PO4-P Removal Efficiencies Research Articles

Sustainable control of microplastics in wastewater using the electrochemically enhanced living membrane bioreactor

Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) discharges are major contributors to the release of microplastics (MPs) into the environment. This research work aimed to assess the performance of the novel living membrane bioreactor (LMBR), which utilizes a biological layer as a membrane filter for the removal of polyethylene (PE) MPs from wastewater. The impact of an intermittently applied low current density (0.5 mA/cm2) on the reduction of MPs in the electrochemically enhanced LMBR (e-LMBR) has also been examined. The reactors were also compared to a conventional membrane bioreactor (MBR) and an electro-MBR (e-MBR). 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR) was implemented for the MPs detection and quantification in terms of mass per volume of sample.The LMBR and MBR achieved comparable mean PE MPs reduction at 95% and 96%, respectively. The MPs mass reduction in the e-LMBR slightly decreased by 2% compared to that achieved in the LMBR. This potentially indicated the partial breakdown of the MPs due to electrochemical processes. Decreasing and inconsistent NH4-N and PO4-P removal efficiencies were observed over time due to the addition of PE MPs in the MBR and LMBR. In contrast, the integration of electric field in the e-MBR and e-LMBR resulted in consistently high values of conventional contaminant removals of COD (99.72–99.77 %), NH4-N (97.96–98.67%), and PO4-P (98.44–100.00%), despite the MPs accumulation.Integrating electrochemical processes in the e-LMBR led to the development of a stable living membrane (LM) layer, as manifested in the consistently low effluent turbidity 0.49 ± 0.33 NTU. Despite the increasing MPs concentration in the mixed liquor, applying electrochemical processes reduced the fouling rates in the e-LMBR. The e-LMBR achieved comparable efficiencies in contaminant reductions as those observed in the e-MBR, while using a low-cost membrane material.

Optimization of on-site wastewater treatment efficiency and recovery based on nutrient mobility and adsorption kinetics modelling using HYDRUS-2D coupled with PHREEQC

A closed-loop on-site wastewater treatment system (OWT) was studied comprising steps of septic tank to remove organics (Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)), biofiltration clarifier for biological removal of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and BOD, reactive Polonite® filter for chemical adsorption and precipitation removal of dissolved P, and tidal flow constructed wetland (TFCW) sand filter for polishing the effluent to low P and N effluent Swedish standards. The field experimental data that have been used to optimize TFCW design in the numerical modelling using HYDRUS-2D coupled with and without PHREEQC indicated that the adsorption efficiency of the reactive Polonite® adsorbent was nearly double to that obtained in TFCW sand filters for PO4-P (95 %) and Total-P (85 %) removal in summer at a high temperature range (15.4–18.8 °C) and pH range (9.9–10.8). The weaker PO4-P (53 %) and Total-P (25 %) removal efficiency in winter was due to a low temperature (1.5–8.1 °C) and low pH (7.2–7.9). This decrease in pH was attributed to salinity in the domestic wastewater and dilution of rainwater. Modelling results revealed that the transport mechanisms and rate of P adsorption kinetics in the TFCW sand filters enhanced with calcium and iron flow from chemical dissolution in the preceding Polonite® adsorbent was increased with the increase in temperature. However, the P adsorption was less sensitive at high ferrihydrite (Fe(OH)3) dose, suggesting limited effects of cations dissolution and abundance of metal oxides and hydroxide ions at the mineral surface for anions exchange with phosphate for surface complexation. The strategy of combining field data and modelling provided valuable insights for assessing adaptability and optimizing TFCW design under variable fluxes and scenario effects of insulated/uninsulated and dilution by rainwater in cold-climate regions.

