Computer Aided Design and Performance Analysis of Inverse Fluidized Bed Biofilm Reactors with Special Reference to Bioplastic Synthesis

Poly Laevo Lactic Acid (PLLA), in spite of being an excellent bioplastic, has exorbitantly high market price due to the high cost of raw material (lactose, glucose, sucrose). Hence, its manufacture is being attempted starting from waste effluents such as cheese whey and molasses. Earlier studies on the same in fluidized bed and semifluidized bed biofilm reactors yielded encouraging results. The present study therefore involves design and analysis of inverse fluidized bed biofilm reactors for lactic acid synthesis. The performance features of the bioreactor have been studied both mathematically as well as experimentally. The inverse fluidized bed biofilm reactor has been found to provide more than 75% conversion of sucrose/lactose even at high capacities (high feed flow rates) exceeding 56,000 L/hr, within a reasonably low reactor volume. The fractional substrate conversion increases, though sluggishly, with increase in feed flow rate due to bed expansion and also with increase in cell mass concentration in biofilm due to enhancement in intrinsic rate of bioconversion. The inverse fluidized bed biofilm reactor of proposed design could be safely recommended for the commercial synthesis of polymer grade lactic acid from waste effluents such as cheese whey and molasses. The low operating cost of the bioreactor (due to downflow mode of operation) enhances the economy of the process. This would also help in significantly lowering the market price of the green plastic (PLLA) and shall promote its large scale manufacture and utilisation.

Bio-reduction of nitrate from groundwater using a hydrogen-based membrane biofilm reactor

A hydrogen-based membrane biofilm reactor （MBfR） using H2 as electron donor was investigated to remove nitrate from groundwater. When nitrate was first introduced to the MBfR, denitrification took place on the shell side of the membranes immediately, and the effluent concentration of nitrate continuously decreased with 100% removal rate on day 45 under the influent nitrate concentration of 5 mg NO3^--N/L, which described the acclimating and enriching process of autohydrogenotrophic denitrification bacteria. A series of short-term experiments were applied to investigate the effects of hydrogen pressures and nitrate loadings on deniWification. The results showed that nitrate reduction rate improved as H2 pressure increasing, and over 97% of total nitrogen removal rate was achieved when the nitrate loading increased from 0.17 to 0.34 g NO3^--N/（m^2.day） without nitrite accumulation. The maximum deniwification rate was 384 g N/（m^3.day）. Partial sulfate reduction, which occurred in parallel to nitrate reduction, was inhibited by denitrififcation due to the competition for H2. This research showed that MBfR is effective for removing nitrate from the contaminated groundwater.

Anammox transited from denitrification in upflow biofilm reactor

Anammox was successfully transited from heterotrophic denitrification and autotrophic denitrification in two upflow biofilm reactors, respectively. The results showed that the volumetric loading rate and nitrogen removal efficiency in the reactor transited from heterotrophic denitrification were higher than that in its counterpart. When the hydraulic retention time was 12 h or so, the total nitrogen loading rate was about 0.609 kg N/(m3·d), and the effluent ammonia and nitrite concentrations were less than 8.5 mg/L and 2.5 mg/L, respectively. The upflow anammox biofilm reactor was capable of keeping and accumulating the slow-growing bacteria efficiently. During operation of the reactor, the biomass color was gradually turned from brownish to red, and the ratio of ammonia consumption, nitrite consumption and nitrate production approached the theoretical one. These changes could be used as an indicator for working state of the reactor.

