Disclosed herein is a process for the treatment of wastewater for biosolids reduction and biogas (i.e. methane) generation where a wastewater is provided to a first reactor which is operated under anaerobic conditions, a hydraulic/solids retention time of from 0.1 to 1 day, a temperature of from 30 to 70° C. and a pH of from 6.5 to 10, with the effluent of the first reactor passing to a second reactor which is operated under anaerobic conditions, a hydraulic/solids retention time of from 3 to 10 days and a temperature of from 30 to 70° C. The process may further comprise feeding an effluent produced from the second reactor to a third reactor operated under anaerobic conditions, a hydraulic/solids retention time of from 3 to 20 days and a temperature of from 30 to 70° C.

The present invention relates to systems and methods for catalytic removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from water and wastewater. The system and methods utilize a catalyst film and a biofilm to synergystically remove PFAS from water. In some aspects, the catalyst film reduces and defluorinates PFAS into less fluorinated counterparts of PFAS, and the biofilm metabolizes the less fluroinated counterparts of PFAS into CO.sub.2 or shorter chain PFAS.

A recovery system of composite powder carrier in HPB municipal wastewater treatment includes a biochemical tank and a concentration tank. The composite powder carrier is added to the biochemical tank for biochemically treating on the wastewater. The mixed liquid is then made to flow into the concentration tank. The supernatant obtained after filtration is then discharged. The concentrated sludge is returned to the biochemical tank, and the excess concentrated sludge is transported to a separator. The separator separates the substances with large specific gravity from those having smaller specific gravity, and the substances with large specific gravity are recycled to the biochemical tank for reuse. Matter having smaller specific gravity is discharged. The separator can be used to separate the composite powder carriers for recycling, which improves the utilization rate of the composite powder carriers and reduces the operation cost of the HPB technology for wastewater treatment.

A treatment process for municipal, commercial, industrial, and institutional fluids containing one or more substances at a first concentration includes a contactor, an aerator, and a separator. The fluid is mixed with a powdered natural lignocellulosic material (“PNLM”), a microbial growth inoculum, and at least a portion of the fluid in the contactor to provide a mixture that includes an established, acclimated microbial growth in the fluid. The mixture is introduced to an aerator where physical binding and chemical bonding of at least some of the one or more substances to the PNLM additionally physiological uptake by microbial growth in a biosludge reduces the concentration of at least some of the one or more substances in the fluid discharged from the aerator to a second concentration. The biosludge is separated to recover at least a portion of the PNLM that is recycled to the contactor.

A method for nitrate removal from drinking water. The method includes adapting a sludge including hydrogenotrophic denitrifiers (HTDs) by dominating the HTDs in the sludge, cultivating a microalgae biomass, forming a microalgae-HTD biomass by cultivating a mixture of the adapted sludge and the cultivated microalgae biomass, nucleating a plurality of microalgae-HTD granules by cultivating the formed microalgae-HTD biomass in a sequencing batch (SB) mode with a constant HRT, growing the plurality of microalgae-HTD granules by cultivating the nucleated plurality of microalgae-HTD granules in an up flow (UF) mode with a reducing HRT, and continuous nitrate removal from nitrate-contaminated water with a minimum HRT over the grown plurality of microalgae-HTD granules.

A process for producing PHA comprises obtaining biomass produced in the course of biologically treating a first wastewater source containing RBCOD. The biomass is to be exploited with a second wastewater source having a different RBCOD content from the first wastewater source in order to accumulate and thereby produce PHA. Before subjecting the biomass to a PHA accumulation process, the biomass PHA accumulation potential is enhanced via an acclimation process with the second wastewater source. During acclimation, the biomass is subjected to repeated feast-famine periods. During each feast period, the biomass is exposed to a fraction of the second wastewater source. The RBCOD uptake and/or biomass respiration rate is directly or indirectly measured during each feast period. The famine period is maintained for a period of time that is at least two times greater than the length of time of the proceeding feast period. After at least two feast-famine acclimation periods or after one or more measured parameters reveal an increased RBCOD relative uptake or respiration rate of the biomass during a subsequent feast period, the biomass is subjected to a PHA accumulation process using the second wastewater source.

A biofilm process is disclosed for treating wastewater containing readily biodegradable dissolved organic matter GP (measured as chemical oxygen demand or COD) and producing surplus biomass from the biofilm process that includes an enhanced polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) content. The process comprises directing a wastewater influent containing the readily biodegradable COD (RBCOD) into a biofilm unit process. The PHA content of surplus biomass is enhanced by controlling for a decreased biofilm process specific organic loading rate in combination with controlling phosphorus loading rates relative to the process RBCOD loading rates: (1) controlling the wastewater influent phosphorus loading rate to the biofilm unit process includes maintaining an average RBCOD/P ratio of the influent that is between 200 and 800 g/g; (2) decreasing the process specific organic loading rate includes producing a biofilm unit process effluent having readily separable mixed liquor volatile suspended solids (RS-MLVSS); and (3) separating a portion of the RS-MLVSS from the biofilm unit process effluent and recycling at least a portion of the separated RS-MLVSS back to the biofilm unit process. The combination of the RBCOD/P control and specific loading rate control maintains, on average, the surplus biomass with a PHA content that is greater than 30% gPHA/g VSS.

A system and method of treating wastewater having at least one undesirable biological species is provided. In accordance with embodiments, a wastewater treatment system is provided comprising a main biological treatment train including at least one first unit operation configured to perform an anaerobic ammonium oxidation process, and at least one subsystem configured to increase a concentration of anammox bacteria in the at least one first unit operation, the treatment system arranged to reduce the concentration of total nitrogen in the wastewater.

The methods and systems provide for the improvement in the separation of different portions of solids particles, such as bacteria, from a process stream. The methods use gas and control of fluid flow within a tank zone to provide for separation that is more selective.

There are provided processes for treating wastewater. The processes can comprise treating a mixture comprising the wastewater and an activated sludge, in a single reactor, with an electric current having a density of less than about 55 A/m.sup.2, by means of at least one anode and at least one cathode that define therebetween an electrical zone for treating the mixture; exposing the mixture to an intermittent ON/OFF electrical exposure mode to the electric current in which an OFF period of time is about 1 to about 10 times longer than an ON period of time; and maintaining an adequate oxidation-reduction potential in the single reactor. Such processes allow for substantial removal of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus from the wastewater in the single reactor of various forms and for obtaining another mixture comprising a treated wastewater and solids.