Biological Denitrification Process Research Articles

Optimization of operating parameters of biological denitrification for coking wastewater treatment

Biological denitrification is a traditional method for treating coking wastewater. Based on the theory of stage-feed water in biological denitrification process, the calculation method of stage-feed water distribution in coking wastewater treatment was discussed. As 100t/h incoming water, 30% incoming water for carbon supplemented source could meet the carbon source requirements. Further, response surface method was used to optimize the refluxes of nitrifying solution and sludge. When the nitrifying solution reflux and sludge reflux is between 51-105% and between 113-175% respectively in the process window controls, the total nitrogen could be controlled below 50mg/L. The research results can be used for reference in the practical application of the segmented inlet water process in biological denitrification for coking wastewater treatment.

Surveying Denitrification Efficacy in Up-Flow Packed Bed Bioreactor Operated under Heterotrophic Condition Using Autotrophic Bacteria

Introduction: The biological denitrification process is an interesting cost-effective technique to remove nitrate from water supplies. Acetic acid can be used as a carbon source in this process, but its consumption rate is a critical issue and, in some cases, it is quite different from stoichiometric constants. The current study aimed to investigate the nitrate removal in an up-flow packed bed bioreactor. Furthermore, various parameters affecting this process were investigated and optimized. In this study, the autotrophic bacteria were used for the heterotrophic process. Materials and Methods: Initially, the autotrophic bacteria were cultured and used for the following heterotrophic conditions in distinct reactors. A pilot-scale anoxic up flow bioreactor packed was constructed using the polyethylene media and applied to remove nitrate from the aqueous environment. Consequently, the effects of hydraulic retention times (HRT) and different acetic acid concentrations as carbon source were evaluated. During the study, the amounts of alkalinity, pH, temperature, and nitrate were checked. Results: The designed bioreactor removed an average of over 88% of nitrate, while the acetic acid consumption was 2 mg/mg NO3-N, which was lower than the stoichiometric constant for heterotrophic process. Moreover, in the three studied HRTs (1.5, 3, and 5 h), the Alkalinity increased from 14.2 to 19.8 %. Conclusion: The results of this study showed high efficiency in nitrate removal via heterotrophic denitrification using acetic acid as carbon source for autotrophic bacteria.

Biological nitrogen removal from wastewater using sulphur-driven autotrophic denitrification.

Biological denitrification process in mainstream wastewater treatment often needs dosing supplemental electrons, consequently adding a remarkable operating cost. Organic carbon compounds are nowadays the most intensively used electron sources in full-scale wastewater treatment, corresponding with the well-understood carbon-nitrogen biogeochemistry for heterotrophic denitrification process. In the twenty-first century, the low-carbon technology is on calling to reduce the carbon footprint and relieve climate changing threatens. Autotrophic denitrification is highly recommended for mainstream wastewater treatment. The reduced-sulphur compounds (such as sulphide, elemental sulphur, and thiosulphate) could be utilised as electron donors, to drive sulphur cycle reactions to reduce nitrate and nitrite to dinitrogen gas. Based on the literature review and our own research experiences, this paper presents our perspectives on sulphur-driven autotrophic denitrification. It particularly focuses on the functional enzymes, sulphur bioreactors, and influential operating factors. Overall, this paper provides new insights on sulphur-nitrogen biogeochemistry and application as a low-carbon technology for nitrogen removal during municipal wastewater treatment.

Effect of low-intensity direct current electric field on microbial nitrate removal in coal pyrolysis wastewater with low COD to nitrogen ratio

The coupling of bioelectrochemical system with the biological denitrification process (R1) was constructed for nitrate removal in coal pyrolysis wastewater (CPW) and the effect of low-intensity direct current electric field was investigated. Compared with control reactor (R2), the total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency in R1 at the optimized voltage of 0.9 V was 94.20 ± 2.14%, which was 14.42% higher than that in R2. The biofilm on the cathode of R1 enhanced the nitrate reducing, however, nitrite was only reduced by bacteria in suspended activated sludge, which was confirmed by cyclic voltammetry measurement (CV). Microbial community network analysis revealed that exoelectrogenic bacteria of Pseudomonas was enriched on the anode of R1, and the “small world”, including Zoogloea, Pseudomonas and Arenimonas, was established under the stimulation of voltage. Therefore, Pseudomonas transferred electron to anode, and Arenimonas could utilize electron from anode to reduce nitrate, which enhanced TN removal in R1.

Adaptation of granular sludge microbial communities to nitrate, sulfide, and/or p-cresol removal.

