Influence of the carbon source concentration on the nitrate removal rate in groundwater

Environ Technol. 2022 Sep;43(22):3355-3365. doi: 10.1080/09593330.2021.1921053. Epub 2021 May 8.

Abstract

At present, groundwater nitrate pollution in China is serious. The use of microorganisms for biological denitrification has been widely applied, and it is a universal and efficient in situ groundwater remediation technique, but this approach is influenced by many factors. In this study, glucose was adopted as the carbon source, four different concentrations of 0, 2, 5 and 10 g/L were considered, and natural groundwater with a nitrate concentration of 300.8 mg/L was employed as the experimental solution. The effect of the carbon source concentration on the nitrate removal rate in groundwater was examined through heterotrophic anaerobic denitrification experiments. The results showed that the nitrate removal rate could be improved by the addition of an external carbon source in the process of biological denitrification, and an optimal concentration was observed. At a glucose concentration of 2 g/L, the denitrification effect was the best.

Keywords: Groundwater; biological denitrification; glucose concentration; nitrate nitrogen; removal rate.

MeSH terms

  • Carbon
  • Denitrification
  • Glucose
  • Groundwater*
  • Nitrates
  • Nitrogen Oxides
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

  • Nitrates
  • Nitrogen Oxides
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • Carbon
  • Glucose