• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.52 no.5
• /
• pp.581-586
• /
• 2014

Main objects for wastewater treatment operation are to maintain effluent water quality and minimize operation cost. However, the optimal operation is difficult because of the change of influent flow rate and concentrations, the nonlinear dynamics of microbiology growth rate and other environmental factors. Therefore, many wastewater treatment plants are operated for much more redundant oxygen or chemical dosing than the necessary. In this study, the optimal control scheme for dissolved oxygen (DO) is suggested to prevent over-aeration and the reduction of the electric cost in plant operation while maintaining the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration for the metabolism of microorganisms in oxic reactor. The oxygen uptake rate (OUR) is real-time measured for the identification of influent characterization and the identification of microorganisms' oxygen requirement in oxic reactor. Optimal DO set-point needed for the micro-organism is suggested based on real-time measurement of oxygen uptake of micro-organism and the control of air blower. Therefore, both stable effluent quality and minimization of electric cost are satisfied with a suggested optimal set-point decision system by providing the necessary oxygen supply requirement to the micro-organisms coping with the variations of influent loading.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
• /
• v.43 no.2
• /
• pp.131-138
• /
• 2010

Due to the increased water demand and severe drought as an effect of the global warming, the effluent from wastewater treatment plants becomes considered as an alternative water source to supply agricultural, industrial, and public (gardening) water demand. The effluent from the wastewater treatment plant is a sustainable water source because of its good quality and stable amount of water discharge. In this study, the water reuse system was developed to minimize total construction cost to cope with the uncertain water demand in future using two-stage stochastic linear programming with binary variables. The pipes in the water reuse network were constructed in two stages of which in the first stage, the water demands of users are assumed to be known, while the water demands in the second stage have uncertainty in the predicted value. However, the water reuse system has to be designed now when the future water demands are not known precisely. Therefore, the construction of a pipe parallel with the existing one was allowed to meet the increased water demands in the second stage. As a result, the trade-off of construction costs between a pipe with large diameter and two pipes having small diameters was evaluated and the optimal solution was found. Three scenarios for the future water demand were selected and a hypothetical water reuse network considering the uncertainties was optimized. The results provide the information about the economies of scale in the water reuse network and the long range water supply plan.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.37-48
• /
• 2024

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are obligated to reduce carbon emissions as a part of public sector greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets. However, Sewage Statistics(2022) shows that CO₂ emissions per wastewater treatment volumes have decreased by only 3.03 % compared to 2020, which is far from enough to meet the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets. This study aimed to find operational conditions of biological reactors that minimize total carbon footprint (CFP). Total CFP considers both direct emissions from biological processes and indirect emissions from energy consumption. A study was conducted using a computer simulation program which is called as EQPS for a 4-stage BNR WWTP. The results showed that total CFP was reduced by 10.97% compared to the design condition when the mixed liquor recirculation (MLR) was set to 100 % of the influent flow. The N₂O emission factor (EF) of the target WWTP was calculated to be 0.138-0.199 %, which is significantly lower than the IPCC default value of 1.6 %. This study proposes a method to minimize total CFP in WWTPs by optimizing biological reactor operation and emphasizes the need for further research on N₂O emission reduction.

• Journal of Korean Society of Disaster and Security
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.65-75
• /
• 2020

The efficiency of sewage treatment was ananlyzed selecting a sewage treatment plant in Gyeonggi-do where A₂O process was applied. Statistical techniques based on the operation data of the sewage treatment were used. The main factors directly affecting the efficiency of the treatment process were analyzed using a GPS-X model. The correlation analysis and one-way ANOVA were performed. The T-N and NH₄⁺-N values of the effluent did not generate statistically significant level (p-value:>0.05) when compared with C/N ration values. Removel of nitrogen components form sewage treatment plants were affected by temperature, HRT, SRT and DO. In the case of BOD, all operating factors were affected, while COD was affecte by factors of HRT, STR and DO. In simulations using GPS-X, the parameters that greatly influence was included the maximum sedimentation rate, the dependent nutrient microbial yield (anoxic), the phosphorus saturation coefficient, the dependent nutrient microbial killing rate, the dependent nutrient microbial maximum growth rate, and the independent trophic microorganisms. The maximum growth rate and the maximum setting rate were identified.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.170-174
• /
• 1997