Effluents from petroleum refineries contain a toxic mixture of sulfide, nitrogen, and phenolic compounds that require adequate treatment for their removal. Biological denitrification processes are a cost-effective option for the treatment of these effluents, but the knowledge on the microbial interactions in simultaneous sulfide and phenol oxidation in denitrifying reactors is still very limited. In this work, microbial community structure and macrostructure of granular biomass were studied in three denitrifying reactors treating a mixture of inorganic (sulfide) and organic (p-cresol) electron donors for their simultaneous removal. The differences in the available substrates resulted in different community assemblies that supported high removal efficiencies, indicating the community adaptation capacity to the fluctuating compositions of industrial effluents. The three reactors were dominated by nitrate reducing and denitrifying bacteria where Thiobacillus spp. were the prevalent denitrifying organisms. The toxicity and lack of adequate substrates caused the endogenous decay of the biomass, leading to release of organic matter that maintained a diverse although not very abundant group of heterotrophs. The endogenous digestion of the granules caused the degradation of its macrostructure, which should be considered to further develop the denitrification process in sulfur-based granular reactors for treatment of industrial wastewater with toxic compounds.

Treatment of nitrate-contaminated groundwater by heterotrophic denitrification coupled with electro-autotrophic denitrifying packed bed reactor

A mixotrophic system consisting of heterotrophic and autotrophic denitrification (HAD) is a reliable system to enhance the denitrification performance of individual systems. In this study, a novel heterotrophic denitrification coupled with an electro-autotrophic denitrifying packed bed reactor (HEAD-PBR) was developed for the treatment of nitrate-contaminated groundwater. Because of the combination of electrochemical and biological denitrification processes in series, electrochemical inhibition of microorganisms was eliminated, and sufficient hydrogen was supplied safely. The efficiency of HEAD-PBR was evaluated using synthetic groundwater (containing 50 and 25 mg N/L of NO3−) at different hydraulic retention times. A high nitrate removal efficiency (∼99%) was achieved, the electrolysis, heterotrophic denitrification, and autotrophic denitrification were responsible for 15.6%–23.4%, 44.6%–68.4% and 15.7%–31.7% of nitrate removal, respectively. This effective material conversion can be attributed to microbial ecological interactions such as sufficient utilization of sawdust and proper consumption of hydrogen, oxygen, and ammonia. The HEAD-PBR was found to be an efficient reactor system with high treatment capacity, but without accumulation of byproduct in effluent. Thus, HEAD-PBR is a promising reactor configuration for nitrate removal and implementation of HAD technology.

Simulation of Aerobic Granular Sludge Process Efficiency

Using aerobic granular sludge for wastewater treatment has multiple advantages compared to conventional activated sludge systems, most important being the ability of simultaneous removal of the pollutants responsible for eutrophication: organic load, compounds of nitrogen (NH4+; NO3-) and phosphorus (PO43-). The advantages are currently exploited for developing the next generation of wastewater treatment systems while the identified limitations are approached by experimental and theoretical researches worldwide. The aim of the study consists in evaluating the possibility of predicting the system�s response to different changes in the influent wastewater loadings. The paper presents simulations results backed up by experimental data for pollutants removal efficiencies evaluation for a sequential batch reactor (SBR) with aerobic granular sludge. The mathematical model is based on the activated sludge model no. 3, which was updated by considering the simultaneous biological nitrification (NH4+NO3) and denitrification (NO3-N2) processes, thus complying with the biochemical reactions occurring in aerobic granular sludge sequential batch reactors. The model developed was validated by the experimental results obtained on a laboratory scale SBR monitored for over a month.

Simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in the activated sludge systems of continuous flow

ABSTRACTThis study has investigated the biological nitrogen removal by simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) processes in a system of continuous flow activated sludge (AS) process. The investigation had four stages and evaluated the system behavior under different solid retention times (SRT), food-to-mass (F/M) ratios and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations. The data showed that the concentration of DO 0.5±0.2 mgO2/L did not affect the growth of heterotrophic bacteria (2.2–3.1 d−1 at 20°C) and autotrophic nitrifying bacteria (0.16–1.94 d−1 at 20°C), resulting in values very close to those obtained in conventional AS processes. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal was over 90% in all stages. The decrease in SRT from 37.2 to 27.8, 19.0 and 10.0 days had no significant influence on the development of SND. In the stage where the carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio was 4.3 mgCOD/mgN L, SND efficiency was of 55%. In the following stages, the C/N ratio was increased and it was possible to achieve efficiencies higher than 98% SND. Overall, the data showed that appropriate controls of carbon and nitrogen input are required to achieve an efficient SND. An established SND technology can save operation time and energy, and might replace the traditional two stages: biological nitrification and denitrification process.