Transport and Attenuation of an Artificial Sweetener and Six Pharmaceutical Compounds in a Sequenced Wetland-Steel Slag Wastewater Treatment System

The occurrence of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), nutrients, and an artificial sweetener acesulfame in wastewater, and subsequent removal in an engineered system comprising aerobic wetland, anaerobic wetland, and steel slag cells, were investigated. The PhACs evaluated in this study covered a range of octanol–water partition coefficients (log Kow = 0.07–2.45) and acid dissociation constants (pKa = 1.7–13.9) and included carbamazepine, caffeine, sulfamethoxazole, ibuprofen, and naproxen. The mean flow rate in the system was 0.89 m3 day−1 (0.02 to 4.27 m3 day−1), representing a hydraulic retention time of 5 days. The removal efficiencies of PO4-P, NH3-N, and cBOD5 in the treatment system were >99, 82, and 98%. The removal efficiencies for the PhACs and acesulfame were classified into four groups, including those that were (a) efficiently removed (caffeine by >75%); (b) moderately removed (ibuprofen by 50–75%); (c) poorly removed (sulfamethoxazole and naproxen by 25–50%); and (d) recalcitrant (carbamazepine and acesulfame by <25%). Variability in concentrations and treatment efficiencies was observed in different sampling events, which may be due to variations in input concentrations or changes in the flow rate. The addition of a steel slag cell increased the overall removal efficiency of the studied compounds, except for carbamazepine.

Nutrient recovery from anaerobic digester supernatant using a fluidized-bed reactor

This study investigated nutrient recovery by struvite precipitation from anaerobic digester supernatant containing nitrogen and phosphorus at high concentrations using a fluidized-bed reactor. In the first phase, hydraulic retention time (HRT) in the system was reduced from 15 min to 2.5 min at molar Mg2+/NH4+/PO43− ratio of 1.5/16.6/1. No significant differences were detected and struvite could be precipitated at high performances even at an HRT of 2.5 min. In the second stage, the impact of Mg/P molar ratio on struvite precipitation performance was evaluated at the molar ratios of 1/1, 1.5/1, 2/1 and 2.5 min HRT. The highest NH4-N and PO4-P precipitation performances were around 38 % and 99.7 %, respectively, at an Mg/P molar ratio of 2. In the last stage, the impact of volatile fatty acid presence on the system performance was investigated by adding 1000 mg/L acetate to the synthetic wastewater at an Mg/P molar ratio of 1.5/1. Observing above 99 % PO4-P removal efficiency both in the presence and absence of acetate confirmed that VFA may not have adverse impact on struvite precipitation performance. According to XRD results, struvite precipitates had a crystal structure with only a small amount of impurities.

Performance intensification of constructed wetland technology: a sustainable solution for treatment of high-strength industrial wastewater.

The objectives of this study were to: (1) assess the intensification of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and phosphate (PO4-P) removal; and (2) generate a set of rate constants of COD degradation (kCOD) and phosphate (kPO4-P) removal for the treatment of industrial wastewater (WW) using intensified adsorption beds. Two horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands (HSSFCWs) filled with coal ash and alum sludge and two conventional HSSFCWs packed with gravels were operated with different loadings of COD and PO4-P at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 24 hrs at water depth of 0.40 m. The bed performance was analysed for COD and PO4-P removal efficiency. The intensified HSSFCWs outperformed the control beds by a mean COD and PO4-P removal efficiency of 43 and 49%, respectively. The progression of COD and PO4-P removal along the system was fitted into the first-order plug flow model (K-C model). In this study the kCOD values ranged from 0.36 to 0.65 m/d with a mean of 0.46 ± 0.08 m/d (n = 30). The kPO4-P values ranged from 0.74 to 1.76 m/d and averaged to 1.23 ± 0.37 m/d (n = 30), irrespective of the condition applied. Hence, these data can be used for future projects using HSSFCWs to treat industrial wastewater.

Inhibition effects of petroleum products on nitrogen and phosphorous removal

One of the main challenges in pet roleum-containing wastewater treatment in municipal wastewater treatment plants is their interference with the microbiological processes of nitrogen and phosphorus removal. The purpose of the study is to assess the effect of commercial petroleum products on the conversion of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds during the biological treatment of municipal wastewater in activated sludge systems. The presence of commercial petroleum products in wastewater was found to inhibit the process of conversion of NH4-N and the absorption of PO4-P in cells. The main inhibiting effect results from additives introduced into commercial petroleum products. Variations in the removal efficiencies of NH4-N and PO4-P are due to the variable distribution of commercial petroleum products in the mixed liquor of activated sludge. An increase in the degree of dispersion of commercial petroleum products, which results in an increase in the contact surface, increases the inhibitory effect on the activated sludge process. The toxic effect of gasoline is more pronounced in comparison with diesel fuel and hydraulic oil. During the first 30 minutes of incubation of samples with oil products, an increase in the concentration of PO4-P in the solution was observed due to the death of microorganisms from toxic effects, mainly from gasoline.

