Short communicationInvestigation on the performance of sugarcane bagasse as a new carbon source in two hydraulic dimensions of denitrification beds

•Performance of two substrates in the denitrification process is evaluated.•Sugarcane bagasse as a new carbon source in denitrification beds is studied.•Hydraulic dimensions of beds are optimized to improve the nitrate removal rate.

Hydraulic modeling of denitrification beds is very useful for improving the performance of substrates. In this work, a column study was conducted for 98 days on two types of substrates using two different column lengths and at varying loading rates to determine the best hydraulic dimensions of the substrates. One substrate consisted of soil alone and the other substrate consisted of the same soil along with sugarcane bagasse (acting as an additional carbon source). The substrate with 0.7 h actual hydraulic retention time and 5.84 cm h−1 hydraulic loading rate was chosen as the best model for simulation of denitrification substrate with an optimum nitrate removal efficiency (85%) and a maximum removal rate (50 mg L−1 h−1). The Fourier Transform Infrared analysis confirmed the degradation of sugarcane bagasse during the denitrification process.