Carbon and nutrient removal from centrates and domestic wastewater using algal–bacterial biofilm bioreactors

Autor: Anna Soltau, Raúl Muñoz, Antonio Domínguez, Esther Posadas, Pedro-Antonio García-Encina, Ignacio Díaz
Rok vydání: 2013
Předmět:
Zdroj: Bioresource Technology. 139:50-58
ISSN: 0960-8524
Popis: The mechanisms of carbon and nutrient removal in an open algal-bacterial biofilm reactor and an open bacterial biofilm reactor were comparatively evaluated during the treatment of centrates and domestic wastewater. Comparable carbon removals (>80%) were recorded in both bioreactors, despite the algal-bacterial biofilm supported twice higher nutrient removals than the bacterial biofilm. The main carbon and nitrogen removal mechanisms in the algal-bacterial photobioreactor were assimilation into algal biomass and stripping, while stripping accounted for most carbon and nitrogen removal in the bacterial biofilm. Phosphorus was removed by assimilation into algal-bacterial biomass while no effective phosphorous removal was observed in the bacterial biofilm. Carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus removals of 91 ± 3%, 70 ± 8% and 85 ± 9%, respectively, were recorded in the algal-bacterial bioreactor at 10d of hydraulic retention time when treating domestic wastewater. However, the high water footprint recorded (0.5-6.7 Lm(-2)d(-1)) could eventually compromise the environmental sustainability of this microalgae-based technology.
Databáze: OpenAIRE