This specification describes a membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) and processes for nitritation, nitritation-denitritation or deammonification. The supply of oxygen through the gas-transfer membrane is limited to suppress the growth of nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Exhaust gas from an MABR unit may have an oxygen concentration of 4% or less. The process can optionally include one or more of: intermittent (batch) feed of process air; process air modulation; process air direction reversal; process air recycle; and, process air cascade flow. The process can optionally include adding a seed sludge containing anammox to a reactor, optionally after pre-treatment and selection. The process can optionally include pre-seeding an MABR media.

The invention provides an integrated water treatment system suitable for use in the treatment of contaminated water, wastewater, potable water, aquaculture, industrial water and polluted water bodies. An integrated water treatment system according to at least one embodiment of the invention comprises a plurality of modules adapted to float in a body of water integrating a plurality of different attached growth biofilm media types positioned within a plurality of water flow paths and circulations. The conditions provided by a multiple of media types and plurality of flow paths creates a multiplier effect increasing the number of treatment zones and an increased diversity of interconnected treatment process zone types. Embodiments of the invention provide a diversity of conditions and biological habitats establishing a poly-culture of producers, consumers and higher organisms in an ecosystem of biological treatment processes, with complex metabolic pathways and food chains increasing treatment efficiency and the range of pollutants which may be effectively treated. Modules comprised in the system are adjustable in operational rate, series, and timing, and are movable in configuration and/or proximity providing a new type of adaptable, re-configurable and adjustable multi-zone, integrated ecological biofilm water treatment system.

A biological filler includes an embedding agent and an embedded complex. The embedded complex includes a scallop shell powder, 1,5-dihydroxyanthraquinone, and Thiobacillus denitrificans. The embedding agent includes a poly(vinyl alcohol)-sodium alginate blend membrane and a crosslinked composite membrane. The embedded complex is embedded by the embedded agent.

The present disclosure provides a water treatment module, a bioreactor comprising one or more of such modules and a receptive water treatment system. Also provided herein is a method making use of the above module, bioreactor and system. The water treatment module comprises (i) at least one elongated gas enclosure comprising a gas inlet and two vertical walls, at least one vertical wall comprising a water-impermeable and gas-permeable membrane having a water-facing side and a gas-facing side, the two vertical walls separating between water external to said enclosure and gas within said enclosure, the gas enclosure being in a rolled or folded configuration to thereby define a convoluted horizontal path and one or more water-treatment spaces formed between opposite water facing sides of the enclosure; and (ii) a diffuser arrangement comprising gas diffusers configured for introducing a stream of gas into the one or more water treatment spaces.

A process for enhanced anaerobic digestion of sludge by alcoholization of food waste, comprising steps of: (1) ethanol prefermentation of food waste—feeding the food waste having been crushed into a uniform grain size into an ethanol production reactor, where the food waste is subjected to rapid and efficient anaerobic fermentation activated by addition of yeast and pH adjustment to produce ethanol and obtain a fermentation broth and a fermentation residue; (2) sludge pretreatment—pretreating the sludge after mixing with the fermentation residue; and (3) methanogenesis of anaerobic digestion—subjecting products resulting from the sludge pretreatment to be mixed with the fermentation broth and then to methanogenesis of anaerobic digestion in a methane production reactor. With this process, the sludge and the food waste can be treated efficiently via multi-phase reactions, and the resource recovery and biogas quality can be enhanced.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for biological sewage treatment, including a concentrated mixed liquor driving device that uses a gas to drive a concentrated mixed liquor to flow. The present invention further relates to a method for biological sewage treatment, including a step of using a gas to drive a concentrated mixed liquor to flow. The gas can be an aeration gas, especially an oxygen-containing aeration gas after aeration treatment. The apparatus and method of the present invention can sufficiently utilize the energy and oxygen of the aeration gas, so that the energy consumption and maintenance cost of whole apparatus are reduced, biological sewage treatment effects are improved, and sludge floating is prevented. In addition, the apparatus of present invention has advantages of high performance, energy saving, high reliability, and good movability.

A process and system for treating wastewater is described. The invention degrades sludge produced by treatment of the wastewater to reduce or eliminate the need for sludge dewatering and disposal. The invention also reduces the amount of nutrient additives required to sustain the aerobic wastewater treatment process. In one embodiment the invention includes the steps of (a) providing an aerobic treatment system receiving a supply of the wastewater; (b) treating a supply of the sludge to rupture microbial cells present therein to produce treated sludge having an increased liquid:solid ratio and an increased degradation potential in comparison to untreated sludge; (c) conveying a supply of the treated sludge to the aerobic treatment system; and (d) substantially degrading the supply of treated sludge in the aerobic treatment system. The treated sludge may optionally be subjected to anaerobic digestion prior to delivery to the aerobic treatment system.

A process for the biological treatment of wastewater in which the performance of a conventional activated sludge system is improved by adding an aerobic granular biomass system in a hybrid parallel process configuration. Waste biomass and suspended material from the aerobic granular biomass system is introduced into the conventional activated sludge system for this purpose. In the hybrid process configuration the advantages of both systems are combined to produce new advantages, while drawbacks of the individual systems are reduced to great extent.

A wastewater treatment plant that employs an activated sludge process and a method of operating the same is described. Wastewater influent is provided to a bioreactor configured to perform activated sludge processing to develop mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS). The MLSS is passed from the bioreactor to a hydrodynamic separator (HDS) system, where separation operations are performed on the MLSS. The separation operations generate a low concentration MLSS stream and a high concentration MLSS stream. The low concentration MLSS stream is passed from the hydrodynamic separator system via a first output to a clarifier, and the high concentration wastewater stream is passed via a second output back to the bioreactor. The clarifier performs clarification operations on the cleaned wastewater stream and then outputs an effluent flow.

A biological filler includes an embedding agent and an embedded complex. The embedded complex includes a scallop shell powder, 1,5-dihydroxyanthraquinone, and Thiobacillus denitrificans. The embedding agent includes a poly(vinyl alcohol)-sodium alginate blend membrane and a crosslinked composite membrane. The embedded complex is embedded by the embedded agent.