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High-rate biological wastewater treatment processes for carbon recovery are able to improve the energy balance and carbon footprint of water resource recovery facilities. Combination of a high-rate moving bed biofilm reactor (HR-MBBR) with a rapid flotation (HR-DAF), as a replacement for the 'A stage' of the A-B process, can achieve this objective. The main goal of this study was to maximize the capture of biodegradable particulate matter from an HR-MBBR effluent by an HR-DAF. A pilot-scale HR-DAF process was operated downstream of an HR-MBBR treating screened municipal wastewater. The particulate biodegradable matter recovery was evaluated by determining the total suspended solids (TSS) removal efficiency. TSS recovery in experiments without chemicals at low surface loading rates (<15 m/h) and high recycle ratio (>25%) was 94± 1%. By using a tannin-based polymer, the solids capture efficiency of the HR-DAF was slightly improved with TSS recovery reaching 96± 1% at a high SLR (at least 22 m/h) and low recycle ratio (14%). The anaerobic biodegradability of the tannin tested was determined to be 17%. The HR-DAF process downstream of an HR-MBBR gave a very good particulate matter recovery that offers a promising alternative to the A-B process for carbon recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this study was to develop an innovative process to maximize the biotransformation of colloidal and soluble biodegradable matter (CSB) into particulate matter (XB) for energy recovery via methane production. Two configurations were studied: (1) high-rate moving bed bioreactor (HR-MBBR) and (2) inoculum-chemostat (IC) system consisting of a very HR-MBBR inoculating a continuous flow stirred-tank reactor. The effect of hydraulic retention time (HRT), specific organic loading rate (SOLR), and dissolved oxygen (DO) level were determined using real wastewater at pilot scale. Results showed that in the HR-MBBR process, a very high CSB biotransformation efficiency (90%) was obtained in a wide range of SOLRs (2.0 to 5.5 g C SB m-2 d-1) corresponding to an optimum HRT of 36 minutes. The IC process reached a maximum CSB biotransformation efficiency of 77%, at SOLRs ranging from 22 to 30 g CSB m-2 d-1 at an HRT of 3.7 hours. The DO concentration in the HR-MBBR influenced the CSB bio-transformation ratio, while the HRT and the SOLR were the dominant factors influencing this ratio in the IC process. Based on these results, the IC process could be an interesting alternative to high-rate systems towards obtaining energy positive/efficient from water resource recovery facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]