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Effect of flow rate on growth and oxygen consumption of biofilm in gravity sewer

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Abstract

The function of sewer as reactors must rely on the biofilm in it. In this paper, the formation, structure, oxygen transfer, and activity of the biofilm under different hydraulic conditions were studied by the microelectrode technology, oxygen uptake rate (OUR) technology, and 454 high-throughput pyrosequencing technology. Results showed that when the wall-shear stresses were 1.12, 1.29, and 1.45 Pa, the porosity of the steady-state biofilm were 69.1, 64.4, and 55.1 %, respectively. The maximum values of OUR were 0.033, 0.027, and 0.022 mg/(L*s), respectively, and the COD removal efficiency in the sewers reached 40, 35, and 32 %, respectively. The research findings had an important significance on how to improve the treatment efficiency of the sewers.

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Acknowledgment

This study was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China through project NSFC51108480 and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities 1061120112CDJZR210025.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region’s Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400045, People’s Republic of China

    Jingwei Xu, Muzhi Li, Qiang He, Xingfu Sun, Xiangren Zhou, Zhenping Su & Hainan Ai

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  1. Jingwei Xu
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  2. Muzhi Li
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  3. Qiang He
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  4. Xingfu Sun
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  5. Xiangren Zhou
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  6. Zhenping Su
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  7. Hainan Ai
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hainan Ai.

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Responsible Editor: Gerald Thouand

Highlights

• The oxygen transfer in the biofilm influenced by porosity was explored.

• Different microbial distributions were formed under different oxygen conditions.

• OUR reflected the divergence of oxygen utilization in different structural biofilms.

• COD removal efficiency was well correlated with the biofilm activity and biomass.

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Xu, J., Li, M., He, Q. et al. Effect of flow rate on growth and oxygen consumption of biofilm in gravity sewer. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 427–435 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7710-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7710-1

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