Extended Aeration Activated Sludge Reactor (Eaasr) for Removal of Nitrobenzene: Air Stripped or Biologically Removed

Abstract

In this study, the performance of an extended aeration activated sludge reactor (EAASR) was investigated for the removal of nitrobenzene (NB), a commonly used organic chemical in various industries. In a set of experiments, increasing NB concentrations between 1 and 800 mg/L were applied to the EAASR. Synthetic wastewater containing NB was successfully treated up to 92.0 and 100.0% in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and NB removal. The major NB removal mechanism in this EAASR was assessed to be air stripping after kinetic evaluation as compared to somewhat limited bacterial degradation of NB. Although NB is known to be toxic, the removal efficiency of NB was never below 97.4% even at high NB concentrations. Under lower NB concentrations, it was found that the bacterial floc formation was intact with existing Ciliata and Rotifera. However, at higher NB concentrations, free swimming Ciliata and Rotifera specimens disappeared while the flocs became smaller and dispersed.