Water Research PergamonPress 1969. Vol. 3, pp. 39--46. Primed in Great Britain.

KINETICS AND EFFLUENT QUALITY

IN EXTENDED AERATION
E. J. MIDDLEBROOKSand D. JENKINS
Sanitary EngineeringResearch Laboratory, Universityof California, Berkely,U.S.A.
R. C. NEALand J. L. PHILLIPS
Mississippi State University,State College,Mississippi,U.S.A.

(Received 7 October 1968)

INTRODUCTION
BASICALLY,an extended-aeration sewage treatment plant consists of an aeration tank,
designed to provide 18-24 hr sewage flow detention time, followed by a final settling
tank, designed to provide a 3--6 hr settling period and 100 per cent return of the settle-
able solids to the aeration tank. Some modifications of this basic design provide sludge
holding tanks to allow removal of excess sludge instead of permitting it to discharge
in the plant effluent. Most plants are equipped with a screen or comminutor or both
prior to the aeration tank and secondary units such as sand filters or oxidation ponds
are occasionally used to further improve the final effluent.

Sludge accumulation
In the extended aeration process, as in all aerobic biological treatment processes,
there is a net production of biological cell material. This excess material eventually
leaves the system, either intentionally as excess sludge or unintentionally as "sus-
pended solids" in the process effluent. On the North American continent, extended-
aeration systems are usually allowed to waste the net growth in the process effluent
and consequently COD removals from normal domestic sanitary flows are typically
only in the range 75-85 per cent.
Studies by SYMONSand MCKINNEY (1958) and WASHINGTONand SYMONS(1962)
revealed that the excess volatile material which accumulated in extended-aeration
systems was an inactive, biologically inert extracellular mass composed primarily
of polysaccharides.
Since the volatile suspended solids (VSS) content of biological sludge is commonly
used as a measure of the active cell concentration present in an activated sludge, the
accumulation of large amounts of biologically inert volatile material may lead to
incorrect estimates of the amount of active cells present. To avoid such inaccuracies,
MCKINNEY (1960) has employed the organic nitrogen content of biological solids as
an indication of the active cell content of biological sludge. However, recent data
by WEDDLE and JENKINS (1968) have shown that little relationship exists between
viable cells and the nitrogen content of biological sludge.

Denitrification
The loss of nitrogen from wastewater during treatment by the extended aeration
activated sludge process may be possibly regarded as both a blessing and a curse.
Denitrification in final clarifiers, with its accompanying loss of nitrogen gas, may buoy
up activated sludge particles and allow them to escape into the secondary effluent.
39
40 E.J. MIDDLEBROOI~,D. JENKINS,R. C. NEAt.and J. L. Pmu.n,s
Denitrification, however, may significantly reduce the ettiuent nitrogen content and
thereby reduce its potential to fertilize receiving waters.
The rising or floating of sludge floes in secondary sedimentation basins is a rather
common problem in activated sludge plants. Early investigations by O'SHAUGm,mSSY
and HEWIrr (1935) reached the conclusion that nitrogen gas was released in the sludge
by the reduction of nitrates and thus resulted in buoying the sludge so that it eventu-
ally floated. Based on experiences at the Bruma Works, Johannesburg, South Africa,
McLACHLAN (1936) verified these findings and showed that poorly stabilized mix-
tures of activated sludge and sewage were the most prone to rise. BRAGSTAOand
BRAOr,mY (1937) concluded that rising sludge at the Sioux Falls, South Dakota,
treatment plant was due to gaseous nitrogen released from nitrates.
Recent studies on nitrate utilization and the consequent release of gaseous nitrogen
in waste stabilization (McKar~Y, 1956; McIOi,~t,~Yand CoNwAY, 1957; and SYMONS
and MclrdNr,my, 1958) together with the general inability to account for all the nitro-
gen losses in activated sludge plants, appear to confirm Wuhrmann's idea (1954)
that nitrogen loss in activated sludge processes occurs as nitrogen gas.
Purposeof study
The purpose of this study was (i) to determine the significance of polysaecharide
material as a component of activated sludge solids and the effluent from a field-scale
extended aeration plant and (ii) to perform a nitrogen balance on a field-scale ex-
tended aeration plant to determine the significance of nitrogen loss by denitrification
EXPERIMENTAL
Design details for the extended aeration plant, which served an Air National Guard
installation with a personnel complement of approximately 200, are given in TABLE1.
The plant received daily operational maintenance during the four-month sampling
program. Hourly samples of irtfluent and effluent were composited in proportion to
plant flow. Equal volumes of hourly mixed liquor samples were eomposited. Samples
for nitrogen analysis were preserved by the addition of approximately 2 ml concen-
trated H 2SO,/1.
TABLE I. DESIGN PARAMETERSOF TIIE EXTENDED AERATION
PLANT

