This paper reports the results of a series of off-gas tests aimed at monitoring the evolution of the oxygen transfer efficiency in an urban wastewater treatment plant (3,500 population equivalent) located in Tuscany (Italy). The tests were conducted over a 2-year period starting with the testing of the aeration system. It was found that in the absence of membrane-panel cleaning operations, the oxygen transfer efficiency under standard conditions in process water (αSOTE) dropped from 18 to 9.5% in 2 years. This gives rise to a 40% increase in the wastewater treatment plant annual energy costs. The on-site chemical cleaning of the diffusers allowed for an almost total recovery of the transfer efficiency (αSOTE equal to 16%). The use of the off-gas method for monitoring the oxygen transfer efficiency over time is therefore essential for enabling correct planning of the cleaning operations of the diffusers and for cutting the energy consumption and operating costs of the aeration system.
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Research Article|
March 28 2014
Monitoring the oxygen transfer efficiency of full-scale aeration systems: investigation method and experimental results
Riccardo Gori;
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Florence, Via S.Marta, 3 - 50139 Florence, Italy
E-mail: [email protected]
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Alice Balducci;
Alice Balducci
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Florence, Via S.Marta, 3 - 50139 Florence, Italy
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Cecilia Caretti;
Cecilia Caretti
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Florence, Via S.Marta, 3 - 50139 Florence, Italy
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Claudio Lubello
Claudio Lubello
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Florence, Via S.Marta, 3 - 50139 Florence, Italy
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Water Sci Technol (2014) 70 (1): 8–14.
Article history
Received:
September 05 2013
Accepted:
March 17 2014
Citation
Riccardo Gori, Alice Balducci, Cecilia Caretti, Claudio Lubello; Monitoring the oxygen transfer efficiency of full-scale aeration systems: investigation method and experimental results. Water Sci Technol 1 July 2014; 70 (1): 8–14. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2014.165
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