Joo-Young Jeong

Electrochemical removal of nitrate using ZVI packed bed bipolar electrolytic cell

The present study investigates the performance of the zero valent iron (ZVI, Fe(0)) packed bed bipolar electrolytic cell for nitrate removal. The packing mixture consists of ZVI as electronically conducting material and silica sand as non-conducting material between main cathode and anode electrodes. In the continuous column experiments for the simulated groundwater (initial nitrate and electrical conductivity of about 30 mg L(-1) as N and 300 μS cm(-1), respectively), above 99% of nitrate was removed at the applied potential of 600 V with the main anode placed on the bottom of reactor. The influx nitrate was converted to ammonia (20% to maximum 60%) and nitrite (always less than 0.5 mg L(-1) as N in the effluent). The optimum packing ratio (v/v) of silica sand to ZVI was found to be 1:1-2:1. Magnetite was observed on the surface of the used ZVI as corrosion product. The reduction at the lower part of the reactor in acidic condition and adsorption at the upper part of the reactor in alkaline condition are the major mechanism of nitrate removal.

Performance comparison between mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic reactors for treatment of palm oil mill effluent

The anaerobic digestion of palm oil mill effluent (POME) was carried out under mesophilic (37°C) and thermophilic (55°C) conditions without long-time POME storage in order to compare the performance of each condition in the field of Sumatra Island, Indonesia. The anaerobic treatment system was composed of anaerobic hybrid reactor and anaerobic baffled filter. Raw POME was pretreated by screw decanter to reduce suspended solids and residual oil. The total COD removal rate of 90-95% was achieved in both conditions at the OLR of 15kg[COD]/m(3)/d. The COD removal in thermophilic conditions was slightly better, however the biogas production was much higher than that in the mesophilic one at high OLR. The organic contents in pretreated POME were highly biodegradable in mesophilic under the lower OLRs. The biogas production was 13.5-20.0l/d at the 15kg[COD]/m(3)/d OLR, and the average content of carbon dioxide was 5-35% in both conditions.

Simultaneous removal of nitrate, phosphate, and fluoride using a ZVI-packed bed electrolytic cell

AbstractThe present study aims to treat wastewater containing anionic contaminants such as nitrate, phosphate, and fluoride generated by the etching process of the semiconductor industry. The ZVI-packed bed electrolytic cell was developed to treat the contaminants using reduction, adsorption, and precipitation by electrochemical reactions. The 1 L reactor was operated with a voltage of 600 V, a flow rate of 30 mL/min (HRT: 12 min, EBCT: 33 min), and a packing ratio of 2:1 (v/v, silica sand to ZVI). Synthetic wastewater consisting of 30 mg/L as N, 10–50 mg/L as , and 5–30 mg/L F− was used for the experiment. Different combinations of anionic contaminants were tested in the experimental setup. Results indicated that nitrate, phosphate, and fluoride were removed at greater than 90%. When the reactor was operated without nitrate to act as a support electrolyte, phosphate, and fluoride removal efficiencies dropped drastically. Ammonia was produced during nitrate reduction, which led to iron oxidation. The FESE...

Continuous phosphorus removal from water by physicochemical method using zero valent iron packed column

Excessive phosphorus in aquatic systems causes algal bloom resulting in eutrophication. To treat wastewater including effluent of wastewater treatment plant containing various amounts of phosphorus, a series of continuous experiments on removal of phosphorus from water were performed by using an electrochemical method. The spherical type of zero valent iron (ZVI) and silica sand were packed at appropriate volume ratio of 1:2 in a cylindrical column. An electric potential was applied externally, which can be changed as per the operational requirement. The results indicate that optimum hydraulic retention time of 36 min was required to meet the effluent standards with our laboratory-scale experimental setup. Lower amounts of phosphorus were removed by precipitation due to contact with iron, and additional electric potential was not required. In order to remove high amounts of phosphorus (around 150 mg/L as phosphate), external electric potential of 600 V was applied to the reactor. As the precipitation of phosphate mainly occurs at neutral pH, it is likely that FeHPO4 will be the main phosphorus-containing compound. Through the results of the large-scale experiments, the ZVI packed reactor can be used as a filter for removal of phosphorus of less than 10 mg/L as phosphate concentration.