Nitrification kinetics, N2O emission, and energy use in intermittently aerated hybrid reactor under different organic loading rates.

This study investigated the impact of intermittent aeration strategies and reduction in the reactor's organic and nitrogen loading rates on the course of particular stages of the nitrification process, as well as energy consumption and N2O emissions in a hybrid reactor with nitrification/denitrification. Each of the analysed series revealed the greatest ammonia oxidation activity in activated sludge flocs. The highest activity of nitrite nitrogen oxidation was demonstrated in the case of biofilm. A reduction in the reactor's organic and nitrogen loading rate value had a greater effect on changes in the activity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria than nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. In a system where the operation of air pumps was controlled through switching them and off according to the adopted ratio between non-aerated and aerated sub-phase times and the assumed oxygen concentration, a reduction in the duration of aerated sub-phases caused no decrease in energy use for aeration. Lower N2O emission was recorded when the reactor operated with a longer duration of aerated sub-phases. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13762-022-04715-6.

Carbon source recovery from excess sludge by mechanical disintegration for biological denitrification.

The goal of the study was to evaluate the possibility of carbon source recovery from excess sludge by mechanical disintegration for biological denitrification. The total efficiency of denitrification, unit demand for organic compounds for denitrification, unit volume of disintegrated sludge and unit cost of nitrogen removal as a function of energy density used for excess sludge disintegration (70, 140 and 210 kJ/L) were analyzed. In the study a full-scale disc disintegrator was used (motor power: 30 kWh, motor speed: 2,950 rpm). It was shown that the amounts of organic compounds released from the activated sludge flocs at all tested levels of energy density are high enough to be used to intensify the removal of nitrogen compounds from wastewater. It was also documented that the energy density provided during process of disintegration was an important factor determining the characteristics of organic compounds obtained under the disintegration for their use in order to intensify the process of denitrification. The highest value of total efficiency of denitrification (50.5 ± 3.1 mg N/L) was obtained for carbon source recovery from excess sludge at 70 kJ/L, but the lowest unit cost of nitrogen removal occurred for 140 kJ/L (0.0019 ± 0.0011 EUR/g N).

The rate of denitrification using hydrodynamically disintegrated excess sludge as an organic carbon source.

This study investigates the potential of hydrodynamically disintegrated excess activated sludge when used as a supplementary carbon source for denitrification. Two objectives constituted this study: (i) to analyse the denitrification rate by using excess sludge subjected to hydrodynamic disintegration (HD), performed at different energy densities, as an organic carbon source, and (ii) to analyse the impact of hydrolysis of disintegrated sludge on the denitrification rate. Nitrate reduction tests were conducted to assess the denitrification rate for the following sources of organic carbon: thickened excess sludge disintegrated at three levels of energy density (70, 140 and 210 kJ/L), acetic acid solution and municipal wastewater after mechanical treatment. It was found that the HD of excess sludge conducted at different levels of energy density led to dissolved organic compounds characterised by various properties as donors of H+ in the denitrification process. The susceptibility of disintegrated sludge to anaerobic hydrolysis decreased along with the increasing energy density. The obtained organic carbon contributed to a lower increase in the denitrification rate in comparison to that when disintegrated sludge not subjected to hydrolysis was applied.

Efficiency of wastewater treatment in SBR and IFAS-MBSBBR systems in specified technological conditions.

The objective of this study is to compare wastewater treatment effectiveness in sequencing batch reactor (SBR) and integrated fixed-film activated sludge-moving-bed sequencing batch biofilm reactor (IFAS-MBSBBR) systems in specific technological conditions. The comparison of these two technologies was based on the following assumptions, shared by both series, I and II: the reactor's active volume was 28 L; 8-hour cycle of reactor's work, with the same sequence and duration of its consecutive phases; and the dissolved oxygen concentration in the aerobic phases was maintained at a level of 3.0 mg O2/L. For both experimental series (I and II), comparable effectiveness of organic compound (chemical oxygen demand (COD)) removal, nitrification and biological phosphorus removal has been obtained at levels of 95.1%, 97% and 99%, respectively. The presence of the carrier improved the efficiency of total nitrogen removal from 86.3% to 91.7%. On the basis of monitoring tests, it has been found that the ratio of simultaneous denitrification in phases with aeration to the total efficiency of denitrification in the cycle was 1.5 times higher for IFAS-MBSBBR.

Impact of multiple wastewater feedings on the efficiency of nutrient removal in an IFAS-MBSBBR: number of feedings vs. efficiency of nutrient removal.

