Biodegradation of Highly Concentrated Phenol and Ammonia in the Presence of Oxyanions in Sequential A2/O MBBR System
Publication: Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 26, Issue 2
Abstract
In this study, a sequential fed-batch anaerobic–anoxic–aerobic (A2/O) moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) (A2/O MBBR) system will be employed for the simultaneous treatment of highly concentrated phenol, ammonia (NH4), and oxyanions [e.g., nitrate (NO3) and sulfate (SO42-)] from wastewater. The A2/O system efficiently removed phenol (99%) and NH4–nitrogen [NH4–N (95%)] with a 99% reduction in the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the effluent for 3,000 and 200 mg/L of the maximum initial feed concentration, respectively with a 10-day hydraulic retention time (HRT). However, high removal of SO42- was achieved under anaerobic conditions (96%) for 100 mg/L of the initial feed concentration. The increasing feed phenol concentration (1,500–3,000 mg/L) inhibited NO3 reduction by releasing significant levels of NO3 in the anoxic reactor effluent and increased the SO42- accumulation in the anoxic and oxic reactors. Heterotrophic denitrification was reduced in the anoxic reactor by 15%–17% and increased the phenol concentration from 2,000 to 3,000 mg/L due to the highly toxic effect on the denitrifying microbes. NH4 removal by the anaerobic (R1) and anoxic (R2) reactors reduced from 87% to 65% and 66% to 46%, respectively, and increased the phenol concentration from 1,500 to 3,000 mg/L but the oxic reactor showed stable performance. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) of the carrier media showed the better adherence of well-grown round and rod-shaped mixed microbes in different environments. Bacillus licheniformis was identified as the dominant species in the anoxic and oxic reactors by the VITEK 2 COMPACT system. Similarly, Kocuria kristinae was the predominant microbe identified in the anaerobic reactor. The outcome of this study revealed that an A2/O MBBR system that had an established indigenous mixed microbial culture could be a feasible technique to treat highly concentrated phenol combined with NH4 and oxyanions that are present in wastewater.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Science and Engineering Research Board (DST), Government of India (Project No. SB/EMEQ-107/2014) for providing financial support for this study.
Notation
The following symbols are used in this paper:
- A2/O
- anaerobic–anoxic–aerobic;
- COD
- Chemical oxygen demand;
- HRT
- Hydraulic retention time; and
- MBBR
- Moving bed biofilm reactor.
References
Ahmadi, M., N. Jaafarzadeh, Z. G. Rahmat, A. A. Babaei, N. Alavi, Z. Baboli, and M. V. Niri. 2017. “Kinetic studies on the removal of phenol by MBBR from saline wastewater.” J. Environ. Health Sci. Eng 15 (1): 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40201-017-0284-0.
Amor, L., M. Eiroa, C. Kennes, and M. C. Veiga. 2005. “Phenol biodegradation and its effect on the nitrification process.” Water Res. 39 (13): 2915–2920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2005.05.019.
APHA (American Public Health Association). 2005. “Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater.” Washington, DC: American Public Health Association.
Banerjee, A., and A. K. Ghoshal. 2016. “Biodegradation of phenol by calcium-alginate immobilized@@ Bacillus cereus in a packed bed reactor and determination of the mass transfer correlation.” J. Environ. Chem. Eng 4 (2): 1523–1529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2016.02.012.
Basak, B., B. H. Jeon, M. B. Kurade, G. D. Saratale, B. Bhunia, P. K. Chatterjee, and A. Dey. 2019. “Biodegradation of high concentration phenol using sugarcane bagasse immobilized Candida tropicalis PHB5 in a packed-bed column reactor.” Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 180: 317–325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.05.020.
Beristain-Cardoso, R., A. C. Texier, Á Alpuche-Solís, J. Gómez, and E. Razo-Flores. 2009. “Phenol and sulfide oxidation in a denitrifying biofilm reactor and its microbial community analysis.” Process Biochem. 44 (1): 23–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procbio.2008.09.002.
Brink, A., C. M. Sheridan, and K. G. Harding. 2017. “A kinetic study of a mesophilic aerobic moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) treating paper and pulp mill effluents: The impact of phenols on biodegradation rates.” J. Water Process. Eng. 19: 35–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2017.07.003.
Chakraborty, S., and H. Veeramani. 2005. “Response of pulse phenol injection on an anaerobic–anoxic–aerobic system.” Bioresour. Technol. 96 (7): 761–767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2004.08.008.
Chu, H., X. Liu, J. Ma, T. Li, H. Fan, X. Zhou, Y. Zhang, E. Li, and X. Zhang. 2021. “Two-stage anoxic-oxic (A/O) system for the treatment of coking wastewater: Full-scale performance and microbial community analysis.” Chem. Eng J. 417: 129204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2021.129204.
Deka, B. J., B. P. Sahariah, and S. Chakraborty. 2008. “Anaerobic-Anoxic-Aerobic three stage attached growth system for removal of ammonia–nitrogen and high concentration of phenol.” J. Environ. Res. Dev. 3 (2): 442–448. http://www.jerad.org/dispabstract.php?vID=246.
