Process Adaption and Modifications of a Nutrient Removing Wastewater Treatment Plant in Sri Lanka Operated at Low Loading Conditions

Abstract

The Sri Lankan national water authority, that is The National Water Supply and Drainage Board ( NWS&DB ) has taken a new wastewater treatment plant into operation at Ja Ela, North of Colombo. The plant has been in operation since September 2011. In April 2012 , it was concluded how a test of the aeration efficiency and a performance test should be carried out. The tests have been based on the actual loading of the plant and the analysis results from the daily process control. The evaluation of the aeration efficiency is not reported in this paper. The paper presents the overall perform ance of the water treatment part of the plant during start-up conditions, from fall 2011 through the first five months of 2012. The results from the operation are found in Table 1 . An important circumstance at the plant is the current very low loading in comparison with the design load. This fact has resulted in an introduction of an intermittent mode of the aeration (nitrification) reactor. Based on operation figures , during more than a month (May 2012) , it has been possible to give a realistic assessment of the overall performance. The most striking results are summarized as follows: 1) The intermittent operation has enabled an energy efficient operation of the plant. By the introduction of the intermittent aeration , the energy consumption has been reduced by around 75%, compared with the continuous operation mode; 2) The plant performance during the intermittent operation has been improved with respect to virtually all important pollu tion variables. The most striking improvement is the discharge total P level, reflecting that a substantial enhanced bio logical phosphorus removal takes . The typical discharge levels found during May 2012 , were compared with the earlier obtained values. It is important to underline that the loading on the plant has slightly increased during May as compared with the previous operation period.