Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol.269, 56-67, 2014
Fine-tuning key parameters of an integrated reactor system for the simultaneous removal of COD, sulfate and ammonium and elemental sulfur reclamation
In this paper, we proposed an integrated reactor system for simultaneous removal of COD, sulfate and ammonium (integrated C-S-N removal system) and investigated the key parameters of the system for a high level of elemental sulfur (S-0) production. The system consisted of 4 main units: sulfate reduction and organic carbon removal (SR-CR), autotrophic and heterotrophic denitrifying sulfide removal (A&H-DSR), sulfur reclamation (SR), and aerated filter for aerobic nitrification (AN). In the system, the effects of key operational parameters on production of elemental sulfur were investigated, including hydraulic retention time (HRT) of each unit, sulfide/nitrate (S2--S/NO3--N) ratios, reflux ratios between the A&H-DSR and AN units, and loading rates of chemical oxygen demand (COD), sulfate and ammonium. Physicochemical characteristics of biosulfur were studied for acquiring efficient S recovery. The experiments successfully explored the optimum parameters for each unit and demonstrated 98% COD, 98% sulfate and 78% nitrogen removal efficiency. The optimum HRTs for SR-CR, A&H-DSR and AN were 12 h, 3 h and
Keywords:Sulfate reduction and organic carbon;removal;Denitrifying sulfide removal;Elemental sulfur production;Aerated nitrification;Sulfur reclamation