Biological nitrogen removal using bio-sorbed internal organic carbon from piggery wastewater in a post-denitrification MLE process.

Nitrogen removal from a piggery wastewater was investigated in a post-denitrification modified Lüdzack Ettinger (PDMLE) process. Overall hydraulic retention time (HRT) of the PDMLE, consisting of contact/separator (C/S), nitrification, denitrification and re-aerobic bioreactor was 10 days. 60% of the influent SCOD was separated in the C/S by contacting the return sludge with the synthetic wastewater, however, only 10% of the influent SCOD was separated from the piggery wastewater. Biosorption capacities of the synthetic wastewater and piggery wastewater were 800 and 150 mg/g-MLSS, respectively. In spite of the high organic and nitrogen load, nitrification efficiency was above 95%, and nitrification rate was about 180 mg-NH4+-N/L x day. The removed delta COD/delta nitrate ratios in the denitrification tank were 4.0 and 11.5 g-SCOD/g-nitrate, while denitrification rates were 8.4 and 2.6 mg-nitrate/day for synthetic and piggery wastewater, respectively. In the proposed PDMLE process, both bio-sorbed and bypassed organic matter could be successfully used for nitrate reduction as carbon sources and the final TN removal efficiency was as high as 95%.     

The effect of temperature and sludge age on COD removal and nitrification in a moving bed sequencing batch biofilm reactor.

This study investigates the effect of temperature and the sludge age on the performance of a moving bed sequencing batch biofilm reactor (MBSBBR) for COD removal and nitrification. The experiments are conducted in a lab-scale MBSBBR operated at three different temperatures (20, 15 and 10 degrees C) with a synthetic feed simulating domestic sewage characteristics. Evaluation of the results revealed that removal of organic matter at high rates and with efficiencies over 90% was secured at all operation conditions applied. The nitrification rate was significantly influenced by changes in temperature but complete nitrification occurred at each temperature. The nitrification rates observed at 20 and 15 degrees C were very close (0.241 mg NO(x)-N/m2d, 0.252 mg NO(x)-N/m2 d, respectively), but at 10 degrees C, it decreased to 0.178 mg NO(x)-N/m2d. On the other hand, the biomass concentration and sludge age increased while the VSS/TSS ratios that can be accepted as an indicator of active biomass fraction decreased with time. It is considered that, increasing biofilm thickness and diffusion limitation affected the treatment efficiency, especially nitrification rate, negatively.     

Grey water treatment in UASB reactor at ambient temperature.

In this paper, the feasibility of grey water treatment in a UASB reactor was investigated. The batch recirculation experiments showed that a maximum total-COD removal of 79% can be obtained in grey-water treatment in the UASB reactor. The continuous operational results of a UASB reactor treating grey water at different hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 20, 12 and 8 hours at ambient temperature (14-24 degrees C) showed that 31-41% of total COD was removed. These results were significantly higher than that achieved by a septic tank (11-14%), the most common system for grey water pre-treatment, at HRT of 2-3 days. The relatively lower removal of total COD in the UASB reactor was mainly due to a higher amount of colloidal COD in the grey water, as compared to that reported in domestic wastewater. The grey water had a limited amount of nitrogen, which was mainly in particulate form (80-90%). The UASB reactor removed 24-36% and 10-24% of total nitrogen and total phosphorus, respectively, in the grey water, due to particulate nutrients removal by physical entrapment and sedimentation. The sludge characteristics of the UASB reactor showed that the system had stable performance and the recommended HRT for the reactor is 12 hours.     

Effects of solid retention time on the performance of submerged anoxic/oxic membrane bioreactor.

In this study, four similar bench-scale submerged Anoxic/Oxic Membrane Bioreactors (MBR) were used simultaneously to investigate the effects of solids retention time (SRT) on organic and nitrogen removal in MBR for treating domestic wastewater. COD removal efficiencies in all reactors were consistently above 94% under steady state conditions. Complete conversion of NH(4+)-N to NO(3-)-N was readily achieved over a feed NH(4+)-N concentration range of 30 to 50 mg/L. It was also observed that SRT did not significantly affect the nitrification in the MBR systems investigated. The average denitrification efficiencies for the 3, 5, 10 and 20 days SRT operations were 43.9, 32.6, 47.5 and 66.5%, respectively. In general, the average effluent nitrogen concentrations, which were mainly nitrate, were about 22.2, 27.6, 21.7 and 13.9 mg/L for the 3, 5, 10 and 20 days SRT systems, respectively. The rate of membrane fouling at 3 days SRT operation was more rapid than that observed at 5 days SRT. No fouling was noted in the 10 days and 20 days SRT systems during the entire period of study.     

