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Struvite deposits in pipes and aerators
TABLE 2
Composition of Crystalline Deposits at the PPP
139
Constituent Actual composition Theoretical composition of
(wt %) struvite (wt %)
Mg 2 10"25 9"8
NH~ 5'01 7'3
PO 3- 38"99 38"8
H20 44"66 44"1 (H20 and organics)
Growth and removal of struvite in aerators
All t he necessary activities, tools and times requi red for t he cl eani ng of
struvite f r om t he aerat ors are given in Tabl e 3. It was det er mi ned t hat t he
t i me and manpower requi red to ' t ow an aer at or to t he jetty, lift it out by
crane, di smant l e, scrape off t he crystal deposi t s, clean, put back t oget her and
t ow it back t o its place in t he l agoon (AAL) was 8.25-10.15 man- hour s. It
t akes t hree peopl e to coor di nat e t he whol e operat i on. These t hree co-
or di nat or s are i ncl uded in t he man- hour s calculation. Aft er r emovi ng t he
struvite f r om t he vari ous part s of t he aer at or (Fig. 2), t he aerat ors were
pl aced back in t he AAL. Tabl e 4 shows t he a mount of struvite accumul at ed
in different aerat or parts.
Growth and removal of struvite in pipes and bends
St ruvi t e deposi t s in pipes and bends for experi ment s run in 1986 are shown
in Tabl e 5. The dat a i ndi cat e t hat struvite deposi t s can occur even wi t hi n 3
weeks as compar ed t o 6 weeks t hat was r epor t ed by West er man e t al . (1985).
It is to be not ed t hat dur i ng t he 24 days of t he experi ment t here were no
st ruvi t e deposi t s in t he acrylic pipe, whilst t he PVC pi pe accumul at ed
10-6 mm of st ruvi t e dur i ng t he same period. St ruvi t e densi t y is ar ound 1"5 kg
l i t er - 1. St ruvi t e deposi t s in t he pi pe bends were great er t han in ot her pi pe
port i ons.
For t he experi ment al studies of st r uvi t e gr owt h in pipes and bends in 1987,
t hree pipes were installed in parallel to receive flow f r om t he di gest ed-
super nat ant overflow. The same flow rate was mai nt ai ned in each of t he
t hree pipes. The flow rate varied f r om 0.15~)' 501iters s-1. When t he flow
rate was less t han 0-15 liters s-1, t he pi pes choked frequent l y due to t he
sludge. For flows above 0. 50liters s -1, it was assumed t hat t he st ruvi t e
f or med woul d be r emoved due to t he hi gh fluid velocity. The average crystal
t hi ckness was 2.58 mm and 2"80 mm for 24 days oper at i on in t wo pipes (1, 3)
140 Mohajit, K. K. Bhattarai, E. Paul Taiganides, B. C. Yap
TABLE 3
Procedures and Time Required to Remove Struvite Deposits from Floating Aerators
]tem Aerator
Number 8 Number 6
Date of cleaning 7 Aug.
Manpower needed (persons) 3
Time taken (min):
- - t o prepare equipment for the whole process 5
- - t o release wire and cable of the aerator from the boat 11
- - t o row and bring aerator to the bank 5
- - t o fasten aerator on to the crane 7
- - t o bring aerator to the cleaning platform 8
- - t o remove motor and place on the platform 12
- - t o clean aerator (one person) 120
- - t o fasten motor back in place 23
- - t o fasten aerator to the crane and tow to the lagoon 17
- - t o put aerator back in its place in thellagoon 15
- - t o connect wire and cable back to the aerator 55
- - t o row back to the bank 5
Total time (h):
--before and after cleaning 8.15
- - f or cleaning 2.00
Total time: man-hours aerator i 10.15
Equipment needed for cleaning only:
---chisel
--hammer
--scraper
--brush
1986 12 Aug. 1986
3
5
9
5
4
7
15
180
10
27
5
13
5
5.25
3.00
8.25
The same equipment was used for
cleaning both aerators
and 3.48 mm for 20 days operat i on in the ot her pipe (2). Pipe Number 2
choked after 20 days of operat i on but was removed for weighing, measuri ng
and cleaning on the same day as the ot her pipes. The struvite formed in the
pipes was flushed by sulphuric and acetic acid solutions in pipes Numbers 2
and 3, respectively. Fl ushi ng pipe Number 2 twice with normal sulfuric acid
removed 3.48 mm in 4 h, while flushing pipe Number 3 three times with
acetic acid removed 2.8 mm in 6 h. Sulfuric acid was more effective t han
acetic acid in completely removi ng struvite. This verified the results of
l aborat ory experiments.
