Bioflocculation happens naturally and microorganisms aggregate into flocs during wastewater treatment. It is critical to understand the mechanisms of bioflocculation and its impact on the following solid/liquid separation process since seperation by settling is one of the key aspects that determine the efficiency and the overall economy of activated sludge systems. Bioflocculation occurs via extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and cations by creating a matrix to hold various floc components together so the cations become an important part of the floc structure. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of monovalent cations specifically potassium and sodium (K and Na) on the bioflocculation, settleability and dewaterability of activated sludge. The particular aim is to grow the mixed culture microorganisms in the presence of specific cation so that the effect of cation on the stimulation of EPS production can be seen. In order to achieve this aim, semi-continuous reactors were separately operated at concentrations of 5, 10, and 20 meq/L of each cation with mixed culture bacteria and fed with synthetic feed medium representing influent to the activated sludge systems. Also, a control reactor at low cation dose was operated for each reactor set. The effective volume of the reactors was 2 L with 8 days of sludge residence time (SRT) and pH was kept at 7.7&plusmn / 0.3. The activated sludge reactors were operated until the reactors reached steady state and then related analyses were conducted. It was found that addition of potassium and sodium ions at increasing concentrations resulted in increase in total polymer concentration. However, potassium ions promoted the synthesis of both polysaccharide and protein type polymers whereas sodium ions tended to stimulate production of protein type polymers and had an affinity to bind more protein within the floc structure. Sodium sludges had lower hydrophobicity and higher surface charges, so sodium ions led to deterioration in flocculation of sludges. Addition of both these ions decreased the dewaterability, sodium ions had more detrimental effect on dewaterability of sludges compared to potassium ions. The examination of data related to settleability showed that potassium ions led to no drastic deterioration in settling characteristics of the activated sludge but the addition of sodium ions deteriorated the settleability. In addition, it was seen that while the addition of potassium ions to the feed led to a decrease in viscosity, increase in sodium concentration correlated with an increase in viscosity. Finally, the comparison of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of these cations showed that sodium is more efficient in COD removal.

Activated sludge systems are the most widely used biological wastewater treatment processes all over the world. The main working principles of an activated sludge system are the oxidation of biologically degradable wastes by microorganisms and the subsequent separation of the newly formed biomass from the treated effluent. Separation by settling is the most troublesome stage of an activated sludge process. A decrease in the efficiency of the separation of microbial biomass from the treated effluent causes a decrease in the overall efficiency of the treatment plant. The efficiency of the separation process is related to the bioflocculation, which can be briefly defined as the aggregation of the bacteria into flocs through flocculation. Bioflocculation depends on the extracellular polymers (EPS) that are produced by microorganisms. The operating conditions of the activated sludge system is a key determinant of the synthesis of EPS and bioflocculation. The main objective of this study is to find out the effect of magnesium ions on the bioflocculation process under phosphorus deficient and sufficient conditions. In order to achieve this aim, the effects of magnesium ion in 4 different concentrations (0.9, 5, 10 and 20 meq/L) are investigated in semi continuous reactors. The reactors are operated at a mean cell residence time of 8 days and 20&ordm / C temperature. When reactors are confirmed to be at steady state, several sets of analysis are conducted. In particular, the surface chemical parameters including EPS and its components, electrical charge, and hydrophobicity as well as physical properties such as settlability, filterability, viscosity, floc strength, and turbidity are examined. It has been understood that phosphorus deficiency causes severe filamentous bulking under magnesium rich conditions. Increasing the phosphorus concentration in the influent can cure this problem. After the sludges are cured some granular structures were observed in the microscopic investigations and they are thought to be polyphosphate granules in which microorganisms tend to accumulate phosphorus when they find the adequate source after a starvation period. To consider the reactors operated at phosphate present conditions, it has been found that EPS increases with increasing influent magnesium concentration. However, protein type EPS (EPSP) exhibits a sharper increase when compared to the carbohydrate type EPS (EPSC) indicating the selective attitude of magnesium ions to protein type of polymers. It has been understood that the increase in the influent magnesium concentration results in an increase in dewaterability and zone settling velocity, and a decrease in the viscosity. Hydrophobicity was found to exhibit a maximum value at 10 meq/L magnesium fed sludge and then it dropped back. Surface charge values also made a minimum at 10 meq/L reactor and then no change occurred at the increase of the magnesium concentration to 20 meq/L. Finally, COD values were found to increase with the increasing magnesium concentration due to the increasing EPS.