Struvite Precipitation for Sustainable Recovery of Nitrogen and Phosphorus from Anaerobic Digestion Effluents of Swine Manure

In this study, we propose the application of struvite precipitation for the sustainable recovery of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from anaerobic digestion (AD) effluents derived from swine manure. The optimal conditions for four major factors that affect the recovery of N and P were derived by conducting batch experiments on AD effluents obtained from four AD facilities. The optimal conditions were a pH of 10.0, NH4-N:Mg:PO4-P molar ratio of 1:1.4:1, mixing intensity of 240 s−1, and mixing duration of 2 min. Under these optimal conditions, the removal efficiencies of NH4-N and PO4-P were approximately 74% and 83%, respectively, whereas those of Cu and Zn were approximately 74% and 79%, respectively. Herein, a model for swine manure treatment that incorporates AD, struvite precipitation, and biological treatment processes is proposed. We applied this model to 85 public biological treatment facilities in South Korea and recovered 4722 and 51 tons/yr of NH4-N and PO4-P, respectively. The economic analysis of the proposed model’s performance predicts a lack of profitability due to the high cost of chemicals; however, this analysis does not consider the resulting protection of the hydrological environment. Field-scale studies should be conducted in future to prove the effectiveness of the model.

Enhance biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal in wastewater treatment process by adding food waste fermentation liquid as external carbon source

The problem of poor carbon source is a common technical bottleneck inhibiting the nutrients removal in biological wastewater treatment. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of using food waste (FW) fermentation liquid (FL) as the external carbon source to enhance biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal (BNPR) in sequencing batch reactors. It was found that the ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) and phosphate (PO4-P) in FL was not need to be removed before it was added into wastewater treatment system, and the added FL did not cause the external deterioration of NH4-N and PO4-P removal. The effect of volume ratio of FL to wastewater (FL/W) on BNPR process was investigated, and the results suggested the optimum ration of FL/W was 1/90. Compared to the control system with no acetic acid and FWFL as external carbon source, the experimental system with 1/90 of FL/W exhibited higher PO4-P and NH4-N removal efficiencies, which were 92.70 % and 92.38 %. Moreover, the analysis of this study suggested that the high removal rates of PO4-P and NH4-N were mainly attributed to the extra volatile fatty acid in added FWFL and the accumulated intracellular polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) in anaerobic stage, which could be the main energy sources for the denitrification and PO4-P removal.

Finding optimal algal/bacterial inoculation ratio to improve algal biomass growth with wastewater as nutrient source

Algal growth, nutrient removal and settling efficiency were quantified while inoculating sequencing batch reactors with a mixture of microalgae and bacteria (activated sludge). Three algae/bacteria inoculation ratios (5:1, 1:1 and 1:5) as well as pure algal biomass (control) were assessed. Algal biomass production increased with the addition of activated sludge. However, the addition of too much activated sludge can cause disturbance to the Al-Bac biomass growth and algal bacterial processes. All reactors including the control with only algae showed similar settling and nutrient removal efficiencies. Good settling was observed in all reactors with only 5% of total biomass found in supernatant after 1 h of settling. Removal efficiencies of COD, TN and PO4-P in all reactors were 79–82%, 61–65% and 15–37%, respectively, with the lowest phosphorus removal efficiency belonging to 1:5 algae/activated sludge ratio. These results may be due to both long hydraulic (7 days) and solids retention times (up to 30 days). Finally, Al-Bac biomass with 1:1 inoculation ratio showed the best enhancement in terms of biomass growth and algal activities.