Design details
Type o f plant Oxigest
Material of construction Steel
Approximate population served 200
Aeration tank capacity(gad 15,000
Settling tank capacity(gad 3368
Preliminarytreatment Comminutor
Sludge return method Air lift
Sludge wastingfacilities None
Aeration method Diffused
Compressors/blowers 2x2.5 hp
Settling tank retention (hr) 3.85
MaximumBOD (lb/day) 6O
Maximumair flow (CFM) 144
Chlorination Hypochlorinator
and Contact tank
 Kinetics and Effluent Quality in Extended Aeration 41
Polysaccharide was determined by the anthrone method (Tm~wLYAN and HARRISON
1952). Suspended and volatile suspended solids (VSS) were determined by filtration
through Whatman GF/C glass fiber filters (JENKINS, 1962). All other analyses were
by Standard Method (1965) techniques

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Plant performance. During the four-month period the substrate removal rate
averaged 0.09 lb COD removed/lb VSS/day. (Median 0.06 lb COD removed/lb
VSS/day.) Fluctuations in substrate removal rate were wide, ranging from 0.02 to 0.33
lb COD removed/lb VSS/day (FIG. 1) and were caused largely by fluctuations in

0.40
1 i I I I I 1 1 I I
0.50 - -

0.20 - 2.0
I

•0
oD
0
0 O. tO - - LO .D
009C -- .9 .~.
I
0 O. 08C
0.070 000
0 060-- O0 o .6 "5
0.050 -- D

0 040 --
[] • 0 0
.4
8
¢.J
0o °
]34
Jm
w
0030

' {IC
._1 0 0
g 0.020 i~
[] Ib COD REMOVED/Ib Org. N - d o y
..J
o
0
0 Ib C O D R E M O V E D / I b VSS-d0y

0.010 I T T I ~ I I I ] ! ,IO
2 tO 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 95 98 99

PERCENTAGE

FIG. 1. Log-normal probability plot of removal rate, lb COD removed/lbVSS/day and lb COD
removed/lb organic nitrogen/day.

influent COD (160-2300 mg/1) and by a steady decline in MLVSS throughout the
study (5110 to 1810 mg/1). Notwithstanding this extremely wide variation in organic
loading, effluent quality measured as soluble COD remained at the low and relatively
constant level of 16+8 mg/1. Effluent quality was, in fact, determined to a far more
significant degree by its suspended matter content which had a median value of
25 mg/l and varied from 8 to 216 mg/1 (FIG. 2). Effluent suspended solids accounted
for 26 mg/1 of the median total effluent COD value of 42 mg/l (FIG. 3).
42 E.J. MIDDLEBROOKS,D. JENIaNS, R. C. NEAL and J. L. PmLL~S

PERCENTAGE
2% 5 I0 15 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 85 90 95 98
6
5--
L L L I J l I l J I ~ L
4--

"3-

2--

I0~ --
8--

0 0 0
0
> 3--
F-
z
w 2-- 000
J
u. 0
0
O0

~a O0
6-- 0 0 0
5 --
4

3--

2 0

llrrr]irr I+ IT t l , r r t [trP tltpl ~ll,~,Ip Is rl

3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 70
PROBITS

FIG. 2. Log-normal probability plot of the emuent VSS, mg/l.

 Kinetics and EffluentQuality in Extended Aeration 43
90 40
I I J 1 1 I I I I I I I I

80

70 - - 0~l 30

d
6o
oOfi/" d
o

o 5o -~
/4 Yo/ z0 m

40 / r~ //0
/ [] /ooO
30 / ,g'o°-- IO u.
w
[3 /
I0
20 o/c~o 0 MEAN Eft. TOTAL C 0 D - 4 2 4- 18
0 / I-IMEAN Eft, SOLUBLE C00=16"1"8

I I I I I I I I I 1 i I I
2 5 iO 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 SO 95 98 99
PERCENTAGE

FIo. 3. Normal probability plot of the effluent COD and the effluent soluble COD, mg/l.

