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Modelling of moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) efficiency on hospital wastewater (HW) treatment: a comprehensive analysis on BOD and COD removal

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An Erratum to this article was published on 19 April 2017

Abstract

Performance of moving bed biofilm reactor system for a real hospital wastewater (HW) was experimented, modelled, and optimized using response surface methodology. Prior to conducting laboratory tests, design of the experiments was evaluated to minimize any prediction error. Statistical analyses demonstrated the models’ validity and adequacy for anticipation of the removal of BOD and COD by the process. The models predictions (with desirability of 0.98) were found to be in very good agreement with confirmative experiments results. The results indicated that under convenient operating conditions of the studied variables (packing rate 70%, HRT 24 h, and MLSS 3000 mg/L), the removal efficiencies for BOD and COD were 97.8 and 95.6%, respectively. Moreover, kinetics of the biological process showed that removal of organic matters for the tested wastewater adheres to modified Stover–Kincannon model with a correlation coefficient of 0.998. Ratio of BOD to COD of 0.6 (optimal range for biological treatment normally is >0.5) suggests acceptable efficiency of the reactor for decomposing organic load. A high overall efficiency of the process and fulfilling the related standards make this system an appropriate option for treating HDW.

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Acknowledgements

The research was supported by Hamedan University of Medical Sciences, Hamedan, Iran (Grant No. 9310235188).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    M. Leili, M. Foroughi & M. Sedighi Hemmat

  2. School of Engineering, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia

    M. Khiadani

  3. Department of Environmental Health Engineering & Research Centre for Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    R. Shokoohi

  4. Social Determinants of Health Research Center (SDHRC), Faculty of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    G. Asgari

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  1. R. Shokoohi
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  2. G. Asgari
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  4. M. Khiadani
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  5. M. Foroughi
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Correspondence to M. Sedighi Hemmat.

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Editorial responsibility: Necip Atar.

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13762-017-1326-y.

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Shokoohi, R., Asgari, G., Leili, M. et al. Modelling of moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) efficiency on hospital wastewater (HW) treatment: a comprehensive analysis on BOD and COD removal. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 14, 841–852 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-017-1255-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-017-1255-9

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