Pollutant removal by Canna Generalis in tropical constructed wetlands for domestic wastewater treatment

Constructed wetlands have not been commonly used in Vietnam due to the lack of information in the selection of proper types of constructed wetlands, type of reeds, design parameters and performance efficiency, in tropical climates. This paper focuses on Canna generalis, which is a common reed and easy to grow both in water and wet land conditions. Two kinds of hybrid constructed wetlands were employed, including Facultative pond combined with free water sub-surface constructed wetlands system and horizontal subsurface flow combined with Aerobic pond system. It was found that the ponds played an important role in the hybrid system performance and enhanced the performance of constructed wetlands. The pollutant removal efficiencies of the hybrid systems were all higher than the single constructed wetlands. The BOD5, TSS, NH4-N and PO4-P removal efficiencies averaged 81%, 85%, 93% and 77%, respectively for the hybrid horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands system operated at a hydraulic loading rate of 0.075 m/day, while they were 89%, 97%, 97%, and 68%, respectively for the hybrid free water sub-surface constructed wetlands system operated at a hydraulic loading rate of 0.1 m/day. The removal rate constants (kBOD5, kNH4-N, kPO4-P) of the experimental hybrid constructed wetlands were similar to those in previous studies. However, these constants were higher for the hybrid free water subsurface constructed wetlands because of the modified structure flow of the free water subsurface constructed wetlands applied in this study, compared to conventional ones, as well as the additional benefits of the ponds in the hybrid systems.

Biochar fails to enhance nutrient removal in woodchip bioreactor columns following saturation

Denitrifying bioreactors are edge-of-field structures that remove excess nitrogen (N) from intercepted agricultural drainage by supporting the activity of denitrifying microorganisms with a saturated organic carbon substrate. Although these bioreactors successfully mitigate N export, the typical woodchip systems have little effect on phosphorus (P), which is also often present in environmentally harmful quantities in drainage waters. Currently, the evidence that amending woodchip bioreactors with biochar enhances both N and P removal rates is mixed, but more work is required to test this hypothesis under controlled conditions. To determine the effect of biochar amendment on nitrate (NO3-N) and phosphate (PO4-P) removal in woodchip bioreactors, three media types—aged woodchips (W), 10% (B10) and 30% (B30) biochar by volume—were tested under different operational conditions during five-day laboratory trials with horizontal, flow-through columns. Nutrient removal was observed under different flow rates yielding hydraulic residence times of 3, 6, and 12 hours with four formulations of simulated agricultural drainage, all combination of 16.1 or 4.5 mg L−1 NO3-N and 1.9 or 0.6 mg L−1 PO4-P. Each unique treatment with respect to media type, HRT, and influent formulation was tested in triplicate using independent columns. All treatments successfully removed NO3-N, but PO4-P removal was inconsistent. Cumulative NO3-N removal efficiencies ranged 15–98% with an average removal rate of 11.0 g m−3 d−1; biochar amendment enhanced removal only in response to sufficiently high loading rates. Cumulative PO4-P removal efficiencies ranged from 66% removal to 170% export of the influent load; biochar addition was associated with increased export. These results indicate that pine-feedstock biochar poses a substantial increase to PO4-P leaching risk and only modestly enhances NO3-N removal given sufficiently high loading.

Treatment Efficiency of Diffuse Agricultural Pollution in a Constructed Wetland Impacted by Groundwater Seepage

Diffuse agricultural pollution degrades water quality and is one of the main causes of eutrophication; therefore, it is important to reduce it. Constructed wetlands (CW) can be used as an effective measure for water quality improvement. There are two possible ways to establish surface flow CWs, in-stream and off-stream. We studied treatment efficiency of the in-stream free surface flow (FSW) Vända CW in southern Estonia from March 2017 until July 2018. The CW consists of two shallow-water parts planted with cattail (Typha latifolia). According to our analyses, the CW reduced total phosphorus (TP) and phosphate (PO4-P) by 20.5% and 16.3%, respectively, however, in summer, phosphorus removal was twice as high. We saw significant logarithmic correlation between flow rates and log TP and log PO4-P removal efficiency (rs = 0.53, rs = 0.63, p < 0.01 respectively). Yearly reduction of total organic carbon was 12.4% while total inorganic carbon increased by 9.7% due to groundwater seepage. Groundwater inflow also increased the concentration of total nitrogen in the outlet by 27.7% and nitrate concentration by 31.6%. In-stream FWS CWs are a promising measure to reduce diffuse pollution from agriculture; however, our experience and literature data prove that there are several factors that can influence CWs’ treatment efficiency.

