Treatment of Anaerobic Digester Supernatant and
Filter Press Filtrate Sidestreams with a Sequencing Batch Reactor

This project is being conducted by graduate student Robert Bowen, under the direction of advisor Lloyd Ketchum in the Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences, 156 Fitzpatrick Hall, University of Notre Dame

 
The Elkhart, Indiana publicly owned treatment works (POTW) occasionally experiences periods of high effluent ammonia. The POTW currently treats 61,000 m3/d (16 MGD), which includes a large industrial component of 15,000 m3/d (4 MGD). This industrial component includes frequent periods of high ammonia levels resulting in plant influent ammonia concentrations exceeding 40 mg/L as nitrogen which can upset plant nitrification. The anaerobic digester supernatant and filter press filtrate are returned to the head of the plant. These recycled streams also contain high ammonia, 475 mg/L as nitrogen, and contribute to the influent ammonia problem. This study is an investigation of the use of a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) to biologically nitrify these recycle streams to help mitigate the problem of high effluent ammonia.