High-effective denitrification of low C/N wastewater by combined constructed wetland and biofilm-electrode reactor (CW-BER)

The low denitrification effect on constructed wetlands (CWs) treating low carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) wastewater was a problem. In this study, a novel coupled system by installing CW and biofilm-electrode reactor (CW-BER) was developed. In this system, the heterotrophic and autotrophic denitrifying bacteria all played their roles in denitrification process. The system was investigated systematically with simulated wastewater at different C/Ns, electric current intensities (I), hydraulic retention times (HRTs), and pH. Results showed that the optimum running conditions were C/N = 0.75-1, I = 15 mA, HRT = 12 h, and pH = 7.5. The highest removal efficiency of NO3-N and TN at the best conditions was respectively 63.03% and 98.11% for CW-BER. Also, the TN and NO3-N enhancive removal efficiency of CW-BER was 23.26% and 24.20%, respectively. No residual organic carbon source was detected in final effluent at the best parameters.