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In Uence of Denitrification Reactor Retention Time Distribution (RTD) On Dissolved Oxygen Control and Nitrogen Removal Ef Ficiency
In Uence of Denitrification Reactor Retention Time Distribution (RTD) On Dissolved Oxygen Control and Nitrogen Removal Ef Ficiency
In Uence of Denitrification Reactor Retention Time Distribution (RTD) On Dissolved Oxygen Control and Nitrogen Removal Ef Ficiency
1 | 2015
ABSTRACT
Massimo Raboni
Low concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO) are usually found in biological anoxic pre-denitrification
School of Industrial Engineering,
reactors, causing a reduction in nitrogen removal efficiency. Therefore, the reduction of DO in such University LIUC – Cattaneo,
Corso Matteotti, 22, I-21053 Castellanza, Varese,
reactors is fundamental for achieving good nutrient removal. The article shows the results of an Italy
experimental study carried out to evaluate the effect of the anoxic reactor hydrodynamic model on Renato Gavasci
Department of Civil Engineering and Computer
both residual DO concentration and nitrogen removal efficiency. In particular, two hydrodynamic Science Engineering,
University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’,
models were considered: the single completely mixed reactor and a series of four reactors that
Via Politecnico 1, I-00133 Roma,
resemble plug-flow behaviour. The latter prove to be more effective in oxygen consumption, allowing Italy
a lower residual DO concentration than the former. The series of reactors also achieves better Paolo Viotti (corresponding author)
Department of Civil and Environmental
specific denitrification rates and higher denitrification efficiency. Moreover, the denitrification food to Engineering,
University of Roma La Sapienza,
microrganism (F:M) ratio (F:MDEN) demonstrates a relevant synergic action in both controlling residual Via Eudossiana 18, I-00184 Rome,
Italy
DO and improving the denitrification performance.
E-mail: paolo.viotti@uniroma1.it
Key words | completely mixed reactor, denitrification rate, hydrodynamic model, residual
dissolved oxygen
INTRODUCTION
Denitrification is the biological process where nitrite (NO3–N) The possible inhibitory effects of DO on the denitrifica-
is converted into gaseous nitrogen (N2) under anoxic con- tion kinetics were postulated by US-EPA () and were
ditions. Considering the pre-denitrification process, the reactor highlighted by other studies (Badstreet & Johnson ;
design is usually based on the denitrification rate (rDEN), Oh & Silverstein ; Plòsz et al. ). The presence of
assuming a zero-order kinetics with respect to both NO3–N 0.2 mgO2 L1 lowers rDEN up to 40% of the maximum
and organic substrate, and considering the effect of temperature values measured without DO (Dawson & Murphy ;
Tchobanoglous et al. ). To take account of such an
W
(T ). Typical values of rDEN at 20 C are in the range 2.9–3.0
gNO3–N kgMLVSS1 h1 (MLVSS ¼ mixed-liquor volatile effect, inhibition factors were introduced in various rDEN
suspended solids) (Barnard ; Sutton et al. ; US-EPA models, as described elsewhere (US-EPA , ;
; De Fraja Frangipane et al. ; Ekama ; Vismara Luciano et al. ; Fajardo et al. ).
; Ekama & Wentzel ; Ekama ; Collivignarelli & For practical calculation of the denitrification reactor
Bertanza ; Torretta et al. ). (DEN) volume, a semi-empirical relationship, which corre-
lates the specific denitrification rate at T ¼ 20 C
W
Dissolved oxygen (DO) is an inhibiting factor for denitri-
fication, and concentrations in the range 0.2–0.4 mgO2 L1 (SDNR20 C) to the sludge loading referred to DEN, has
W
significantly reduce rDEN. DO is even higher in small waste- been proposed (Burdick et al. ; US-EPA ; Tchobano-
water treatment plants that are characterized by strong glous et al. ):
changes of sewage flow and quality (Raboni et al. ).
DO presence within anoxic reactors depends on two oppos- SDNR20 C ¼ 0:03 F:MDEN þ 0:029
W
(1)
ing factors: (i) DO content into the inflow (sewage and
mixed-liquor recycle); and (ii) oxygen consumption deter- where SDNR ¼ (Q · ΔNO3–N)/(VDEN · X); Q is the sewage
mined by the heterotrophic bacteria. flow rate (m3 d1); ΔNO3–N is the NO3–N removed into
doi: 10.2166/wst.2015.188
46 M. Raboni et al. | Influence of retention time in denitrification process Water Science & Technology | 72.1 | 2015
DEN (gNO3–N m3); VDEN is the DEN volume (m3); X is represent typical situations found in full-scale plants. The
the biomass concentration in DEN (gMLVSS m3); F: input of DO in the completely mixed reactor (mainly
MDEN is the sludge loading referred to DEN (gBOD5 applied related to the mixed-liquor recycle) is immediately dis-
to gMLVSS1 d1). Values of SDNR observed in full-scale persed throughout the volume, and its consumption due
plants range from 0.04 to 0.42 gNO3–N gMLVSS1 d1 to the heterotrophic bacteria is low. In contrast, the
(Burdick et al. ; Henze ; Tchobanoglous et al. system of the four reactors in series allows a descending
), while US-EPA () reports a more restricted range DO concentration from very high values in the first reactor
(0.05–0.15 gNO3–N gMLVSS1 d1 at 20 C).
