Influence of biofilm thickness on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from denitrifying fluidized bed bioreactors (DFBBRs)

Ahmed Eldyasti, George Nakhla, Jesse Zhu

Research output: Journal PublicationArticlepeer-review

25 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a significant anthropogenic greenhouse gas emitted from biological nutrient removal (BNR) processes. This study tries to get a deeper insight into N2O emissions from denitrifying fluidized bed bioreactors (DFBBRs) and its relationship to the biofilm thickness, diffusivity, and reaction rates. The DFBBR was operated at two different organic and nitrogen loading rates of 5.9-7kgCOD/(m3d) and 1.2-2kgN/(m3d), respectively. Results showed that the N2O conversion rate from the DFBBR at a biofilm thickness of 680μm was 0.53% of the total influent nitrogen loading while at the limited COD and a biofilm thickness of 230μm, the N2O conversion rate increased by 196-1.57% of the influent nitrogen loading concomitant with a sevenfold increase in liquid nitrite concentration. Comparing the N2O emissions at different biofilm thickness showed that the N2O emission decreased exponentially with biofilm thickness due to the retention of slow growth denitrifiers and the limited diffusivity of N2O.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)281-290
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Biotechnology
Volume192
Issue numberPart A
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Biofilm
  • Denitrification
  • Fluidized bed bioreactor
  • Nitrous oxide
  • Wastewater treatment

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Bioengineering
  • Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Influence of biofilm thickness on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from denitrifying fluidized bed bioreactors (DFBBRs)'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this