Difference between Extended Aeration VS Aeration in Water Treatment

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Normally the three process named Extended Aeration, Aeration, and Activated Sludge process are little puzzling. can any one simply explain what is Extended Aeration, Aeration, and Activated Sludge process? 

Thank You.

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6 Answers

  1. Here is the answer from Chat GPT: how do you all think she/he/it did? 

    Both extended aeration and aeration are methods used in the treatment of wastewater. However, there are some key differences between the two processes.

    Aeration is a process in which air is added to wastewater to encourage the growth of aerobic bacteria. These bacteria consume organic matter in the wastewater and convert it into carbon dioxide and water. Aeration can be accomplished using several different methods, including diffused aeration, surface aeration, and mechanical aeration.

    Extended aeration, on the other hand, is a variation of the aeration process that involves the use of a specialized aeration tank. In extended aeration, wastewater is allowed to remain in the aeration tank for an extended period of time, typically 20 to 30 hours. During this time, the aerobic bacteria are given more time to consume organic matter in the wastewater. The extended time in the aeration tank allows for a more complete breakdown of organic matter, resulting in a higher quality effluent.

    One of the main benefits of extended aeration is that it can be used to treat wastewater with a lower organic loading rate. This means that it can be a more cost-effective option for smaller communities or businesses that generate less wastewater.

    In summary, while both aeration and extended aeration are methods used in the treatment of wastewater, extended aeration is a variation of aeration that involves allowing the wastewater to remain in the aeration tank for an extended period of time to allow for a more complete breakdown of organic matter.

    1 Comment

    1. hmm, this can be improved: 

      first of all, I noticed the app is not really "knowing" what it is writing, some things feel just oddly worded/phrased (e.g; "One of the main benefits of extended aeration is that it can be used to treat wastewater with a lower organic loading rate. This means that it can be a more cost-effective option for smaller communities or businesses that generate less wastewater." , which is odd).

       

      Technically: some remarks too:

      *) surface aeration is most often mechanical aeration

      *) the term extended aeration pertains to the sludge age and not the HRT

       

  2. New to this group and still in the learning stage.  ChatGPT gave me a pretty good simple explanation of this process.

    Sure, I'd be happy to explain these three wastewater treatment processes in simple terms:

    1. Aeration: This is a process used in wastewater treatment to introduce air into the wastewater. The purpose of aeration is to increase the amount of dissolved oxygen in the wastewater, which helps to promote the growth of aerobic bacteria. These bacteria break down organic matter in the wastewater, converting it into simpler compounds.

    2. Activated Sludge process: This is a common wastewater treatment process that uses a combination of aeration and settling to remove organic matter and other pollutants from wastewater. In this process, wastewater is mixed with a mixture of microorganisms, known as "activated sludge." The mixture is then aerated to provide the microorganisms with oxygen, which allows them to break down the organic matter in the wastewater. The mixture is then settled, and the resulting effluent is separated from the activated sludge.

    3. Extended Aeration: This is a variation of the activated sludge process that is designed to handle wastewater with a low organic load. In extended aeration, the wastewater is mixed with activated sludge and aerated for an extended period of time, typically 24 hours or more. This allows the microorganisms in the activated sludge to break down the organic matter in the wastewater more slowly and efficiently. The resulting effluent is then settled, and the activated sludge is returned to the aeration tank to continue treating the wastewater.

    Source:  https://chat.openai.com/chat

     

     

  4. Activated sludge simply means that in the presence of oxygen biological mass is formed that allows the organisms to convert soluble organic wastes into suspended solids that can be separated by gravity. Longer aeration times are known as Extended aeration. There are simpler and lower-cost fixed film processes that need much less energy and are easy to operate. Consider the biophilic nature-based design for best results if you have enough land area to use plants and other living organisms to do the treatment.

    S. Ram Shrivastava, P.E. , Larsen Engineers, Rochester NY

  5. Dear Sunil: (1) Activated Sludge is one of the many ways to treat wastewater.  It is an aerobic system, meaning, the process employs aerobic microorganisms to help us to clean the wastewater, which requires free oxygen to live.  (2) Aeration: a physical process used to transfer free oxygen to the water: it can go from fine bubbles put at the bottom of the thank (like in a fish pond) to letting the water fall through a packed media (stones, plastics, and so; (3) extended aeration is a variation of the activated sludge process in which we use a very high retention time in the aeration tank looking for a lower F/M (Food/Microorganisms) value.  Doing so, we try to produce less final amount of sludge to be disposed and a more stable system but we have a higher initial investment cost and operational cost.    

  6. Hi Sunil,

    aeration is the physical proces (different types possible) of getting oxygen in the mixed liquor. 

    activated sludge process is just the type of  (aerobic) WWT process used. Other types are e.g.: different biofilm processes (mobile (e.g. MBBR) of stationary media (e.g. Trickling filter)) and eventually MBR-processes (which is in essence a type of activated sludge process, but in which sludge separation is done with a membrane).

    extended aeration: is an activated  sludge process, but one with a quite low organic sludge loading rate, or corresponding high sludge age (say, about > 25 days SRT. This value of 25 days is arbitrary and several authors use different values).