title: High-strength nitrogenous wastewater treatment in biofilm and granule anammox processes.
abstract: Biofilm and granule reactors were employed to remove nitrogen via an anammox reaction applying synthetic nitrogen wastewater, whose concentration was in the range of 20 to 1,400 mg N/L as total nitrogen. A biofilm reactor was packed with non-woven fabric and a granule reactor was filled with anaerobic granular sludge taken from the brewery wastewater treatment plant. Both reactors were seeded with Planctomycetes KSU-1 and operated for 450 days. The biofilm reactor showed high NH(4) (+)-N and NO(2) (-)-N removal efficiencies of over 88% and 94%, respectively, until total nitrogen concentration was reached at 800 mg N/L. However, the biofilm reactor showed severe inhibition at over 1,000 mg N/L of total nitrogen due to nitrogen overloading. The granule reactor revealed better nitrogen removal performance than the biofilm reactor, showing high NH(4) (+)-N and NO(2) (-)-N removal efficiencies of over 90%, even at a total nitrogen concentration of 1,400 mg N/L. However, aggregation of anammox bacteria grown in the sludge bed after long-term operation resulted in the deterioration of nitrogen. The removal ratio of NH(4) (+)-N and NO(2) (-)-N was close to 1:1, suggesting other reactions related to ammonium oxidation could occur simultaneously. Free ammonia inhibition as well as NO(2) (-)-N could be significant when high-strength nitrogenous wastewater was applied.
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Technology Research, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, 39-1 Hawolgok-Dong, Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul 136-791, Republic of Korea. ikim@kist.re.kr
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Jung
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D018441:Biofilms; D019149:Bioreactors; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D013997:Time Factors; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D000641:Ammonia; D009584:Nitrogen