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Simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in a novel membrane bioelectrochemical reactor with low membrane fouling tendency

  • Water Reclamation and Reuse
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Abstract

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can use nitrate as a cathodic electron acceptor for electrochemical denitrification, yet there is little knowledge about how to apply them into current wastewater treatment process to achieve efficient nitrogen removal. In this study, two dual-chamber MFCs were integrated with an aerobic membrane bioreactor to construct a novel membrane bioelectrochemical reactor (MBER) for simultaneous nitrification and denitrification under specific aeration. The effects of chemical oxygen demand (COD) loading rate, COD/N ratio, hydraulic retention time (HRT), and external resistance on the system performance were investigated. High effluent quality was obtained in the MBER in terms of COD and ammonium. During the operation, denitrification simultaneously occurred with nitrification at the bio-cathode of the MBER, achieving a maximal nitrogen removal efficiency of 84.3 %. A maximum power density of 1.8 W/m3 and a current density of 8.5 A/m3 were achieved with a coulombic efficiency of 12.1 %. Furthermore, compared to the control system, the MBER exhibited lower membrane fouling tendency due to mixed liquor volatile suspended solids (MLVSSs) and extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) reductions, EPSp/EPSc ratio decrease, and particle size increase of the sludge. These results suggest that the MBER holds potential for efficient nitrogen removal, electricity production, and membrane fouling mitigation.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Management (No. 2013ZX07201007), the State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology (No. 2014DX03), and the Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of Heilongjiang Province (JC201303). The authors also appreciate the Funds for Creative Research Groups of China (No. 51121062) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51408169).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China

    Hui Li, Yu Tian & Lipin Li

  2. State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology (SKLUWRE, HIT), Harbin, 150090, China

    Wei Zuo, Yu Tian & Jun Zhang

  3. Research Center for Eco-Environmental Science in Shanxi, Taiyuan, 030009, China

    Shijing Di

  4. School of Food Engineering, Harbin University of Commerce, Harbin, 150076, China

    Xinying Su

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  1. Hui Li
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  2. Wei Zuo
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  3. Yu Tian
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  4. Jun Zhang
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  5. Shijing Di
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  6. Lipin Li
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  7. Xinying Su
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Correspondence to Yu Tian.

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Responsible editor: Gerald Thouand

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Li, H., Zuo, W., Tian, Y. et al. Simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in a novel membrane bioelectrochemical reactor with low membrane fouling tendency. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 5106–5117 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6084-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6084-8

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