DeRito, C. M., G. M. Pumphrey, and E. L. Madsen. 2005. “Use of field-based stable isotope probing to identify adapted populations and track carbon flow through a phenol-degrading soil microbial community.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71 (12): 7858–7865. https://doi.org/10.1128%2FAEM.71.12.7858-7865.2005.
Duygan, B. D. Ö., K. M. Udert, A. Remmele, and C. S. McArdell. 2021. “Removal of pharmaceuticals from human urine during storage, aerobic biological treatment, and activated carbon adsorption to produce a safe fertilizer.” Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 166: 105341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105341.
Felshia, S. C., N. A. Karthick, R. Thilagam, A. Chandralekha, K. S. M. S. Raghavarao, and A. Gnanamani. 2017. “Efficacy of free and encapsulated Bacillus lichenformis strain SL10 on degradation of phenol: A comparative study of degradation kinetics.” J. Environ. Manage. 197: 373–383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.04.005.
Gençkal, H., and C. Tari. 2006. “Alkaline protease production from alkalophilic Bacillus sp. isolated from natural habitats.” Enzyme Microb. Technol. 39 (4): 703–710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enzmictec.2005.12.004.
Gui, X., W. Xu, H. Cao, P. Ning, Y. Zhang, Y. Li, and Y. Sheng. 2019. “A novel phenol and ammonia recovery process for coal gasification wastewater altering the bacterial community and increasing pollutants removal in anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic system.” Sci. Total Environ. 661: 203–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.126.
Karn, S. K., S. K. Chakrabarti, and M. S. Reddy. 2011. “Degradation of pentachlorophenol by Kocuria sp. CL2 isolated from secondary sludge of pulp and paper mill.” Biodegradation 22 (1): 63–69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-010-9376-6.
Ke, Q., et al. 2018. “Sustainable biodegradation of phenol by immobilized Bacillus sp. SAS19 with porous carbonaceous gels as carriers.” J. Environ. Manage. 222: 185–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.05.061.
Liu, Q., C. Du, T. Yang, and Z. Fu. 2015. “Ammonia and phenol removal in an internal-circulate sequencing batch airlift reactor.” Water Sci. Technol. 72 (1): 63–69. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2015.183.
Liu, Q., V. P. Singh, Z. Fu, J. Wang, and L. Hu. 2017. “An anoxic-aerobic system for simultaneous biodegradation of phenol and ammonia in a sequencing batch reactor.” Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 24 (12): 11789–11799. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8840-9.
Liu, X., L. Wang, and L. Pang. 2018. “Application of a novel strain Corynebacterium pollutisoli SPH6 to improve nitrogen removal in an anaerobic/aerobic-moving bed biofilm reactor (A/O-MBBR).” Bioresour. Technol. 269: 113–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2018.08.076.
Mallick, S. K., and S. Chakraborty. 2017. “Treatment of synthetic refinery wastewater in anoxic–aerobic sequential moving bed reactors and sulphur recovery.” J. Environ. Sci. Health, Part A 52 (13): 1257–1268. https://doi.org/10.1080/10934529.2017.1356190.
Mallick, S. K., and S. Chakraborty. 2019. “Bioremediation of wastewater from automobile service station in anoxic-aerobic sequential reactors and microbial analysis.” Chem. Eng. J. 361: 982–989. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2018.12.164.
Mallick, S. K., and S. Chakraborty. 2021. “Treatment of petroleum wastewater contaminated with hydrocarbons and inorganics by anoxic-aerobic sequential moving bed reactors.” J. Environ. Manage. 288: 112430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112430.
Maneesh, N., S. Bhuvanesh, Z. A. Shaikh, T. R. Sreekrishnan, S. M. Mazumdar, and M. Choubey. 2018. “Three-stage biological system for treatment of coke oven effluent.” J. Hazard. Toxic Radioact. Waste 22 (3): 04018012. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HZ.2153-5515.0000392.
Nakhli, S. A. A., K. Ahmadizadeh, M. Fereshtehnejad, M. H. Rostami, M. Safari, and S. M. Borghei. 2014. “Biological removal of phenol from saline wastewater using a moving bed biofilm reactor containing acclimated mixed consortia.” Springerplus 3 (1): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-1801-3-112.
Nijburg, J. W., S. Gerards, and H. J. Laanbroek 1998. “Competition for nitrate and glucose between Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus licheniformis under continuous or fluctuating anoxic conditions.” FEMS Microbial. Ecol. 26 (4): 345–356. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6941.1998.tb00519.x.
Rai, A., K. K. Gowrishetty, S. Singh, J. Chakrabarty, P. Bhattacharya, and S. Dutta. 2021. “Simultaneous bioremediation of cyanide, phenol, and ammoniacal-N from synthetic coke-oven wastewater using Bacillus sp. NITD 19.” J. Environ. Eng. 147 (1): 04020143. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001835.