Simultaneous removal of COD and nitrogen using a novel carbon-membrane aerated biofilm reactor

A membrane aerated biofilm reactor is a promising technology for wastewater treatment. In this study, a carbon-membrane aerated biofilm reactor （CMABR） has been developed, to remove carbon organics and nitrogen simultaneously from one reactor. The results showed that CMABR has a high chemical oxygen demand （COD） and nitrogen removal efficiency, as it is operated with a hydraulic retention time （HRT） of 20 h, and it also showed a perfect performance, even if the HRT was shortened to 12 h. In this period, the removal efficiencies of COD, ammonia nitrogen （NH4^＋-N）, and total nitrogen （TN） reached 86%, 94%, and 84%, respectively. However, the removal efficiencies of NH4^＋-N and TN declined rapidly as the HRT was shortened to 8 h. This is because of the excessive growth of biomass on the nonwoven fiber and very high organic loading rate. The fluorescence in situ hybridization （FISH） analysis indicated that the ammonia oxidizing bacteria （AOB） were mainly distributed in the inner layer of the biofilm. The coexistence of AOB and eubacteria in one biofilm can enhance the simultaneous removal of COD and nitrogen.

Reduction of Precursors of Chlorination By-products in Drinking Water Using Fluidized-bed Biofilm Reactor at Low Temperature

Objective To investigate the reduction of chlorination by-products （CBPs） precursors using the fluidized-bed biofdm reactor （FBBR）. Methods Reduction of total organic carbon （TOC）, ultraviolet absorbance （UV254）, tfihalomethane （THM） formation potential （THMFP）, haloacetic acid （HAA） formation potential （HAAFP）, and ammonia in FBBR were evaluated in detail. Results The reduction of TOC or UV254 was low, on average 12.6% and 4.7%, respectively, while the reduction of THMFP and HAAFP was significant. The reduction of ammonia was 30%-40% even below 3℃, however, it could quickly rise to over 50% above 3℃. Conclusions The FBBR effectively reduces CBPs and ammonia in drinking water even at low temperature and seems to be a very promising and competitive drinking water reactor for polluted surface source waters, especially in China.

Treatment of Wastewater with Modified Sequencing Batch Biofilm Reactor Technology

This paper describes the removal of COD and nitrogen from wastewater with modified sequencing batch biofilm reactor. The strategy of simultaneous feeding and draining was explored.The results show that introduction of a new batch of wastewater and withdrawal of the purified water can be conducted simultaneously with the maximum volumetric exchange rate of about 70%.Application of this feeding and draining mode leads to the reduction of the cycle time, the increase of the utilization of the reactor volume and the simplification of the reactor structure. The treatment of a synthetic wastewater containing COD and nitrogen was investigated. The operation mode of F(D) O ( i.e ., simultaneous feeding and draining followed by the aerobic condition) was adopted. It was found that COD was degraded very fast in the initial reaction period of time, then reduced slowly and the ammonia nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen concentrations decreased and increased with time respectively, while the nitrite nitrogen level increased first and then reduced. The relationship between the COD or ammonia nitrogen loading and its removal rate was examined, and the removal of COD, ammonia nitrogen and total nitrogen could exceed 95%, 90% and 80% respectively. The fact that nitrogen could be removed more completely under constant aeration (aerobic condition) of the SBBR operation mode is very interesting and could be explained in several respects.

Research Development and Application of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal in Sequencing Batch Biofilm Reactor

Frequent variations of the wastewater quality and quantity and other uncertain factors are the challenges faced by many wastewater treatment plants during the operation. Sequencing batch biofilm reactor（ SBBR） process provides a new idea for an effective solution to this problem. This paper introduces the basic processes and characteristics of the sequencing batch biofilm reactor（ SBBR） process,and summarizes the research status of this process in wastewater treatment. Factors affecting the nitrogen and phosphorus removal effect of the SBBR process are also analyzed.