Kinetic parameter. Even though there was a wide variation in the daily substrate
removal rate during the sampling period, the average operating data derived from
this plant are consistent with other field-scale activated sludge plant data when plotted
according to the kinetic model proposed by PEARSO~q(1966). FIGURE4 shows that data

T~ ~= Yq--kd ,~ /
-- Y : 0.336 ~ --
. 0.3
kd = 0 . 0 i 6 /rl .
CORRELATION j-
d COEFFICIENT = 0.98B / Z ~ ,

~g 0.2 O~ V i

/~O
NATIONAL "SANITATION FOUNDATION;
/ I
- GOODMAN 1966
/ IO SERL PILOT PLANT; JENKINS & MENAR 1967[
(:3 [ ] / = = I1 EXTENDED/UERATION;JACKSON, MISS. [
0.1 - - ~ ---- ] A 5AN RAMON, CALIF.; JENKINS 1967 ] --
~ 1 0 W H I T T I E R NARROWS, LOS ANGELES CALIE
uJ
u
~ 1 - ~ , O'N'~Y............ I
/ /A I A PON~NA, LOS ANGELES, CALIF., JENKINS &]
~/,.~ I - _ _ _ _ J
I i I i i I i I I I I [ I
-'OJ 02 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 I.I 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5
'SUBSTRATE REMOVAL R A T E , q, Ib COD REMOVED /tb V S S - d o y

1=Io. 4. Linear plot of the materials balance equation for cell material.

collected from this study and from other field-scale activated sludge plants through-
out the United States (GOODMAN, 1966; JEtqKrss and M~NAg, 1967; JEsICrSs, 1967;
44 E.J. MIDDLEBROOKS,D. JENKINS,R. C. NEALand I. L. PI-ImLiPS
GARRISON, 1967; JENKINSand GARRISON, 1967), fit the materials balance equation for
cell material:
1
--= Yq-ka
Oc
where
0c = mean cell residence time, days
lb VSS in system
lb VSS lost from system per day
Y = cell yield
lb VSS formed
lb COD removed
q = substrate removal rate
lb COD removed per day
lb VSS
ka = solids decay coefficient
lb solids lost per day
lb solids in system
Values of the yield and decay coefficient obtained from the combined data in FIo. 4
are Y = 0.34 Ib VSS/lb COD and ka = 0.016 day -1.

Polysaccharides. Anthrone reactive polysaccharide material accounted for between

7 and 9 per cent of the effluent soluble COD--a constant and significant fraction of
the soluble organic matter leaving the treatment plant. Based upon mean concentra-
tions and a mean cell residence time of 91 days, 0-026 mg soluble polysaccharide was
released into the effluent per mg of MLVSS. For each mg of VSS produced in the
system, 0-12 mg of polysaccharide was present. These figures show that approxi-
mately 12 per cent of the mass of VSS produced in the extended aeration system were
polysaccharide-like materials. These quantities of anthrone-reactive material are
more than adequate to aid in the flocculation of activated sludge.
By analysis of the mixed liquor VSS it was shown that an almost constant 10 per
cent could be attributed to anthrone reactive polysaccharide material.
Fall o f nitrogen in the system. As may be predicted from the work of DOWNINGet al.
(I 964), the only significant form of nitrogen in the effluent from the plant was nitrate.
The unit had an average growth rate of 0.011 day -1 which is well below that for
Nitrosomonas at a temperature of 19°C. The mean total nitrogen content of the acti-
vated sludge solids (MLVSS) averaged 9.22 per cent with 95 per cent confidence
limits of 8-46-9.98 per Cent. There was a considerable loss of nitrogen (mean of
71.7 per cent of the inituent) during treatment. The nitrogen loss was calculated in
two ways--first by a simple input-output comparison and second by use of input
and output data in conjunction with the kinetic parameters Y and ks. FIGURE5 shows
the nitrogen balance conducted in both ways. The two methods of calculation are in
excellent agreement, the first showing an average nitrogen loss of 2.28 lb/day and the
second a loss of 1.80 lb/day.
CONCLUSIONS
The results of this plant study show that the organic quality of the effluent from an
extended aeration activated sludge plant is largely determined by a relatively constant
 Kinetics and Effluent Quality in Extended Aeration 45
soluble fraction (soluble COD) and a more variable suspended solids content. Pre-
vious data by MIODLEBROOKS(1966) suggest that the BOD of such effluents m a y alr
most exclusively be due to the suspended solids and, therefore, it may be surmised
that little, if any, soluble degradable organic matter remains in an extended aeration
effluent.

I~G. 5. Pathways of nitrogen as determined by two methods of calculation.

A significant proportion of both the soluble effluent C O D and the activated sludge
solids was anthrone-reactive, or polysaccharide-like material. The presence of such
quantities of material both in sludge and effluent lends credence to the idea proposed
by TENI,mY and STtrMM (1965) that it is present as an extracellular capsular material
and is involved in the flocculation properties of activated sludge.
Nitrogen data and calculations of nitrogen losses support the contention that much
of the nitrogen in an extended aeration plant is removed by reduction of nitrates
in the secondary settling tank.

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