Membrane-based gas transfer: an environmental engineering laboratory.

We propose an educational experience in which students design a membrane gas transfer reactor, construct a bench-scale version in the laboratory, and employ the reactor to measure mass transfer coefficients. The membrane reactor is useful for teaching mass transfer principles because the mass transfer interface is well defined and easily observed. The system can be modeled successfully using straightforward mathematics. The reactor can be designed and constructed by students, using the mathematical model as a basis, providing insight into the physical meaning of model parameters. The proposed membrane system can be readily operated to obtain data that can be employed to develop or modify existing mass transfer correlations. This can provide students with significant insight into the development of mass transfer correlations and how the constants in such correlations are typically determined. These features help promote a deeper understanding of mass transfer principles.

Comparison of suspended growth and hybrid systems for nitrogen removal in ammonium bisulfite pulp mill wastewater.

A series of bench-scale nitrification/denitrification tests were carried out with both suspended growth and hybrid bioreactors. The hybrid reactor was filled with plastic (polyethylene) media to evaluate the effects of biofilm. Two types of reactor configurations were tested; 4-compartment and 6-compartment modes. The experiments were initiated with a half-strength pulp and paper wastewater and its strength increased stepwise to the raw wastewater. Solid retention time was fixed at 10 days after a start-up period while hydraulic retention time was extensively varied from 3.5 to 0.5 days. The results from each type of reactor were compared in terms of nitrification/denitrification efficiency and stability. Experimental results demonstrate that the hybrid system showed greater stability in nitrification and higher denitrification efficiency than the suspended growth system. In the hybrid system, attached volatile solids formed 61- 72% of total volatile solids in the reactor and the amount of attached volatile solids insignificantly varied with the organic loading rate (0.37 - 2.76 kg COD M(-3) d(-1)) after initial biomass attachment. Under the conditions tested (0.1 - 2.8 kg COD m(-3) d(-1)), organic loading rate insignificantly influenced the nitrification. Better performance was obtained in denitrification when the anoxic zone was better isolated from the aerobic compartments (6-compartment mode). Overall, the hybrid system with fixed-film growth had better resistance to upset caused by transients such as changes in influent composition or hydraulic retention time.