Microbial community metabolic profiles in saturated constructed wetlands treating iohexol and ibuprofen

The aim of the present study was to elucidate the microbial community metabolic profiles in saturated constructed wetland (CW) mesocosms planted with five different wetland plant species fed with water individually spiked with 100 μg L−1 ibuprofen or iohexol. Community-level physiological profiling (CLPP) using Biolog Ecoplates was performed and coupled with the assessment of water quality parameters (water temperature, pH, DO and TOC, TN, NH4-N, PO4-P removal efficiency). The microbial community metabolic profiles (microbial activity, richness, and carbon source utilization), as well as the water quality parameters revealed similar trends among the control mesocosms and the mesocosms fed with water spiked with iohexol and ibuprofen. Significant differences were observed between the planted and unplanted mesocosms and between seasons (summer and winter) within each of the feeding lines (control, iohexol or ibuprofen). The microbial community metabolic profiles in the saturated CW were shaped by plant presence and plant species, while no negative impact of iohexol and ibuprofen presence was noticed at the 100 μg L−1. In addition, the microbial activity and richness were generally higher in planted mesocosms than in the unplanted systems in the summer. For the first time, a positive correlation between iohexol removal and the microbial community metabolic profiles (activity, richness and amines and amides utilization in summer, and carbohydrates utilization in winter) in the saturated mesocosms was observed. Putrescine utilization in the summer and d-cellobiose, d,l-alpha-glycerol phosphate in winter were linked with the metabolic processing of iohexol, while glycogen in summer and l-phenylalanine, Glycyl-l-glutamic acid in winter were linked with ibuprofen removal efficiency in the saturated CW.

Nutrient removal from synthetic and secondary treated sewage and tannery wastewater through phycoremediation

ABSTRACTIn this study, potential microalgae species (Chlorella vulgaris, Scenedesmus dimorphus, Chlorococcum sp. and Chlamydomonas sp.) have been studied for nutrient removal from synthetic and industrial wastewater. Batch experiments were carried out to investigate the removal performance among four chosen species at different nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations. NH4-N and PO4-P were varied from 13.2 to 52.8 mg/L and 6.6 to 26.4 mg/L, respectively, by keeping N:P ratio as 2:1. In synthetic wastewater, maximum NH4-N and PO4-P removal efficiencies of 88.6% and 91.2% were obtained with C. vulgaris when compared to the other microalgae studied. Further studies were carried out using C. vulgaris in batch experiments to investigate the nutrient removal performance in secondary treated sewage, soak liquor and composite tannery effluent. Experimental results indicated that NH4-N, NO3-N, PO4-P and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiencies were found to be 68.6%, 74%, 71.5% and 90.2%, respectively, in secondary treated sewage. Maximum removal efficiencies of NH4-N, NO3-N, PO4-P and COD in composite tannery wastewater were found to be 55%, 85.6%, 60.5% and 43.4%, respectively. In soak liquor, maximum removal efficiencies of NH4-N, NO3-N, PO4-P and COD were found to 66.7%, 62.6%, 63.6% and 93.8%, respectively.

