Chye-Eng Seng

Newly developed baffled subsurface-flow constructed wetland for the enhancement of nitrogen removal.

The objectives of this study are to compare the performance of newly developed baffled and conventional horizontal subsurface-flow (HSF) constructed wetlands in the removal of nitrogen at the hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 2, 3 and 5 days and to evaluate the potential of rice husk as wetland media for wastewater treatment. The results show that the planted baffled unit achieved 74%, 84% and 99% ammonia nitrogen (NH(4)(+)-N) removal versus 55%, 70% and 96% for the conventional unit at HRT of 2, 3 and 5 days, respectively. The better performance of the baffled unit was explained by the longer pathway due to the up-flow and down-flow conditions sequentially thus allowing more contact of the wastewater with the rhizomes and micro-aerobic zones. Near complete total oxidized nitrogen was observed due to the use of rice husk as wetland media which provided the COD as the electron donor in the denitrification process.

Performance comparison of constructed wetlands with gravel- and rice husk-based media for phenol and nitrogen removal.

This study aims to compare the performance of planted and unplanted constructed wetlands with gravel- and raw rice husk-based media for phenol and nitrogen removal. Four laboratory-scale horizontal subsurface-flow constructed wetland units, two of which planted with cattail (Typha latifolia) were operated outdoors. The units were operated at a nominal hydraulic retention time of 7 days and fed with domestic wastewater spiked with phenol concentration at 300 mg/L for 74 days and then at 500 mg/L for 198 days. The results show that planted wetland units performed better than the unplanted ones in the removal and mineralization of phenol. This was explained by the creation of more micro-aerobic zones in the root zone of the wetland plants which allow a faster rate of phenol biodegradation, and the phenol uptake by plants. The better performance of the rice husk-based planted wetland compared to that of the gravel-based planted wetland in phenol removal could be explained by the observation that more rhizomes were established in the rice husk-based wetland unit thus creating more micro-aerobic zones for phenol degradation. The role of rice husk as an adsorbent in phenol removal was considered not of importance.

Bioregeneration of granular activated carbon in simultaneous adsorption and biodegradation of chlorophenols.

The objectives of this study are to obtain the time courses of the amount of chlorophenol adsorbed onto granular activated carbon (GAC) in the simultaneous adsorption and biodegradation processes involving 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) and 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), respectively, and to quantify the bioregeneration efficiency of GAC loaded with 4-CP and 2,4-DCP by direct measurement of the amount of chlorophenol adsorbed onto GAC. Under abiotic and biotic conditions, the time courses of the amount of chlorophenol adsorbed onto GAC at various GAC dosages for the initial 4-CP and 2,4-DCP concentrations below and above the biomass acclimated concentrations of 300 and 150 mg/L, respectively, were determined. The results show that the highest bioregeneration efficiency was achieved provided that the initial adsorbate concentration was lower than the acclimated concentration. When the initial adsorbate concentration was higher than the acclimated concentration, the highest bioregeneration efficiency was achieved if excess adsorbent was used.

Nitrogen removal in moving bed sequencing batch reactor using polyurethane foam cubes of various sizes as carrier materials

The performance of moving bed sequencing batch reactors (MBSBRs) added with 8 % (v/v) of polyurethane (PU) foam cubes as carrier media in nitrogen removal was investigated in treating low COD/N wastewater. The results indicate that MBSBR with 8-mL cubes achieved the highest total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency of 37% during the aeration period, followed by 31%, 24% and 19 % for MBSBRs with 27-, 64- and 125-mL cubes, respectively. The increased TN removal in MBSBRs was mainly due to simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) process which was verified by batch studies. The relatively lower TN removal in MBSBR with larger PU foam cubes was attributed to the observation that larger PU foam cubes were not fully attached by biomass. Higher concentrations of 8-mL PU foam cubes in batch reactors yielded higher TN removal.

Performance of sequencing batch biofilm and sequencing batch reactors in simultaneous p‐nitrophenol and nitrogen removal

The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of sequencing batch biofilm reactors (SBBRs) and sequencing batch reactor (SBR) in the simultaneous removal of p‐nitrophenol (PNP) and ammoniacal nitrogen. SBBRs involved the use of polyurethane sponge cubes and polyethylene rings, respectively, as carrier materials. The results demonstrate that complete removal of PNP was achievable for the SBR and SBBRs up to the PNP concentration of 350 mg/l (loading rate of 0.368 kg/m3 d). At this loading rate, the average ammoniacal nitrogen removal efficiency for the SBR and SBBR (with polyethylene rings) was reduced to 86% and 96%, respectively. However, the SBBR (with polyurethane sponge cubes) still managed to achieve an almost 100% ammoniacal nitrogen removal. Based on the results, the performance of the SBBRs was better than that of SBR in PNP and ammoniacal nitrogen removal. The results of the gas chromatography mass spectroscopy, high‐performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet–visible analyses indicate that complete mineralization of PNP was achieved in all of the reactors.

Simultaneous 4-chlorophenol and nitrogen removal in moving bed sequencing batch reactors packed with polyurethane foam cubes of various sizes.