THE ORIENTATION OF BIOLOGICAL NITROGEN TRANSFORMATION PROCESSES IN SOIL UNDER THE ORGANIC PRODUCTION OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

The paper covers the study of direct impact and after-effect of 40 t/ha of cattle manure on theorientation of nitrogen fixation and biological denitrification processes in the root zone of potatoes,spring barley, pea, and winter wheat plants in rotation in a stationary field experiments on leachedblack soil. Application of manure had significantly increased the nitrogen fixation activity, whilepromoting a high level of N2O emission. The use of microbial preparations for pre-seeding bacterization of seeds optimizes the course of biological nitrogen transformation process — through theenhancement of nitrogen fixation activity and reduction of gaseous nitrogen losses (with the exception of Biogran use on potatoes in the year of manure application). Introduction with manure of alarge number of microorganisms to the soil offsets the positive effect of biopreparations use. Yieldrecords and estimation of grain output per hectare within the crop rotation cycle indicates the practicability of combined application of manure and microbial preparations (excluding the year of direct effect of organic fertilizer) in organic agriculture.

Microbial nitrate removal by waste iron shavings from the biological and catalytic ozonation treated dyeing and finishing wastewater

The concentration of total nitrogen (TN) (between 40 and 60 mg/L, mainly nitrate) in the biological and catalytic ozonation treated dyeing and finishing wastewater needs to be reduced before discharge. The present study investigated the feasibility of using waste iron shavings as electron donor for nitrogen removal by biological denitrification. Two anoxic sequencing batch reactors (AnSBR) were continuously operated for more than 100 days. The results showed that the TN removal efficiency increased from 12% in the control reactor (AnSBR-C) to 20% in the reactor with waste iron shavings (AnSBR-Fe). The TN removal was mainly achieved by the reduction of nitrate by heterotrophic denitrification and autotrophic denitrification for AnSBR-Fe. The residual COD (38.4 mg/L) in the effluent of AnSBR-Fe was higher than that (22 mg/L) in the effluent of AnSBR-C, which could be due to that the bacteria preferred to use iron instead of the recalcitrant organics that present in the wastewater. Furthermore, 3DEEM, UHPLC-QTOF and GC–MS analysis were used to characterize the organics in the wastewater, and the results showed that the addition of waste iron shavings affected the degradation of organics during the biological denitrification process.

Simultaneous nitrification/denitrification and stable sludge/water separation achieved in a conventional activated sludge process with severe filamentous bulking

This study investigated the long-term treatment performance of a conventional activated sludge (AS) process operating at a microaerobic DO level (0.5–1.0mg·L−1) in the aeration tank and a long settling time of >10h in the clarification tank for sewage treatment. The microaerobic DO conditions led to severe sludge bulking. However, good sludge/water separation and excellent pollutant removal performance (COD, 95±2%; NH4+-N, 99±1%; and TN, 69±6%) were stably achieved in the microaerobic AS system during its 150days of continuous operation. This is the first report to demonstrate that a long settling time effectively overcame the effect of severe filamentous bulking in conventional AS process, and that microaerobic DO conditions achieved excellent simultaneous nitrification and denitrification reactions in the aeration tank. The process characteristics of the microaerobic AS system differed substantially from those existing biological denitrification processes, including A/O, CANON, and OLAND processes.

Laboratory-scale assessment of vacuum-degassed activated sludge for improved settling properties

ABSTRACTVacuum degassing of activated sludge was tested at eight different Swedish wastewater treatment plants with laboratory-scale equipment in batch mode in order to evaluate its efficiency on improvement of sludge compaction and settling properties. The results show that the efficiency of the degassing technique is mainly dependent on the initial sludge volume index (SVI) of the target sludge which was found to be related to its process configuration. Facilities with full activated sludge-based nitrogen removal processes, including both nitrification and denitrification, had high SVIs (>300 mL g−1) and were strongly affected by vacuum degassing with reduction of SVI up to 30%. Nitrogen removal facilities also including biological phosphorus removal showed better compaction and settling properties with relatively lower SVIs and were affected to a lesser extent by degassing with SVI reduction of 10–20%. Wastewater treatment plants without full biological nitrogen removal, lacking either nitrification or denitrification (or both) processes in the activated sludge had the lowest SVIs observed with almost no effect of vacuum degassing.

