Innovative technology of municipal wastewater treatment for rapid sludge sedimentation and enhancing pollutants removal with nano-material

This study aims to develop a novel technology for actual municipal wastewater treatment to achieve rapid sludge sedimentation and high pollutants removal efficiency. The SBRs were modified and operated with periodic addition of 20 mu L.L-1 nanofloc (R). Results revealed that NH4+-N and chemical oxygen demand (COD) was efficiently removed in both laboratoryand pilot-scale SBRs, and the average removal efficiency of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) was as high as 72.43 +/- 2.66% and 98.63 +/- 0.74%, respectively, with hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 8 h. Besides, the sludge volume index at 30 min (SVI30) was only 40.06 +/- 1.99 mL.g(-1), comparable with aerobic granular sludge (AGS). This novel technology could be proposed as a competitive method to upgrade, reconstruct and delay the expansion of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) due to its rapid sludge sedimentation and efficient pollutants removal with low HRT.

Automated summary

This study developed a novel technology for municipal wastewater treatment, achieving rapid sludge sedimentation and efficient pollutants removal. By adding nanofloc periodically to SBRs, results showed high removal efficiency of NH4+-N and COD, with low sludge volume index, making it a competitive method for wastewater treatment plants' upgrade and expansion delay.