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Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Biofilm Removal Using Carbon Dioxide Aerosols without Nitrogen Purge
Published on: November 6, 2016
Achieving advanced nitrogen removal for small flow wastewater using a baffled bioreactor (BBR) with intermittent
1School of Environment, Guangdong Engineering Research Center of Water Treatment Processes and Materials, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Guangzhou, 510275, China; Frontier Environmental Technology, LLC, 12687 Cinnamon Court, Rolla, MO, 65401, USA.
Abstract:
Nitrogen discharge from decentralized and onsite wastewater treatment systems, such as recirculating sand filters, stabilization ponds, and septic tanks, is an important source of groundwater and surface water contamination. This study demonstrated a simple baffled bioreactor (BBR) technology, operated with an intermittent aeration mode, that effectively removed nearly all nitrogen for small flow wastewater treatment. The BBR is characterized by an aeration zone, followed by an integrated internal settler, which automatically retains a high biomass concentration of approximately 6 g/L without using a separate sludge return device. Long-term testing results indicated that this process had reduced the chemical oxygen demand and total nitrogen concentration to approximately 20 mg/L and less than 3 mg-N/L, respectively, under an operational temperature of 7.1 °C to 24.7 °C. The average effluent ammonia and nitrate concentrations were 0.75 and 0.61 mg-N/L, respectively, indicating that both nitrification and denitrification had been completed. In addition to nitrogen removal, this BBR had removed approximately 65% of the total phosphorus.
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Overview of Advanced Functional Groups
Functional groups are groups of atoms with specific chemical properties that occur within organic molecules and are sometimes denoted as “R”. Functional groups can “functionalize” a compound by enabling it to adopt different physical and chemical properties.
Types of Advanced Functional Groups
The table below summarizes some of the major functional groups in organic chemistry.