A combined UASB-MBR with shortcut nitrification-denitrification for energy reduction in wastewater reclamation

Shortcut nitrification has been successfully applied in a laboratory scale nitrification-denitrification process consisting of an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) and an aerobic membrane bioreactor (MBR) in treating synthetic and municipal wastewater to simultaneously remove organic carbon and nitrogen. For the treatment of synthetic wastewater, the combined system exhibited a high TOC removal of 98% with a steady ammonia removal efficiency of about 98% in the MBR and a total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency of 90%. In treating municipal wastewater, due to its low COD concentration, removal efficiencies of TOC, ammonia and TN were 70%, 98% and 60%, respectively. The biogas production was around 76.4 L/m3 wastewater when treating synthetic wastewater. However, little biogas was produced when treating municipal wastewater which was the result of low organic carbon loading to the UASB. Energy analysis has demonstrated that this novel shortcut nitrification process could consume less energy than a conventional process and have the potential of bio-energy generation via biogas production thus helping to achieve a more favorable energy balance.     

Performance evaluation of subsurface wastewater infiltration system in treating domestic sewage

This study was to investigate domestic treatment efficiency of a subsurface wastewater infiltration (SWI) system over time. The performances of a young SWI system (in Shenyang University, China, fully operated for one year) and a mature SWI system (in Shenyang Normal University, China, fully operated for seven years) under the same operation mode were contrasted through field-scale experiments for one year. The performance assessment for these systems is based on physical and chemical parameters collected. The removal efficiencies within the young system were relatively high if compared with the mature one: for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), suspended solids (SS), ammonia nitrogen (NH(3)-N) and total phosphorus (TP) were 95.0, 89.1, 98.1, 87.6 and 98.4%, respectively. However, the removal efficiencies decreased over time. The mean removal efficiencies for the mature SWI system were as follows: BOD (89.6%), COD (87.2%), SS (82.6%), NH(3)-N (69.1%) and TP (74.4%). The results indicate that the mature SWI system successfully removed traditional pollutants such as BOD from domestic wastewater. However, the nutrient reduction efficiencies (including NH(3)-N and TP) decreased after seven years of operation of the mature SWI system. Meanwhile, the SWI system did not decrease the receiving surface water quality.     

Potentials and limits of a pre-denitrification/ nitrification biofilter configuration for advanced municipal wastewater treatment.

Pre-denitrification in biofilters is limited by the amount of easily degradable organic substrate, resulting in relatively high requirements for external carbon. The combination of pre-DN, N and post-DN filters is much more advisable for most municipal wastewaters, because the recycle rate can be reduced and external carbon can be saved. For minimum use of external carbon, 100-150% recycle rate should not be exceeded. Then, approximately 50-60% of the total NO3-N can be depleted in the pre-DN stage. On average, 10 g total (t) COD/g NO3-N were required in the pre-DN stage for denitrification in the pilot and full-scale plant and 0.4-0.5 kg NO3-N/(m(3)DN d) can be reached without external carbon. As only 40-70% of the COD load is eliminated in the pre-DN, the remaining COD load is removed in the nitrification stage. 1 kg COD/(m(3) d) suppresses nitrification rates by approximately 0.1 kg NH4-N/(m(3) d). For nitrification rates, > 0.5 kg NH4N/(m(3) d) at 12 degrees C not more than 2 kg COD/(m(3) d) may be eliminated in the nitrification.     

Enhancement of oxygen transfer and nitrogen removal in a membrane separation bioreactor for domestic wastewater treatment.

