Aeration is the most critical component of a treatment system using the activated sludge process. A well designed aeration system has a direct impact on the level of wastewater treatment it achieves.
Wastewater aeration is the process of adding air into wastewater to allow aerobic bio-degradation of the pollutant components. It is an integral part of most biological wastewater treatment systems. Unlike chemical treatment which uses chemicals to react and stabilize contaminants in the wastewater stream, biological treatment uses microorganisms that occur naturally in wastewater to degrade wastewater contaminants. In industrial wastewater treatment, aeration is part of the stage known as the secondary treatment process. The activated sludge process is the most common option in secondary treatment. Aeration in an activated sludge process is based on pumping air into a tank, which promotes the microbial growth in the wastewater. The microbes feed on the organic material, forming flocks which can easily settle out. After settling in a separate settling tank, bacteria forming the "activated sludge" flocks are continually recirculated back to the aeration basin to increase the rate of decomposition.
Type of aeration: