Effect of Biofilm Density on Nitrous Oxide Emissions and Treatment Efficiency on Sequencing Batch Biofilm Reactor

Abstract

The reduction of nitrous oxide (N2O) emission during nitrogen removal process in municipal wastewater treatment is of great urgency. Sequencing batch biofilm reactor (SBBR) system could be a promising and efficient way to solve the problem. In order to get the high chemical oxygen demand (COD) and nitrogen removal efficiency and low nitrous oxide emission, the influence of biofilm density on SBBR was investigated. When the biofilm density changed from 15 to 30 %, the effluent COD, total nitrogen (TN) and ammonia nitrogen decreased, but the effluent TN concentration did not meet the class I-B standard of the Discharge Standard of Pollutants for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant in China. COD, TN, and ammonia nitrogen concentration was 42.34, 19.14 and 2.97 mg/L at 50 % biofilm density. When the density turned from 50 to 70 %, although the effluent COD, TN, and ammonia nitrogen were still decreased, N2O emission increased from 0.45 to 0.77 %. Considering the effluent quality and N2O emission, the optimal biofilm density in SBBR was 50 %.