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Denitrification of a landfill leachate with high nitrate concentration in an anoxic rotating biological contactor

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Abstract

The denitrification performance of a lab-scale anoxic rotating biological contactor (RBC) using landfill leachate with high nitrate concentration was evaluated. Under a carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) of 2, the reactor achieved N-NO3 − removal efficiencies above 95% for concentrations up to 100 mg N-NO3 − l−1. The highest observed denitrification rate was 55 mg N-NO3 − l−1 h−1 (15 g N-NO3 − m−2 d−1) at a nitrate concentration of 560 mg N-NO3 − l−1. Although the reactor has revealed a very good performance in terms of denitrification, effluent chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations were still high for direct discharge. The results obtained in a subsequent experiment at constant nitrate concentration (220 mg N-NO3 − l−1) and lower C/N ratios (1.2 and 1.5) evidenced that the organic matter present in the leachate was non-biodegradable. A phosphorus concentration of 10 mg P-PO4 3− l−1 promoted autotrophic denitrification, revealing the importance of phosphorus concentration on biological denitrification processes.

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Acknowledgments

Susana Cortez and Pilar Teixeira are grateful to Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) for financial support through the grants SFRH/BD/24715/2005 and SFRH/BPD/26803/2006, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IBB—Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710–057, Braga, Portugal

    Susana Cortez, Pilar Teixeira, Rosário Oliveira & Manuel Mota

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  1. Susana Cortez
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  2. Pilar Teixeira
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  3. Rosário Oliveira
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  4. Manuel Mota
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Correspondence to Rosário Oliveira.

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Cortez, S., Teixeira, P., Oliveira, R. et al. Denitrification of a landfill leachate with high nitrate concentration in an anoxic rotating biological contactor. Biodegradation 22, 661–671 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-010-9439-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-010-9439-8

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