Performance of Sequencing Biofilm Batch Reactor(SBBR) under Micro-aerobic Condition for Aniline-Contaminated Wastewater Treatment

The performance of sequencing biofilm batch reactor( SBBR) under micro-aerobic condition for aniline-contaminated wastewater treatment was investigated in this study. Dissolved oxygen( DO) and aniline concentrations were selected as the operating variables to analyze,model,and optimize the process. In order to analyze the process,5 dependent parameters,chemical oxygen demand( COD),aniline,ammonium,total nitrogen( TN),and total phosphorous( TP) removal as the process responses were studied. From the results, increase in DO concentration could promote the removal of COD,aniline,ammonium,and TN,while increase in aniline concentration has a slightly negative impact on the removal of pollutants. The optimum DO concentration was found to be 0. 4-0. 5 mg /L. The removal efficiencies for COD,aniline,ammonium,and TN at the optimum point( DO concentration0. 5 mg /L,aniline concentration 11 mg /L) were 95. 84%,100%,75. 72%,and 45. 39%,respectively. The oxidative deamination was the main degradation method for aniline under micro-aerobic condition. Simultaneously nitrification-denitrification( SND)process performed under micro-aerobic condition and about 20%-40% nitrogen was removed by SND.

Optimal Aerations in the Inverse Fluidized Bed Biofilm Reactor When Used in Treatment of Industrial Wastewaters of Various Strength

The aim of this work was the determination of the optimal aerations, and more specifically the corresponding optimal air velocities uopt, at which the largest COD removals were achieved in treatment of industrial wastewaters of various strength conducted in the inverse fluidized bed biofilm reactor. The largest COD removals were achieved at the following air velocities uopt and retention times ts, and (Vb/VR) = 0.55: i) for CODo = 72,780 mg/l at uopt = 0.052 m/s and ts = 80 h;ii) for CODo = 62,070 mg/l at uopt = 0.042 m/s and ts = 65 h;iii) for CODo = 49,130 mg/l at uopt = 0.033 m/s and ts= 55 h;iv) for CODo = 41,170 mg/l at uopt = 0.028 m/s and ts = 45 h;v) for CODo = 35,460 mg/l at uopt = 0.025 m/s and ts = 27.5 h;and vi) for CODo = 26,470 mg/l at uopt= 0.014 m/s and ts = 22.5 h. In the treatment operation conducted in a reactor optimally controlled at the above values of uopt, ts and (Vb/VR), the following decreases in COD were obtained: i) from 72,780 to 5410 mg/l;ii) from 62,070 to 3730 mg/l;iii) from 49,130 to 2820 mg/l;iv) from 41,170 to 1820 mg/l;v) from 35,460 to 1600 mg/l;and vi) from 26,470 to 1180 mg/l, that is, approximately a 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 95% and 96% COD reduction was attained, respectively.

Fate of Parent and Substituted Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in SBR/MBBR Treatment Process:Experimental Value Against Model Prediction

The knowledge of the existence,distribution and fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs)and substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(SPAHs)in wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs)was vital for reducing their concentrations entering the aquatic environment.The concentrations of 13 SPAHs and 16 PAHs were all determined in a WWTP with styrene butadiene rubber(SBR)in partnership with the moving bed biofilm reactor(MBBR)process.SPAHs presented a higher concentration lever than PAHs in nearly all samples.The total removal efficiencies of PAHs and SPAHs ranged from 64.0%to 71.36%and 78.4%to 79.7%,respectively.The total yearly loads of PAHs(43.0 kg)and SPAHs(73.0 kg)were mainly reduced by the primary and SBR/MBBR biological treatment stages.The tertiary treatment stage had a minor contribution to target compounds removal.According to a synthesis and improvement fate model,we found that the dominant processes changed as the chemical octanol water partition coefficient(K_(ow))increased.But the seasonal variations of experimental removal efficiencies were more obvious than that of predicted data.In the primary sedimentation tank,dissolution in the aqueous phase and sorption to sludge/particulate matter were controlling processes for the removal of PAHs and SPAHs.The sorption to sludge and biodegradation were the principal removal mechanisms during the SBR/MBBR biological treatment process.The contribution of volatilization to removal was always insignificant.Furthermore,the basic physicochemical properties and operating parameters influenced the fate of PAHs and SPAHs in the WWTP.

