Biological Nitrogen Removal Database

A manually curated data resource for microbial nitrogen removal


Water Treatment Plant


Experimental setup


Influent:Wastewater treatment plant

Denitrification system:Heterotrophic denitrification

Denitrifying reactor:Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR)

Medium:Suspended culture

Culture taken from:Activated sludge

Organism (s) cultured:nan

Respiration:Anaerobic

Electron donor:Propionic acid

Electron acceptor:Nitrate


Experimental Information


Input NO3-N (mg/l):nan

Nitrate removal rate (mg NO3-N/l/h):nan

Denitrification rate (gNO3-N removed/m3/day):1.46

Microorganisms identified:nan

Molecular tools:nan


Information about Article


Major findings:Denitrification was complete for all of the various carbon sources that were under study, when the pH was 6.5 was maintained. Temperature in the range 10-20?C was the best range for nitrate removal and carbon consumption.

Authors:Elefsionitis and LI., 2006

Title:The effect of temperature and carbon source on denitrification using volatile fatty acids

Pubmed link:None

Full research link:Link

Abstract:This study explored the effect of temperature and carbon source on the denitrification process. Batch experiments were conducted within the 10–30 °C range, using either acetic acid, propionic acid or an 1:1 mixture (by weight) of the same acids as an external carbon source. A 5 M NaNO3 solution was added to yield nitrate-nitrogen concentrations of 50, 100 and 200 mg/L, and carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratios of 2:1 and 4:1, respectively. It was observed that denitrification was feasible under all conditions investigated, provided that the initial reactor pH was adjusted to approximately 6.5. Overall, a temperature change from 10 to 20 °C exerted a greater effect on both the specific denitrification and carbon consumption rates than a further temperature increase from 20 to 30 °C, which was also evident in the corresponding temperature coefficient values. At a given temperature, the specific denitrification rate appeared to depend on the initial nitrogen concentration, while the specific carbon consumption rate was a function of the initial carbon content. Furthermore, a C:N ratio of 2:1 was sufficient for complete denitrification at all temperatures and types of carbon investigated. During the mixed VFA experiments, acetic acid was utilized faster than propionic acid, indicating a preferential utilization pattern. Finally, substantial alkalinity recovery was also observed in all runs, in accordance with the theoretically calculated values.