The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a hybrid biofilm pilot-scale treatment plant, designed with a novel configuration by the integration of a fixed-film system, to improve nitrogen removal. The pilot-scale system was established at a wastewater treatment plant in Istanbul and operated based on stream separation following a process consisting of Bio-P and primary sedimentation units in which carbonaceous compounds were entrapped/incorporated in settled biomass. The ammonia-rich supernatant was directed to a moving bed biofilm (MBBR) nitrification tank to obtain an efficient nitrification with the reduced organic loading after the primary sedimentation. The conventional activated sludge process, for which the net specific growth rate (
 $${{{{\hat {\mu }}_{{\text{NH}}}} - {b_{{\text{NH}}}}}}$$
 ) was measured to be 0.26 day−1 at 15 °C, exhibited a low nitrification capacity. However, the pilot-scale hybrid biofilm system secured nitrification performance up to 1.8 gN/m2/day ammonia loading, providing a competitive advantage over the conventional single sludge systems. The proposed hybrid configuration enables removal efficiencies of 80% and 85% for total nitrogen and phosphorus. It was possible to entrap organic matter by mixing 30% of return activated sludge (RAS) with raw wastewater. Simulation-based design study showed that the use of the hybrid biofilm system reduces the environmental footprint and aeration requirement of the nutrient removal by about 50% and 19%, respectively. Economic analyses highlighting the benefit of hybrid biofilm over conventional BNR system are illustrated.

Reviving an old workhorse: integration of rock media trickling filters for external nitrification in bnr activated sludge

Citations

Enhancement of nutrient removal performance of activated sludge with a novel hybrid biofilm process

Related Papers (5)

Integrating nitrifying trickling filters into biological nutrient removal activated sludge for improved system performance

Utilization of fixed film media in BNR activated sludge systems

Nitrification performance of a pilot-scale trickling filter.

Nitrification and Phosphorus Removal from Trickling Filter Effluents

Kinetics in trickling filters.