Ballasted Clarification for High-Solids Wastewater
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ballasted flocculation systems are ineffective in treating wastewater with high concentrations of solids, such as those exceeding 500 mg/L TSS, as they become overloaded, leading to product water that does not meet discharge requirements, and require additional space and chemicals for treatment.
Innovation Solution
A high-solids wastewater treatment system that includes a pre-treatment subsystem with a thickener positioned upstream of the ballasted reactor to remove excess solids, followed by a ballasted reactor and solids-liquid separation subsystem, which reduces the system footprint and chemical usage by up to 15%.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional ballasted flocculation systems are used to treat high-solids wastewater, then the treatment process can handle low TSS levels, but the system becomes overloaded and ineffective when TSS exceeds 500 mg/L
Solution Approach 1:
The treatment system is divided into two distinct subsystems: a pre-treatment subsystem for gross solids removal and a ballasted flocculation subsystem for fine solids removal. This segmentation allows each subsystem to operate within its optimal range, preventing overload and maintaining treatment effectiveness for high-TSS wastewater streams
Solution Approach 2:
A pre-treatment subsystem is implemented before the ballasted flocculation process to perform preliminary solids removal. This preliminary action reduces the TSS load entering the main treatment system, enabling it to effectively handle high-solids wastewater that would otherwise overload the system
2Productivity
If conventional ballasted flocculation systems treat high-solids wastewater, then the system can process the wastewater, but additional space and chemicals are required
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the treatment into pre-treatment and ballasted flocculation stages, the system removes a significant portion of solids in the first stage, reducing the chemical and space requirements for the second stage while maintaining overall treatment capacity
Solution Approach 2:
The pre-treatment subsystem extracts and removes gross solids from the wastewater stream before it enters the ballasted flocculation system. This extraction reduces the total solids load, thereby decreasing the quantity of chemical additives and system space needed for complete treatment
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively treats wastewater with high TSS levels by thickening solids prior to ballasted flocculation, reducing the system footprint and chemical additives, and producing a solids-lean effluent that meets discharge requirements.
Implementation Method 1
The pre-treatment subsystem may be configured to thicken the dosed wastewater and produce a sludge and an effluent
Implementation Method 2
treating the effluent with a ballast to produce a treated wastewater
Implementation Method 3
settling the treated wastewater to produce a solids-lean effluent and a solids-rich ballasted floc
Data Source
AI summary
A high-solids wastewater treatment system is disclosed. The wastewater treatment system includes a ballasted reactor, a solids-liquid separation subsystem, a pre-treatment subsystem, a ballast feed subsystem, and a ballast recovery subsystem. The high-solids wastewater treatment system can include a reaction tank, a thickener, and a filter press. A method of treating high-solids wastewater is also disclosed. The method includes contacting a wastewater feed with a coagulant or flocculant, thickening the dosed wastewater, treating the effluent with a ballast, settling the treated wastewater, and conveying the ballasted sludge to the wastewater feed, dosed wastewater, or treated wastewater. The wastewater feed may have more than 500 mg/L of total suspended solids. The wastewater feed may contain inorganic solids.