Enhanced Nutrient Removal in A 2 N Effluent by Reclaimed Biochar Adsorption

Peng Chen, Junkang Wu, Yue He, Yaping Zhang, Ran Yu and Xiwu Lu
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Peng Chen: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Energy and Environment, Wuxi Engineering Research Center of Taihu Lake Water Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Junkang Wu: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Energy and Environment, Wuxi Engineering Research Center of Taihu Lake Water Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Yue He: Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China
Yaping Zhang: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Energy and Environment, Wuxi Engineering Research Center of Taihu Lake Water Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Ran Yu: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Energy and Environment, Wuxi Engineering Research Center of Taihu Lake Water Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Xiwu Lu: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Energy and Environment, Wuxi Engineering Research Center of Taihu Lake Water Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 7, 1-15

Abstract: The excessive nitrogen and phosphorus discharged into the water environment will cause water eutrophication and thus disrupt the water ecosystem and even exert biological toxicities. In this study, the absorption removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from the anaerobic tank in an anaerobic–anoxic/nitrifying system using four different kinds of biowaste-reclaimed biochars were investigated and compared. The effects of temperature and pH on nutrient adsorption removal were further investigated. The four kinds of biochar were successfully prepared and well characterized using a scanning electron microscope, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and Brunner−Emmet−Teller methods. Generally, there was no significant change in chemical oxygen demand (COD) and NH 4 + -N removal efficiencies when treated by the different biochars, while the activated sludge biochar (ASB) displayed the highest total phosphorus (TP) removal efficiency. The initial TP concentrations (<40 mg/L) displayed no remarkable effects on the TP adsorption removal, while the increase of temperature generally enhanced TP and NH 4 + -N adsorptions on the ASB. Besides, the increase of pH significantly promoted NH 4 + -N removal but depressed TP removal. Moreover, the adsorption process of TP by the ASB complies with the secondary kinetic model, suggesting the chemical precipitation and physical electrostatic interaction mechanisms of TP adsorption removal. However, the adsorption of NH 4 + -N conformed to the inner-particle diffusion model, indicating that the NH 4 + -N adsorption was mainly involved with pore diffusions in the particles.

Keywords: nitrogen and phosphorus; biochar; activated sludge; adsorption; temperature; pH (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (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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