Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
7082224 | Bioresource Technology | 2013 | 35 Pages |
Abstract
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 10 d of hydraulic retention time when treating domestic wastewater. However, the high water footprint recorded (0.5-6.7 L mâ2 dâ1) could eventually compromise the environmental sustainability of this microalgae-based technology.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Process Chemistry and Technology
Authors
Esther Posadas, Pedro-Antonio GarcÃa-Encina, Anna Soltau, Antonio DomÃnguez, Ignacio DÃaz, Raúl Muñoz,