This article presents the results of research into the influence of one, two and three wastewater feedings in a cycle on efficiency and performance of combined biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal in an integrated fixed-film activated sludge and moving-bed sequencing batch biofilm reactor (IFAS-MBSBBR). The experiment lasted 158 days and was conducted in two laboratory models of the IFAS-MBSBBR with an active volume of 28 L. It was found that along with an increase in the number of wastewater feedings, an increase in nitrogen removal efficiency was observed (from 56.9 ± 2.30% for a single feeding to 91.4 ± 1.77% for three feedings). Moreover, the contribution of simultaneous nitrification/denitrification in nitrogen removal increased (from 2.58% for a single feeding to 69.5% for three feedings). Systems with a greater number of feedings stimulated the process of denitrifying phosphorus removal. Regardless of the way in which wastewater feeding was applied to the IFAS-MBSBBR, highly efficient chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal (94.8 ± 1.80%) and biological phosphorus removal (98.9 ± 0.87%) were achieved.

Nitrogen and phosphorus removal in a denitrifying phosphorus removal process in a sequencing batch reactor with a forced anoxic phase.

The objective of this study was to establish such operating conditions in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) that will enable the achievement of the highest possible share of denitrifying P removal in nutrient elimination. Two different operating strategies for SBRs were analysed. Both of these strategies used a forced anoxic phase in the SBR treatment cycle. The first one was based on an intermittent aeration, which led to periodic occurrence of anoxic conditions when the uptake of P-PO4(3-) could occur. The second strategy was based on mimicking the A2O process and forcing an anoxic phase straight after an anaerobic phase. The experiments were performed in a laboratory reactor operating at a maximum fill of 26.8-27.7 litres and a constant temperature of 18 degrees C. It was found that a SBR configuration with intermittent aeration did not allow the achievement of significant denitrifying P removal, despite the DPAO/PAO ratio being equal to 50.5%. Almost the entire load of orthophosphates was being removed in aerobic conditions right after the anaerobic phase, even though this aerobic period lasted only 20 minutes. However, a SBR with a forced anoxic phase occurring after an anaerobic phase and created by an introduction of NO(x) rich stream of wastewater guaranteed the highest DPAO/PAO ratio of 82.8% and the highest share of denitrifying P removal (above 80%) in the total removal of phosphorus.

Evaluation of deammonification process performance at different aeration strategies.

In a deammonification process applied in the moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) oxygen is a crucial parameter for the process performance and efficiency. The objective of this study was to investigate different aeration strategies, characterised by the ratio between non-aerated and aerated phase times (R) and dissolved oxygen concentrations (DO). The series of batch tests were conducted with variable DO concentrations (2, 3, 4 mg L(-1)) and R values (0-continuous aeration; 1/3, 1, 3-intermittent aeration) but with the same initial ammonium concentration, volume of the moving bed and temperature. It was found that the impact of DO on deammonification was dependent on the R value. At R=0 and R=1/3, an increase of DO caused a significant increase in nitrogen removal rate, whereas for R=1 and R=3 similar rates of the process were observed irrespectively of the DO. The highest nitrogen removal rate of 3.33 g N m(-2) d(-1) (efficiency equal to 69.5%) was obtained at R=1/3 and DO=4 mg L(-1). Significantly lower nitrogen removal rates (1.17-1.58 g N m(-2) d(-1)) were observed at R=1 and R=3 for each examined DO. It was a consequence reduced aerated phase duration times and lesser amounts of residual nitrite in non-aerated phases as compared to R=1/3.

Assessment of the propensity of biofilm growth on newfloat carrier media through process and biological experiments.

This paper presents the results of research on biomass growth on Newfloat carrier elements and the implications of this growth on the wastewater treatment process. Supervision of the experiment comprised of the analysis of treatment efficiency (dynamic experiments), the estimation of the content of nitrifying bacteria in the biofilm (batch tests) and biological investigations of the biofilm structure and composition. It has been demonstrated that the biofilm growing on the carrier elements was rich in nitrifying bacteria and that this in turn guaranteed the highly efficient oxidation of ammoniacal nitrogen. After the full growth of biofilm had been established, average removal efficiencies were as follows: organic C removal-88.8% (effluent COD below 60 mg O2 l(-1)), nitrification-97.9% (effluent ammoniacal N below 1 mg N-NH4+ l(-1)), denitrification (after the COD loading rate increased to over 0.53 kg COD m(-3) d(-1))-95.7% (total N in the effluent below 8 mg N l(-1)).