Biological denitrification process based on the Fe(0)–carbon micro-electrolysis for simultaneous ammonia and nitrate removal from low organic carbon water under a microaerobic condition

A combined process between micro-electrolysis and biological denitrification (MEBD) using iron scraps and an activated carbon-based micro-electrolysis carrier was developed for nitrogen removal under a microaerobic condition. The process provided NH4+–N and total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiencies of 92.6% and 95.3%, respectively, and TN removal rate of 0.373±0.11kgN/(m3d) at corresponding DO of 1.0±0.1mg/L and HRT of 3h, and the optimal pH of 7.6–8.4. High-throughput sequencing analysis verified that dominant classes belonged to β-, α-, and γ-Proteobacteria, and Nitrospira. The dominant genera Hydrogenophaga and Sphaerotilus significantly increased during the operation, covering 13.2% and 6.1% in biofilms attached to the carrier in the middle of the reactor, respectively. Autotrophic denitrification contributed to >80% of the TN removal. The developed MEBD achieved efficient simultaneous nitrification and autotrophic denitrification, presenting significant potential for application in practical low organic carbon water treatment.

Mineralization of 2-chlorophenol by sequential electrochemical reductive dechlorination and biological processes

In this work, a novel approach was applied to obtain the mineralization of 2-chlorophenol (2-CP) in an electrochemical-biological combined system where an electrocatalytic dehydrogenation process (reductive dechlorination) was coupled to a biological denitrification process. Reductive dechlorination of 2-CP was conducted in an ECCOCEL-type reactor on a Pd-Ni/Ti electrode at a potential of −0.40V vs Ag/AgCl(s)/KCl(sat), achieving 100 percent transformation of 2-CP into phenol. The electrochemically pretreated effluent was fed to a rotating cylinder denitrifying bioreactor where the totality of phenol was mineralized by denitrification, obtaining CO2 and N2 as the end products. The total time required for 2-CP mineralization in the combined electrochemical-biological process was 7.5h. This value is close to those previously reported for electrochemical and advanced oxidation processes but in this case, an efficient process was obtained without accumulation of by-products or generation of excessive energy costs due to the selective electrochemical pretreatment. This study showed that the use of electrochemical reductive pretreatment combined with biological processes could be a promising technology for the removal of recalcitrant molecules, such as chlorophenols, from wastewaters by more efficient, rapid, and environmentally friendly processes.

음폐수의 열가수분해 최적조건 도출과 생물학적 탈질공정에서 열가용화액의 적용 가능성에 관한 연구

The aim of this research is to derive an optimum operating condition for the thermal solubilization equipment that is employed to increase concentration of soluble organic materials and to assess whether it would be possible to use the waste sludge generated by thermal solubilization reaction as an external carbon source in biological denitrification process. For the purpose, we have constituted a laboratory-size thermal solubilization equipment and have assessed thermal hydrolysis efficiency based on various reaction temperature and reaction time. We have also derived SDNR using the waste sludge generated by thermal solubilization reaction through a batch experiment. As a result of research, the highest thermal hydrolysis efficiency of about 42.8% was achieved at of reaction temperature and at 90 minutes of reaction time. And when SDNR was derived using the waste sludge, the value obtained was , showing SDNR that is higher than that obtained by the results of existing researches that used common wastewater as an external carbon source. Accordingly, in view of the fact that food wastes vary quite a bit in characteristics based on the area they are generated from and seasonal change, it seems that a flexible operation of thermal solubilization equipment is required through on-going monitoring of food wastes that are imported to food wastes recycling facilities.

SHARON-Anammox Process and its Application

SHARON-anammox process is a new energy-efficient biological denitrification process. In this paper, the basic principles of SHARON and anammox were introduced. Technical characteristics and present research status of SHARON-anammox process were analyzed, and existed questions and development trend were put forward.

Toluene in sewage and sludge in wastewater treatment plants

Toluene is a compound that often occurs in municipal wastewater ranging from detectable levels up to 237 μg/L. Before the year 2000, the presence of the aromatic hydrocarbons was assigned only to external sources. The Enhanced Biological Nutrients Removal Processes (EBNRP) work according to many different schemes and technologies. For high-efficiency biological denitrification and dephosphatation processes, the presence of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in sewage is required. VFAs are the main product of organic matter hydrolysis from sewage sludge. However, no attention has been given to other products of the process. It has been found that in parallel to VFA production, toluene formation occurred. The formation of toluene in municipal anaerobic sludge digestion processes was investigated. Experiments were performed on a laboratory scale using sludge from primary and secondary settling tanks of municipal treatment plants. The concentration of toluene in the digested sludge from primary settling tanks was found to be about 42,000 μg/L. The digested sludge supernatant liquor returned to the biological dephosphatation and denitrification processes for sewage enrichment can contain up to 16,500 μg/L of toluene.

