Biological treatment of saline domestic wastewater by using a down-flow hanging sponge reactor

Nga T Dinh; T Hiep Nguyen; Arvind Kumar Mungray; La Duc Duong; Nguyen-Tri Phuong; D Duc Nguyen; W Jin Chung; S W Chang; Phan D Tuan

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131101

Biological treatment of saline domestic wastewater by using a down-flow hanging sponge reactor

Chemosphere. 2021 Nov:283:131101. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131101. Epub 2021 Jun 7.

Authors

Nga T Dinh¹, T Hiep Nguyen², Arvind Kumar Mungray³, La Duc Duong⁴, Nguyen-Tri Phuong⁵, D Duc Nguyen⁶, W Jin Chung⁷, S W Chang⁷, Phan D Tuan²

Affiliations

¹ Research Institute for Sustainable Development, Hochiminh City University of Natural Resources and Environment, Viet Nam. Electronic address: dtnga@hcmunre.edu.vn.
² Research Institute for Sustainable Development, Hochiminh City University of Natural Resources and Environment, Viet Nam.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, Gujarat, India.
⁴ Institute of Chemistry and Materials, Nghia Do, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Viet Nam.
⁵ Département de Chimie, Biochimie et Physique, Université Du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, Canada; Laboratory of Advanced Materials for Energy and Environment, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), 3351 Boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, QC, G8Z 4M3, Canada.
⁶ Faculty of Environmental and Food Engineering, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, 300A Nguyen Tat Thanh, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City, 755414, Viet Nam; Department of Environmental Energy Engineering, Kyonggi University, 442-760, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: nguyensyduc@gmail.com.
⁷ Department of Environmental Energy Engineering, Kyonggi University, 442-760, Republic of Korea.

PMID: 34182628
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131101

Abstract

In this study, the effect of salinity on the removal of organic matter and nitrogen concentrations in bioreactor was investigated using a hybrid bench scale down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) system for 145 days of operation. The reactor had three identical sections that were filled to 30% volume with Bio-Bact to serve as attached media. The DHS reactor was fed with domestic wastewater that was mixed with increasing concentration of sodium chloride from 0.5 to 3.0% stepwise. The influent and effluent concentrations of BOD₅, COD_Cr, NH₄⁺-N, and TN were analyzed to evaluate the performance of the DHS reactor during the operational period. Results indicate that when salinity was increased from 0.5 to 3.0%, the removal efficiency gradually decreased from 80.3% to 61.5% for COD_Cr, 76.4%-65.0% for BOD₅, 64.1%-48.4% for NH₄⁺-N, and 50%-36% for TN. Besides, the changes in biofilm characteristics with increasing salinity were observed during the operational period. The results indicate that salinity has a significant influence on the removal of organic matters and nitrogen transformation in the biofilm of the bioreactor. Even so, the DHS reactor revealed a good potential for treating saline wastewater.

Keywords: Down-flow hanging sponge bioreactor; Nutrient removal; Organic removal; Saline wastewater treatment; Salinity.

MeSH terms

Bioreactors
Nitrogen / analysis
Sewage*
Waste Disposal, Fluid
Wastewater*

Substances

Sewage
Waste Water
Nitrogen