Saving Energy in Biological Wastewater Treatment by Using Extremely Low-Frequency Electric Field—Pilot-Scale Study

Csaba Bartha, Attila Tókos, Monica Jipa, Alina Caramitu, Andreea Voina (), Gabriela Circiumaru, Dan-Doru Micu and Iosif Lingvay
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Csaba Bartha: Research-Development Institute for Environmental Protection Technologies and Equipment, S.C. ICPE Bistriţa S.A., Parcului Str., No. 7, 420035 Bistrita, Romania
Attila Tókos: Research-Development Institute for Environmental Protection Technologies and Equipment, S.C. ICPE Bistriţa S.A., Parcului Str., No. 7, 420035 Bistrita, Romania
Monica Jipa: Research-Development Institute for Environmental Protection Technologies and Equipment, S.C. ICPE Bistriţa S.A., Parcului Str., No. 7, 420035 Bistrita, Romania
Alina Caramitu: National Institute for Research and Development in Electrical Engineering ICPE-CA Bucharest, 313 Splaiul Unirii, 030138 Bucharest, Romania
Andreea Voina: National Institute for Research and Development in Electrical Engineering ICPE-CA Bucharest, 313 Splaiul Unirii, 030138 Bucharest, Romania
Gabriela Circiumaru: National Institute for Research and Development in Electrical Engineering ICPE-CA Bucharest, 313 Splaiul Unirii, 030138 Bucharest, Romania
Dan-Doru Micu: Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Cluj Napoca, G. Bariţiu Str., No. 26-28, 400027 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Iosif Lingvay: Research-Development Institute for Environmental Protection Technologies and Equipment, S.C. ICPE Bistriţa S.A., Parcului Str., No. 7, 420035 Bistrita, Romania

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-13

Abstract: The results of a pilot-scale study on the influence of electric field use for stimulating the active sludge in the biological purification tank of a small capacity wastewater treatment plant (up to 600 m 3 /day) are presented. Through specific comparative chemical tests (DO, COD, N-NH 4 , and Pt) it was found that, by applying a sinusoidal electric field of 5 Vrms/m at 49.9 Hz on the active sludge suspension, the overall pollutant denitrification process speed is doubled compared with the reference case when no stimulation is used. Also, under identical operating conditions, the residual pollutant content of the biological treatment tank outlet water is reduced approximately three times for COD and approximately two times for N-NH 4 and P t compared to the reference tank. These findings lead to the conclusion that, by stimulating the active sludge microbial activity of the wastewater treatment plants by a sinusoidal electric field of 5 Vrms/m at 49.9 Hz, the time of the biological purification treatment can be reduced by approx. 50%. This leads to a corresponding decrease in energy consumption, which usually represents more than 30% of a wastewater treatment plant’s specific electricity consumption.

Keywords: wastewater treatment; biological purification; active sludge; stimulation; energy consumption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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