Constructed wetland system was studied to treat wastewater from industrial complex in rural area. Pilot plant at the Baeksuk Nongkong Danzi in Chunahn-City was used for field study. For the DO, the effluent concentration was higher than the influent concentration and it implies that natural reaeration supplies enough oxygen to the system. For the SS, the effluent concentration was consistently lower than the water quality standard even though the influent concentration varied significantly, which showed that SS was removed by the system effectively which is consist of soil and plants. For the BOD and COD, the average removal rate of them were 56% and 43%, respectively, therefore, the effluent concentration could not meet water quality standards when influent concentration was high. The removal rate of BOD and COD can be improved by supplemental treatment in addition to this system if necessary. For the T-N and T-P, the influent concentration of them were lower than the water quality standards than no further treatment was needed. Overall, the result showed that constructed wetland system is a feasible alternative for the treatment of wastewater from industrial complex in rural area. For actual application of this system, further study on design factors including loading rate, removal mechanism, and temperature effects is required to meet water quality standard consistently. Compared to existing systems, this system is quite competitive because it requires low capital cost, almost no energy and maintenance, and therefore, very cost effective.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
• /
• v.53 no.5
• /
• pp.369-381
• /
• 2020

In this paper, observed water quality, algal blooms and flow rates in the Yeongsan River and its boundaries including 8 tributaries and 2 wastewater treatment plants for two years of 2018-2019 were analyzed. It seems effects of non-point source load inputs from basin areas to the river may be significant though the field data availability was limited. The EFDC model was calibrated against data collected from 6 water level monitoring stations and 6 water quality monitoring stations, respectively, in the study area. Water quality improvement scenarios were developed assuming 50% and 75% reductions of major pollution sources including treatment plants and tributaries. The developed scenarios were applied to the EFDC model to estimate effects on algal bloom occurrences in the Seungchon weir and Juksan weir. Improvement of the effluent of Gwangju 1 WWTP by 75% did not show any effect on algal blooms for two weir locations. The major tributary affecting algal blooms in the Seungchon weir was the Hwangryong River. The Jisuk stream was found as the most important tributary for the Juksan weir followed by the effect of the Hwangryong River. Though it seems other scattered small nonpoint source load input to the Yeongsan river also seem to be important, it was not possible to reflect their effects appropriately due to field data availability.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.50 no.1
• /
• pp.79-95
• /
• 2017

Euiam and Paldang Reservoirs have often been facing water quality problems, such as eutrophication, algal blooms and off-flavors by treated wastewater effluent (TWE) in the North-Han and the Han River basins, but little is examined on the direct biological effect of TWE. This study tested algal growth potential (AGP) of four TWEs discharged into Euiam and Paldang Reservoirs to evaluate water fertility in September 2014 and March and September 2015. Test alga was used Anabaena circinalis isolated from Paldang Reservoir. Mean concentration of T-N and T-P in TWEs was $3,956.7{\mu}g\;N\;L^{-1}$ and $50.8{\mu}g\;P\;L^{-1}$, and the proportion of $NO_3-N$ and $PO_4-P$ to the total fraction was 72.1% and 40.8%, respectively. Both N and P were high in TWEs, but much higher N than P concentration indicates strong P-limitation. As a consequence, the maximum AGP was determined by $PO_4-P$ concentration (r=0.998, p<0.01). Mean AGP value was $15.4mg\;dw\;L^{-1}$ among four effluents indicating its eutrophic condition. Due to the establishment of tertiary (advanced T-P) treatment method in the studied plants recently, P concentration was significantly decreased in TWEs compared to the years prior to 2012. However, P concentration seems to be still high enough to cause eutrophication and algal blooms. Therefore, wastewater treatment to P-free level needs to be considered if effluents are directly discharged into the drinking water resources.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.56 no.4
• /
• pp.496-523
• /
• 2018

