Grantee Research Project Results
2019 Progress Report: Environment and Community-Friendly Wastewater Treatment
EPA Grant Number: SV839486Title: Environment and Community-Friendly Wastewater Treatment
Investigators: Weber-Shirk, Dr. Monroe , Richardson, Ruth E. , Ishfaq, Ahad , Chan, Winnie , Smith, Cara , Kaminsky, Isa , Aishe, Jahin , Gangadhar, Ananya , Grasso, Dominic , Liu, Emily , Tentori, Egidio , Wood, Emily , Cullings, Ian , Matai, Kanha , Chen, Katrina , Frederick, Kyra , Blahut, Nina , Heryapriadi, Rafael , Fang, Shania , Starnes, Valentine
Current Investigators: Richardson, Ruth E.
Institution: Cornell University
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: II
Project Period: April 1, 2019 through March 31, 2021 (Extended to March 31, 2023)
Project Period Covered by this Report: April 1, 2019 through March 31,2020
Project Amount: $75,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet - Phase 2 (2019) Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources , P3 Awards
Objective:
Description and Objective of Research/Project:
Untreated wastewater is a human health risk that contributes to water-borne diseases such as typhoid fever, cholera, and dysentery. Wastewater also contains excess amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus which lead to eutrophication and anoxic conditions in bodies of water. The United Nations World Water Assessment Programme (2017) estimates that over 80% of the world’s wastewater is released into the environment without treatment, putting both ecosystems and human health at risk.
Conventional wastewater treatment methods used in the United States are not suitable for many small rural communities, because they are expensive, energy intensive, and use mechanical parts that require high maintenance and reliable electricity. The objective of this research is to develop a small-scale, decentralized wastewater treatment system that will be affordable and accessible to rural communities. This research focuses on Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) technology which can remove organic matter from wastewater and be designed to operate without electricity. UASB reactors have the additional benefit of incorporating waste-to-energy technology by producing methane gas which can be harvested and burned as stovetop cooking fuel. Before release to the environment, the UASB effluent would be polished using an activated sludge tank, trickling filter, constructed wetland, or lagoon for additional removal of nutrients and pathogens.
Phase I of research focused on developing a complete design for a gravity-powered UASB reactor, including a gas capture system and influent dosing system. Phase II research focuses on four main goals:
- Improving the influent dosing system and floatables removal
- Characterizing startup and performance of gravity-powered UASB reactors
- Determining appropriate options for effluent post treatment and biogas utilization
- Iterating designs and installing and testing a distributed UASB reactor in Honduras
Progress Summary:
The team’s work during this project period focused on installing a pulsed-flow UASB reactor at the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility (IAWWTF), initiating sludge granule production, and monitoring the startup performance of the reactor. During installation, the reactor was modified to achieve simple effluent sampling, and a temperature control system was implemented to promote biogas production and sludge granule formation. The UASB reactor was seeded with sludge granules from a local brewery and the IAWWTF aeration tank and anaerobic digester. Wastewater was fed to the reactor through the tipping bucket system in pulses at approximately 15 minute intervals. Team members were also trained by IAWWTF personnel to conduct effluent water quality tests for Carbonaceous Oxygen Demand (COD), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Total Phosphorus, and Fecal Coliforms. Unfortunately, current UASB research efforts have been paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic and imminent construction at the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility (IAWWTF). However, prior to research shutdown, healthy sludge granules were discovered growing inside the UASB reactor (Figure 2), which are a key requirement for the successful degradation of organic matter in an anaerobic reactor. When access to the IAWWTF resumes, a continuous-flow UASB reactor will be installed in tandem with the pulsed-flow reactor to compare their performances to conventional wastewater treatment designs. UASB start-up performance, effluent quality tests results, and biogas production rates will be used to inform appropriate options for effluent post treatment and biogas utilization.
Figure 1: A pulsed-flow Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor installed at the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility (IAWWTF).
Future Activities:
Through the first months of monitoring the performance of the pulsed-flow UASB reactor, the team learned that warm temperatures may be a critical component to shortening the startup phase of reactor operation (ie. the time it takes for the reactor to reach an equilibrium performance efficiency). The team also observed that the pulsed-flow influent feed system causes the height of the granule bed to expand approximately 5 cm when water is delivered to the reactor. The team is eager to learn if this bed expansion causes enough mixing to prevent water from preferentially flowing through the same section of the granule bed. Ensuring a uniform flow of wastewater through the sludge granules is important, because it would increase the contact area of the wastewater with organic-consuming microorganisms, therefore increasing the efficiency of the reactor. This improvement would allow UASB reactors to treat higher flow rates of wastewater and would make UASB reactors more viable and accessible to small, rural communities.
Figure 2: Healthy sludge granules removed from the UASB reactor
References:
WWAP (United Nations World Water Assessment Programme). 2017. The United Nations World Water Development Report 2017: Wastewater, The Untapped Resource. Paris, UNESCO.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 14 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
wastewater treatment, Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) Reactor, Anaerobic Digestion, Scalable, BiogasRelevant Websites:
AguaClara Cornell Webpage Exit
AguaClara UASB Github Repository Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractP3 Phase I:
Climate & Community Friendly Wastewater Treatment | 2018 Progress Report | Final ReportThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.
Project Research Results
- Final Report
- 2021 Progress Report
- 2020 Progress Report
- Original Abstract
- P3 Phase I | 2018 Progress Report | Final Report