title: Municipal wastewater treatment by a periodic biofilter with granular biomass.
abstract: The paper reports the results obtained during an experimental campaign aimed at transferring aerobic granulation to a demonstrative SBBGR system (i.e., a submerged biofilter that operates in a "fill and draw" mode) for the treatment of municipal wastewater by financial support of the European Commission, within the framework of Life-Environment Programme (PERBIOF Project; www.perbiof-europe.com). The results show that following the generation of granular biomass during the start-up period, the SBBGR was able to remove 80-90% of COD, total suspended solids and ammonia occurring in primary effluent from a municipal wastewater treatment plant even when the minimum hydraulic residence time (i.e., 4 h) was investigated. The process was characterised by a sludge production almost one magnitude order lower than commonly reported for conventional treatment plants. The granular biomass was characterised by a high density (i.e., 150 gTSS/L(biomass)) that allowed a biomass concentration as high as 35 kgTSS/m(3)(bed) to be achieved. Proteobacteria were found as main microbial components of the granular biomass by applying Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH). No significant changes in microbial composition were observed during reactor operation.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Ricerca Sulle Acque CNR, Bari, Italy. claudio.diiaconi@ba.irsa.cnr.it
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Di Iaconi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Del Moro
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Sanctis
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ramadori
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D018533:Biomass; D019149:Bioreactors; D002947:Cities; D005374:Filtration / Q000295:instrumentation*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000032:analysis; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000032:analysis; D012722:Sewage; D012995:Solubility; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D018508:Water Purification
chemical_list: D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; D012722:Sewage; D010100:Oxygen