Mathematical Modeling for Nitrogen Removal via a Nitritation: Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation-Coupled Biofilm in a Hollow Fiber Membrane Bioreactor and a Rotating Biological Contactor

• Main Author: Capuno, Romeo Evasco
• Other Authors: Environmental Engineering
• Format: Others
• Published: Virginia Tech 2014
• Subjects: hollow fiber membrane bioreactor; rotating biological contactor; biofilm modeling; oxygen-limited condition; mathematical modeling; biological nitrogen removal; nitritation; anaerobic ammonia oxidation
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10919/34959; http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-09072007-083242/

Mathematical models of a nitritation: anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox)-coupled biofilm in a counter-diffusion hollow fiber membrane bioreactor (HFMBR) and a nitritation: anammox-coupled biofilm in a co-diffusion rotating biological contactor (RBC) were developed and implemented using AQUASIM. Four different start-up scenarios on the nitritation: anammox-coupled biofilm in an HFMBR were investigated. The supply of oxygen was simulated with the flow through the lumen of the hollow fiber membrane. For the four scenarios, two scenarios investigated the start-up when nitrite was supplied in the feed while the other two scenarios investigated when the source of nitrite was through nitritation only. The results showed that the presence of nitrite in the feed facilitated the start-up of the reactor. In addition, the results also showed that increasing oxygen flux through the membrane up to a certain ratio of ammonia flux with oxygen flux affected reactor performance by improving nitrogen removal and reducing start up time. For the nitritation: anammox-coupled biofilm in an RBC, four different process options were investigated: the number of reactors, the initial anammox (AnAOB) biomass fraction, the bulk oxygen concentration and the maximum biofilm thickness. Modeling results revealed that the steady state total nitrogen removal in RBC reactors in series occurred primarily in the first and second reactors. It is concluded that the number of reactors in series dictates the effluent performance and, therefore, this number can be selected depending upon the desired total nitrogen removal. Simulation results also revealed that increasing the initial AnAOB biomass fraction from 0.01% to 1.0% had no effect in the steady state nitrogen removal but had an effect in the required time to reach the steady state total nitrogen removal and the maximum biofilm thickness. Modeling results of the third process option showed that increasing the bulk oxygen concentration in the reactor from 0.2 g/m3 to 5 g/m3 linearly increased the steady state total nitrogen removal and reduced the time to reach the maximum biofilm thickness. Beyond 5 g/m3, steady state total nitrogen removal decreased. In addition, simulation results revealed that the thicker biofilm clearly showed a more linear correlation between the increase in bulk oxygen concentration and the increase in the steady state total nitrogen removal within a range of bulk oxygen concentrations. The results showed that RBC performance could be controlled by several process options: the number of reactors in series, initial biomass fraction, the bulk oxygen concentration and the maximum biofilm thickness. The mathematical modeling results for the HFMBR and RBC have shown that both have potential as carriers for nitritation: anammox-coupled biofilms targeted at the removal of nitrogen in the wastewater. === Master of Science