Struvite solubility in acids
The results of the struvite solubility l aborat ory tests at 29C with respect to
det ent i on time in acids are shown in Fig. 3. In 120min det ent i on time,
Struvite deposits in pipes and aerators 141
TABLE 4
St ruvi t e Fo r ma t i o n i n Aer at or s in t he PPP
Date Aerator
of number
cleaning
Position Weight Thickness Struvite Number Number
of (ram) density of hours t~f days
struvite kg liter-1 aerator aerator
(g) max. mean was run was in
lagoon
8 Aug. 86 8
19 Aug. 86 1
i nl et 255.0 9.10 7.39 1.71
out si de 1 149.07 10.95 8-74 1.65
propel l er a 12.92 6 " 3 5 5' 88 1.76
shaft s 38.34 1-85 1.05 1.55
out l et None
i nl et 3096.87 13"10 10.00 1.59
out si de 1 753.35 11'10 8-38 1.70
propel l er 890-42 14"05 12.00 1-60
shaft 1 617.42 17'60 14.44 1"58
out l et 3434. 84 12.15 11'25 1.49
95.30 220
1 793.65 367
a Fi bregl ass-coat ed.
4
5 ~
Fig. 2. Hi gh- speed fl oat i ng aer at or used in the aerat ed anaer obi c l agoon (AAL) showi ng
sect i ons whi ch were studied. 1, Mot or : 2, out l et : 3, shaft: 4, propel l er: 5 and 6, out si de: 7, inlet.
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St ruvi t e deposits in pipes and aerators
TABLE 5
Struvite Formation in Pipes for Digester Effluent in the PPP (1986)
143
Dat e Position Wei ght Thickness St ruvi t e
o f o f (ram) densi t y
cleaning struvite (kg l - 1)
(g) max. mean
Runni ng
t i me
(days)
18 Feb. 87 90 Elbow 1 633.54 69.43 28.38 1-43
11 Aug. 86 90 Elbow 1 820.27 19.85 12-52 1.61
2 Sep. 86 90 Elbow 999"71 13-40 8"81 1-56
11 Aug. 86 Horizontal 2066"19 20- 06 12"55 1.40
2 Sep. 86 VerticaP 1402"28 13"25 10'65 1"51
2 Sep. 86 Horizontal b 2.52 Negligible - -
169
174
24
174
24
24
a Height of digester effluent vertical pipe, 7-6 m.
b Pipe material transparent acrylic; the material for the other pipes was PVC.
Dat e Average f l ow rate o f
digester effluent (liter s - 1)
12 Aug. 86 2.294
13-23 Aug. 86 5.754
24 Aug. 86 2.294
solubility ofst ruvi t e in acetic and sulfuric acids reached respective saturated
values. Struvite solubility in sulfuric acid was greater t han in acetic acid for
the same normal i t y (IN). Based on market prices for acids as of Januar y
1987, it was eight times cheaper to use sulfuric acid (US$0.17 kg- 1 struvite
removed) t han acetic acid (US$1.41 kg -~ struvite removed) for struvite
flushing.
Struvite crystallization
Dat a on the format i on of struvite crystals in the diluted wastewater and in
the presence of acids obt ai ned from l aborat ory experiments are given in
Table 6. In Sample 1, magnesi um concent rat i on in the solution decreased
from 158 ppm to 68 ppm, which shows t hat struvite format i on occurred.
There was no evidence of struvite format i on in Samples 2 and 3.
Removal of magnesi um as Mg( OH) 2
As the pH is increased above 10 to 11, Mg 2+ will start preci pi tati ng out as
Mg(OH)2, thus l oweri ng the avai l abl e Mg 2+ concent rat i on ( Cal dwel l -
Connel l Engineers, 1985). If Mg 2+ coul d be removed usi ng l i me it coul d
144 Mohafit, K. K, Bhattarai, E. Paul Taiganides, B. C. Yap
TABLE 6
Laboratory Test on Struvite Formation at Room Temperature
Sampl e Tot al Li qui d added
number* volume to wast ewat er b
(mr)
p H Ti me o f Wei ght o f Magnesium concentration
stirring struvite (mg l i t er- l)
(min) added (g)
(initial) (final) c
1 600 None 8.02 25 22.998 158 68
2 600 300ml distilled water 7.88 25 30-260 79 78
3 630 30ml 1N sulfuric acid 7.03 25 22-208 150 182
Experiment was done using a magnetic stirrer at maximum speed, and small pieces of struvite
were added as an auto-catalyst.
See text.
b Wastewater sample was collected at the digester overflow outlet. See Methods.
c After 24h.
i nhi bi t struvite crystallization. Thus, l abor at or y experi ment s were per-
f or med to preci pi t at e Mg 2 f r om raw waste usi ng different lime dosages.
The results of t he experi ment s are present ed in Tabl e 7. Dat a show t hat a
lime dosage of 5 g l i t er - 1 removes 98"5% of t he suspended solids. I f used
daily, it woul d be uneconomi cal to use lime to preci pi t at e magnesi um so as
to i nhi bi t struvite gr owt h (see Tabl e 7).
