Nitrogen Removal in Fixed-Bed Submerged Biofilters without Backwashing

1999 ◽  
Vol 40 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 142-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Canziani ◽  
R. Vismara ◽  
D. Basilico ◽  
L. Zinni

The paper reports the findings of four years of pilot-scale research on nitrogen removal in fixed-bed biofilters fed on real raw municipal wastewater. The plant was made of two fixed-bed biofilm reactors in series with an intermediate settling tank from which excess biomass from the first stage was discharged. The first filter was used for carbon removal either with oxygen or nitrates. The second filter was used for nitrification. The average nitrification rate at 20°C was 0.84 gNH4+-N m−2d−1 with 5 mg l−1 dissolved oxygen in the bulk liquid. Temperature dependence was calculated (rn = rn,20° 1,05T-20). The influent organic load strongly affected ammonia oxidation. If the organic loading exceeded 2.5 gCOD m−2 d−1 nitrification rate was reduced by 50%. Denitrification was performed by recycling nitrates back from the second filter and by using sewage itself as carbon source. Denitrification rate showed to be strongly dependent on temperature (rd = rd,20° 1.11T-20) and on the recycle rate. Hydrolysis of the colloidal COD fraction showed a similar dependence on both temperature and recycle rate. Therefore, it has been concluded that the hydrolysis of finely dispersed COD particles can be the limiting step of denitrification in the biofilter when real sewage is used as carbon source.

2010 ◽  
Vol 61 (9) ◽  
pp. 2325-2332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ma Juan ◽  
Peng Chengyao ◽  
Wang Li ◽  
Wang Shuying ◽  
Liu Yang ◽  
...  

The performance of a 18 L step-feed cyclic activated sludge technology (CAST) combined with real-time control treating real municipal wastewater was evaluated. The operation strategies employed pH and oxidation reduction potential (ORP) as on-line control parameters, which can control the durations of oxic and anoxic phases flexibly. The obtained results showed that the studied process had achieved advanced and enhanced nitrogen removal by several phases of consecutive oxic/anoxic periods. Total nitrogen in effluent was lower than 2 mg/L and the average TN removal efficiency was higher than 98%, while only requiring small amount of external carbon source. Unexpected characteristic points in pH and ORP profiles denoting the depletion of nitrate were also observed during the last anoxic phase. Denitrification rate was found to be more dependent on the system temperature compared to nitrification rate. Moreover, a stable and efficient phosphorus removal rate above 90% was achieved by using step-feed strategy which enabled the influent carbon source to be fully used and the favourable condition for phosphorus releasing to be created during the anoxic phases.


2010 ◽  
Vol 61 (9) ◽  
pp. 2259-2266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Styliani Kantartzi ◽  
Paraschos Melidis ◽  
Alexander Aivasidis

In the present study, a laboratory scale system, consisting of a primary settling tank, a continuous stirred tank reactor and a clarifier were constructed and operated, using wastewater from the municipal wastewater treatment plant in Xanthi, Greece. The system operated under intermittent aeration in aerobic/anoxic conditions and feeding of the wastewater once in every cycle. The unit was inoculated with sludge, which originated from the recirculation stream of the local wastewater treatment plant. The wastewater was processed with hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 12 h, in which various experimental states were studied regarding the combination of aerobic and anoxic intervals. The wastewater was fed in limited time once in every cycle of aerobic/anoxic conditions at the beginning of the anoxic period. The two states that exhibited highest performance in nitrification and total nitrogen removal were, then, repeated with HRT of 10 h. The results show that, regarding the nitrification stage and the organic load removal, the intermittent system achieved optimum efficiency, with an overall removal of biological oxygen demand (BOD5) and ammonium nitrogen in the range of 93–96% and 91–95% respectively. As far as the total nitrogen removal is concerned, and if the stage of the denitrification is taken into account, the performance of the intermittent system surpassed other methods, as it is shown by the total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) removal efficiency of 85–87%. These operating conditions suppressed the growth of filamentous organisms, a fact reflected at the SVI values, which were lower than 150 ml/g.


