SIMULTANEOUS NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS REMOVALIN A SUBMERGED MOVING MEDIA REACTOR (SMMR)

Asubmerged moving media reactor(SMMR) was operated tosimultaneously remove COD, N and Punder anoxic and anaerobic conditions.The removal efficiencies of COD, N and P in SMMR with different COD/NH4+-N/NO3--N/P ratiosof 49.3/6.25/2.78/1 for case 1, 19.7/5.62/2.69/1 for case 2, and 10.3/4.61/3.21/1 for case 3, respectively, at various COD loading rate from 877 to 3,830 mg COD/d were investigated. Over 90% of COD was removed in SMMR for all COD loading rates butP removal and denitrification (nitrate removal) efficiencies in the range of 51.1 to 63.4 % and 54.5 to 72.2 %, respectively were depended on COD loading rate.Kinetic experiments were also additionally conducted to estimate the effect of COD and nitrate concentrations on P release rate (PRR), P uptake rate (PUR) and denitrification rate (DNR).The kinetic tests showed that the organisms in SMMR could remove P with nitrateand PUR was more affected by DNR than by PRR. Conclusively, SMMR can remove N and Psimultaneouslybymixed sludge containing DPAOcapable of P release, P uptake and denitrification.