Using sequencing batch biofilm reactor (SBBR) to treat ABS wastewater

Abstract

Ratio of total Kjeldahl Nitrogen to COD for ABS (acrylnitrile, butadiene and styrene) wastewater is in a range of 0.12–0.17, which is significantly higher than that needed for optimal growth of an activated sludge. In this work, an automated Sequencing Batch Biofilm Reactor (SBBR) system at lab-scale is applied to reduce the amount of ABS; this system is controlled by an on-line monitoring of oxidation-reduction potential (ORP). A comparison of the operation efficiency for the lab-scale SBBR operated with the control of fix-time method and ORP-based real-time automatic method is presented. The results show that the system ORP can be used as an available parameter for achieving a real-time operation and control of the lab-scale SBBR. It is found that the reaction time is reduced of 11.1–55.2% if an ORP-based real-time control is used, instead of the fixed-time control. Also, the SBBR system is made more efficient and cost-effective.