Biological reduction of nitrate wastewater using fluidized-bed bioreactors
There are a number of nitrate-containing wastewater sources, as concentrated as 30 wt % NO/sub 3//sup -/ and as large as 2000 m/sup 3//d, in the nuclear fuel cycle as well as in many commercial processes such as fertilizer production, paper manufacturing, and metal finishing. These nitrate-containing wastewater sources can be successfully biologically denitrified to meet discharge standards in the range of 10 to 20 gN(NO/sub 3//sup -/)/m/sup 3/ by the use of a fluidized-bed bioreactor. The major strain of denitrification bacteria is Pseudomonas which was derived from garden soil. In the fluidized-bed bioreactor the bacteria are allowed to attach to 0.25 to 0.50-mm-diam coal particles, which are fluidized by the upward flow of influent wastewater. Maintaining the bacteria-to-coal weight ratio at approximately 1:10 results in a bioreactor bacteria loading of greater than 20,000 g/m/sup 3/. A description is given of the results of two biodenitrification R and D pilot plant programs based on the use of fluidized bioreactors capable of operating at nitrate levels up to 7000 g/m/sup 3/ and achieving denitrification rates as high as 80 gN(NO/sub 3//sup -/)/d per liter of empty bioreactor volume. The first of these pilot plant programs consisted of two 0.2-m-diam bioreactors, each with a height of 6.3 m and a volume of 208 liters, operating in series. The second pilot plant was used to determine the diameter dependence of the reactors by using a 0.5-m-diam reactor with a height of 6.3 m and a volume of 1200 liters. These pilot plants operated for a period of six months and two months respectively, while using both a synthetic waste and the actual waste from a gaseous diffusion plant operated by Goodyear Atomic Corporation.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA); Goodyear Atomic Corp., Portsmouth, OH (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-26
- OSTI ID:
- 6423602
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-810554-2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
BACTERIA
BIODEGRADATION
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COAL
DECOMPOSITION
DENITRIFICATION
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDIZED BED REACTORS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL DISPERSION REACTORS
FUELS
HOMOGENEOUS REACTORS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
LIQUID WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MICROORGANISMS
NITRATES
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDATION
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PROCESSING
PSEUDOMONAS
REACTORS
REDUCTION
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTE WATER
WASTES
WATER