OXYGEN REDUCES DENITRIFICATION IN BIOFILM REACTORS

The mechanism for the nitrate removal from wastewater in a submerged fixed film filter is reviewed and evaluated to demonstrate that the denitrification process is significantly reduced by the presence of oxygen. The kinetics were developed for a fully nitrate penetrated biofilm, influenced by oxygen. It was demonstrated that there is a linear reduction of the denitrification rate with depth of oxygen penetration, proportional to the oxygen concentration to the half power. For a partly nitrate penetrated biofilm the influence of oxygen is a function of the ratio between the penetration of oxygen and the penetration of nitrate without the influence of oxygen. The phenomenon was investigated in laboratory scale with biocarbone and biostyr as media and at a full scale biocarbone plant. The investigation was performed with organic matter in excess on a thin biofilm taken directly from a full scale plant. The results of the experiments with influence of oxygen fit the kinetic concepts well.