Sewage treatment system

A sewage treatment system is disclosed in which a waste stream is separated into a primary sludge and water effluent, and the primary sludge is anaerobically digested and dewatered to produce a Class A biosolid. The water effluent is aerobically digested and separated to provide a waste activated sludge. The waste activated sludge is heated in a two-stage process with steam injection and indirect steam before it is passed to a hydrothermal process. The pH of the treated waste activated sludge is then increased, and the nitrogen is stripped and recovered as an ammonium salt. A low nitrogen stream with volatile fatty acids and soluble organics is then separated and fed to the aerobic digester. Biogas generated during anaerobic digestion provides energy for heating the waste activated sludge for the hydrothermal process, and reject heat from the hydrothermal process heats the primary sludge for thermophilic anaerobic digestion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a sewage treatment system and, more particularly to a wastewater treatment system.

Wastewater treatment systems are well known in the art. Typical wastewater treatment systems generate raw primary sludge and waste activated sludge, which they typically thicken, heat, and digest in anaerobic digesters. Anaerobic digesters are typically operated under mesophilic conditions, from approximately 20° C. to approximately 35° C., and the product from these digesters is typically dewatered to produce Class B sludge. The Class B sludge is typically hauled away to land application or is composted or lagooned to produce a Class A sludge. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has classified Class B sludge as a biohazard, so the wastewater treatment industry is moving away from producing Class B sludge and toward producing Exceptional Quality Class A sludge (EQ Class A). The present invention combines a number of known elements in new and creative ways with a surprising synergy of mechanical, thermal, and chemical integration to generate EQ Class A sludge at low capital and operating cost.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,486, issued in 1993 to Fassbender, U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,868, issued in 1995 to Fassbender, U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,852, issued in 1998 to Rivard et al. in 1998, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,143,176, issued in 2000 to Nagamatsu et al., describe and disclose a number of prior art approaches to wastewater treatment systems. The disclosures of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,221,486, 5,433,868, 5,785,852, and 6,143,176 are incorporated herein by reference. Waste activated sludge is more difficult to dewater and digest because of its hydrophilic and cellular nature. To address this problem, the '852 patent discloses the use of low temperature heat, in the range from 180° F. to 385° F., and explosive flash and shear forces to disrupt cells so that the soluble material in the cells is released and available for anaerobic digestion. The '868 patent describes a process in which a combined stream of waste activated sludge and primary sludge is treated at high temperature hydrothermal conditions to produce oil, char, and an ammonia containing wastewater stream. The wastewater stream is further processed with another hydrothermal process to convert the ammonia to nitrogen gas. The '176 patent describes the use of a hydrothermal process for heating anaerobically digested sludges to generate a carbon slurry that is dewatered to provide a concentrated carbon slurry of char and oil having a high heating value. The aqueous phase separated from the carbon slurry to form the concentrated carbon slurry is returned for additional anaerobic digestion.