Rahmat, Z. G., N. Jafarzadeh, A. Babaei, N. Alavi, and M. Ahmadi. 2016. “Phenol removal by moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) from saline wastewater.” Asian J. Microbiol. Biotechnol. Environ. Sci. 18: 833–840.
Ruan, B., et al. 2018. “Immobilization of Sphingomonas sp. GY2B in polyvinyl alcohol–alginate–kaolin beads for efficient degradation of phenol against unfavorable environmental factors.” Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 162: 103–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2018.06.058.
Sahariah, B. P., J. Anandkumar, and S. Chakraborty. 2018. “Stability of continuous and fed batch sequential anaerobic–anoxic–aerobic moving bed bioreactor systems at phenol shock load application.” Environ. Technol. 39 (15): 1898–1907. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2017.1343388.
Sahariah, B. P., J. Anandkumar, and S. Chakraborty. 2016. “Treatment of coke oven wastewater in an anaerobic–anoxic–aerobic moving bed bioreactor system.” Desalin. Water Treat. 57 (31): 14396–14402. https://doi.org/10.1080/19443994.2015.1065448.
Sahariah, B. P., and S. Chakraborty. 2011. “Kinetic analysis of phenol, thiocyanate and ammonia-nitrogen removals in an anaerobic–anoxic–aerobic moving bed bioreactor system.” J. Hazard. Mater. 190 (1–3): 260–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.03.038.
Saravanan, P., K. Pakshirajan, and P. Saha. 2008. “Biodegradation of phenol and m-cresol in a batch and fed batch operated internal loop airlift bioreactor by indigenous mixed microbial culture predominantly Pseudomonas sp.” Bioresour. Technol. 99 (18): 8553–8558. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2008.04.003.
Sharma, P., D. Purchase, and R. Chandra. 2021a. “Residual pollutants in treated pulp paper mill wastewater and their phytotoxicity and cytotoxicity in Allium cepa.” Environ. Geochem. Health 43: 2143–2164. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-020-00730-z.
Sharma, P., S. Tripathi, and R. Chandra. 2021b. “Metagenomic analysis for profiling of microbial communities and tolerance in metal-polluted pulp and paper industry wastewater.” Bioresour. Technol. 324: 124681. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2021.124681.
Sharma, P., S. Kumar, and A. Pandey. 2021c. “Bioremediated techniques for remediation of metal pollutants using metagenomics approaches: A review”. J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 9 (4): 105684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2021.105684.
Sharma, N. K., and L. Philip. 2015. “Treatment of phenolics, aromatic hydrocarbons, and cyanide-bearing wastewater in individual and combined anaerobic, aerobic, and anoxic bioreactors.” Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 175: 300–322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-014-1262-y.
Singh, U., N. K. Arora, and P. Sachan. 2018. “Simultaneous biodegradation of phenol and cyanide present in coke-oven effluent using immobilized Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas stutzeri.” Braz. J. Microbiol. 49 (1): 38–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjm.2016.12.013.
Swain, G., R. K. Sonwani, B. S. Giri, R. S. Singh, R. P. Jaiswal, and B. N. Rai. 2020. “Collective removal of phenol and ammonia in a moving bed biofilm reactor using modified bio-carriers: Process optimization and kinetic study.” Bioresour. Technol. 306: 123177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123177.
Tomar, S. K., and S. Chakraborty. 2020. “Impact of high phenol loading on aerobic granules from two different kinds of industrial sludge along with thiocyanate and ammonium.” Bioresour. Technol. 315: 123824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123824.
Wang, G., Y. Liu, M. Wu, W. Zong, X. Yi, J. Zhan, L. Liu, and H. Zhou. 2019. “Coupling the phenolic oxidation capacities of a bacterial consortium and in situ-generated manganese oxides in a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR).” Water Res. 166: 115047. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2019.115047.
Yadu, A., B. P. Sahariah, and J. Anandkumar. 2018. “Influence of COD/ammonia ratio on simultaneous removal of NH4+-N and COD in surface water using moving bed batch reactor.” J. Water Process Eng. 22: 66–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2018.01.007.
Zheng, M., H. Zhu, Y. Han, C. Xu, Z. Zhang, and H. Han. 2019. “Comparative investigation on carbon-based moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) for synchronous removal of phenols and ammonia in treating coal pyrolysis wastewater at pilot-scale.” Bioresour. Technol. 288: 121590. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2019.121590.
Zhou, H., G. Wang, M. Wu, W. Xu, X. Zhang, and L. Liu. 2018. “Phenol removal performance and microbial community shift during pH shock in a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR).” J. Hazard. Mater. 351: 71–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2018.02.055.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 26 • Issue 2 • April 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 3, 2021
Accepted: Nov 30, 2021
Published online: Feb 4, 2022
Published in print: Apr 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Jul 4, 2022
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
Cited by
- Monalisa Satapathy, Anandkumar Jayapal, Biodegradation of Phenol and Ammonia from Refinery Wastewater in Hybrid MBBR System by Native Mixed Bacterial Culture, Journal of Environmental Engineering, 10.1061/JOEEDU.EEENG-6950, 149, 1, (2023).