Development of rectangular airlift bubble column installed with support material for enhancement of nitrogen removal

To enhance nitrogen removal during wastewater treatment using activated sludge, a rectangular airlift bubble column installed with support material is proposed. The flow characteristics and nitrogen removal performance were examined and compared with those of a column without support material. In the two columns, the riser was aerobic and the lower part of downcomer was anaerobic. The effects of operational conditions on the liquid circulation flow rate and liquid-phase volumetric mass transfer coefficient were examined. Using these flow characteristics, the distribution of dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in the column was calculated. From the DO distribution, the anaerobic volume fraction in the column was estimated. The optimal anaerobic volume fraction for nitrogen removal was found to be approximately 50%. The column installed with support material showed higher nitrogen removal than the column without it.