this co-conditioning and dewatering strategy can achieve a significant reduction in phosphorus loading in wastewater treatment plants. In addition, the use of the alum sludge can beneficially enhance the dewaterbility of the resultant mixed sludge by decreasing both the SRF and the CST, due to the alum sludge acting as a skeleton builder. Experiments have also demonstrated that the optimal polymer (Superfloc C2260) dose for the anaerobic digested sludge was 120 mg/l while the optimal dose for the mixed sludge (mix ratio 2:1) was 15 mg/l, highlighting a huge saving in polymer addition. Therefore, from the technical perspective, the co-conditioning and dewatering strategy can be viewed as a “win-win” situation. However, for its full-scale application, integrated cost-effective analysis of process capabilities, sludge transport, increased cake disposal, additional administration, polymer saving etc. should be factored in.
Publication
Influence of ageing on the structure and phosphate adsorption capacity of dewatered alum sludge
2008-12-15, Yang, Y., Zhao, Y.Q., Kearney, P.
In line with the increasing studies on the beneficial reuse of alum sludge from a “waste” into useful raw material, this paper reports an in-depth investigation of the effects of ageing time on the structure and the phosphate adsorption capacity of a dewatered alum sludge obtained from a local drinking water treatment plant in Ireland. During the ageing period from 0 day to up to 18 months, the adsorption capacity of the sludge varied from 21.4 to 23.9 mg-P g-1-sludge at pH 4.3, 14.3 to 14.9 mg-P g-1-sludge at pH 7.0 and 0.9 to 1.1 mg-P g-1-sludge at pH 9.0, respectively, indicating marginal effect of ageing time on such sludge's ability to adsorb phosphate. This result seems conflict with other studies reported in the literature. To reveal such, series of investigations including physicochemical characterization, morphological structure, BET surface area and porous structure of the aged sludge were carried out. All the results conclusively show that ageing time has insignificant effect on the structure and properties of the dewatered alum sludge and thus the phosphate adsorption capacity of the alum sludge remains insignificant change during the ageing.
Publication
Towards the development of a novel construction solid waste (CSW) based constructed wetland system for tertiary treatment of secondary sewage effluents
2011-06, Yang, Y., Zhang, Leifu, Zhao, Y.Q., Wang, S.P., Guo, X.C., Guo, Y., Wang, L., Ren, Y.X., Wang, X.C.
This study was conducted to examine the possibility of using construction solid waste (CSW), an inevitable by-product of the construction and demolition process, as the main substrate in a laboratory scale multi-stage constructed wetland system (CWs) to improve phosphorus (P) removal from secondary sewage effluent. A tidal-flow operation strategy was employed to enhance the wetland aeration. This will stimulate aerobic biological processes and benefit the organic pollutants decomposition and nitrification process for ammoniacal-nitrogen (NH4+-N) removal. The results showed that the average P concentration in the secondary sewage effluent was reduced from 1.90 mg-P/L to 0.04 mg-P/L. CSW presents excellent P removal performance. The average NH4+-N concentration was reduced from 9.94 mg-N/L to 1.0 mg-N/L through nitrification in the system. The concentration of resultant nitrite and nitrate in the effluent of the CSW based CWs ranged from 0.1 to 2.4 mg-N/L and 0.01 to 0.8 mg-N/L, respectively. The outcome of this study has shown that CSW can be successfully used to act as main substrate in CWs. The application of CSW based CWs on improving N and P removals from secondary sewage effluent presents a win-win scenario. Such the reuse of CSW will benefit both the CSW disposal and nutrient control from wastewater. More significantly, such the application can transfer the CSW from a ‘waste’ to ‘useful’ material and can ease the pressure of construction waste solid management. Meanwhile, the final effluent from the CSW-based CWs can be used as non-potable water source in landscape irrigation, agriculture and industrial process.
Publication
Dewatered alum sludge : a potential adsorbent for phosphorus removal
2006-06, Yang, Y., Tomlinson, D., Kennedy, S., Zhao, Y.Q.
Alum sludge refers to the by-product from the processing of drinking water in Water Treatment Works. In this study, groups of batch experiments were designed to identify the characteristics of dewatered alum sludge for phosphorus adsorption. Air-dried alum sludge (moisture content 10.2%), which was collected from a Water Treatment Works in Dublin, was subjected for artificial P-rich wastewater adsorption tests using KH2PO4 as a model P source. Adsorption behaviours were investigated as a function of amount and particle size of alum sludge; pH of solution; and adsorption time. The results have shown that pH plays a major role not only in the adsorption process but also in the adsorption capacity. With regard to adsorption capacity, this study reveals the Langmuir adsorption isotherm being the best fit with experimental data (R2=0.98-0.99). The maximum adsorption capacities range from 0.7 to 3.5mg-P/g when the pH of the synthetic P solution was varied from 9.0 to 4.3, accordingly. The outcome of this study indicated that alum sludge is suitable for use as an adsorbent for removal of phosphate from wastewater.