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A Novel Bioreactor for High Density Cultivation of Diverse Microbial Communities

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Biological nitrogen removal with three different SBBR.

A Valdivia¹, S González-Martínez, P A Wilderer

¹Institute of Engineering, National University of Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 Mexico, DF Mexico. sgm@pumas.iingen.unam.mx

Water Science and Technology : a Journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research

|May 18, 2007

Summary

Different biofilm support media show varying wastewater treatment efficiencies. Linpor, with a thick biofilm, excels in COD and ammonia removal at higher loads, while Kaldnes and Liapor perform better at lower loads.

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Area of Science:

Environmental Engineering
Water Treatment Technologies
Microbial Ecology

Background:

Biofilm reactors are crucial for wastewater treatment.
Support media characteristics influence biofilm formation and performance.
Optimizing media selection is key for efficient contaminant removal.

Purpose of the Study:

To compare the performance of three distinct biofilm support media (Kaldnes, Liapor, Linpor) in municipal wastewater treatment.
To evaluate the impact of varying organic loading rates on COD, TSS, and ammonia nitrogen removal.
To assess NOx-N production and cellular retention times for each medium.

Main Methods:

Operation of three sequencing batch reactors fed with municipal wastewater.
Testing Kaldnes (polyethylene), Liapor (ceramic), and Linpor (plastic foam) as support media.
Monitoring performance over 452 days with organic loads ranging from 0.5 to 8.0 gCOD/m2 x d.

Main Results:

Thin biofilms on Kaldnes and Liapor were more effective for COD and ammonia removal at low organic loads (< 2.5 gCOD/m2 x d).
Linpor, supporting a thick biofilm, demonstrated superior COD and ammonia nitrogen removal at higher organic loads (> 3.0 gCOD/m2 x d).
Linpor exhibited the highest NOx-N production (15-20 mg/l), indicating significant denitrification within deep biofilms.

Conclusions:

Support media type significantly impacts biofilm reactor efficiency under different organic loading conditions.
Linpor's thick biofilm and longer cellular retention time (22.9 days) enable complete nitrification even at high loads.
Simultaneous denitrification within deep biofilms on Linpor contributes to nitrogen removal efficiency.