Modelling multiple mineral precipitation in anaerobic digester liquor

Mineral precipitation problems have been experienced with the conveyance and treatment of anaerobically digested primary and waste activated sludge blends. This paper describes an experimental investigation into mineral precipitation in anaerobic digester liquor (ADL) from the Cape Flats (CF) Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) (Cape Town, South Africa), and application of the three-phase (aqueous/solid/gas) physical and chemical processes kinetic model developed by Musvoto et al. (Water Res. 34 (2000) 1857; Water Res. 34 (2000) 1868; Water SA 26(4) (2000) 417) to the experimental data. From the experimental investigation and theoretical modelling, it is concluded inter alia that: (i) there is a close correlation between experimental measured and theoretically predicted data, (ii) the dominating mineral that precipitates is struvite, with small amounts of amorphous calcium phosphate and negligible newberyite, calcite and magnesite, (iii) the precipitation of struvite is governed by the increase in pH when CO2 is lost from the ADL, (iv) the ADL is initially undersaturated with respect to struvite, but becomes supersaturated at pH>7.3–7.7, (v) the rate and mass of struvite precipitation are controlled by the rate of pH increase and the initial Mg concentration and (vi) the three-phase kinetic model is able to simulate accurately the time dependent precipitation data for multiple minerals competing for the same species and allows determination of specific precipitation rates for a number of minerals simultaneously in an integrated manner from a single batch test. Some operational strategies to minimise struvite precipitation are proposed.