Ammonia Removal by Simultaneous Nitrification and Denitrification in a Single Dual-Chamber Microbial Electrolysis Cell

Sanath Kondaveeti, Dae-Hyeon Choi, Md Tabish Noori and Booki Min ()
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Sanath Kondaveeti: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kyung Hee University, 1 Seocheon-dong, Yongin-si 446-701, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
Dae-Hyeon Choi: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kyung Hee University, 1 Seocheon-dong, Yongin-si 446-701, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
Md Tabish Noori: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kyung Hee University, 1 Seocheon-dong, Yongin-si 446-701, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
Booki Min: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kyung Hee University, 1 Seocheon-dong, Yongin-si 446-701, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 23, 1-15

Abstract: Ammonia removal from wastewater was successfully achieved by simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) in a double-chamber microbial electrolysis cell (MEC). The MEC operations at different applied voltages (0.7 to 1.5 V) and initial ammonia concentrations (30 to 150 mg/L) were conducted in order to evaluate their effects on MEC performance in batch mode. The maximum nitrification efficiency of 96.8% was obtained in the anode at 1.5 V, followed by 94.11% at 1.0 V and 87.05% at 0.7. At 1.5 V, the initial ammonia concentration considerably affected the nitrification rate, and the highest nitrification rate constant of 0.1601/h was determined from a first-order linear regression at 30 mg/L ammonium nitrogen. The overall total nitrogen removal efficiency was noted to be 85% via the SND in the MEC operated at an initial ammonium concentration of 50 mg/L and an applied cell voltage of 1.5 V. The MEC operation in continuous mode could remove ammonia (50 mg/L) in a series of anode and cathode chambers at the nitrogen removal rate of 170 g-N/m 3 .d at an HRT of 15. This study suggests that a standalone dual-chamber MEC can efficiently remove ammonia via the SND process without needing additional organic substrate and aeration, which makes this system viable for field applications.

Keywords: bioelectrochemical system; microbial electrolysis; nitrification; denitrification; wastewater treatment (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: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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