Effect of Increasing Nitrobenzene Loading Rates on the Performance of AMBR and Sequential AMBR/CSTR Reactor System
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 4
Abstract
A laboratory scale sequential anaerobic migrating blanket reactor (AMBR)/aerobic completely stirred tank reactor (CSTR) system was operated to investigate the effect of increasing nitrobenzene (NB) concentrations on the performance of AMBR/CSTR reactor system. The reactor system was operated at increasing NB loading rates from and at a constant hydraulic retention time of . In this study, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and NB removal efficiencies, variations of bicarbonate alkalinity (Bic.Alk.), total volatile fatty acid (TVFA), and total methane gases were monitored. COD removal efficiencies were 93–94% until a NB loading rate of in the AMBR reactor. For maximum COD removal, the optimum NB loading rate and NB concentration were found to be and , respectively. COD removal efficiencies decreased from 94 to 87% and to 85% at NB loading rates of 1.93–28.90 and , respectively. COD was mainly removed in the first compartment. NB removal efficiencies also were approximately 100% at all NB loading rates in the effluent of the AMBR reactor. The maximum total gas and methane gas productions were found to be and , respectively, at a NB loading rate of . The TVFA concentration in the effluent of AMBR was low at a NB loading rate as high as . Overall COD removal efficiencies were found to be 99 and 96% at NB loading rates of 1.93 and , respectively, in a sequential AMBR/CSTR reactor system. In this study, NB was reduced to aniline under anaerobic conditions. Aniline removal efficiencies were 100% until a NB loading rate of in aerobic CSTR reactor while aniline removal efficiency decreased to 90% at a NB loading rate of in an aerobic reactor. In the aerobic step, aniline was mineralized to catechol. The contribution of aerobic step is not only the degradation of aniline, it may also increase the COD removals from 85 to 99% at a NB loading rate as high as .
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Acknowledgments
This study was executed as a part of the research activities of the Environmental Microbiology Laboratory of Environmental Engineering Department of Project No. UNSPECIFIED106 Y 103 which was partially funded by the Turkish Scientific Research Foundation (TÜBİTAK) and is a part of Mrs. Özlem Selçuk Kuşçus doctoral thesis at Dokuz Eylül University, Environmental Engineering Department, İzmir, Turkey.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 4 • April 2009
Pages: 266 - 278
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 17, 2007
Accepted: Oct 28, 2008
Published online: Apr 1, 2009
Published in print: Apr 2009
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