The objective of this study is to evaluate the economic feasibility of two fast pyrolysis and biooil upgrading (FPBU) plants including feed drying, fast pyrolysis by fluidized-bed, biooil recovery, hydro-processing for biooil upgrading, electricity generation, and wastewater treatment. The two FPBU plants are Case 1 of an FPBU plant with steam methane reforming (SMR) for $H_2$ generation (FPBU-HG, 20% yield), and Case 2 of an FPBU with external $H_2$ supply (FPBUEH, 25% yield). The process flow diagrams (PFDs) for the two plants were constructed, and the mass and energy balances were calculated, using a commercial process simulator (ASPEN Plus). A four-level economic potential approach (4-level EP) was used for techno-economic analysis (TEA) under the assumption of sawdust 100 t//d containing 40% water, 30% equity, capital expenditure equal to the equity, $H_2$ price of $1050/ton, and hydrocarbon yield from dried sawdust equal to 20 and 25 % for Case 1 and 2, respectively. TCI (total capital investment), TPC (total production cost), ASR (annual sales revenue), and MFSP (minimum fuel selling price) of Case 1 were $22.2 million, $3.98 million/yr, $4.64 million/yr, and $1.56/l, respectively. Those of Case 2 were $16.1 million, $5.20 million/yr, $5.55 million/yr, and $1.18/l, respectively. Both ROI (return on investment) and PBP (payback period) of Case 1(FPBU-HG) and Case 2(FPBU-EH) were the almost same. If the plant capacity increases into 1,500 t/d for Case 1 and Case 2, ROI would be improved into 15%/yr.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.56 no.4
• /
• pp.281-302
• /
• 2023

Carbon is not only an essential element for life but also a key player in climate change. The radiocarbon (¹⁴C) analysis using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is a powerful tool not only to understand the carbon cycle but also to track pollutants derived from fossil carbon, which have a distinct radiocarbon isotope ratio (Δ¹⁴C). Many studies have reported Δ¹⁴C of carbon compounds in streams, rivers, rain, snow, throughfall, fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), and wastewater treatment plant effluents in South Korea, which are reviewed in this manuscript. In summary, (1) stream and river carbon in South Korea are largely derived from the chemical weathering of soils and rocks, and organic compounds in plants and soils, strongly influenced by precipitation, wastewater treatment effluents, agricultural land use, soil water, and groundwater. (2) Unprecedentedly high Δ¹⁴C of precipitation during winter has been reported, which can directly and indirectly influence stream and river carbon. Although we cannot exclude the possibility of local contamination sources of high Δ¹⁴C, the results suggest that stream dissolved organic carbon could be older than previously thought, warranting future studies. (3) The ¹⁴C analysis has also been applied to quantify the sources of forest throughfall and PM_2.5, providing new insights. The ¹⁴C data on a variety of ecosystems will be valuable not only to track the pollutants derived from fossil carbon but also to improve our understanding of climate change and provide solutions.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.339-344
• /
• 2000

Utilization of animal excreta in aquaculture can have potentials of high fish production and low maintenance costs for fish farming and it can reduce water pollution caused by animal waste disposal. Integration of wastewater treatment pond system with aquaculture has been utilized in many countries. Ecologically balanced pond ecosystem is formed through the stabilization of wastes, the growth of aquatic plants, and the cultivation of fish. The most appropriate fish for rearing in these ponds are those which can feed directly on phytoplankton, especially algae. Carp were introduced into a tertiary pond - water depth of 2.2 m, water surface area of $130\;m^2$, volume of $148\;m^3$ - of a pond system treating milk cow excreta. The carp production was $125g{\cdot}m^{-2}year^{-1}$ which falls into upper range of $18\;-\;137g{\cdot}m^{-2}year^{-1}$ of treated sewage-fed carp farming of other countries. Average $BOD_5$ and T-N of the pond was 19.8 and $21.0\;mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ respectively, and the ecological environment of it was suitable for growth of carp. Several carp of 100g were introduced in August into a secondary pond of the treatment system, whose average $BOD_5$ and T-N was 27.9 and $30.8\;mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ respectively. They were died within one week, which may be attributed to the depletion of dissolved oxygen at dawn. Effluents from primary treatment can be used in fish pond with dilution and those from secondary treatment can be directly funnelled into it. Waste stabilization pond treating animal excreta can be utilized for fish rearing when its water quality maintains secondary treatment level.