Anaerobic-aerobic processes for the treatment of textile dyeing wastewater containing three commercial reactive azo dyes:Effect of number of stages and bioreactor type

In this study,the effect of number of stages and bioreactor type on the removal performance of a sequential anaerobic-aerobic process employing activated sludge for the treatment of a simulated textile dyeing wastewater containing three commercial reactive azo dyes was considered.Two stage processes performed better than one stage ones,both in terms of overall organic and color removal,as well as the higher contribution of anaerobic stage to the overall removal performance,thereby making them a more energy efficient option.The employment of a moving bed sequencing batch biofilm reactor,which uses both suspended and attached biomass,for the implementation of the anaerobic stage of the process,was compared with a sequencing batch reactor that only employs suspended biomass.The results showed that,although there was no meaningful difference in biomass concentration between the two bioreactors,the latter reactor had better performance in terms of chemical oxygen demand(COD)removal efficiency and rate and color removal rate.Further exploratory tests revealed a difference between the roles of suspended and attached bacterial populations,with the former yielding better color removal whilst the latter had better COD removal performance.The sequential anaerobic–aerobic process,employing an aerobic membrane bioreactor in the aerobic stage resulted in COD and color removal of 77.1±7.9%and 79.9±1.5%,respectively.The incomplete COD and color removal was attributed to the presence of soluble microbial products in the effluent and the autoxidation of dye reduction metabolites,respectively.Also,aerobic partial mineralization of the dye reduction metabolites,was experimentally observed.

Efficient degradation of lube oil by a mixed bacterial consortium

A laboratory study was performed to assess the biodegradation of lube oil in bio-reactor with 304# stainless steel as a biofilm carrier. Among 164 oil degrading bacterial cultures isolated from oil contaminated soil samples, Commaonas acidovorans Px1, Bacillus sp. Px2, Pseudomonas sp. Px3 were selected to prepare a mixed consortium for the study based on the efficiency of lube oil utilization. The percentage of oil degraded by the mixed bacterial consortium decreased slightly from 99% to 97.2% as the concentration of lube oil was increased from 2000 to 10,000 mg/L. The degradation of TDOC （total dissolved organic carbon） showed a similar tendency compared with lube oil removal, which indicated that the intermediates in degradation process hardly accumulated. Selected mixed bacterial consortium showed their edge compared to activated sludge. Scanning electron microscopy （SEM） photos showed that biofilms on stainless steel were robust and with a dimensional framework constructed by EPS （extracellular polymeric substances）, which could promote the biodegradation of hydrocarbons. The increase of biofilm followed first-order kinetics with rate of 0.216 μg glucose/（cm2·day） in logarithm phase. With analysis of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FT-IR） and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MS） combined with removal of lube oil and TDOC, mixed bacterial consortium could degrade benzene and its derivatives, aromatic ring organic matters with a percentage over 97%.

Electrocatalytic biofilm reactor for effective and energyefficient azo dye degradation:the synergistic effect of MnO_(x)/Ti flow-through anode and biofilm on the cathode

Dyeing wastewater treatment remains a challenge.Although effective,the in-series process using electrochemical oxidation as the pre-or post-treatment of biodegradation is long.This study proposes a compact dual-chamber electrocatalytic biofilm reactor(ECBR)to complete azo dye decolorization and mineralization in a single unit via anodic oxidation on a MnO_(x)/Ti flow-through anode followed by cathodic biodegradation on carbon felts.Compared with the electrocatalytic reactor with a stainlesssteel cathode(ECR-SS)and the biofilm reactor(BR),the ECBR increased the chemical oxygen demand(COD)removal efficiency by 24%and 31%(600 mg/L Acid Orange 7 as the feed,current of 6 mA),respectively.The COD removal efficiency of the ECBR was even higher than the sum of those of ECR-SS and BR.The ECBR also reduced the energy consumption(3.07 kWh/kg COD)by approximately half compared with ECR-SS.The advantages of the ECBR in azo dye removal were attributed to the synergistic effect of the MnO_(x)/Ti flow-through anode and cathodic biofilms.Catalyzed by MnIV=O generated on the MnO_(x)/Ti anode under a low applied current,azo dyes were oxidized and decolored.The intermediate products with improved biodegradability were further mineralized by the cathodic aerobic heterotrophic bacteria(non-electrochemically active)under the stimulation of the applied current.Taking advantage of the mutual interactions among the electricity,anode,and bacteria,this study provides a novel and compact process for the effective and energyefficient treatment of azo dye wastewater.

