KPI science park offers technology for biological wastewater treatment

The science park Kyivska Polytechnika at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI) offers the promising technology for biological wastewater treatment, capable of meeting modern standards.

It is expedient to use this technology for purifying urban and industrial wastewater. In addition to relevant research, this technology was applied at a tannery, dairy processing plants and a malting house in Ukraine. Technology is used sequentially in buildings under anaerobic, aerobic and anoxic conditions with the help of carriers immobilized on microorganisms.

Importantly, the technology enables a reduction in sludging by 3-5 times and 50% reduction in energy consumption. Applying immobilized microorganisms enables high-concentrated biomass in a structure that amounts to 9-15 grams per cubic decimeter, the high quality of formed sludge whose ash content accounts for about 50%, non-use of pump equipment, and a decrease in the discharge of a blowing station. Based on the results of lab studies and industrial research, methods for calculating the efficiency of anaerobic-aerobic bioreactors, quantity of a carrier to reconstruct an existing structure and design a new one were evolved.

Utilities, namely sewage treatment plants based in cities and villages, industrial and private treatment facilities are the prospective customers of the above technology.

In recent years the quality of water has degraded in natural reservoirs because numerous industrial enterprises and utilities discharge untreated wastewater. According to a national climate report, 34-46% of the wastewater, which falls below water quality standards, is released into the environment.

An increase in the concentration of organic matter, compounds of nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater has entailed degrading the quality of reservoirs, which are the primary sources of drinking water supplies for many Ukrainian households. In several water reservoirs of Ukraine, the discharges of ammonium nitrate, nitrates and phosphates exceeded the maximum allowable level 2-15 times, 7-20 times and 2-5 times respectively. The majority of existent water treatment plants do not assure the adequate quality of purifying wastewater of compounds of nitrogen and phosphorus because they are designed to remove organic compounds for the most part in accordance with a building code.