The use of the reverse osmosis （RO） process, for refining secondary or tertiary effluent from plants treating domestic wastewater, is rapidly increasing. However, the disposal of the RO reject water poses a problem ...The use of the reverse osmosis （RO） process, for refining secondary or tertiary effluent from plants treating domestic wastewater, is rapidly increasing. However, the disposal of the RO reject water poses a problem due to the presence of very high concentrations of salts, metals, and nutrients in it. This paper contains results of a bench-scale study aimed at reducing nutrients from RO-discarded streams utilizing a sequential bioreactors system, under partial aerobic and anoxic conditions. The tests were performed on synthetic wastewater resembling RO-reject water of an operating treatment plant, with glucose, methanol or acetate added to the water as sources of carbon. Study results indicate that the RO process removed about 50-60% of the total nitrogen and 50% of the phosphate; it reduced chemical oxygen demand （COD） by 79 to 82%, and affected no change in the metal concentrations. A clear cut removal preference for any one of the external carbon sources was not observed, although a slight advantage of glucose and methanol was recorded. The process maintained about 20% of the rector volume in the anoxic environment.展开更多
文摘The use of the reverse osmosis （RO） process, for refining secondary or tertiary effluent from plants treating domestic wastewater, is rapidly increasing. However, the disposal of the RO reject water poses a problem due to the presence of very high concentrations of salts, metals, and nutrients in it. This paper contains results of a bench-scale study aimed at reducing nutrients from RO-discarded streams utilizing a sequential bioreactors system, under partial aerobic and anoxic conditions. The tests were performed on synthetic wastewater resembling RO-reject water of an operating treatment plant, with glucose, methanol or acetate added to the water as sources of carbon. Study results indicate that the RO process removed about 50-60% of the total nitrogen and 50% of the phosphate; it reduced chemical oxygen demand （COD） by 79 to 82%, and affected no change in the metal concentrations. A clear cut removal preference for any one of the external carbon sources was not observed, although a slight advantage of glucose and methanol was recorded. The process maintained about 20% of the rector volume in the anoxic environment.
