Integrated anaerobic/aerobic biodegradation in an internal airlift loop reactor for phenol wastewater treatment

Anaerobic and aerobic biodegradation were integrated in an internal airlift loop reactor (IALR) by adding porous microbial carriers. In this bioreactor, aerobic activated sludge was suspended in the liquid bulk, while the anaerobic microbes were attached within the core of carriers. The integrated IALR was applied to the treatment of synthetic phenol wastewater. After 50 days’ acclimation according to co-substance strategy, the influent COD decreased from 3,700 mg/L to 400 mg/L (phenol removal rate was over 99%) with the residence time of 24 h. High performance could be achieved under the operation condition of superficial gas flow rate higher than 0.07 cm/s, temperature beyond 15°C and the microbial carrier volume fraction larger than 5%. Integration of anaerobic/aerobic biodegradation in IALR enhanced the synergetic effects between aerobic and anaerobic degradation; therefore, it has great potential in the treatment of phenol wastewater and other wastewater containing hard biodegradable organics.