Influence of Major Operational Parameters on Aerobic Granulation for theTreatment of Wastewater

200 Pages·2014·6.11 MB·English

by  Bindhu B K

INFLUENCE OF MAJOR OPERATIONAL
PARAMETERS ON AEROBIC GRANULATION
FOR THE TREATMENT OF WASTEWATER

Thesis submitted to
Cochin University of Science and Technology
for the award of the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

By
BINDHU B.K.
(Reg. No. 3760)

Under the supervision of
Prof. (Dr.) G. MADHU

DIVISION OF SAFETY AND FIRE ENGINEERING
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
COCHIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
KOCHI-682 022, KERALA, INDIA

December 2013
Influence of Major Operational Parameters on Aerobic Granulation for the
Treatment of Wastewater

Ph.D. Thesis

By
Bindhu B K.
Division of Safety and Fire Engineering
School of Engineering
Cochin University of Science and Technology
Cochin-682022, Kerala, India
[email protected]

Supervising Guide
Prof. (Dr.) G. Madhu
Professor & Head
Division of Safety and Fire Engineering
School of Engineering
Cochin University of Science and Technology
Cochin-682022, Kerala, India

December 2013
DIVISION OF SAFETY & FIRE ENGINEERING,
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
COCHIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
KOCHI – 682 022, KERALA, INDIA

21st December 2013

This is to certify that the thesis entitled Influence of Major Operational
Parameters on Aerobic Granulation for the Treatment of Wastewater is an
authentic original work done by Bindhu B. K. under my supervision and
guidance in the School of Engineering, Cochin University of Science and
Technology. No part of this thesis has been presented for any other degree from
any other institution.

Prof. (Dr.) G. Madhu
(Supervising Guide)
e-mail: [email protected]
phone: [phone]
Fax: +91 - 484 - 2550952

Declaration
I hereby declare that the work presented in the thesis entitled Influence
of Major Operational Parameters on Aerobic Granulation for the Treatment of
Wastewater is based on the original work done by me under the supervision and
guidance of Prof. (Dr.) G. Madhu, Division of Safety and Fire Engineering,
School of Engineering, Cochin University of Science and Technology. No part of
this thesis has been presented for any other degree from any other Institution.

Bindhu B.K.

21st December 2013.

Dedicated to

The Little Wonders of Nature

I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude and indebtedness to my
supervisor and guide Prof. (Dr.) G. Madhu. It has been my good fortune to have the
opportunity of working with Dr. Madhu. I wish to thank him for his concern and
support whenever I met with difficulties. In every sense he has been a true teacher and
a great philosopher to me. I wish to record my thanks to Professor Madhu for the
freedom he has given me in carrying out this research work. I express my sincere
gratitude to Dr. Narayanan Namboothiri, Member, Doctoral Committee for his
valuable and timely help.
I express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. K.P. Indiradevi, Principal, Rajiv Gandhi
Institute of Technology (RIT), Kottayam for providing all the institutional facilities. I
thank Dr. A.K. Padmini, Head, Department of Civil Engineering, RIT, for her constant
support and motivation. My thanks are also due to Prof. Gymmy Joseph Kattoor, former
head of the department for his encouragement.
Crises are common at every stages of research. Whenever I plunged in to such
situations, there was a helping hand with a viable solution. I am profoundly indebted
to my senior colleague, friend and guide Dr. Bino I. Koshy, Professor, RIT for the
constant help and support rendered by him from the beginning to the end of this work.
He stood with me as a treasure house of ideas for the entire period of my work.
The technical solutions offered by my colleague Mr. Johnson Mathew for my
experimental work are duly acknowledged. I am thankful to my colleagues Ms. Dhanya
B.S. and Mr. Jomy Thomas who helped me to get reference materials from their fellow
scholars at IIT Madras. Ms. Bindumol K. Varghese, our office assistant is much more
than a friend to me. I owe her a lot for being with me, with simple solutions and ample
assistance throughout my work. I acknowledge with thanks the invaluable assistance
provided by Arun C.P., Aswathy Das, Jeethu Joseph, Pretty Varghese, and
Vivek Philip. I owe special thanks to Dr. Leena Mary, Professor, RIT, for the
technical support given to me for the preparation of this thesis.
I would like acknowledge the travel support provided by TEQIP of RIT for
presenting a paper based on my research in an international conference at Rome, Italy
and the financial assistance in the form of SEED money from Centre for Engineering
and Research Development (CERD) Thiruvananthapuram.
The help provided by the technical staff of School of Environmental Studies
(CUSAT), Sophisticated Test and Instrumentation Centre (STIC), CUSAT and the
Rubber Research Institute, Kottayam for extending their laboratory facilities for the
image analysis for my work is duly acknowledged. The technical support from FACT,
Cochin, MILMA, Kottayam and Meenachil Rubbers, Palai is also acknowledged.
I express my heartfelt thanks to my loving husband Suresh for his continuous
encouragement, patience, and cheerful dispositions which helped me to pursue my
dreams. To my daughters, Namitha and Kavitha, a special hug and gratitude for their
affectionate support, forbearance and co-operations. I also express my gratitude to my
parents and family members for their prayers and encouragement they have rendered
during the course of my research work.
Besides all, I express my worshipful gratitude to the Almighty, the source of
strength during the entire endeavour and in the personal life.

Bindhu B.K.