Influence of the wastewater composition on denitrification and biological P-removal in the S-DN-P process: (c) Dissolved and undissolved substrates

The denitdfication and P-removal in the sorption-denitrification-P-removal （S-DN-P） process were carded out under various wastewater compositions. It is noted that P-removal largely depends on the wastewater composition as well to the quantity of the substrates present in wastewater fraction. Three different wastewater fractions are obtained as： raw wastewater, dissolved wastewater （obtained with filtration using 0.45 μm filter）, and undissolved wastewater （i.e., infiltrate obtained by above filtration）. The ratio of P-release/CODtotal-consumption clearly inferred that undissolved wastewater possess very low value i.e., 0.0008 followed by raw wastewater 0.008 and dissolved wastewater 0.03. When this ratio was nearby 0.01, enhanced P-removal was observed. Moreover, the ratio of P-uptake to NO3^--N decomposition for raw wastewater was two times for dissolved wastewater. Interestingly, it was observed that the P-removal and denitrification depend not only on the dissolved substrates but also the undissolved substrates present in the wastewater. The result of the P-removal obtained with this S-DN-P process did not show a big difference of 36%, 34% and 30%, respectively, for raw, dissolved and undissolved wastewater.

Biological pretreatment of Yellow River water

Bio-ceramic filter(BF) and moving-bed biofilm reactor(MBBR) were used for biological pretreatment of Yellow River water in this study. The BF only had slight advantage over MBBR for TOC and ammonia removal. However, like UV_ 254 , the average removal rate of THMFP in the BF was much higher than that in the MBBR. UV_ 254 removal did not show obvious correlation with trihalomethane formation potential(THMFP) removal. Hexachlorocyclohexane could be effectively removed in both BF and MBBR. As for diatom and cyanobateria removal the MBBR had better performance than the BF, which was contrary to the average chlorophyll-a(Chl-a) removal rate. The proposal was made in this study that biological flocculation and sedimentation of sloughed biofilm should play a more important role on algae removal in the MBBR than in the BF. The BF and MBBR could effectively remove microcystins. Moreover, MBBR could be a promising technology for biological pretreatment.

Effect of seeding biofloc on the nitrification establishment in moving bed biofilm reactor(MBBR)

In recirculating aquaculture systems,nitrification is usually accelerated by inoculating nitrifier or mature biocarriers.In this study,the performance of the establishment of nitrification in the MBBR according to three different strategies:conventional method(Control group A),inoculation with biofloc recovered from a tilapia biofloc culture system(Group B),and addition with extra nitrite(Group C)in the Moving bed biofilm reactor(MBBR)was compared.Among them,the biofloc-inoculated group considerably accelerated the nitrification process in the MBBR(38 d),which is roughly 18 d faster than the control group(A)(56 d)and 21 d faster than group C(59 d).Less ammonia(8 mg/L NH_(4)^(+)-N,10 mg/L in other groups)and external nitrite(2 mg/L NO_(2)􀀀^(-)N)in the influent caused effluent ammonia to drop more slowly(5 d slower than the control group,8 d slower than the B group),which is detrimental to the nitrification process’development.Notably,the influent’s hydraulic retention time(HRT)was reduced from 12 h to 6 h following the successful establishment of nitrification.During the adaptation to reduced HRT,the MBBR inoculated with biofloc experienced short-term changes in the water quality index of the effluent water,whereas the other groups did not.The biofilm seeded with biofloc had the highest mean gray value ratio(1.42)of live/dead cell fluorescence,which grew better and could cover the entire groove under multiple microscope observations.However,the other groups did not demonstrate a similar trend.In summary,the research found that seeding biofloc use as nitrification bioaugmentation into the MBBR of the recirculating aquaculture system(RAS)to greatly speed up the nitrification process.

