Evaluation of the Nitrous Oxide Emission Reduction Potential of an Aerobic Bioreactor Packed with Carbon Fibres for Swine Wastewater Treatment

Takahiro Yamashita, Makoto Shiraishi, Hiroshi Yokoyama, Akifumi Ogino, Ryoko Yamamoto-Ikemoto and Takashi Osada
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Takahiro Yamashita: Animal Waste Management and Environment Division, NARO Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0901, Japan
Makoto Shiraishi: Research Institute for Livestock Science, Okayama Prefectural Technology Center for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Misakicho, Okayama 709-3494, Japan
Hiroshi Yokoyama: Animal Waste Management and Environment Division, NARO Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0901, Japan
Akifumi Ogino: Animal Waste Management and Environment Division, NARO Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0901, Japan
Ryoko Yamamoto-Ikemoto: Institute of Science and Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192, Japan
Takashi Osada: Animal Waste Management and Environment Division, NARO Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0901, Japan

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 6, 1-13

Abstract: Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) is a potent greenhouse gas that is emitted from wastewater treatment plants. To reduce emissions of N 2 O from swine wastewater treatment plants, we constructed an experimental aerobic bioreactor packed with carbon fibres (ca. 1 m 3 bioreactor) as an alternative to conventional activated sludge treatment. The N 2 O emission factor for the aerobic bioreactor packed with carbon fibres (CF) was 0.002 g N 2 O-N/g TN-load and the value for the typical activated sludge (AS) reactor was 0.013 g N 2 O-N/g TN-load. The CF treatment method achieved more than 80% reduction of N 2 O emissions, compared with the AS treatment method. The experimental introduction of a CF carrier into an actual wastewater treatment plant also resulted in a large reduction in N 2 O generation. Specifically, the N 2 O emission factors decreased from 0.040 to 0.005 g N 2 O-N/g TN-load following application of the carrier. This shows that it is possible to reduce N 2 O generation by more than 80% by using a CF carrier during the operation of an actual wastewater treatment plant. Some bacteria from the phylum Chloroflexi, which are capable of reducing N 2 O emissions, were detected at a higher frequency in the biofilm on the CF carrier than in the biofilm formed on the AS reactor.

Keywords: carbon fibres; denitrification; nitrous oxide emission; swine wastewater (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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