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Experimental Methods in Wastewater Treatment

This course assembles and integrates innovative experimental methods developed by different research groups and practitioners around the world and broadly applied in wastewater treatment research and practice.

For whom?

Undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, laboratory staff, plant operators, consultants and other professionals working on environmental engineering, sanitation, sanitary engineering and wastewater treatment. 

Prerequisites

Background on environmental engineering, sanitation, sanitary engineering and wastewater treatment.

Learning objectives

Upon completion, the participant should be able to:
  1. - To explain the fundamentals and main methodological steps involved in the preparation and conduction of experimental methods applied to assess biological conversion processes and microbial population dynamics in (waste-)water treatment systems.
  2. - To design and conduct experimental methods to assess the biological conversion processes and identify the dominant microbial populations in (waste-)water treatment systems.
  3. - To critically analyze and discuss data and results obtained from experimental methods to assess the microbial population dynamics in (waste-)water treatment systems.
  4. - To evaluate the process performance and characteristics of biological wastewater treatment processes.

Course Content

1. ACTIVATED SLUDGE ACTIVITY TESTS

Aerobic organic matter removal
Biological nitrogen removal

  • Nitrification
  • Denitrification
  • Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox)

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal

  • Anaerobic EBPR batch activity tests
  • Anoxic EBPR batch tests
  • Aerobic EBPR batch tests

Biological sulphate reduction

2. RESPIROMETRY

Wastewater characterization
Biomass characterization
Off-gas analysis
Emission measurements

3. SETTLING TESTS

Sludge settleability tests in secondary settling tanks

  • Sludge volume index (svi)
  • Diluted sludge volume index (dsvi)
  • Batch settling curve and hindered settling velocity

Flocculation state of activated sludge - settling behaviour of granular sludge

4. MICROSCOPY

The light microscope
Morphological investigations
Examining activated sludge samples microscopically
Flouroscence in situ hybdridization
Combined staining techniques

5. MOLECULAR METHODS

Extraction of dna
Real-time quantitative pcr (qpcr)
Amplicon sequencing

6. DATA HANDLING

Theory and methods
Methodology and workflow

  • Parameter estimation
  • Uncertainty analysis

Lecturers

  • Prof. Damir Brdjanovic, IHE Delft, The Netherlands
  • Dr. Carlos M. Lopez Vazquez, IHE Delft, The Netherlands
  • Dr. Francisco Rubio Rincon, IHE Delft, The Netherlands
  • Prof. Mark van Loosdrecht, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
  • Prof. Per Nielsen, Aalborg University, Denmark
  • Dr. Gurkan Sin, Denmark University of Technology, Denmark
  • Prof. Ingmar Nopens, Gent University, Belgium
  • Dr. Henri Spanjers, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands

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