Performance of a pilot scale up-flow septic tank for on-site decentralized treatment of residential wastewater

Abstract

The aim of this research was to study the on-site anaerobic treatment of a medium-strength residential wastewater in a pilot-scale up-flow septic tank (UST). The effects of three different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 24, 12 and 6h on the UST performance were investigated. The UST removed 85, 77, and 86% of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total suspended solids (TSS), respectively, at steady state operation and with a 24h HRT. Decreasing the HRT to 12 and then 6h resulted in deteriorated effluent quality and significantly reduced reactor performance. The sludge showed a high specific methanogenic activity (SMA) of 15.2mLCH4g−1VSSd−1 with raw wastewater substrate. The solids accumulated in the tank by the end of the experiment had a VSS/TSS of 0.57, demonstrating significant stabilization. Overall, the UST is concluded to be a technically and economically promising alternative to conventional septic tanks for the on-site decentralized treatment of residential wastewater, particularly in the rural communities of developing countries.