ABSTRACT
A bench-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was used first to test the treatability of an isolated, high-strength industrial waste stream that enters the Elkhart Wastewater Treatment Plant. Because the SBR is the ideal plug-flow reactor (PFR), it was then also used to evaluate the feasibility of isolating one of the plant’s PFRs and operating it as a side-stream treatment train for this industrial stream. The SBR results showed that the waste stream was readily treatable within the 12-hour reaction cycle applied. Additionally, the SBR’s simulation of the full-scale PFR demonstrated that the industrial waste stream could be treated to acceptable levels within the hydraulic configuration of one of the existing PFR tanks isolated from the remainder of the system. This study demonstrates the utility of the bench-scale SBR in effectively studying complex, full-scale treatment problems, at negligible cost in equipment and operator time. Results such as these provide plant managers and facility planners with specific treatment data to make sound judgments on capital facility improvements and process enhancements to address various regulatory compliance issues. The study method also provides an excellent educational tool for plant operators to broaden their knowledge base for biological waste treatment.
