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Biological Denitrification and Its' Application in Treatment of High-Nitrate Waste Water¹

ABSTRACT

One method of removing nitrate nitrogen from waste water effluents appears to be biological denitrification. Considerable research regarding denitrification of municipal and agricultural waste water containing relatively low concentrations of nitrate (<50 ppm NO₃-N) has been conducted. However, very little research has been carried out on the feasibility of applying the process to waste water effluents which contain in excess of 1,000 ppm NO₃-N. Waste water effluents containing this magnitude of nitrates are generated in fertilizer and explosive manufacturing operations. Large quantities of nitrates are also expected to be produced at future nuclear fuel processing and uranium oxide fuel fabrication plants. This review comprehensively evaluates the various requirements for biological denitrification in respect to NO₃-N concentrations as well as quantity and type of carbon substrate and complementary cations. It also assesses which engineering design, e.g., modified activated sludge units, packed-bed reactors, or anaerobic columns, may be most applicable in biological denitrification of waste streams containing concentrations > 1,000 ppm NO₃-N.

Key Words: nitrate • nitrite • nitrate reduction • modified activated sludge unit • packed-bed reactor • anaerobic column

¹ Research sponsored by U. S. Atomic Energy Commission under contract with Union Carbide Corporation. Publication No. 630, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

² Soil Scientist, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, and Graduate Assistant, Civil Engineering Dep., Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville. TN 38501.

Received for publication June 10, 1974.