Lab-Scale Column Study on Phosphorus Removal from Synthetic Wastewater by Filtralite P and Iron Filings

Column study was performed in order to compare phosphate phosphorus (PO4-P) removal capacity of iron filings and Filtralite P. The experiment with two vertical downflow columns (0.05 in diameter and with 0.9 m medium height) feeding synthetic wastewater was carried out over a period of 66 days at wastewater temperature of 17.2–21.8 ºC. The study also aimed to determine the effect of submergence of the medium on Filtralite P PO4-P removal potential. During the experiment the submerged Filtralite P sorbed almost double amount of PO4-P (1581 mg PO4-P/kg filter material or 662 mg PO4-P/m3 filter material) compared to the unsubmerged (881 mg PO4-P/kg filter material or 369 mg PO4-P/m3 filter material). In both cases PO4-P removal efficiency exceeded 90 % when pH in the effluent was higher than 9.5. Through the experimental period the iron filings removed 2249 mg PO4-P/kg filter material. When evaluating the amount of removed PO4-P per volume of filter material, the iron filings removed 2164 mg PO4-P/m3 filter material, i. e. 3.3 times more than the submerged Filtralite P did. In the case of iron filings the largest PO4-P amount was removed in the top layer (0–30 cm) of the filter material. The amount of removed PO4-P decreased and PO4-P removal efficiency increased with depth of the medium: in the top layer (0–30 cm) PO4-P removal efficiency was 27 %, whereas in the bottom layer (60–90 cm) it reached 44 %. The same tendency of PO4-P removal efficiency was observed in the column with the submerged Filtralite P; however, the PO4-P removal efficiency in all layers of this filter material was lower in comparison with the iron filings.

Empirical Study on Applicability of Phosphorus Recovery Process in Wastewater Treatment Plant

In this study, we have made the annual total phosphorus (TP) mass balance diagrams for I wastewater treatment plant by utilizing the data of flow rate and TP of each process and tried to choose the optimum unit process empirically for phosphorus recovery. For the applicability evaluation, we have suggested several quantitative indices of flow rate, TP concentration, TP load and SS. Based on the analyses of TP mass balance, it became clear for reducing TP load of the wastewater treatment plant that it is efficient to recover phosphorus from the side stream in which the amount of flow rate is just 1/16, but TP concentration and load are 78 and 4.8 times larger than those of the influent of the plant. After the detailed applicability evaluation for the side stream, it could be concluded that the unit process of waste activated sludge thickener supernatant or dehydration filtrate are appropriate. Meanwhile, we did fundamental experiments utilizing the dewatering filtrate with TP concentration of 141.5 mg/L. After adjusting pH 10 and Ca2+ concentration 250, 500, 1000 mg/L, it was stirred slowly. As a result, the PO4-P and TP removal efficiencies were above 95 percent; the results of the experiment imply the applicability of phosphorus recovery process in a wastewater treatment plant strongly. Key words: Side Stream, Phosphorus Recovery, Hydroxyapatite, Phosphorus Mass Balance, Wastewater Treatment Plant

Does the combination of biochar and clinoptilolite enhance nutrient recovery from the liquid fraction of biogas digestate?

ABSTRACTConcentrating nutrients on biochar and clinoptilolite and subsequently using the nutrient-enriched sorbents as a fertiliser could be an alternative way to manage nutrients in digestate. In this study, we investigated the use of biochar and clinoptilolite columns in removing ammonium, potassium, orthophosphate and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from the liquid fraction of digestate. Our objectives were to investigate the effect of the initial loading ratio between liquid and biochar on nutrient removal, and to investigate the effect of combining biochar with clinoptilolite on nutrient and DOC removal efficiency. Increasing the initial loading ratios increased nutrient concentrations on biochar to 8.61 mg NH4-N g−1, 1.95 mg PO4-P g−1 and 13.01 mg DOC g−1, but resulted in decreasing removal efficiencies. The combination of biochar and clinoptilolite resulted in improved ammonium, potassium and DOC removal efficiencies compared to biochar alone, but did not significantly change PO4-P removal efficiencies. Removal efficiencies with combined sorbents were up to 67% for ammonium, 58% for DOC and 58% for potassium. Clinoptilolite showed higher removal efficiencies compared to biochar alone, and combining clinoptilolite with biochar improved only total P removal efficiency. Concentrating nutrients with clinoptilolite and biochar may be an option when both sorbents are available at low cost.