Inhibition and recovery of nitrification in treating real coal gasification wastewater with moving bed biofilm reactor

Moving bed biofilm reactor （MBBR） was used to treat real coal gasification wastewater. Nitrification of the MBBR was inhibited almost completely during start-up period. Sudden increase of influent total NH 3 concentration was the main factor inducing nitrification inhibition. Increasing DO concentration in the bulk liquid （from 2 to 3 mg/L） had little effect on nitrification recovery. Nitrification of the MBBR recovered partially by the addition of nitrifying sludge into the reactor and almost ceased within 5 days. Nitrification ratio of the MBBR achieved 65% within 12 days by increasing dilute ratio of the influent wastewater with tap water. The ratio of nitrification decreased to 25% when influent COD concentration increased from 650 to 1000 mg/L after nitrification recovery and recovered 70% for another 4 days.

Effect of alkalinity on nitrite accumulation in treatment of coal chemical industry wastewater using moving bed biofilm reactor

Nitrogen removal via nitrite （the nitrite pathway） is more suitable for carbon-limited industrial wastewater. Partial nitrification to nitrite is the primary step to achieve nitrogen removal via nitrite. The effect of alkalinity on nitrite accumulation in a continuous process was investigated by progressively increasing the alkalinity dosage ratio （amount of alkalinity to ammonia ratio, mol/mol）. There is a close relationship among alkalinity, pH and the state of matter present in aqueous solution. When alkalinity was insufficient （compared to the theoretical alkalinity amount）, ammonia removal efficiency increased first and then decreased at each alkalinity dosage ratio, with an abrupt removal efficiency peak. Generally, ammonia removal efficiency rose with increasing alkalinity dosage ratio. Ammonia removal efficiency reached to 88% from 23% when alkalinity addition was sufficient. Nitrite accumulation could be achieved by inhibiting nitrite oxidizing bacteria （NOB） by free ammonia （FA） in the early period and free nitrous acid in the later period of nitrification when alkalinity was not adequate. Only FA worked to inhibit the activity of NOB when alkalinity addition was sufficient.

Simultaneous removal of selected oxidized contaminants in groundwater using a continuously stirred hydrogen-based membrane biofilm reactor

A laboratory trial was conducted for evaluating the capability of a continuously stirred hydrogen-based membrane biofllm reactor to simultaneously reduce nitrate （NO3--N）, sulfate （SO42-）, bromate （BrO3-）, hexavalent chromium （Cr（VI）） and para- chloronitrobenzene （p-CNB）. The reactor contained two bundles of hollow fiber membranes functioning as an autotrophic biofiim carder and hydrogen pipe as well. On the condition that hydrogen was supplied as electron donor and diffused into water through membrane pores, autohydrogenotrophic bacteria were capable of reducing contaminants to forms with lower toxicity. Reduction occurred within 1 day and removal fluxes for NO3--N, SO42-, BrO3-, Cr（VI）, and p-CNB reached 0.641, 2.396, 0.008, 0.016 and 0.031 g/（day.m2）, respectively after 112 days of continuous operation. Except for the fact that sulfate was 37% removed under high surface loading, the other four contaminants were reduced by over 95 %. The removal flux comparison between phases varying in surface loading and 1-12 pressure showed that decreasing surface loading or increasing 1-12 pressure would promote removal flux. Competition for electrons occurred among the five contaminants. Electron-equivalent flux analysis showed that the amount of utilized hydrogen was mainly controlled by NO3--N and SO42- reduction, which accounted for over 99% of the electron flux altogether. It also indicated the electron acceptor order, showing that nitrate was the most prior electron acceptor while sulfate was the second of the five contaminants.