Moving bed sequencing batch reactors (MBSBRs) packed with 8% (v/v) of 8-, 27- and 64-mL polyurethane (PU) foam cubes, respectively, were investigated for simultaneous 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) and nitrogen removal at increasing 4-CP concentration. When the 4-CP concentration exceeded 300 mg L(-1), the MBSBR with 27-mL foam cubes was observed to outperform the other MBSBRs in removing 4-CP and nitrogen. The reasons were: (1) there were more biomass in inner layer of the 27-mL cubes, compared to that of the 8-mL cubes, which was more shielded from the inhibitory effect of 4-CP and (2) the 27-mL cubes were more mobile than the 64-mL cubes. Although increasing 4-CP concentration to 600 mg L(-1) resulted in incomplete removal of 4-CP in the MBSBRs, results of the batch reactor with 27-mL foam cubes showed that complete 4-CP removal within the REACT period could be achieved by increasing the packing volume to 20%.

Quantification of bioregeneration of activated carbon and activated rice husk loaded with phenolic compounds

The bioregeneration efficiencies of powdered activated carbon (PAC) and pyrolyzed rice husk loaded with phenol and p-nitrophenol were quantified by oxygen uptake measurements using the respirometry technique in two approaches: (i) simultaneous adsorption and biodegradation and (ii) sequential adsorption and biodegradation. It was found that the applicability of the simultaneous adsorption and biodegradation approach was constrained by the requirement of adsorption preceding biodegradation in order to determine the initial adsorbent loading accurately. The sequential adsorption and biodegradation approach provides a good estimate of the upper limit of the bioregeneration efficiency for the loaded adsorbent in the simultaneous adsorption and biodegradation processes. The results showed that the mean bioregeneration efficiencies for PAC loaded with phenol and p-nitrophenol, respectively, obtained using the two approaches were in good agreement.

Enhancement of azo dye Acid Orange 7 removal in newly developed horizontal subsurface-flow constructed wetland.

Horizontal subsurface-flow (HSF) constructed wetland incorporating baffles was developed to facilitate upflow and downflow conditions so that the treatment of pollutants could be achieved under multiple aerobic, anoxic and anaerobic conditions sequentially in the same wetland bed. The performances of the baffled and conventional HSF constructed wetlands, planted and unplanted, in the removal of azo dye Acid Orange 7 (AO7) were compared at the hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 5, 3 and 2 days when treating domestic wastewater spiked with AO7 concentration of 300 mg/L. The planted baffled unit was found to achieve 100%, 83% and 69% AO7 removal against 73%, 46% and 30% for the conventional unit at HRT of 5, 3 and 2 days, respectively. Longer flow path provided by baffled wetland units allowed more contact of the wastewater with the rhizomes, microbes and micro-aerobic zones resulting in relatively higher oxidation reduction potential (ORP) and enhanced performance as kinetic studies revealed faster AO7 biodegradation rate under aerobic condition. In addition, complete mineralization of AO7 was achieved in planted baffled wetland unit due to the availability of a combination of aerobic, anoxic and anaerobic conditions.

Bioregeneration of activated carbon and activated rice husk loaded with phenolic compounds: kinetic modeling.

A kinetic model consisting of first-order desorption and biodegradation processes was developed to describe the bioregeneration of phenol- and p-nitrophenol-loaded powdered activated carbon (PAC) and pyrolyzed rice husk (PRH), respectively. Different dosages of PAC and PRH were loaded with phenol or p-nitrophenol by contacting with the respective phenolic compound at various concentrations. The kinetic model was used to fit the phenol or p-nitrophenol concentration data in the bulk solution during the bioregeneration process to determine the rate constants of desorption, k(d), and biodegradation, k. The results showed that the kinetic model fitted relatively well (R(2)>0.9) to the experimental data for the phenol- and p-nitrophenol-loaded PAC as well as p-nitrophenol-loaded PRH. Comparison of the values of k(d) and k shows that k is much greater than k(d). This indicates clearly that the desorption process is the rate-determining step in bioregeneration and k(d) can be used to characterize the rate of bioregeneration. The trend of the variation of the k(d) values with the dosages of PAC or PRH used suggests that higher rate of bioregeneration can be achieved under non-excess adsorbent dosage condition.

Bioregeneration of mono-amine modified silica and granular activated carbon loaded with Acid Orange 7 in batch system.

The objectives of this study were: (1) to investigate the role of mixed culture of biomass in the regeneration of mono-amine modified silica (MAMS) and granular activated carbon (GAC) loaded with Acid Orange 7 (AO7), (2) to quantify and compare the bioregeneration efficiencies of AO7-loaded MAMS and GAC using the sequential adsorption and biodegradation approach and (3) to evaluate the reusability of bioregenerated MAMS. The results show that considerably higher bioregeneration efficiency of AO7-loaded MAMS as compared to that of AO7-loaded GAC was achieved due to higher reversibility of adsorption of MAMS for AO7 and favorable pH factor resulting in more AO7 desorption. The progressive loss of adsorption capacity of MAMS for AO7 with multiple cycles of use suggests possible chemical and microbial fouling of the adsorption sites.