W
to very small values in the last reactor. Such solutions are
As the temperature strongly affects the denitrification beneficial to denitrification efficiency because they
kinetics, the well-known correlation has been proposed: increases DO consumption.
SDNRT ¼ SDNR20 W
C θ ðT 20Þ (2)
METHODS
where SDNRT is the SDNR at a generic temperature T; θ ¼
1.026 for Tchobanoglous et al. () and θ ¼ 1.07 for US- Pilot plant description
EPA ().
More recently, Raboni et al. () highlighted the strong The research was based on two parallel activated sludge pilot
dependence of pre-denitrification SDNR on both DO and plants (Figure 1), consisting of a biological pre-denitrification
food to microrganism (F:M) ratio. They proposed the follow- stage (DEN; volume: 10 m3; liquid height: 1.8 m), an
ing equation: oxidation-nitrification stage (OX-NIT; volume: 20 m3; liquid
height: 1.8 m; aeration system: micro-bubble), and a final
SDNR20 C W
Figure 1 | Layout of the two parallel pilot plants: pilot plant 1, having the denitrification stage characterized by a series of four reactors (a); pilot plant 2, having the denitrification stage
characterized by a single completely mixed reactor (b).
• Preliminary verification of the DEN hydrodynamic be- • Simultaneous conduction of the two pilot plants with the
haviour through reconstruction of the retention time same operating conditions was used in order to check:
distribution (RTD) curves (Tchobanoglous et al. ).
A tracer solution of lithium chloride was used with a ○ the sewage quality and the overall treatment efficiency
step dosage of 5 mgLiþ L1. For the tests, tap water was with respect to BOD5, chemical oxygen demand
fed to the plants. (COD), total nitrogen (TN) and suspended solids (SS);
48 M. Raboni et al. | Influence of retention time in denitrification process Water Science & Technology | 72.1 | 2015
○ the DO concentration in the two types of DEN, and its • BOD5, COD, total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), NO3–N
influence on both SDNR and plant denitrification effi- and SS in the pilot plant effluents (daily average
ciency (ηDEN, %), taking into account the role of samplings);
F:MDEN: • MLVSS and mixed-liquor suspended solids (MLSS) in
DEN and OX-NIT (daily manual sampling);
• temperature, DO and pH at the sampling points shown in
TNps TNeff Figure 2, were measured.
ηDEN ¼ 100 (4)
TNps
Sampling and analysis were carried out in compliance
where the subscripts ps and eff refer to the pre-treated with official standard methods of Italian legislation.
sewage and the effluents, respectively.
• BOD5, COD, TN and SS in the pre-treated sewage (daily Figure 3 shows the results of the tests carried out to verify
average samplings); the hydrodynamic behaviour of the two DENs.
• TN and NO3–N in the total flow rate (sum of Q, QML and The anoxic stage of Plant 1 proves to effectively behave
q) both ingoing and outgoing the DEN (daily average as a series of four completely mixed reactors; in fact, the
samplings); experimental curve overlaps almost perfectly (except in the
Table 1 | Quality of the raw sewage and the treated effluent in both plants: mean (m) and standard deviation (sd) of daily samples (number of samples: 21 for sewage; 42 for the treated
effluent)
Treated effluent
1
COD mg L 288.0 59.9 85.5 15.3 88.3 16.1
1
BOD5 mg L 127.9 40.0 12.1 2.5 12.6 2.6
SS mg L1 153.0 45.0 20.5 4.5 19.7 4.8
1 a a a
TN mg L 27.6 5.1 5.9 2.0 7.8 2.1a
a
All NO3–N because TKN in the effluent was always less than 0.5 mg L1.
49 M. Raboni et al. | Influence of retention time in denitrification process Water Science & Technology | 72.1 | 2015
Figure 3 | RTD curves of the two DENs: comparison between experimental and theoretical results.