These systems offer a number of advantages in processing wastewater. They generally do a relatively good job of recovering valuable resources from wastes and of reducing the amounts of such wastes that must be sent to landfills. Still, they suffer from a number of disadvantages. For example, because the sludges contain large amounts of water, subjecting both a primary sludge and a waste activated sludge to one or more hydrothermal processes requires a great deal of energy just to heat and cool the water contained therein. Combining the primary sludge and waste activated sludge in an anaerobic digester would result in a large energy demand to heat the anaerobic digester feed, particularly if the anaerobic digester is to be operated under more desirable thermophilic conditions. Combining the primary sludge and waste activated sludge in an anaerobic digester would also tend to force an operator to choose between undesirably increased capital cost or undesirably decreased treatment time. Similarly, combining the primary sludge and waste activated sludge in the anaerobic digester would also force an operator to choose between undesirably increased operating costs for heating or undesirably low operating temperature, perhaps leading to the use of acceptable but less desirable mesophilic conditions rather than thermophilic conditions. Further, the primary sludge typically includes more solids and particulate matter that is hard on equipment operating at high temperature and pressure, such as the conditions typically encountered in hydrothermal processes. Again, heating both the primary sludge and the waste activated sludge to the high temperatures called for in a hydrothermal process requires a great deal of energy. Also, in systems that use aerobic and anoxic zones in a digester to treat the water effluent and generate the waste activated sludge, maintaining optimal conditions for the nitrate reducing and phosphourus accumulating bacteria in the aerobic/anoxic digester typically requires additional raw sewage to be fed into the aerobic/anoxic digester or that a water soluble carbon source such as methanol feed stream be provided. Further still, the sludges often cause clogging or fouling problems, as they are being prepared for and passed to and through hydrothermal processes. This common problem typically leads to the use of scraped surface heat exchangers in an effort to combat or counter such problems. Also, because the primary sludge and waste activated sludge are typically treated together or at similar temperature ranges, there is little or no opportunity for efficient heat transfer between the two to offset operating expenses.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a waste treatment system that takes advantage of surprising synergy of mechanical, thermal, and chemical integration to generate an EQ Class A biosolid at low capital and operating costs.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system of the above type that uses thermal energy from generated biogas to supply heat for a hydrothermal process.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a system of the above type that uses thermal energy from generated biogas to supply between 50 to 100 percent of the heat energy required for the hydrothermal process.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a system of the above type that uses thermal energy from a hydrothermal process to provide heat for operating an anaerobic digester at thermophilic conditions.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a system of the above type that uses thermal energy from generated biogas twice, first to provide heat for a hydrothermal process and then to provide heat for an anaerobic digester.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a system of the above type that allows for increased operating temperatures and retention times in an anaerobic digester without undesirable increases in capital or operating costs.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a system of the above type that significantly increases sludge retention time available at an existing anaerobic digestion facility.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a system of the above type that provides for the production of EQ Class A biosolids by increasing fermentation temperature and duration without undesirably increasing capital and operating costs.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a system of the above type that reduces the amount of feed material that must be heated to high temperatures in a hydrothermal process.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a system of the above type that strips nitrogen from a waste activated sludge, and recovers the nitrogen in the form of an ammonia-water solution or an ammonium salt, without the need for a separate hydrothermal process.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a system of the above type that provides for enhanced performance of bacteria in the aerobic/anoxic digester.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a system of the above type that offers enhanced biological nitrogen removal and biological phosphorus removal in the aerobic/anoxic digester.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a system of the above type to recover a low nitrogen stream containing volatile fatty acids and soluble organics for recycle to the aerobic/anoxic digester.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a system of the above type that reduces or eliminates fouling and clogging problems encountered in processing sludges in a hydrothermal process.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a system of the above type that uses staged heating for the hydrothermal process to avoid fouling and clogging problems while reducing boiler feed water consumption, further reducing capital and operating costs.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a system of the above type that reduces or eliminates the amount of grit, solids, and large particulates that must be pumped through process equipment, particularly through hydrothermal process equipment that is operated at high temperatures and pressures, thereby reducing capital costs and increasing reliability.

Toward the fulfillment of these and other objects and advantages, in a system of the present invention, a waste stream is separated into a primary sludge and a water effluent, and the primary sludge is anaerobically digested and dewatered to produce a Class A biosolid. The water effluent is digested in a digester having aerobic and anoxic zones and excess bacteria are separated to provide a waste activated sludge. The waste activated sludge is heated in a two-stage process with steam injection and indirect steam to approximately 255° C. before it is passed to a hydrothermal process. The pH of the treated waste activated sludge is then increased, and the nitrogen is stripped as an ammonium salt. A low nitrogen stream with volatile fatty acids and soluble organics is then separated and fed to the aerobic digester. Biogas generated during anaerobic digestion of the primary sludge provides energy for heating the waste activated sludge for the hydrothermal process, and reject heat from the hydrothermal process heats the primary sludge for thermophilic anaerobic digestion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring toFIG. 1, the reference numeral100refers in general to a system of the present invention. According to the present invention, an aqueous waste stream102, such as raw sewage, wastewater, or the like is first subjected to pretreatment using equipment such as a bar screen and grit chamber (not shown) for removing much of the larger particulate matter. The pretreated waste stream102passes to a primary clarifier104where it is separated into a primary sludge, containing the bulk of the readily settleable material and a water effluent containing dissolved and suspended material. Pound for pound, the primary sludge will have most of the chemical energy of the waste stream. The water effluent will have significantly more nitrogen, approximately twice as much as the primary sludge.