Formula for Struvite growth rate
The average struvite t hi ckness and gr owt h rates in t he shaft section of t he
aer at or are t abul at ed in Tabl e 8. The struvite t hi ckness for each aer at or was
measur ed at t he end of each exper i ment wi t h a vernier calliper at 18-22
TABLE 7
Removal of Magnesium Using Lime in Laboratory Tests
I t em Sampl e number
1 2 3 4 5
Volume (ml) 200 200 200 200 200
Lime added (g) 0 1 1-5 2 2-5
Dose (g/liter) 0 5 7.5 10 12.5
pH of solution 7.83 8'8 10'30 11'71 11'76
Suspended solid removal (%) 0 98.5 98.5 96.3 90-4
Cost to precipitate Mg per m 3 of
waste (US$ per m 3) - - 0.33 0.50 0.66 0"83
St ruvi t e deposits in pipes and aerators 145
TABLE $
Struvite Growth Rate and Thickness in Aerator Shaft
Unit Growt h time, Tot al thickness Growt h rate, Thickness
stopped-time, T s S D G T per unit T
T (days) L s (ram d - ~) x 10- 3 L
(days) (2) (ram) (4) = (3)/(2) (ram) x 10- 3
( 1 ) (3) ( 5 ) = ( 4 ) x ( 1 )
1 32 3' 02 ___0"40 94.4 94.4
(19)
2 34 4-14 + 0' 52 121"8 243-6
(22)
3 42 11"52 + 1"07 274"3 822"9
(21)
4 31 4-24 + 0' 99 136-8 547"2
(20)
5 22 3"08 + 0"79 140"0 700"0
(18)
6 24 3-40 + 0-6 1417 8502
(20)
Fi gur es in br acket s r epr esent t he numbe r of meas ur ement s t aken in or der t o cal cul at e t he
mean shown.
The + number s ar e t he s t andar d devi at i on (SD).
di fferent poi nt s on t he shaft in or der t o arri ve at t he average t hi ckness
i ndi cat ed in col umn (3) of Tabl e 8.
The general f or mul a for st ruvi t e gr owt h rat e can be expressed as:
/
Gr = Gs - - (1)
T
wher e
G r = gr owt h rat e at uni t st opped- t i me T ( mm da y- 1)
Gs = ma xi mum gr owt h r at e ( mm d a y - 1)
l = cons t ant (mm)
T = uni t st opped- t i me (days)
Fr om Fig. 4 t he values of Gs and l ar e 0-151 mm day -1 and 0.058 mm,
respect i vel y (the line of best fit has been dr awn usi ng l i near regressi on; t he
coefficient of cor r el at i on r = 0"999...). Subst i t ut i ng t he val ues of Gs and 1
i nt o eqn (1) t hen,
0.058
Gr = 0.151 - ~ - -
146 Mohajit, K. K. Bhattarai, E. Paul Taiganides, B. C. Yap
1000
800
T
o
x 600
E
z. o o
t ~
200
AT
~L
r =0. 999 . . . .
Tz
I 2 3 ~ 5 6 7 8 9 10
UNIT STOPPED TIME, d (T)
Fig. 4. Struvite thickness in the aerator shaft at different unit stopped-times showing the
two constants; the minimum stopped-time duration (Tz) before significant deposition of
struvite occurs and the maximum thickness (l) which is expected to be scraped offdue to the
start of liquid movement when the propeller is put in motion.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The work reported here was carried out as part of the two-month Research
and Training Programme in Waste Resource Recovery Biotechnologies and
Pollution Control, sponsored by the International Development Research
Centre (IDRC) of Canada in collaboration with the Primary Production
Department (PPD) at the Pig and Poultry Research and Training Institute
(PPRTI), Singapore. The facilities used were those developed under projects
partially funded by the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP/FAO-SIN/74/006) and the Australian Development Assistance
Bureau (ADAB) (GCP/SIN-001/AUL), IDRC, and Industrial Farm (Pte)
Ltd.
REFERENCES
Borgerding, J. (1972). Phosphate deposits in digestion system. J. Wat er Poll. Cont.
Fed., 44, 813--19.
Struvite deposits in pipes and aerators 147
Caldwell-Connell Engineers (1985). Disposal of Digested Sludge from Glenelg
STW. Engineering and Water Supply Department South Australia Report
4-1-4-5.
Taiganides, E. P. (1986). Animal farming effluent problems--an integrated
approach: Resource recovery in large scale pig farming. Water Sci. Tech., 18,
47-55.
Westerman, P. W., Safley, L. M. Jr & Barker, J. C. (1985). Crystalline buildup in
swine and poultry recycle flush systems. In Proceedings of the 5th International
Symposium of Agricultural Wastes. American Society of Agricultural
Engineers, St Joseph, MI, 16-17 December 1985, pp. 613-23.