2 3
t N1 i
6 N X Ni t 7
C ¼ Co 41 e tr 5 (5)
i¼0
i! tr
VDEN Figure 4 | DO concentration in the DENs as a function of the sludge loading (F:MDEN). Pilot
tr ¼ (6) plant 1 data are represented for each reactor. The continuous lines and the
Q þ QML þ q shaded areas represent the mean and the 95% confidence interval,
respectively.
rDO ¼ a rs þ b X
Pilot plants S DO
¼aKX þbX (8)
KS þ S KDO þ DO
Influence of the hydrodynamic models on DO
where rDO is the oxygen consumption rate (mgO2 L1 h1); rS
Figure 4 shows the DO concentration in the two DENs as a is the substrate removal rate (mg L1 h1); S is the substrate
function of the denitrifications sludge loading (F:MDEN). concentration (mg L1); KS and KDO are the half velocity
Both hydrodynamic models show that the increase of constants referred to substrate and the DO, respectively
sludge loading allows a reduction of the DO concentration. (mg L1); X is the VSS concentration in the mixed liquor
Considering the configuration with the series of reactors (mg L1); a, b and K are kinetic constants (dimensionless).
(Plant 1), the first stage has a high DO concentration The average DO concentration in the single completely
(0.61–0.73 mgO2 L1, depending on the sludge loading) mixed reactor (Pilot plant 2) is less than halved
50 M. Raboni et al. | Influence of retention time in denitrification process Water Science & Technology | 72.1 | 2015
(0.2–0.3 mgO2 L1) compared to the initial concentration The denitrification sludge loading significantly influ-
found in the four reactors in series and about three times ences the SDNR: doubling the F:MDEN (from 0.2 to
higher than its final concentration. 0.4 kgBOD5 d1 kgMLVSS1), the average SDNR increase
Such results demonstrate the good performance in DO is about 54% in both reactor models. In addition, the
removal of the series of reactors compared to a single reactor. hydraulic model affects the denitrification rate: the total
SDNR of the series of four reactors (Plant 1) is 16.6% and
Influence of the RTD models on both SDNR and 25% higher than the values measured with the single com-
denitrification efficiency pletely mixed reactor (Plant 2) at F:MDEN equal to 0.2 and
0.4 kgBOD5 d1 kgMLVSS1, respectively.
Figure 5 shows the SDNR of the two DEN hydrodynamic Figure 6 shows the denitrification performance of both
models as a function of the sludge loading in denitrification pilot plants during the 180 operational days, expressed as
(F:MDEN). the overall plant denitrification efficiency.
Data confirm the results of SDNR concerning the influ-
ence of the hydrodynamic model (Figure 5) on nitrogen
removal. The denitrification efficiency with the series of reac-
tors results are 6.7%, 9.7% and 12%, which are higher than for
a single completely mixed reactor for F:MDEN equal to 0.2
kgBOD5 d1 kgMLVSS1, 0.3 kgBOD5 d1 kgMLVSS1
and 0.4 kgBOD5 d1 kgMLVSS1, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
Figure 6 | Denitrification efficiency (ηDEN) of the two pilot plants at three sludge loadings (F:MDEN).
51 M. Raboni et al. | Influence of retention time in denitrification process Water Science & Technology | 72.1 | 2015
than a single completely mixed reactor (residual DO lower Ekama, G. A. & Wentzel, M. C. Denitrification kinetics in
than 0.1 mgO2 L1 compared to 0.18–0.30 mgO2 L1). Such biological N and P removal activated sludge systems treating
municipal wastewaters. Water Science and Technology 39 (6),
results are also positively influenced by high denitrification
69–77.
sludge loadings (F:MDEN). Tests carried out continuously on Fajardo, C., Mosquera-Corral, A., Campos, J. L. & Méndez, R.
the two parallel pilot plants for 6 months evidenced that the Autotrophic denitrification with sulphide in a sequencing
SDNR raises both using four reactors in series instead of a batch reactor. Journal of Environmental Management
single completely mixed reactor and increasing F:MDEN. 113, 552–556.
Such an improvement amounts to þ16.6% and þ25% (in Henze, M. Capabilities of nitrogen removal process from
wastewater. Water Science and Technology 23 (4–6),
favour of the series of four reactors) with F:MDEN equal to
669–679.
0.2 kgBOD5 d1 kgMLVSS1 and 0.4 kgBOD5 d1 Luciano, A., Viotti, P., Mancini, G. & Torretta, V. An
1
kgMLVSS , respectively. The tests demonstrated similar integrated wastewater treatment system using a BAS reactor
results considering denitrification removal efficiency (up to with biomass attached to tubular supports. Journal of
þ12% with F:MDEN ¼ 0.4 kgBOD5 d1 kgMLVSS1). Environmental Management 113, 51–60.
Oh, J. & Silverstein, J. A. Oxygen inhibition of activated
In conclusion, the experience highlights the importance
sludge denitrification. Water Research 33 (8), 1925–1937.
of the hydrodynamic model of the anoxic reactor in condition- Plósz, B. G., Jobbágy, A. & Grady, C. P. Jr Factors
ing the residual DO concentration and, consequently, the influencing deterioration of denitrification by oxygen
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First received 23 November 2014; accepted in revised form 9 April 2015. Available online 21 April 2015