Biological nitrogen removal in a membrane separation bioreactor developed for on-site domestic wastewater treatment was investigated. The bioreactor employed hollow fiber membrane modules for solid-liquid separation so that the biomass could be completely retained within the system. Intermittent aeration was supplied with 90 minutes on and off cycle to achieve nitrification and denitrification reaction for nitrogen removal. High COD and nitrogen removal of more than 90% were achieved under a moderate temperature of 25 degrees C. As the temperature was stepwise decreased from 25 to 5 degrees C, COD removal in the system could be constantly maintained while nitrogen removal was deteriorated. Nevertheless, increasing aeration supply could enhance nitrification at low temperature with benefit from complete retention of nitrifying bacteria within the system by membrane separation. At low operating temperature range of 5 degrees C, nitrogen removal could be recovered to more than 85%. A mathematical model considering diffusion resistance of limiting substrate into the bio-particle is applied to describe nitrogen removal in a membrane separation bioreactor. The simulation suggested that limitation of the oxygen supply was the major cause of inhibition of nitrification during temperature decrease. Nevertheless, increasing aeration could promote oxygen diffusion into the bio-particle. Sufficient oxygen was supplied to the nitrifying bacteria and the nitrification could proceed. In the membrane separation bioreactor, biomass concentration under low temperature operation was allowed to increase by 2-3 times of that of moderate temperature to compensate for the loss of bacterial activities so that the temperature effect was masked.     

Investigating the spatial-temporal variation of nitrogen cycling in an urban river in the North China Plain

Urban rivers are essential in retaining nutrients, but little is known about nitrogen cycling in these rivers in semiarid areas. We measured chemical and isotopic compositions of ammonium (NH4(+)-N) and nitrate (NO3(-)-N) to investigate spatial-temporal variation of nitrogen cycling in the Fuhe River in the North China Plain. Nitrogen pollution in the river was mainly induced by extra NH4(+)-N inputs which come from the discharges of urban sewage and effluents of wastewater treatment plants in upstream. NH4(+)-N obtained from decomposing organic matter of sediments can diffuse into the overlying water. Intense nitrification then occurs at the terrestrial-aquatic interface. Due to less vegetation in spring and autumn, loss of NH4(+)-N is mainly caused by nitrification. In contrast, significant NH4(+)-N is absorbed by plants in summer. NO3(-)-N generated from nitrification can be denitrified during the study period. The highest NO3(-)-N loss (about 86.3%) was observed in summer. The contribution of NO3(-)-N loss due to denitrification is 44.6%. The remaining 55.4% is due to plant uptake. The results suggested that nitrogen cycling in the river is related to temperature and dry-wet cycles. And vegetation restoration along the river could benefit the incremental improvements to the aquatic ecosystem.     

Degradation of organic matter from domestic wastewater with loofah sponge biofilm reactor

A laboratory-scale oxic biofilm reactor using loofah sponge as support material was carried out to study its start-up characteristics and the optimum operation parameters in removing organic matter and nitrogen from domestic wastewater. It took no more than 10 days to complete microbiological cultivation and acclimation, indicating that the natural loofah sponge was a superior support material compared with some conventional ones. The influence parameter experiments showed that the hydraulic retention time (HRT) had a significant influence on the COD and NH(3)-N removal efficiencies, the average COD and NH(3)-N removal efficiencies were 83.7 and 96.9% respectively when the temperature was 25 ± 2 °C, the influent flow rate was 0.21 L/h and the HRT was 7.5 h. The loofah sponge biofilm system had a strong tolerance to organic shock loading in the present experiment. Additionally, it was found that domestic wastewater could be preferably treated with 88.9% of COD and 98.7% of NH(3)-N removal efficiencies with the corresponding influent concentrations of 260.0 and 26.8 mg/L, respectively. The observations obtained in the present study indicated that the loofah sponge was an excellent natural support material, potentially feasible for the present system for the treatment of the decentralized domestic wastewater.     