The primary sludge is then passed to a gravity thickener106to remove some of the water. The primary sludge typically dewaters or thickens relatively easily to approximately 5%-9% solids by weight, most typically to approximately 5% solids by weight. Water is removed and passed via thickener return108to the primary clarifier104. The thickened primary sludge then passes through a heat exchanger110to heat the thickened primary sludge as the thickened primary sludge passes to the anaerobic digester112. The thickened primary sludge is preferably heated to a temperature so that the anaerobic digester112may operate under thermophilic or mesophilic conditions and is more preferably heated to a temperature so that the anaerobic digester112may operate under thermophilic conditions. The thickened primary sludge is heated to a temperature that is preferably greater than or equal to approximately 20° C., that is more preferably greater than or equal to approximately 40° C., and that is most preferably greater than or equal to approximately 60° C. Treating the thickened primary sludge in the anaerobic digester112yields a biogas and a digested primary sludge. Using staged anaerobic digestion of the thickened primary sludge typically yields up to approximately 63% conversion of volatile organics, and the anaerobic digestion process is highly resistant to shocks. The biogas passes to a boiler114for reasons to be described below. The digested primary sludge then passes to dewatering equipment116. The dewatering equipment116produces a stream118that is primarily water, which is returned to the primary clarifier104. The dewatered sludge from the dewatering equipment116is preferably a Class A biosolid and is more preferably an EQ Class A biosolid. This dewatered biosolid has a solid content that is preferably greater than or equal to approximately 20% by weight and that is more preferably greater than or equal to approximately 25% by weight.

The water effluent passes to an aerobic digester120, such as an aeration basin or tank. The aerobic digester is preferably operated with aerobic and anoxic zones. The digested water effluent passes to a secondary clarifier122and is separated into a treated water discharge124, a return activated sludge, and a waste activated sludge. The return activated sludge contains a large fraction of the bacteria that passes from the aerobic digester120to the secondary clarifier122, although some of the bacteria is present in the waste activated sludge. Waste activated sludge is more difficult to dewater or thicken than the primary sludge. Waste activated sludge may typically be thickened to a solids content of approximately 3% to approximately 6% by weight. The waste activated sludge passes to and through a gravity thickener126and a belt thickener128and is dewatered or thickened to a solids content that is preferably approximately 5% weight and that is more preferably approximately 6% by weight. The high water content requires larger flows but provides properties close to those of water for heat transfer purposes. Water removed from the waste activated sludge by the gravity and belt thickeners126and128may be returned to the primary clarifier104via streams130and132respectively. The waste activated sludge contains approximately half of the solids that were originally contained in the raw waste stream but contains significantly less grit and large particulate matter than the primary sludge, so the waste activated sludge is better suited for pumping through process equipment, particularly at high temperatures and pressures. This reduces the capital costs, reduces wear and tear, and increases the reliability of the system100.

The thickened waste activated sludge passes to the sludge conditioner and pump134and is pumped through heat exchangers136and138and into the reactor140for carrying out the hydrothermal process. As mentioned above, biogas from the anaerobic digester112is passed to the boiler114and where it is combusted to convert water to steam. The biogas generated by the anaerobic digester112is capable of providing between approximately 50% to approximately 100% of the heat energy needed for the hydrothermal process. This significantly reduces the operating costs of the system100. Further, because only the waste activated sludge is subjected to a hydrothermal process, the energy required to operate the system100is significantly lower than would be needed if the primary sludge and waste activated sludge were both subjected to a hydrothermal process.

As best seen inFIG. 2, the boiler114supplies steam to a steam injector136and to an indirect steam heater138. This two-stage heating process helps to reduce or eliminate fouling or clogging conditions that are often encountered when subjecting a sludge to a hydrothermal process. When a sludge is heated it will often exhibit an undesirable degree of stickiness while it is within a temperature range of from approximately 60° C. to approximately 120° C., with this stickiness being more obvious while it is within a range of from approximately 68° C. to approximately 105° C. The thickened waste activated sludge of the present invention is therefore supplied to the steam injector136at a temperature that is preferably less than or equal to approximately 68° C., that is more preferably less than or equal to approximately 60° C., and that is most preferably approximately 57° C. Steam is injected into the thickened waste activated sludge to provide for extremely rapid heat transfer so that the stream almost instantaneously is heated to a temperature that is preferably greater than or equal to approximately 255° C., that is more preferably greater than or equal to approximately 120° C., and that is most preferably greater than or equal to approximately 105° C.

The boiler114also supplies steam to the indirect steam heat exchanger138, such as a shell and tube type heat exchanger. As the preheated waste activated sludge passes through the indirect steam heat exchanger138, it is passed in a heat exchange relationship with steam from the boiler114and then in a counter-current heat exchange relationship with a stream exiting the hydrothermal process reactor140. In the indirect steam heat exchanger138, the waste activated sludge is heated to a temperature that is preferably greater than or equal to approximately 200° C., that is more preferably greater than or equal to approximately 250° C. and that is most preferably greater than or equal to approximately 275° C. Using indirect steam heating reduces boiler114feed water consumption and further reduces capital and operating costs.

