Process Control of an Alternating Aerobic-Anoxic Sequencing Batch Reactor for Nitrogen Removal via Nitrite

Advanced strategies to improve nitrification process in sequencing batch reactors - A review

The optimization of biological nitrogen removal (BNR) in sequencing batch reactors has become the aim of researchers worldwide in order to increase efficiency and reduce energy and operating costs. This research has focused on the nitrification phase as the limiting reaction rate of BNR. This paper analyzes different strategies and discusses different tools such as: factors for achieving partial nitrification, real-time control and monitoring for detecting characteristic patterns of nitrification/denitrification as end-points, use of modeling based on activated sludge models, and the use of data-driven modeling for estimating variables that cannot be easily measured experimentally or online. The discussion of this paper highlight the properties and scope of each of these strategies, as well as their advantages and disadvantages, which can be integrated into future works using these strategies according to legal and economic restrictions for a more stable and efficient BNR process in the long-term.

Influence of wastewater composition on nutrient removal behaviors in the new anaerobic-anoxic/nitrifying/induced crystallization process

In this study, the new anaerobic-anoxic/nitrifying/induced crystallization (A2N-IC) system was compared with anaerobic-anoxic/nitrifying (A2N) process to investigate nutrient removal performance under different influent COD and ammonia concentrations. Ammonia and COD removal rates were very stable in both processes, which were maintained at 84.9% and 86.6% when the influent ammonia varied from 30 mg L(-1) to 45 mg L(-1) and COD ranged from 250 mg L(-1) to 300 mg L(-1). The effluent phosphorus always maintained below 0.2 mg L(-1) in A2N-IC, whereas in A2N the effluent phosphorus concentration was 0.4-1.7 mg L(-1), demonstrating that A2N-IC is suitable to apply in a broader influent COD and ammonia concentration range. Under higher influent COD (300 mg L(-1)) or lower ammonia conditions (30 mg L(-1)), the main function of chemical induced crystallization was to coordinate better nutrient ratio for anoxic phosphorus uptake, whereas under high phosphorus concentration, it was to reduce phosphorus loading for biological system. Under the similar influent wastewater compositions, phosphorus release amounts were always lower in A2N-IC. To clarify the decrease procedure of phosphorus release in the A2N-IC, the equilibrium between chemical phosphorus removal and biological phosphorus removal in A2N-IC was analyzed by mass balance equations. During the long-term experiment, some undesirable phenomena were observed: the declining nitrification in post-aerobic tank and calcium phosphorus precipitation in the anaerobic tank. The reasons were analyzed; furthermore, the corresponding improvements were proposed. Nitrification effect could be enhanced in the post-aerobic tank, therefore ammonia removal rate could be increased; and biologically induced phosphorus precipitation could be inhibited by controlling pH at the anaerobic stage, so the phosphorus release and recovery could be improved.

Kinetic model for biological nitrogen removal using shortcut nitrification-denitrification process in sequencing batch reactor

A kinetic model for shortcut nitrification-denitrification process with sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was developed. To test this model, the kinetic parameters of the model including maximum specific rates and half-maximum rate concentrations for shortcut nitrification and denitrification were estimated from the results obtained from a laboratory-scale SBR fed with a soybean curd processing wastewater (400-800 mg COD L(-1), 50-65 mg NH(4)(+)-N L(-1)) at 26 degrees C. In the nitrification step, two DO levels (0.5 and 3.5 mg L(-1)) were tested and the predicated nitrification rates under different NH(4)(+)-N concentrations using this model fit well with correlation coefficient R = 0.9902. In the denitrification step, the process of nitrite removal was close to a zero-order reaction if the concentration of electron donor was not so low (COD > 100 mg L(-1)), and concentrations of nitrite and organic matter (as COD) had limited effect on denitrification rate. The model can be used to predict nitrogen removal performance with different influent NH(4)(+)-N and COD concentrations and under various DO concentrations.