Reactores biológicos híbridos para el tratamiento de aguas residualesevaluación de aplicaciones innovadoras

Abstract

This PhD thesis evaluates different applications of hybrid biological processes, which integrate suspended biomass and biofilm in the same reactor, for wastewater treatment. The experience gained in a pilot plant treating urban wastewater configured according to UCT scheme for nutrient removal, having hybrid fixed bed reactors in the anoxic and aerobic stages, is presented. The results demonstrate that the presence of biofilms in the hybrid reactors increases the system capacity in terms of nitrogen removal, and also show the ability of the suspended biomass to remove phosphorus in these systems. An AQUASIM based model was developed to simulate the behavior of the system and, specifically, the behavior of the biofilm and suspended biomass present in the hybrid anoxic reactor. This model allowed to establish the operating conditions that are considered desirable to achieve high removal performance in hybrid anoxic reactors. Finally, the application of hybrid systems in aerobic reactors with membranes is assessed for sewer mining, in order to improve the quality of surface waters and evaluated compared to more conventional approaches through a cost-effectiveness analysis applied to a case study.