Kinetics of a fixed bed reactor with immobilized microorganisms for the removal of organic matter and phosphorous

Abstract

The biodegradation of domestic wastewater contaminants has been carried out using microorganisms immobilized in sodium alginate gel (Alg‐Na). A fixed bed reactor with immobilized microorganisms was used for the treatment of domestic wastewater. A wastewater pretreatment was carried out to remove the larger particulate matter, which consisted of a reactor packed with different materials (anthracite, zeolite, and activated carbon). Later, a second reactor packed with balls with immobilized microorganisms was used to eliminate organic matter and nutrients. 2.5% w/v of Alg‐Na was used as a support to immobilize the microorganisms. According to the results, a total phosphorus (TP) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of 94.26% and 78.25% was obtained, respectively. In addition, the degradation rate for both organic matter and phosphorous was studied by using the kinetic model for fix bed reactor. © 2020 Water Environment Federation Practitioner points Phosphorous and organic matter removal by adsorption and immobilized microorganisms. High removal efficiency of phosphorous and organic matter was found. An innovative wastewater treatment alternative is proposed. Kinetic model for fixed bed reactor is also proposed for scaling‐up purposes.

A Review of the Strategic Use of Sodium Alginate Polymer in the Immobilization of Microorganisms for Water Recycling

“…As such, it is crucial to carefully select the immobilization method to ensure that the microorganisms can maintain their functionality effectively [ 98 , 99 , 100 ]. The selection of a method depends on the specific needs of the process, the characteristics of the microorganisms, and the environmental conditions [ 19 ]. Immobilization methods are classified as either physical or chemical, both offering specific advantages [ 101 ].…”

“…Three types of supports are available: organics—which can be further divided into natural (e.g., chitin, agar, alginate, and carrageenan) and synthetic organics (e.g., polyvinyl alcohol, PVA; polyvinylpyrrolidone, PVP; polypropylene amine; polyurethane; and acrylamide)—and inorganics (e.g., activated carbon, clay, zeolite, anthracite, ceramics, and porous glass) [ 22 , 24 ]. Of these materials, alginate is the most widely used support in water treatment as it forms microspheres when mixed with microorganisms and calcium [ 19 ].…”

“…IMs have been employed in a wide variety of applications due to their stability, re-usability, efficiency, and process control [ 19 , 107 ]. An example of the use of IMs is the participation of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria for the conversion of ammonia to nitrate and the subsequent reduction of nitrate to gaseous nitrogen, respectively.…”

“…Compared to free-living microorganisms, IMs play a significant role in wastewater treatment, offering greater benefits in terms of efficiency and biotechnological applications. They enable processes with longer retention times, enhance efficiency in contaminant degradation, reduce the generation of residual sludge, and simplify product recovery, and they have been proven to be highly cost-effective [ 10 , 19 ].…”

Acidification and alkali precipitation for phosphorus recovery from municipal digested sludge

“…For this reason, cities need highly efficient and low‐cost treatment processes that can treat these wastewaters in a single centre. Domestic wastewater treatment plants widely include conventional biological processes such as activated sludge, trickling filters, oxidation ditch and aerobic lagoons based on low‐cost aerobic metabolism (Bustos‐Terrones et al, 2020, Li, Wang, et al, 2019). However, a high amount of sludge is generated from these treatment processes.…”