Optimization of the Intermittent Aeration in a Full-Scale Wastewater Treatment Plant Biological Reactor for Nitrogen Removal

Author： Habermeyer Patrícia Sánchez Antoni

Publisher： Water Environment Federation

ISSN： 1061-4303

Source： Water Environment Research, Vol.77, Iss.3, 2005-05, pp. : 229-233

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Abstract

The optimization of the intermittent aeration in a full-scale biological reactor treating municipal and industrial wastewater has been studied by means of an experimental design, where the main factors considered have been the on–off period of aeration and the dissolved-oxygen set point. The objective of the work has been to determine the optimal configuration of the aeration control to achieve a simultaneous removal of carbon (expressed as chemical oxygen demand [COD]) and nitrogen.The results were obtained in a full-scale bioreactor located at the wastewater treatment plant of Sant Celoni (Barcelona, Spain), where a nitrogen removal based on a nitrification–denitrification process is being tested. It has been shown that the crucial parameter to ensure a complete removal of COD and nitrogen is to give the system a long time of on–off aeration to complete both the nitrification and the denitrification processes, whereas the dissolved-oxygen set point has a minor influence on the overall performance.The results presented can be applied to a great number of similar systems, in which a nitrogen removal, based on a nitrification–denitrification scheme, is currently being tested or implemented.