Mass balance of carbon in anaerobic ponds applied under a mediterranean climate
This project examined the application of anaerobic ponds for the primary treatment of urban wastewater under a Mediterranean climate. The objectives of the study were to determine removal performances and to study sludge accumulation and the production of biogas. Together, these results allowed us to calculate the carbon mass balance in the anaerobic ponds. This work was carried out in the two large primary anaerobic ponds of the waste stabilization pond system at the Ecosite of Mèze (Hérault, France), treating domestic wastewater for 13,800 person-equivalents (PE). Anaerobic ponds were 5,000 m3 in volume, 3.1 m in depth and presented a retention time of 4.6 d with a mean volumetric organic loading of 83 g BOD5 /m3 ×d× The characteristics of the influent and effluent (including: suspended solids (SS); chemical oxygen demand (COD); biological oxygen demand (BOD5); bicarbonate (HCO3 -); total organic carbon (TOC); and volatile fatty acids (VFA)) were determined twice-monthly. The volume of sludge and its characteristics (including: SS; volatile solids (VS); TOC; and VFA) were measured monthly. The production of biogas and its composition (CH4, CO2, H2 S) were measured with gas collectors specially developed for this study. Results showed that the anaerobic ponds constituted a good primary treatment with mean removal rates of 55% for SS, 30% for BOD and 22% for COD. Removal performances were relatively constant over the year. Indeed, removal rates were essentially due to the removal of particulate organic matter by sedimentation. Anaerobic degradation occurred essentially in the sludge layer and the removal of soluble COD was low. The study of sludge characteristics showed that anaerobic digestion equilibrium was reached after one year of operation. The beginning of methanogenesis could be observed by the decrease in the concentration of volatile fatty acids. The accumulation of sludge showed seasonal variation with an important accumulation in winter and the digestion of the accumulated stock in summer. This evolution could be related to the influence of temperature on methanogenesis. The mean rate of sludge accumulation was only 3.8 g SS/P-E×d or 0.017 m3/P-E×yr. This rate was significantly lower than for the primary settling tank (50-60 g SS/P-E×d) and for the facultative ponds (0.085 m3 /P-E×yr) due to the intensive anaerobic degradation. The production of biogas was measured by gas collectors specially developed for this study. The biogas contained essentially CH4 (83%); CO2 was less than 4% because it dissolved in the water column and was converted into bicarbonate alkalinity. The concentration of H2 S was less than 1% (between 75 and 4770 ppm) but was the cause of unpleasant odours. The biogas production rate was strongly dependent on temperature. A non-linear relationship was obtained (Ebiogas=4.8451 × e 0.1203T , r 2 =0.92, n=16). The mean annual biogas production rate was calculated to be 49 L/m2 ×d. Seasonal variation in the biogas production rate could be related to seasonal variations in sludge accumulation. The carbon mass balance showed that 74% of the removed organic carbon was converted into CH4, 13% into dissolved inorganic carbon (bicarbonates) and only 15% was stored in sludge. The mass balance was well equilibrated and did not show the entry of atmospheric CO2, which occurs in aerobic ponds where CO2 is used by algae to produce their cell biomass. In an anaerobic pond, the low production of sludge was due to the efficiency of the anaerobic degradation but also to the low internal biomass production. To conclude, the use of a primary anaerobic pond was advantageous and permitted a reduction in the required surface area for a waste stabilization pond system. This process produced effluent for secondary treatment in a facultative pond with essentially the removal of the particulate organic matter. However, However, anaerobic ponds may cause odor problems linked to the emission of H2 S.