Biodegradability Assessment and Treatability of High Strength Complex Industrial Park Wastewater

AbstractIndustrial park wastewater (IPWW) includes complex non‐biodegradable organic compounds. A wastewater treatability study using biodegradability assessment approach was carried out for an industrial park housing mainly textile and machinery sectors. Biodegradable and inert chemical oxygen demand (COD) fractions with soluble and particulate counterparts were experimentally estimated by implementing respirometric methods. Aerobic batch test methods and oxygen uptake rate profiles were used to map kinetic parameters and COD fractions. Denitrification potential was also determined by application of anoxic batch tests. Relevant kinetic constants, stoichiometric, and design parameters were determined for biological processes. Tests were carried out for raw and physico‐chemically pre‐treated IPWW. Hence, it was aimed to assess the effects and necessity of pre‐treatment on biological processes. Biological mineralization, nitrification, and denitrification processes were also designed and tested using a bench scale continuous treatment model for pre‐treated IPWW. The sum of initial inert soluble COD fraction and production of soluble microbial products decreased about 25% for the case of pre‐treated IPWW as compared to raw IPWW. Eighty‐three percent total COD and 89% total Kjeldahl nitrogen removal efficiencies were attained for the modeling experiments of pre‐treated IPWW. Results showed the significance of pre‐treatment if complex strength industrial wastewaters are to be biologically treated.

Integrated real-time control strategy in multi-tank A2O process for biological nutrient removal treating real domestic wastewater

An integrated real-time anaerobic–anoxic/oxic (A2O) operated with multi-tank called IMT–A2O process was designed and operated with fluctuating influent loads for biological nutrient removal for treating real domestic wastewater. IMT–A2O process, a “phased isolation tank” technology, varies both aeration pattern and flow path in a continuous flow multi-tank system to force fluctuation of organic and nutrient concentrations in process reactors. Using an eight-phase cycle, desired biochemical transformations, are accomplished at different times in the same tank. On-line sensors (pH, ORP, and DO) were used as real-time control parameters to adjust the duration of each operational phase in the IMT–A2O process. The control system is an algorithm that automatically adjusts the cycle length to the influent wastewater characteristics according to the end points. It was found that on-line sensor values of pH, ORP, and DO were somehow related with the dynamic behaviors of nutrient concentrations in IMT–A2O. The algorithm acts in the reaction phases of the IMT–A2O cycle using ORP and pH break points of tank one to distinguish the end of denitrification and the beginning of phosphorus release, pH break point of tank two to control the end of denitrification and beginning of phosphorus release and a sudden increase in DO pattern, pH break point and ORP to control phosphorus uptake and the end of the nitrification process. Although the fluctuations in raw wastewater concentration are extreme; an influent with a low C/N ratio is deficient in organic carbon, and a low carbon source level can limit the overall biological denitrification process, the average removal efficiencies achieved for COD, ammonia–nitrogen, total nitrogen and total phosphorus were not less than 76.11%, 87.78%, 76.45% and 83.75%, respectively, using the integrated real-time control strategy. The integrated IMT–A2O exhibited a better performance in nutrient removal than the fixed-time IMT–A2O process.

A DO- and pH-Based Early Warning System of Nitrification Inhibition for Biological Nitrogen Removal Processes

In Korea, more than 80% of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with capacities of 500 m3·d−1 or more are capable of removing nitrogen from wastewater through biological nitrification and denitrification processes. Normally, these biological processes show excellent performance, but if a toxic chemical is present in the influent to a WWTP, the biological processes (especially, the nitrification process) may be affected and fail to function normally; nitrifying bacteria are known very vulnerable to toxic substances. Then, the toxic compound as well as the nitrogen in wastewater may be discharged into a receiving water body without any proper treatment. Moreover, it may take significant time for the process to return back its normal state. In this study, a DO- and pH-based strategy to identify potential nitrification inhibition was developed to detect early the inflow of toxic compounds to a biological nitrogen removal process. This strategy utilizes significant changes observed in the oxygen uptake rate and the pH profiles of the mixed liquor when the activity of nitrifying bacteria is inhibited. Using the strategy, the toxicity from test wastewater with 2.5 mg·L−1 Hg2+, 0.5 mg·L−1 allythiourea, or 0.25 mg·L−1 chloroform could be successfully detected.