Process for treating effluents containing nitrogen in ammonium form, and equipment for implementing this process

1. A process for treating effluents containing nitrogen in ammonium form, employing a sequential bioreactor, wherein said process comprises:

introducing into the bioreactor in one or more successive volume fractions a volume of effluents to be treated in a complete cycle,

treating each volume fraction during a subcycle, the subcycle comprising:

supplying in a supply phase one of the volume fractions to the bioreactor,

determining, at an end of the supply phase, an initial concentration of N—NH 4 in the bioreactor,

setting a desired concentration of N—NH 4 in the bioreactor to be reached by an end of an aerating step,

determining the weight of N—NH 4 to be treated from the volume of effluents in the bioreactor by the end of the supply phase, and from the difference between the initial concentration of N—NH 4 in the bioreactor and the desired concentration of N—NH 4 in the bioreactor to be reached by the end of the aerating step,

setting a maximum aeration time T M for the aerating step,

determining an initial air flow rate Qair init , for a start of the aerating step, the initial air flow rate being determined taking into account the weight of N—NH 4 to be treated and the maximum aeration time T M , from the following formula:

Q air init =k ×weight of N—NH 4 to be treated×60 /T M

where:

Qair init =initial air flow rate to be applied, in Nm 3 /h (normal m 3 per hour),

k=coefficient between 0.1 and 0.5,

weight of N—NH 4 to be treated, expressed in grams,

T M expressed in minutes, and

in the case of injection of oxygen, the oxygen flow rate is deduced from Qair init and the oxygen content of the air, and

injecting air or oxygen into the effluents in the bioreactor during the aerating step starting with the determined initial air flow rate so that at least partial oxidation of the ammonium to nitrates is achieved during the aerating step, and

decanting and emptying the bioreactor after an end of the complete cycle.

2. The process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein, during the aerating step, the air flow rate is calculated and adjusted throughout the remaining period of aeration as a function of the value of the residual oxygen concentration.

3. The process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the desired N—NH 4 concentration to be reached by the end of the aerating step is between 40% and 60% of the initial concentration of N—NH 4 .

4. The process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the aeration is maintained until the desired concentration of N—NH 4 is reached, or until the maximum aeration time T M is reached.

5. The process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the coefficient k is selected with an average value between 0.1 and 0.25.

6. The process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein, in the subcycle, the aerating step is followed by an unaerating step, in anoxic conditions, during which the nitrites produced and the ammonium are converted to gaseous nitrogen by deammonification, without supply of carbon-containing substrate.

7. The process as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the last subcycle is carried out taking into account the results of the preceding subcycles:

if the feed admitted during the preceding subcycles has been treated almost completely, the evaluation being based on the ammonium concentration at the end of the penultimate subcycle, which is less than or equal to 5 mg/L, a new ammonium feed is introduced during a supply phase of the last subcycle, for treatment in aeration and then in anoxic conditions,

whereas if the feed admitted during the preceding subcycles has only been treated partially, and the residual ammonium concentration is high, above 5 mg/L, the last subcycle is used for treating this residual feed, without a supply phase.

8. A plant for treating effluents containing ammonium, the plant comprising a sequential bioreactor, and a set of equipment associated with the bioreactor comprising:

a device for supplying the bioreactor with effluents, in one or more successive volume fractions,

aerating means positioned at the bottom of the bioreactor and connected to a source of air or oxygen under pressure,

at least one mechanical stirring means, in the bioreactor,

a system for evacuation of the treated water, from the bioreactor,

a system for extraction of excess sludge,

various sensors situated in the effluents to be treated in order to determine the ammonium to be treated and the number of treatment sequences to be carried out,

at least one sensor for measuring the ammonium concentration N—NH 4 in the sequential bioreactor,

and a calculating means for controlling the aerating means in an aerating step by:

determining a maximum aeration time T M dedicated to the aerating step,

determining the weight of N—NH 4 to be treated from the volume of effluents in the bioreactor by the end of the supply phase, and from the difference between the initial concentration of N—NH 4 in the bioreactor and a desired concentration by the end of the aerating step, and

determining an initial air flow rate Qair init , for the start of the aerating step taking into account the weight of N—NH 4 to be treated and the maximum aeration time T M , from the following formula:

Q air init =k ×weight of N—NH 4 to be treated×60 /T M

where:

Qair init =initial air flow rate to be applied, in Nm 3 /h (normal m 3 per hour),

k=coefficient between 0.1 and 0.5,

weight of N—NH 4 to be treated, expressed in grams,

T M expressed in minutes, and

in the case of injection of oxygen, the oxygen flow rate is deduced from Qair init and the oxygen content of the air.

9. The plant of claim 8 , wherein k=a coefficient between 0.1 and 0.25.