Self-Immobilization of Aerobic Activated Sludge–A Pilot Study of the Aerobic Upflow Sludge Blanket Process in Municipal Sewage Treatment

The Aerobic Upflow Sludge Blanket (AUSB) Process is a new biological wastewater treatment process applying the concept of the self-immobilization to aerobic activated sludge. This report discussed the experimental results for municipal sewage treatment using the pilot AUSB apparatus. The sludge produced in the AUSB process formed granules (diameter: 2 - 8 mm), showing excellent settleability. Under the condition of 1.57 kg/m3 day of BOD volumetric loading in winter, the following quality was obtained for the treated water : 20 mg/ℓ of BOD and 9.6 mg/ℓ of SS. The MLSS in the AUSB reactor was maintained at 8200 mg/ℓ.