PhD Defence Silvia Bentancur Caballero
On Monday 24 June 2024, the PhD Defence and Awarding Ceremony of Ms. Silvia Bentancur Caballero from Uruguay, will take place. Her promotors are Professor Damir Brdjanovic and Prof. Hector Garcia Hernandez and her copromotor Dr. Carlos Lopez Vazquez.
The title of her thesis is:
Plant-wide modelling of the UPM pulp mill wastewater treatment plant in Uruguay
Research summary
This research evaluates the performance of a state-of-the-art pulp mill, UPM, wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) focusing on phosphorus (P). The WWTP, designed for a daily influent flow of around 73,000 m3, applies a conventional aerobic activated sludge system. Utilizing BioWin software, that involves an integrated activated sludge/anaerobic digestion model, the WWTP was effectively modeled describing both current and historical WWTP operation. The model allows for predicting diverse future scenarios. Various approaches were explored to reduce effluent TP concentration, including introducing an anaerobic phase and chemical phosphorus removal (CPR). Additionally, resource recovery potential was assessed, considering methane production from secondary sludge and P recovery as struvite. Lab-scale studies investigated CPR operational factors like chemical additives, pH, temperature, and polymer doses, highlighting optimal conditions for total phosphorus (TP) removal. The research also examined the biological removal of P in a lab-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) under fully aerobic conditions. Both co-precipitation and post-precipitation CPR approaches were considered for their efficacy in TP meeting discharge standards. Overall, the study aimed to enhance WWTP performance, exploring innovative strategies for P removal and resource recovery in the context of a pulp mill environment.