Effects of Organic Loading Rates on Treatment Performance in a Polyvinylidene Media Based
Fixed-Film Bioreactor

Ahmed, Zubair; Oh, Sang-Eun; Kim, In S.

doi:2009.14.4.238

Environmental Engineering Research 2009;14(4): 238-242. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4491/eer.2009.14.4.238

Effects of Organic Loading Rates on Treatment Performance in a Polyvinylidene Media Based Fixed-Film Bioreactor

Zubair Ahmed¹, Sang-Eun Oh²^†, and In S. Kim³

¹Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, University Teknologi Malaysia
²Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Hyoja 2-dong, Chunchon-si, Gangwon-do 200-701, Korea
³Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Oryong-dong Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-712, Korea

Corresponding Author: Sang-Eun Oh ,Tel: +82-33-250-6449, Fax: +82-33-241-6640, Email: ohsangeun@kangwon.ac.kr

Received: June 13, 2009; Accepted: November 14, 2009.

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effects of organic loading rates on simultaneous carbon and nitrogen removal in an innovative fixed-film aerobic bioreactor. The fixed-film bioreactor (FFB) was composed of a two-compartment aeration tank, in which a synthetic filamentous carrier was submerged as biofilm support media, and a settling tank which polyvinylidene media (Saran) was used as settling aid for suspended solids. Three different organic loading rates, ranging from 0.92–2.02 kg chemical oxygen demand/m³/day were applied by varying hydraulic retention time (HRT). The total soluble organic carbon removal efficiencies were in the range of 90–97%. The removal efficiency of ammonia was found to be in the range of 70–84%. Total nitrogen removal efficiency was found to be in the range of 40–45%, which indicates that denitrification reactions occurred simultaneously in the attached biofilm on the fibrous media in the aeration tank. The settling performance of suspended solids was significantly improved due to the presence of Saran media in the settling compartment, even for a short HRT. The fixed-film aerobic bioreactor used in this study demonstrated efficient treatment efficiency even at higher organic loading rates and at short HRTs.

Keywords: Organic loading rate | Denitrification | Saran media | Fixed-film bioreactor | Settling behaviour