Nitrification and denitrifying phosphorus removal in an upright continuous flow reactor

Abstract

Simultaneous nitrification and denitrifying phosphorus removal was achieved in a single-sludge continuous flow bioreactor. The upright bioreactor was aligned with a biomass fermenter (BF) and operated continuously for over 350 days. This study revealed that unknown bacteria of the Saprospiraceae class may have been responsible for the successful nutrient removal in this bioreactor. The successive anoxic–aerobic stages of the bioreactor with upright alignment along with a 60 L BF created a unique ecosystem for the growth of nitrifier, denitrifiers, phosphorus accumulating organisms and denitrifying phosphorus accumulating organisms. Furthermore, total nitrogen to chemical oxygen demand (COD) ratio and total phosphorus to COD ratio of 0.6 and 0.034, respectively, confirmed the comparative advantages of this advanced nutrient removal process relative to both sequencing batch reactors and activated sludge processes. The process yielded 95% nitrogen removal and over 90% phosphorus removal efficiencies.