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Updated: Apr 21, 2026

A Novel Bioreactor for High Density Cultivation of Diverse Microbial Communities
Published on: December 25, 2015
Denitrification of high strength nitrate waste from a nuclear industry using acclimatized biomass in a pilot scale
Pradip B Dhamole1, Rashmi R Nair, Stanislaus F D'Souza
1Department of Chemical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, Hyderabad, 500078, India, pradipdhamole@gmail.com.
Abstract:
This work investigates the performance of acclimatized biomass for denitrification of high strength nitrate waste (10,000 mg/L NO3) from a nuclear industry in a continuous laboratory scale (32 L) and pilot scale reactor (330 L) operated over a period of 4 and 5 months, respectively. Effect of substrate fluctuations (mainly C/NO3-N) on denitrification was studied in a laboratory scale reactor. Incomplete denitrification (95-96 %) was observed at low C/NO3-N (≤2), whereas at high C/NO3-N (≥2.25) led to ammonia formation. Ammonia production increased from 1 to 9 % with an increase in C/NO3-N from 2.25 to 6. Complete denitrification and no ammonia formation were observed at an optimum C/NO3-N of 2.0. Microbiological studies showed decrease in denitrifiers and increase in nitrite-oxidizing bacteria and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria at high C/NO3-N (≥2.25). Pilot scale studies were carried out with optimum C/NO3-N, and sustainability of the process was checked on the pilot scale for 5 months.
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