2012 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 1109-1115 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Rodríguez-Hernández ◽  
A. L. Esteban-García ◽  
A. Lobo ◽  
J. Temprano ◽  
C. Álvaro ◽  
...  

A new hybrid membrane bioreactor (HMBR) has been developed to obtain a compact module, with a small footprint and low requirement for aeration. The aim of this research was to assess its performance. The system consists of a single vertical reactor with a filtration membrane unit and, above this, a sponge fixed bed as support medium. The aeration system is located under the membrane unit, allowing for membrane cleaning, oxygenation, biofilm thickness control and bulk liquid mixing. Operated under continuous aeration, a bench-scale reactor (70 L) was fed with pre-treated, raw (unsettled) municipal wastewater. BOD5 and suspended solids removal efficiencies (96 and 99% respectively) were comparable to those obtained with other membrane bioreactors (MBRs). Total nitrogen removal efficiencies of 80% were achieved, which is better than those obtained in other HMBRs and similar to the values reached using more complex MBRs with extra anoxic tanks, intermittent aeration or internal deflectors.


2009 ◽  
Vol 59 (12) ◽  
pp. 2371-2377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Yang ◽  
X. H. Liu ◽  
Y. Z. Peng ◽  
S. Y. Wang ◽  
H. W. Sun ◽  
...  

To obtain economically sustainable wastewater treatment, advanced nitrogen removal from municipal wastewater and the feasibility of achieving and stabilizing short-cut nitrification and denitrification were investigated in a pilot-plant sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with a working volume of 54 m3. Advanced nitrogen removal, from summer to winter, with effluent TN lower than 3 mg/L and nitrogen removal efficiency above 98% was successfully achieved in pulsed-feed SBR. Through long-term application of process control in pulsed-feed SBR, nitrite accumulation reached above 95% at normal temperature of 25°C. Even in winter, at the lowest temperature of 13°C, nitrite was still the end production of nitrification and nitrite accumulation was higher than 90%. On the basis of achieving advanced nitrogen removal, short-cut nitrification and denitrification was also successfully achieved. Compare to the pulse-feed SBR with fixed time control, the dosage of carbon source and energy consumption in pulsed-feed SBR with process control were saved about 30% and 15% respectively. In pulsed-feed SBR with process control, nitrogen removal efficiency was greatly improved. Moreover, consumption of power and carbon source was further saved.


Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 827
Author(s):  
Liqiu Zhang ◽  
Youwen Huang ◽  
Shugeng Li ◽  
Peifen He ◽  
Dengmin Wang

2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (7) ◽  
pp. 1712-1721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaoming Zheng ◽  
Yun Li ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Yanzhuo Zhang ◽  
Wei Bian ◽  
...  

The aim of the present work was to evaluate the effects of carbon sources and chemical oxygen demand (COD)/NO2−-N ratios on the anammox–denitrification coupling process of the simultaneous partial nitrification, anammox and denitrification (SNAD) biofilm. Also, the anammox activities of the SNAD biofilm were investigated under different temperature. Kaldnes rings taken from the SNAD biofilm reactor were operated in batch tests to determine the nitrogen removal rates. As a result, with the carbon source of sodium acetate, the appropriate COD/NO2−-N ratios for the anammox–denitrification coupling process were 1 and 2. With the COD/NO2−-N ratios of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, the corresponding NO2−-N consumption via anammox was 87.1%, 52.2%, 29.3%, 23.7% and 16.3%, respectively. However, with the carbon source of sodium propionate and glucose, the anammox bacteria was found to perform higher nitrite competitive ability than denitrifiers at the COD/NO2−-N ratio of 5. Also, the SNAD biofilm could perform anammox activity at 15 °C with the nitrogen removal rate of 0.071 kg total inorganic nitrogen per kg volatile suspended solids per day. These results indicated that the SNAD biofilm process might be feasible for the treatment of municipal wastewater at normal temperature.


