Efficient treatment of forest industrial wastewaters : Energy efficiency and resilience during disturbances

Sammanfattning: This work concerns the efficient treatment of wastewaters from pulp and paper mills by means of aerobic biological processes. For treatment processes there are many aspects of efficiency and the present study investigates both energy efficiency and purification efficiency during disturbances.Special focus is put on wood extractives, such as resin acids and fatty acids, since they can cause negative effects in fish and other organisms in the receiving waters. They can furthermore be toxic to microorganisms in a biological treatment plant. They also affect oxygen transfer, which is important for energy efficient aeration of aerobic biological treatment processes.This thesis includes five papers/studies and presents a strategy for efficient treatment of forest industrial wastewaters. The results should help creating resilient wastewater treatment strategies with efficient use of energy. One new strategy proposed here includes separation of extractives before the wastewater is treated biologically, and the use of the extra amount of sludge as an energy source, shifting the energy balance from negative to positive.