Foam control in lakes and sewage receiving water bodies: A pre-emptive approach using decentralized inline water treatment design

Das, R and HN, C and Rao, L (2024) Foam control in lakes and sewage receiving water bodies: A pre-emptive approach using decentralized inline water treatment design. In: Environmental Pollution, 346 .

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Abstract

Hideous and persistent foams on surface water bodies are global issues with far-reaching environmental consequences. This study examines Bellandur Lake (Bengaluru, India) plagued by foam since 2005 due to surfactant-laden untreated sewage ingress. Bellandur Lake receives 258 million liters of inadequately treated sewage daily, constituting 47 of its total volume. Yearlong water quality monitoring reveals that a) high surfactant levels (up to 17.8 ± 1 ppm) and b) prevalent anoxic conditions at lake inlets. Laboratory experiments show that controlled aeration achieved >90 surfactant degradation within 30 h at 3.5 ppm of dissolved oxygen conditions, indicating the need for an aeration chamber design based on the required residence time for inline water treatment. Based on these findings, a design of an inline wastewater treatment system to be installed at sewage entry points into the lake is presented in this work. The inline system was based on experimentally validated BioWin software. Simulations show that recirculating sludge enhances treatment efficiency, achieving effective surfactant degradation in 20 h (2/3rd original time) of residence time. Predictions suggest <1 ppm surfactant levels in the receiving water body, meeting local discharge norms to prevent frothing. This holistic approach, proposed for the first time, could serve as a blueprint for managing foam-related challenges in other waterbodies, offering insights into design, stakeholder engagement, and process optimization. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Environmental Pollution
Publisher:	Elsevier Ltd
Additional Information:	The copyright for this article belongs to the Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords:	Biochemical oxygen demand; Dissolved oxygen; Optimization; Sewage; Surface active agents; Wastewater treatment; Water quality, Decentralised; DEWATS; Foaming lake; Inline treatment; Lake rejuvenation; Receiving water bodies; Residence time; Surface water body; Surfactant degradation; Water treatment design, Lakes, nitrogen; surfactant; water, dissolved oxygen; lake water; residence time; sewage; surfactant; wastewater treatment; water quality, Article; biomass; bioremediation; chemical oxygen demand; foam; lake; oxygen consumption; process optimization; rejuvenation; sewage; simulation; stakeholder engagement; wastewater; water monitoring; water quality; water treatment, Bengaluru; India; Karnataka
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Centre for Sustainable Technologies (formerly ASTRA)
Date Deposited:	23 Apr 2024 09:48
Last Modified:	23 Apr 2024 09:48
URI:	https://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/84625

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