In the hydrothermal process reactor140, the waste activated sludge is subjected to high temperature and pressure conditions to change the chemical composition of the stream. Any number of different hydrothermal processes may be used, including but not limited to a sludge-to-oil reactor system (STORS) process. A variety of common hydrothermal processes are discussed in more detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,221,486, 5,433,868, and 6,143,176, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. As mentioned before, the effluent of the hydrothermal process reactor140passes through the heat exchanger138in counter-current flow with the preheated waste activated sludge before being further treated for nitrogen removal and the like.

The effluent from the hydrothermal process reactor140then passes to an inline mixer142in which a base such as sodium hydroxide is added to raise the pH. From the inline mixer142, the stream passes to a flash valve and gas separator144, and a vapor emission is flashed that is composed primarily of carbon dioxide gas with small amounts of hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and the like. The flashed vapor passes to a pebble bed ammonia absorber146, and sulfuric acid is added to lower the pH, which facilitates stripping nitrogen from the flashed vapor in the form of an ammonium salt solution, such as an ammonium sulfate solution. Vapor from the pebble bed ammonia absorber146is further treated, such as by passing it to a gas scrubber cooler148, adding process water, and passing it for disposal or additional wastewater treatment processing. Using a simple process of raising the pH and stripping nitrogen in the form of ammonia and recovering an ammonium salt is much more energy efficient than subjecting the stream to yet another hydrothermal reaction to release the nitrogen in the form of nitrogen gas.

The reactor effluent from the flash valve and gas separator144is then passed to the heat exchanger or effluent cooler110where it is placed in an indirect heat exchange relationship with the primary sludge. The thickened primary sludge from gravity thickener106acts as a heat sink for the reject heat from the hydrothermal process. The thermal energy required to heat the primary sludge to the desired temperature for thermophilic anaerobic digestion corresponds closely to the energy available from the reactor effluent leaving the hydrothermal process. There is also a sufficient temperature difference between the streams to allow for efficient heat transfer. Using the reject heat from the hydrothermal process significantly reduces the operating costs of the system100. Further, because only the thickened primary sludge is heated for anaerobic digestion, the energy required to operate the system100is significantly lower than would be required if the primary sludge and the waste activated sludge were both subjected to thermophilic anaerobic digestion. It is of course understood that the reactor effluent from the flash valve and gas separator144may provide thermal energy to the primary sludge in any number of different ways. For example, the reactor effluent may be used to heat water that is stored in a tank and used as needed.

The cooled reactor effluent leaves the heat exchanger110and passes to a settling tank150. Settled solids are removed and dewatered, such as using a plate and frame dewatering press152, or similar dewatering equipment1116, to produce a char only or an oil and char fuel product. The fuel may be used in any number of ways, including to further offset operating costs of the system100if desired. The dissolved and suspended solids pass from the settling tank150to filtering equipment154, such as a vibratory filter. The concentrated solids from the filtering equipment154may be passed to the thickened primary sludge. Stream14is a low nitrogen stream containing volatile fatty acids and soluble organics. It may be passed for further wastewater treatment processing, but at least a portion of this stream is preferably passed to the aeration basin or tank120to aid in aerobic/anoxic digestion. In that regard, this stream is beneficial to bacteria in an anoxic zone of the aeration tank120and can reduce or eliminate the need to add raw sewage or the need to add methanol to the aeration tank120. The stream enhances biological nitrogen removal and biological phosphorus removal during aerobic/anoxic digestion.

Other modifications, changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing, and in some instances, some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. For example, the primary sludge and waste activated sludge may both be subjected to the hydrothermal process, in which case nitrogen may be removed from the treated, combined sludge product by raising the pH and stripping the nitrogen in the form of ammonia gas for recovery as an ammonium salt. Further, the settled cooled stream from the settling tank150may be passed to its own separate dewatering equipment152or to the dewatering equipment116used to treat the digested primary sludge. Although clarifiers104and122and thickeners106,126, and128have been described, it is understood that any number of different types and kinds of equipment may be used to obtain the separation and filtration as needed. Further, although it is preferred to use a two-stage heating process with steam injection and indirect steam heating to prepare the waste activated sludge for the hydrothermal process, it is understood that either steam injection or indirect steam heating may be used in a single stage process. Further still, the use of direct steam injection to avoid fouling or clogging problems may be used in connection with a wide variety of hydrothermal processes or other sludge treatment steps to avoid similar problems when the sludge to be processed falls within the specified temperature ranges, regardless of whether other features of the present invention are also used. It is also understood that all quantitative information given is by way of example only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention.