title: Performance of an ultra-compact biofilm reactor treating domestic and synthetic wastewaters.
abstract: The performance of an ultra-compact biofilm reactor (UCBR) treating domestic wastewater (DWW) collected from a local water reclamation plant; and gradually shifting to a mono-type carbon source synthetic wastewater (SWW) combined with DDW (CWW) and finally SWW; was investigated in this study. The total COD concentrations of influent DWW and CWW/SWW were 413.6 ± 80.8 mg/L and 454.9 ± 51.3 mg/L, respectively. The UCBR was able to achieve average total COD removal efficiencies of 70 ± 10% and 80 ± 4% for DWW and SWW respectively. The total COD concentrations of the effluent of DWW and CWW/SWW were 122.5 ± 44.4 mg/L and 89.7 ± 10.3 mg/L, respectively. These observations suggested that heterotrophs in the UCBR system were able to better assimilate and remove carbon of mono-type SWW compared to diverse carbon sources such as DWW; although the influent soluble COD concentrations of the SWW were higher than those of the DWW. However, the effluent NH(4)(+)-N concentrations for both types of wastewater were rather similar, <3.0 mg/L; although the influent NH(4)(+)-N concentrations of the DWW were 1.5 times those of the SWW.
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Lee Chew
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.forename: Haiyang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Thi Thai Ha
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Say Leong
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Ong
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000737:chemistry; D018441:Biofilms; D018533:Biomass; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000592:standards*; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D013997:Time Factors; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D018508:Water Purification
chemical_list: D002244:Carbon; D000641:Ammonia