Phosphorus removal from secondary sewage and septage using sand media amended with biochar in constructed wetland mesocosms

To improve the performance efficiency of subsurface constructed wetlands (CWs), a variety of media have been tested. Recently, there has been a rising interest in biochar. This research aims to develop the effectiveness of sand media amended with biochar and two plants species (Melaleuca quinquenervia and Cymbopogon citratus) in removing phosphorus from sewage effluent in CWs. The experimental design consisted of vertical flow (VF) mesocosms with seven media treatments based on the proportions of biochar in the sand media which ranged from 0 to 25% by volume. During the first 8months, the mesocosms were loaded with secondary clarified wastewater (SCW) then septage was used for the remaining 8months. Inflow and outflow were monitored for total phosphorus (TP) and PO4-P. Plants were harvested at the end of the experiment and TP biomass was determined. Removal efficiencies of TP in the mesocosms loaded with SCW and septage ranged from 42 to 91% and 30 to 83%, respectively. Removal efficiencies of PO4-P ranged from 43 to −92% and 35 to 85% for SCW and septage, respectively. The results revealed that the sand media performed better than the biochar-amended media; increasing the proportion of biochar in the media decreased removal efficiency of phosphorus. However, after flushing due to major rain event, there was no significant difference between sand and sand augmented with 20% biochar. Total plant P ranged from 1.75g in the 20% biochar mesocosm to 2.10g in the sand only mesocosm. Plant uptake of P, at least in part, may be accredited for the better P removal efficiency in the sand media compared to the biochar-amended media.

Nutrient removal in reverse osmosis concentrates using a biological aerated filter

The aim of this study is to employ a biological aerated filter (BAF) in the treatment of reverse osmosis (RO) concentrate received from reuse of treatment plant wastewater. Furthermore, the influence of chemical oxygen demand (COD)/N ratio on the nutrient removal was analyzed to find the detailed removal pathways of nutrients. The result was found to be high efficiency for biochemical oxygen demand removal (95.86%) compared to that of COD (88.95%) and suspended solids (81.12%). The total phosphorus (TP) (67.66%) and PO4-P (61.42%) removal efficiencies were relatively lower than that of total nitrogen (TN) (81.42%) and NO3-N (76.70%). This may be due to the fact that the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)/TP ratio (8.01) was relatively low. Decreasing the COD/N ratio decreased TP and PO4-P removal efficiency. However, the removal efficiency of TN and NH4-N was increased from 47.60 to 64.54 and 54.17 to 73.72% with decreasing of COD/N ratio from 8.19 to 7.64, respectively. In addition, the denitrification rate and nitrification rate were increased from 211.8 to 301.0 mg/L d and 87.7 to 109.4 mg/L d, respectively, when COD/N ratios changed from 8.19 to 7.64. Therefore, in order to reuse the RO concentrate, the BAF process could effectively treat the RO concentrate.

Treatment of reverse osmosis concentrate by biological aerated filter

The aim of this study is to employ the biological aerated filter (BAF) in the treatment of reverse osmosis (RO) concentrate received from reuse of wastewater treatment plant. BAF is known as economic and efficient treatment method for the effluent standards. The result of the treatment of RO concentrate by BAF process was found to be efficient for biological oxygen demand (BOD) removal (95.86%). However, it was relatively less efficient in the chemical oxygen demand (COD) (88.95%) and suspended solids (SS) (81.12%) removal. A high BOD removal efficiency is due to the complete oxidation of organic matter which comes from low food to micro-organisms (F/M) ratio (0.049 kg BOD/kg MLSS day) of the influent. The TN (total nitrogen) and NO3-N removal percent were found to be 81.42% and 76.70%, respectively. However, total phosphorous (TP) and PO4-P removal percent were obtained low with 67.66 and 61.42%, respectively. It is observed that decreasing the COD/N ratio caused to decrease the TP and PO4-P removal efficiency. However, the denitrification and nitrification rates were increased from 211.8 to 301.0 mg/L day and 87.7 to 109.4 mg/L day, respectively, for a change in COD/N ratio from 8.19 to 7.64. Therefore, in order to reuse the RO concentrate, BAF process could effectively treat the RO concentrate.