Promoting the degradation of organic micropollutants in tertiary moving bed biofilm reactors by controlling growth and redox conditions
(2021) In Journal of Hazardous Materials 414.- Abstract
A novel process configuration was designed to increase biofilm growth in tertiary moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs) by providing additional substrate from primary treated wastewater in a sidestream reactor under different redox conditions in order to improve micropollutant removal in MBBRs with low substrate availability. This novel recirculating MBBR was operated on pilot scale for 13 months, and a systematic increase was seen in the biomass concentration and the micropollutant degradation rates, compared to a tertiary MBBR without additional substrate. The degradation rates per unit carrier surface area increased in the order of ten times, and for certain micropollutants, such as atenolol, metoprolol, trimethoprim and roxithromycin,... (More)
A novel process configuration was designed to increase biofilm growth in tertiary moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs) by providing additional substrate from primary treated wastewater in a sidestream reactor under different redox conditions in order to improve micropollutant removal in MBBRs with low substrate availability. This novel recirculating MBBR was operated on pilot scale for 13 months, and a systematic increase was seen in the biomass concentration and the micropollutant degradation rates, compared to a tertiary MBBR without additional substrate. The degradation rates per unit carrier surface area increased in the order of ten times, and for certain micropollutants, such as atenolol, metoprolol, trimethoprim and roxithromycin, the degradation rates increased 20–60 times. Aerobic conditions were critical for maintaining high micropollutant degradation rates. With innovative MBBR configurations it may be possible to improve the biological degradation of organic micropollutants in wastewater. It is suggested that degradation rates be normalized to the carrier surface area, in favor of the biomass concentration, as this reflects the diffusion limitations of oxygen, and will facilitate the comparison of different biofilm systems.
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- author
- Edefell, Ellen LU ; Falås, Per LU ; Torresi, Elena ; Hagman, Marinette LU ; Cimbritz, Michael LU ; Bester, Kai and Christensson, Magnus
- organization
- publishing date
- 2021-07
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Biofilm, MBBR, Organic micropollutants, Redox
- in
- Journal of Hazardous Materials
- volume
- 414
- article number
- 125535
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:33684823
- scopus:85101980187
- ISSN
- 0304-3894
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125535
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- b4641985-71b8-44ba-809c-99f0d1eca18b
- date added to LUP
- 2021-12-23 10:39:39
- date last changed
- 2025-02-09 22:58:49
@article{b4641985-71b8-44ba-809c-99f0d1eca18b,
abstract = {{<p>A novel process configuration was designed to increase biofilm growth in tertiary moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs) by providing additional substrate from primary treated wastewater in a sidestream reactor under different redox conditions in order to improve micropollutant removal in MBBRs with low substrate availability. This novel recirculating MBBR was operated on pilot scale for 13 months, and a systematic increase was seen in the biomass concentration and the micropollutant degradation rates, compared to a tertiary MBBR without additional substrate. The degradation rates per unit carrier surface area increased in the order of ten times, and for certain micropollutants, such as atenolol, metoprolol, trimethoprim and roxithromycin, the degradation rates increased 20–60 times. Aerobic conditions were critical for maintaining high micropollutant degradation rates. With innovative MBBR configurations it may be possible to improve the biological degradation of organic micropollutants in wastewater. It is suggested that degradation rates be normalized to the carrier surface area, in favor of the biomass concentration, as this reflects the diffusion limitations of oxygen, and will facilitate the comparison of different biofilm systems.</p>}},
author = {{Edefell, Ellen and Falås, Per and Torresi, Elena and Hagman, Marinette and Cimbritz, Michael and Bester, Kai and Christensson, Magnus}},
issn = {{0304-3894}},
keywords = {{Biofilm; MBBR; Organic micropollutants; Redox}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Journal of Hazardous Materials}},
title = {{Promoting the degradation of organic micropollutants in tertiary moving bed biofilm reactors by controlling growth and redox conditions}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125535}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125535}},
volume = {{414}},
year = {{2021}},
}