Biological nitrogen removal from coke plant wastewater with external carbon addition

Abstract

Coke plant wastewater containing high concentrations of ammonia and toxic compounds such as phenol and cyanide was treated using a biological nitrogen removal (BNR) system comprising carbon removal, nitrification, and dentrification stages. The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of complete ammonia removal from the coke plant wastewater using a sequential BNR process with external carbon addition. Sodium acetate was introduced as an external carbon source to the denitrification stage after oxidation of phenol and other carbonaceous compounds in the carbon‐removal stage. The efficiency of denitrification was strongly affected by the loading rate of the external carbon source, and its optimal rate was determined based on the ratio of chemical oxygen demand to nitrate‐ and nitrite‐nitrogen (COD:NOx‐N) of the denitrification stage. The overall removal efficiency of major soluble pollutants in the wastewater was greater than 95% in the BNR system. When a step input of phenol was introduced to check the stability of the overall system, the nitrification was markedly inhibited because of the incomplete degradation of phenol in the carbon‐removal stage. However, after this brief inhibition, the nitrification stage recovered to its normal efficiency within 18 days.