2018 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Foladori ◽  
S. Petrini ◽  
M. Nessenzia ◽  
G. Andreottola

Abstract The optimization of total nitrogen removal from municipal wastewater was investigated in a laboratory-scale photo-sequencing batch reactor (PSBR) operated with a mixed microalgal–bacterial consortium spontaneously acclimatized to real wastewater. No external aeration was provided in the PSBR to reduce energy consumption: oxygen was only supplied by the microalgal photosynthesis. The enhancement of total nitrogen removal was achieved through: (1) feeding of wastewater in the dark phase to provide readily biodegradable COD when oxygen was not produced, promoting denitrification; (2) intermittent use of the mixer to favor simultaneous nitrification–denitrification inside the dense flocs and to achieve 41% energy saving with respect to continuous mixing. Efficient COD removal (86 ± 2%) was observed, obtaining average effluent concentrations of 37 mg/L and 22 mg/L of total COD and soluble COD, respectively. TKN removal was 97 ± 3%, with an average effluent concentration of 0.5 ± 0.7 mg NH4+-N/L. Assimilation of nitrogen by heterotrophic bacteria accounted only for 20% of TKN removal, whilst the major part of TKN was nitrified. In particular, the nitrification rate was 1.9 mgN L−1 h−1 (specific rate 2.4 mgN gTSS−1 h−1), measured with dissolved oxygen near zero, when the oxygen demand was higher than the oxygen produced by photosynthesis. Total nitrogen of 6.3 ± 4.4 mgN/L was measured in the effluent after PSBR optimization.


2004 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 17-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Cappai ◽  
A. Carucci ◽  
A. Onnis

In this experimental study the characterization of 2 industrial wastewaters, coming from an ice cream production industry (IW1) and a beet-sugar factory (IW2), with respect to their readily biodegradable fraction and denitrification potential, has been performed. To this end physical-chemical and biological characterization methods, both anoxic and aerobic, were used. Moreover a pilot scale SBR fed with municipal wastewater was started to verify the effect of the gradual addition of the concentrated organic wastewaters during the anoxic phase. The SBR was initially fed only with a primary municipal wastewater, then the organic load was increased by adding to the feed, during the anoxic phase, a small amount of the IW1 (second period). Once the initial conditions were restored the load was again raised using the second industrial wastewater (IW2) (third period). With those additions the nitrogen removal efficiency increased from 26% to 50%, in the case of the IW1 and from 23% to 53% in the case of the wastewater IW2, without any negative effect on the global performance of the system. In addition, periodical kinetic studies of denitrification and nitrification in the SBR, were performed.


1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (12) ◽  
pp. 117-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Purtschert ◽  
H. Siegrist ◽  
W. Gujer

In coordination with the EU-guidelines the large wastewater treatment plants in Switzerland have to be extended with enhanced nitrogen removal. Due to the existing plant configuration, the low COD/N ratio and dilute wastewater, denitrification supported by an external carbon source instead of extending the plant may be an interesting and cost effective solution for municipal wastewater treatment. At the wastewater treatment plant Zürich-Werdhölzli different experiments were performed with methanol addition to predenitrification from March to July 1994. The aim of this work was to evaluate the use of methanol as an alternative to plant extension to achieve a higher nitrogen removal efficiency. Therefore, two parallel denitrifying lanes were investigated, one served for methanol addition experiments and the other as a control. The effect of oxygen input into the anoxic zone due to influent, return sludge and mixing was investigated, too. The results show that nitrogen removal efficiency can be substantially increased as compared to the reference lane. The adaptation period for methanol degradation was only a few days and the process was relatively stable. Based on total nitrogen in the inflow, the average denitrification was 55% with methanol addition and 35% without methanol. The yield coefficient YCOD was 0.4 g CODX g−1 CODMe. Due to the small net growth rate of the methanol degraders the denitrification capacity is relatively low and nitrate peak loads cannot be fully denitrified. Hence, methanol as a carbon source requires more or less constant dosing. To prevent nitrate limitation, methanol addition should be controlled by the anoxic nitrate concentrations.


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