Although high rate algae ponds (HRAPs) are a proven wastewater treatment technology with numerous environmental, social, and economic benefits, their widespread use has been hindered by inconsistent and unreliable settling performance. Hence, the goal of this thesis is to investigate how specific operational parameters affect the settling performance of HRAPs. Nine HRAPs (30 m2 surface area, 0.3 m depth) were operated as three triplicate sets, with each set run on either a 2, 3, or 4 day HRT continuously from January 25, 2012 through April 11, 2013. Settling performance was determined (i) by measuring the TSS of Imhoff cone supernatant after 2 and 24 hours of settling and (ii) by measuring the TSS of tube settler effluent. Ponds operating on 2 - 3 day HRTs (loading rate was 24 - 36 g/m3-day csBOD5 and food to microorganism (F/M) ratio was 0.13 - 0.21 day-1) were able to settle consistently with residual TSS averaging less than 40 mg/L after 2 hours of settling time. Tube settlers showed potential as effective harvesting devices; ponds operating on a 2-day HRT averaged 27.9 ± 9.2 mg/L TSS in tube settler effluent at an overflow rate (OFR) of 9.4 L/min-m2. Microscopy analysis was performed and relationships were made between settling performance and algae dominance and floc structure.

[pt] Um dos maiores problemas encontrados na indústria mineral é a perda de material ultrafino em processos convencionais de separação. A operação de floculação seletiva vem sendo estudada para a recuperação destes materiais. Por outro lado, o uso de biossurfactantes no processamento mineral, extraídos de microrganismos, vem apresentando bons resultados para a recuperação deste tipo de material, além de serem biodegradáveis e possuírem baixa toxicidade. Nesta pesquisa, tem-se como objetivo o estudo da floculação seletiva de partículas ultrafinas de hematita contidas em rejeito de minério de ferro usando o biossurfactante extraído da levedura Cândida stellata. Foi realizado um estudo de caracterização envolvendo análise granulométrica, análise química e difração raio-X (DRX). Para avaliar a interação do biossurfactante na superfície dos minerais de hematita e quartzo, foram desenvolvidos estudos de espectroscopia de infravermelho com transformada de Fourier (FTIR), potencial Zeta, microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV) e tensão superficial. Para os testes de floculação, realizados por jar test – teste de proveta, avaliou-se a influência do pH, concentração de sólidos e concentração de biossurfactante. A energia de interação foi avaliada através das teorias DLVO e DLVO Estendida (X-DLVO). As análises de espectroscopia no infravermelho (FTIR) e potencial zeta indicaram uma forte adsorção do biossurfactante na superfície da hematita, sendo que o ponto isoelétrico da hematita foi alterado de 5,35 para 3,25. No estudo de tensão superficial do biossurfactante indicou uma concentração micelar crítica (CMC) de 150 mg/L em pH 3, alcançando um valor próximo de 30 mN/m. Durante os ensaios de floculação foi alcançada uma recuperação de 99 por cento de hematita em pH 3, usando 75 mg/L de biossurfactante e uma concentração de sólidos de 0,50 por cento (1,25 g/500 mL). Pelo estudo da energia de interação entre as partículas, devido ao sinal negativo das interações de ácido-base de Lewis, as partículas de hematita flocularam após o contato com o biossurfactante, indicando que houve uma forte interação hidrofóbica entre elas. Os resultados obtidos neste trabalho indicam que o biossurfactante extraído da levedura Cândida stellata possui uma boa seletividade para a aglomeração das partículas ultrafinas de hematita. / [en] One of the biggest problems encountered in the mineral industry is the loss of ultrafine material in conventional separation processes. The selective flocculation operation has been studied to recover these materials. On the other hand, the use of biosurfactants in mineral processing, extracted from microorganisms, has been showing good results for the recovery of this type of material, in addition to being biodegradable and having low toxicity. In this research, the objective is to study the selective flocculation of ultrafine hematite particles contained in iron ore tailings using the biosurfactant extracted from the yeast Candida stellata. A characterization study was carried out involving particle size analysis, chemical analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD). In order to evaluate the interaction of the biosurfactant on the surface of hematite and quartz minerals, studies of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Zeta potential, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and surface tension were developed. For the flocculation tests, performed by jar test, the influence of pH, solids concentration and biosurfactant concentration was evaluated. The interaction energy was evaluated using the DLVO and DLVO Extended (X-DLVO) theories. The infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and zeta potential analyzes indicated a strong adsorption of the biosurfactant on the hematite surface, with the hematite isoelectric point being changed from 5,35 to 3,25. In the surface tension study of the biosurfactant, it indicated a critical micellar concentration (CMC) of 150 mg/L at pH 3, reaching a value close to 30 mN/m. During the flocculation tests, a recovery of 99 percent of hematite at pH 3 was achieved, using 75 mg/L of biosurfactant and a solids concentration of 0,50 percent (1,25 g). By studying the interaction energy between the particles, due to the negative sign of the Lewis acid-base interactions, the hematite particles flocculated after contact with the biosurfactant, indicating that there was a strong hydrophobic interaction between them. The results obtained in this work indicate that the biosurfactant extracted from the yeast Candida stellata has a good selectivity for the agglomeration of ultrafine hematite particles.