Study of Mechanical Equipment Performance in Wastewater Treatment Plants

Abstract

Sulaiman Hasan Al-Aawaj. Study of Mechanical Equipment Performance in Wastewater Treatment Plants. Faculty ofEngineering, Ain Shams University. Wastewater can cause a senous pollution problems to the environment if not treated and disposed safely. Biological treatment using activated sludge process represents the most common type of wastewater treatment. Surface aerators which is used to provide the treatment process with the required oxygen is cheap, easy in operation and maintenance and has almost no troubleshooting, however surface aerator is power consuming equipment. The aim of present research is to study the different engineering design parameters which affect the performance of the surface aerators. For this purpose, a pilot plant aeration tank has been designed and constructed in the Sanitary Engineering Laboratory, Public Works Department. The volume of aeration tank was one cubic meter. All experiments were conducted on tap water, and sodium sulfite was used to reduce the dissolved oxygen of water to zero. The results of experimental work showed that the performance of the aerators is enhanced by increasing the rotational speed, number and area of blades, and diameter of aerator. Increasing the immersion of aerator blades in water, revealed to improve the performance up to an immersion equal to approximately 0.15 of the