曝气生物滤池去除有机物及氨氮的影响因素分析

采用以陶粒为填料的曝气生物滤池(BAF)处理生活污水,研究气水比、水力负荷、进水COD和NH3-N负荷对BAF去除COD及NH3-N的影响,分析COD及NH3-N沿滤柱的变化规律。结果表明:当试验进水COD及NH3-N质量浓度分别为300~370mg/L和20~40mg/L时,最佳气水比为4∶1~5∶1,最佳水力负荷为1.0~2.0 m3/(m2.h)。当进水COD负荷为1.69~6.47 kg/(m3.d)时,COD去除率与进水COD负荷成正相关。BAF的硝化性能与进水NH3-N和COD负荷成负相关。     

Treatment of slaughterhouse plant wastewater by using a membrane bioreactor

The use of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) for removal of organic substances and nutrients from slaughterhouse plant wastewater was investigated. The chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations of slaughterhouse wastewater were found to be approximately 571 mg O2/L, 102.5 mg/L, and 16.25 mg PO4-P/L, respectively. A submerged type membrane was used in the bioreactor. The removal efficiencies for COD, total organic carbon (TOC), TP and TN were found to be 97, 96, 65, 44% respectively. The COD value of wastewater was decreased to 16 mg/L (COD discharge standard for slaughterhouse plant wastewaters is 160 mg/L). TOC was decreased to 9 mg/L (TOC discharge standard for slaughterhouse plant wastewaters is 20 mg/L). Ammonium, and nitrate nitrogen concentrations of treated effluent were 0.100 mg NH4-N/L, and 80.521 mg NO3-N/L, respectively. Slaughterhouse wastewater was successfully treated with the MBR process.     

Feasibility study on the removal of nitrous compounds with a hollow-fiber membrane biofilm reactor.

The objective of this study was to develop an integrated nitrogen treatment system using autotrophic organisms. A treatment system consists of an aerobic hollow-fiber membrane biofilm reactor (HfMBR) and anaerobic HfMBR. In the aerobic HfMBR, a mixture gas of air and O2 was supplied through the fibers for nitrification. Denitrification occurred in the anaerobic HfMBR using H2 as the electron donor. The treatment system was continuously operated for 190 days. NH4-N removal efficiencies ranging from 95% to 97% were achieved at NH4-N concentrations of influent ranging from 50 to 100 mg N/L. When glucose was added to the influent, the simultaneous nitrification and denitrification occurred in the aerobic HfMBR, and nitrogen removal rates were changed according to the COD/NH4-N ratio of influent. In the anaerobic HfMBR, autotrophic denitrification using H2 occurred and the removal rates achieved in this study were 23-58 mg N/m2 d. In this study, the achieved removal efficiency was lower than other study findings; however, the result suggested that this hybrid HfMBR system can be used effectively for nitrogen removal in oligotrophic water.     

中水湿地去氮效果研究

以山东省平阴中水湿地为研究对象,通过对湿地水体、底泥的氨态氮(NH3-N)、硝态氮(NO3--N)沿程变化的分析,研究湿地对中水中氮(N)的去除效果。结果表明:湿地对水体中NH3-N的去除效果较好,而作为水体中N主要存在形式的NO3--N沿水流方向却呈增加趋势,微生物硝化作用强烈。底泥中总氮(TN)沿水流方向也呈增加趋势,累计效应比较明显。研究结果为湿地设计的进一步改进提供理论支持。     

Performance of slow rate systems for treatment of domestic wastewater.

The performance of slow rate (SR) systems in terms of treatment efficiency, environmental and health risks, and land sustainability was investigated over a three-year period in a rural community close to Iraklio, Greece. Four plant species (Acacia cyanophylla, Eucalyptus camandulensis, Populus nigra and Arundo donax) were used in order to investigate the role of vegetation in the treatment of wastewater and in biomass production. Wastewater effluent was pre-treated in a septic tank before its application to land. Applied hydraulic loading rates were based on crop water requirements which were determined separately for each plant species. The evaluation of treatment performance was accomplished by measuring COD, TKN, NH3-N, NO3-N, total and reactive P, TC and FC in soil solution samples taken at different depths (15, 30 and 60 cm). SR systems showed great potential for COD, TKN and NH4-N removal which reached 89, 90 and 94%, respectively at a depth of 15 cm. An outstanding removal was also observed for TC and FC which reached 99.99%. The concentration of both P and NO3-N in soil solution increased with the passage of time, but it was lower in winter. Despite the differences in the application rates among the SR systems planted with different plant species, the treatment efficiency was not affected. Moreover, increasing the soil depth from 15 to 60 cm had no effect on the treatment efficiency of the SR systems.     

