In activated sludge (AS) process, the impact of the operational parameters on process efficiency is assumed to be correlated with the sludge properties. This study provides a better insight into these interactions by subjecting a laboratory-scale AS system to a sequence of operating condition modifications enabling typical situations of a wastewater treatment plant to be represented. Process performance was assessed and AS floc morphology (size, circularity, convexity, solidity and aspect ratio) was quantified by measuring 100,000 flocs per sample with an automated image analysis technique. Introducing 3D distributions, which combine morphological properties, allowed the identification of a filamentous bulking characterized by a floc population shift towards larger sizes and lower solidity and circularity values. Moreover, a washout phenomenon was characterized by smaller AS flocs and an increase in their solidity. Recycle ratio increase and COD:N ratio decrease both promoted a slight reduction of floc sizes and a constant evolution of circularity and convexity values. The analysis of the volume-based 3D distributions turned out to be a smart tool to combine size and shape data, allowing a deeper understanding of the dynamics of floc structure under process disturbances.
L’objectif de ce travail était d’étudier les liens entre les propriétés morphologiques des flocs biologiques et les performances d’un procédé à boues activées en fonction de l’âge de boue. Un protocole d’analyse d’images a tout d’abord été développé afin de mesurer de façon répétable les propriétés morphologiques de flocs biologiques. Une installation pilote d’un procédé à boues activées a ensuite été mise en oeuvre dans des conditions d’alimentation contrôlées pour trois valeurs différentes de l’âge de boue. Un suivi des caractéristiques du pilote a été effectué en termes de propriétés physicochimiques (la demande chimique en oxygène [DCO] en sortie, matières en suspension, indice de boue, taux d’épuration) et de propriétés morphologiques des flocs biologiques (distributions en taille et circularité). Si l’augmentation de l’âge de boue ne semble pas avoir un impact sur la concentration en matières en suspension et le taux d’épuration, l’indice de boue en revanche augmente, induisant ainsi une diminution de la décantabilité de la boue. Concernant les paramètres morphologiques, lors d’un changement d’âge de boue, la taille et la circularité des flocs biologiques augmentent temporairement avant de se restabiliser à leurs valeurs initiales. En régime permanent, les distributions en taille et en circularité semblent indépendantes de l’âge de boue.The objective of this work was to study the associations between the morphological properties of the biological flocs and the performance of an activated sludge system, as a function of the solids retention time. An image analysis protocol was developed to measure in a repeatable way the morphological properties of biological flocs. A pilot-scale activated sludge system fed with a synthetic wastewater was then implemented. Three values of solids retention time were tested and the following characteristics of the sludge were measured: effluent COD (chemical oxygen demand), suspended solids, sludge volume index, COD removal efficiency, and volume distributions of size and circularity of the flocs. Although the concentration of suspended solids and the removal efficiency were not sensitive to an increase in the solids retention time, the sludge volume index did seem to be sensitive to this variable, leading to a decrease of the sludge settleability. Moreover, when the solids retention time was increased, the size and the circularity of the biological flocs increased temporarily before recovering their initial values. Under steady-state conditions, the size and circularity distributions seem to be independent of the retention time of solids
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