Long term Evaluation of the Effect of Salinity on Organic Removal and Ammonium Oxidation in a down-flow Hanging Sponge Reactor

Uemura, S.; Kimura, M.; Yamaguchi, T.; Ohashi, A.; Takemura, Y.; Harada, H.

doi:10.22059/ijer.2012.503

Long term Evaluation of the Effect of Salinity on Organic Removal and Ammonium Oxidation in a down-flow Hanging Sponge Reactor

Authors

S. Uemura ¹

M. Kimura ²

T. Yamaguchi ²

A. Ohashi ³

Y. Takemura ⁴

H. Harada ⁴

¹ Department of Environmental Engineering, Kisarazu National College of Technology, 2-11-1 Kiyomidaihigashi, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0041, Japan

² Department of Environmental Systems Engineering, Nagaoka University of Technology, Kamitomioka 1603-1, Nagaoka 940-2188, Niigata, Japan

³ Department of Social and Environmental Engineering, Hiroshima University, Kagamiyama 1-4-1, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8527, Japan

⁴ Department of Civil Engineering, Tohoku University, Aoba 6-6-06, Aramaki, Aoba, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8579, Japan

10.22059/ijer.2012.503

Abstract

The effect of salinity on organic removal and ammonium oxidation in a down-flow hanging
sponge reactor was investigated by conducting a long-term continuous experiment over a period of 800 days. The DHS reactor, constructed by connecting three identical units, was fed with artificial wastewater containing 500 mg-N/L of ammonium nitrogen and 1400 mg- COD/L of phenol. Salinity of the influent was controlled by the addition of 8.0 to 25 g-Cl-/L of NaCl. The DHS reactor was operated at a hydraulic retention time of 12 h in a temperature controlled room at 25oC. No significant inhibition of organic removal and ammonium oxidation was observed at salinities of up to 20 g-Cl-/L, at which levels ammonium oxidation and COD removal both exceeded 90%, respectively. However, at a salinity of 25 g-Cl-/L, organic removal and ammonium oxidation
were both severely inhibited. In addition, the ratio of effluent nitrite nitrogen to influent ammonium nitrogen increased from 3.4% at salinities of 8.0 g-Cl-/L to 33% at salinities of 20 g-Cl-/L.

Keywords

Ammonium oxidation

phenol

salinity

Nitritation

DHS