Evaluation of modified anoxic/aerobic sequencing batch reactor (SBR) performance for the removal of organic matter and nitrogen from wastewater

Background & Objectives: Excessive discharge of hazardous materials such as nitrogenous and organic compounds into the environment has negative impacts on the health of the aquatic environment. The main objective of this research was focused on evaluating the feasibility of using modified SBR reactor for the removal of nitrogenous compounds and chemical oxygen demand (COD). Materials & Methods: The experiments were performed using an up-flow continuous reactor with intermittent effluent. At first, four different cycles including aeration, settling, and decant (3, 4, 6, and 8 h) were designed for the performance of the reactor. Then, the efficiency of each cycle was determined for different concentrations of COD (250-1500 mg/L) and ammonia (40-100 mg/L). Results: Data demonstrated that all cycles had very good performances for the removal of COD. The average COD removal efficiencies of phases 1 through 4 were 91.7, 91.5, 92, and 92.7% respectively. The average NH4+ removal efficiencies of phase 3 and 4 were 92.7 and 95.8% respectively. Conclusion: The performance of phase 4 (with the cycle of 8 h) for the removal of nitrogen compound and COD was particularly high. The combination of anoxic and aerobic cycles in the reactor and providing nitrate as an electron receptor had the best performance for the removal of nitrogen from wastewater. Therefore, the continuous up-flow reactor was a good alternative to batch reactor in removing nitrogen compound and COD simultaneously