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Effects of hydraulic retention time and nitrobenzene concentration on the performance of sequential upflow anaerobic filter and air lift reactors in treating nitrobenzene-containing wastewater

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Abstract

Sequential upflow anaerobic filter (UAF)/air lift (ALR) reactors were employed to investigate the effects of hydraulic retention time (HRT) and nitrobenzene (NB) concentration on treatment of NB-containing wastewater. The results showed that NB was effectively reduced to aniline (AN) with glucose as co-substrate in the UAF reactor. The AN and the remaining intermediates after the UAF reactor were then efficiently degraded in the ALR reactor. A removal efficiency of 100% and 96% was obtained for NB and chemical oxygen demand (COD), respectively, using sequential UAF/ALR reactors with an HRT of 8–72 h in the UAF reactor and 2–18 h in the ALR reactor. The corresponding optimal influent NB concentration varied between 100 and 400 mg l−1 to achieve the optimal NB and COD removal. The NB removal efficiency decreased to 90% and to 97% if the HRT in the UAF reactor decreased from 8 to 2 h and the influent NB concentration increased from 400 to 800 mg l−1, respectively. The results showed that sequential UAF/ALR system can be operated at low HRTs and high NB concentrations without significantly affecting the removal efficiency of NB in the reactor system. The UAF/ALR system can provide an effective yet low cost method for treatment of NB-containing industrial wastewater.

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Acknowledgment

The authors thank the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (50708039, 21177089), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2012ZZ0047), Guangdong Provincial Natural Foundation for Science (05300188) and Guangzhou Elite Plan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Eco-Remediation of Guangdong Regular Higher Education Institutions; Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Ecosystem Restoration in Industry Clusters, Ministry of Education, China; School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Jinhua Wu, Guocai Chen, Jingjing Gu, Weizhao Yin & Ping Li

  2. Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark

    Weizhao Yin

  3. Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Changzhou College of Information Technology, Changzhou, 213164, China

    Mengxiong Lu

  4. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China

    Bo Yang

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  1. Jinhua Wu
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  2. Guocai Chen
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  3. Jingjing Gu
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  4. Weizhao Yin
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  5. Mengxiong Lu
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  6. Ping Li
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  7. Bo Yang
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Correspondence to Jinhua Wu.

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Responsible editor: Angeles Blanco

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Wu, J., Chen, G., Gu, J. et al. Effects of hydraulic retention time and nitrobenzene concentration on the performance of sequential upflow anaerobic filter and air lift reactors in treating nitrobenzene-containing wastewater. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 12800–12810 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3225-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3225-9

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