Ren-Cun Jin

Kinetics of nitrogen removal in high rate anammox upflow filter

The process kinetics for laboratory-scale anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation) upflow filter using synthetic wastewater as feed were investigated. The experimental unit consisted of a 2.0 L reactor filled with three-dimensional plastic media. The filter was tested for different influent substrate concentrations and hydraulic retention time (HRT). The substrate loading removal rate was compared with prediction of Stover-Kincannon, second-order and the first-order substrate removal models. Upon approaching pseudo-steady-state condition, substrate ammonium or nitrite concentrations were increased from 280 to 462 mg N/L, while HRT was stepwise decreased from 14.4 to 2h, with a concomitant increase in nitrogen loading rate (NLR) from 0.93 to 7.34 g/L day. Based on calculations, Stover-Kincannon model and second-order Grau model were found to be the appropriate models to describe the upflow filter. According to Stover-Kincannon model, the maximum total substrate removal rate constant (U(max)) and saturation value constant (K(B)) were suggested as 12.4 and 12.0 g N/L day, respectively. As Stover-Kincannon model and second-order model gave high correlation coefficients (97.9% and 98.6%, respectively), these models may be used in predicting the behavior or design of the anammox filter.

Enrichment of anammox bacteria from three sludge sources for the startup of monosodium glutamate industrial wastewater treatment system

Three activated sludges from a landfill leachate treatment plant (S1), a municipal sewage treatment plant (S2) and a monosodium glutamate (MSG) wastewater treatment plant (S3) were used as inocula to enrich anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria for the startup of MSG industrial wastewater treatment system. After 360 days of cultivation using MSG wastewater, obvious anammox activity was observed in all three cultures. The maximum specific anammox activities of cultures S1, S2 and S3 were 0.11 kg N kg(-1) VSS day(-1), 0.09 kg N kg(-1) VSS day(-1) and 0.16 kg N kg(-1) VSS day(-1), respectively. Brownish-red anammox granules having diameters in the range of 0.2-1.0mm were visible in cultures S1 and S2, and large red granules having diameters in the range of 0.5-2.5mm were formed in culture S3 after 420 days of cultivation. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA genes showed that Kuenenia organisms were the dominant anammox species in all three cultures. The copy numbers of 16S rRNA genes of anammox bacteria in cultures S1, S2 and S3 were 6.8 × 10(7) copies mL(-1), 9.4 × 10(7) copies mL(-1) and 7.5 × 10(8) copies mL(-1), respectively. The results of this study demonstrated that anammox cultivation from conventional activated sludges was highly possible using MSG wastewater. Thus the anammox process has possibility of applying to the nitrogen removal from MSG wastewater.

Hydrodynamic characteristics of airlift nitrifying reactor using carrier-induced granular sludge

Since nitrification is the rate-limiting step in the biological nitrogen removal from wastewater, many studies have been conducted on the immobilization of nitrifying bacteria. A laboratory-scale investigation was carried out to scrutinize the effectiveness of activated carbon carrier addition for granulation of nitrifying sludge in a continuous-flow airlift bioreactor and to study the hydrodynamics of the reactor with carrier-induced granules. The results showed that the granular sludge began to appear and matured 60 and 108 days, respectively, after addition of carriers, while no granule was observed in the absence of carriers in the control test. The mature granules had a diameter of 0.5-5 mm (1.6 mm in average), settling velocity 22.3-55.8 m h(-1) and specific gravity of 1.086. The relationship between the two important hydrodynamic coefficients, i.e. gas holdup and liquid circulation velocity, and the superficial gas velocity were established by a simple model and were confirmed experimentally. The model also could predict the critical superficial gas velocity for liquid circulation and that for granules circulation, with respective values of 1.017 and 2.662 cm min(-1), accurately.

[Gas-liquid mass transfer in three-phase inverse turbulent bed reactor].

The characteristics of gas-liquid mass transfer of three-phase system comprising air, tap water/wastewater, and hollow glass beads were studied in a laboratory-scale inverse turbulent bed reactor. The influence of operational factors and liquid property on volumetric liquid-phase mass transfer coefficient kLa was investigated under the conditions of superficial gas velocity (0.53mm xs(-1) - 10mx s(-1) solid hold-up (0 - 0.3), and superficial liquid velocity (0 - 0.2mm x s(-1)). The results showed that the coefficient value was 0.0456 - 1. 414min -, which increased with superficial gas velocity and liquid velocity. The coefficient attained the maximum value at solid hold-up of 0.05 - 0.08. Compared with the coefficient value in tap water, that in synthetic wastewater and industrial wastewater is decreased by 39.0% and 50.9%, respectively. These data have provided a basis for the process analysis and mathematical simulation of inverse turbulent bed reactor.