Comparison between a moving bed bioreactor and a fixed bed bioreactor for biological phosphate removal and denitrification

Moving bed bioreactors (MBBR) and fixed bed bioreactors (FBBR) were compared for biological phosphorus removal and denitrification. The sorption denitrification P-elimination (S-DN-P) process was selected for this study. Results indicated that all nutrients were removed by the FBBR process compared with the MBBR process: 19.8% (total COD), 35.5% (filtered COD), 27.6% (BOD(5)), 62.2% (acetate), 78.5% (PO(4)-P), and 54.2% (NO(3)-N) in MBBR; 49.7% (total COD), 54.0% (filtered COD), 63.2% (BOD(5)), 99.6% (acetate), 98.6% (PO(4)-P), and 75.9% (NO(3)-N) in FBBR. The phosphate uptake and NO(3)-N decomposition in the FBBR process during the denitrification phase were much higher than for the MBBR process despite being of shorter duration. Results obtained from this study are helpful in elucidating the practical implications of using MBBR and FBBR for the removal of bio-P and denitrification from wastewater.     

厌氧-生物托盘系统处理生活污水试验研究

针对分散建筑的特点,厌氧-生物托盘系统对生活污水进行了处理试验,分析研究了处理系统污染物的去除效果,COD去除率为90%以上,SS为85%以上,NH3-N为80%以上,TP为80%以上,出水水质各项指标达到中水回用的要求。     

Baffled membrane bioreactor (BMBR) for advanced wastewater treatment: easy modification of existing MBRs for efficient nutrient removal.

In this study, a novel membrane bioreactor (MBR) in which nitrification and denitrification simultaneously proceed in a single reaction chamber is proposed for advanced municipal wastewater treatment. Anoxic/aerobic environments are alternatively created in the proposed MBR by inserting baffles inside the membrane chamber. The performance of the proposed baffled membrane bioreactor (BMBR) was examined at an existing municipal wastewater treatment facility based on long-term operation. Although the procedure was simple, insertion of the baffles actually created the alternative anoxic/aerobic environments in the chamber at a constant interval and showed a great improvement in the nutrient removal. The insertion did not cause any adverse effect on membrane permeability. In this study, almost complete elimination of NH4+-N was observed while around 8 mg/L of NO(3-)-N was detected in the treated water. The modification proposed in this study can immediately be applied to most existing MBRs and is highly recommended for more efficient wastewater treatment.     

Nutrients removal in hybrid fluidised bed bioreactors operated with aeration cycles.

Abstract Two hybrid fluidised bed reactors filled with sepiolite and granular activated carbon (GAC) were operated with short cycled aeration for removing organic matter, total nitrogen and phosphorous, respectively. Both reactors were continuously operated with synthetic and/or industrial wastewater containing 350-500 mg COD/L, 110-130 mg NKT/L, 90-100 mg NH3-N/L and 12-15 mg P/L for 8 months. The reactor filled with sepiolite, treating only synthetic wastewater, removed COD, ammonia, total nitrogen and phosphorous up to 88, 91, 55 and 80% with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 10 h, respectively. These efficiencies correspond to removal rates of 0.95 kgCODm(-3)d(-1) and 0.16 kg total N m(-3)d(-1).The reactor filled with GAC was operated for 4 months with synthetic wastewater and 4 months with industrial wastewater, removing 98% of COD, 96% of ammonia, and 66% of total nitrogen, with an HRT of 13.6 h. No significant phosphorous removing activity was observed in this reactor. Microbial communities growing with both reactors were followed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) techniques. The microbial fingerprints, i.e. DGGE profiles, indicated that biological communities in both reactors were stable along the operational period even when the operating conditions were changed.     

微波-活性炭联用对焦化废水中氨氮和COD的同时去除研究

工业生产中未达标的废水直接排放是导致湖泊等受纳水体污染的一个重要原因。以焦化企业生化外排水为处理对象,采用微波－活性炭联用技术对废水中的NH³-N和COD进行同时去除研究。结果表明：随着活性炭用量的增加,COD去除率逐步增大,而NH³-N的去除率逐步下降;微波功率和辐射时间的增加有利于污染物的去除;采用微波-活性炭联用进行动态水处理试验时,废水中NH³-N和COD去除率分别可达85.3%和60.3%。此研究为工
业废水的治理提供了新的思路。