RIS ID

88945

Publication Details

Luo, Y., Guo, W., Ngo, H. H., Nghiem, L. D., Hai, F. I., Kang, J., Xia, S., Zhang, Z. & Price, W. E. (2014). Removal and fate of micropollutants in a sponge-based moving bed bioreactor. Bioresource Technology, 159 (May), 311-319.

Abstract

This study investigated the removal of micropollutants using polyurethane sponge as attached-growth carrier. Batch experiments demonstrated that micropollutants could adsorb to non-acclimatized sponge cubes to varying extents. Acclimatized sponge showed significantly enhanced removal of some less hydrophobic compounds (logD < 2.5), such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen, naproxen, and estriol, as compared with non-acclimatized sponge. The results for bench-scale sponge-based moving bed bioreactor (MBBR) system elucidated compound-specific variation in removal, ranging from 25.9% (carbamazepine) to 96.8% (b-Estradiol 17-acetate) on average. In the MBBR system, biodegradation served as a major removal pathway for most compounds. However, sorption to sludge phase was also a notable removal mechanism of some persistent micropollutants. Particularly, carbamazepine, ketoprofen and pentachlorophenol were found at high concentrations (7.87, 6.05 and 5.55 lg/g, respectively) on suspended biosolids. As a whole, the effectiveness of MBBR for micropollutant removal was comparable with those of activated sludge processes and MBRs.

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2014.02.107