Partial Nitrification and Oxygen Transfer Analysis Utilizing Hollow Fiber Membrane Aeration Samuel Wesley Cotter Iowa State University
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Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2010 Partial nitrification and oxygen transfer analysis utilizing hollow fiber membrane aeration Samuel Wesley Cotter Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons Recommended Citation Cotter, Samuel Wesley, "Partial nitrification and oxygen transfer analysis utilizing hollow fiber membrane aeration" (2010). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 11335. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/11335 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Partial nitrification and oxygen transfer analysis utilizing hollow fiber membrane aeration by Samuel Wesley Cotter A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Major: Civil Engineering (Environmental Engineering) Program of Study Committee: Shihwu Sung, Major Professor James E. Alleman Thomas E. Loynachan Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2010 Copyright © Samuel Wesley Cotter, 2010. All rights reserved. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES iii LIST OF TABLES v ABSTRACT vi CHAPTER 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 2. OXYGEN TRANSFER STUDY USING A HOLLOW FIBER MEMBRANE FOR BUBBLELESS AIR TRANSFER BY BOX-BEHNKEN DESIGN: DEVELOPMENT OF AN INNOVATIVE PARTIAL NITRIFICATION PROCESS 8 CHAPTER 3. PARTIAL NITRIFICATION COMMUNITY SELECTION UTILIZING HOLLOW FIBER MEMBRANE AERATION 37 CHAPTER 4. ADDITIONAL RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS 62 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 67 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Air-sparged partial nitrification reactor after 26 days of culture enrichment ..... 7 Figure 2. Schematic of silicone membrane oxygen transfer theory.................................. 11 Figure 3. Schematic diagram of experimental setup ......................................................... 13 Figure 4. Full model actual by predicted plot ................................................................... 22 Figure 5. Simplified model actual by predicted plot......................................................... 23 Figure 6. Contour plot for KLa for interaction of PressurePerVolume and AreaPerVolume with PowerPerVolume=189 W/m3 ....................................................................... 24 Figure 7. Contour plot for KLa for interaction of PressurePerVolume and AreaPerVolume with PowerPerVolume=531.5 W/m3 .................................................................... 24 Figure 8. Contour plot for KLa for interaction of PressurePerVolume and AreaPerVolume with PowerPerVolume=874 W/m3 ....................................................................... 25 Figure 9. Contour plot for KLa for interaction of PowerPerVolume and AreaPerVolume with PressurePerVolume=45965 kPa/ m3 ............................................................. 26 Figure 10. Contour plot for KLa for interaction of PowerPerVolume and AreaPerVolume with PressurePerVolume=57456 kPa/ m3 ............................................................. 26 Figure 11. Contour plot for KLa for interaction of PowerPerVolume and AreaPerVolume with PressurePerVolume=68947 kPa/ m3 ............................................................. 27 Figure 12. Contour plot for KLa for interaction of PressurePerVolume and PowerPerVolume with AreaPerVolume=12.6 m2/m3 ........................................................................ 28 Figure 13. Contour plot for KLa for interaction of PressurePerVolume and PowerPerVolume with AreaPerVolume=25.15 m2/m3 ...................................................................... 28 iv Figure 14. Contour plot for KLa for interaction of PressurePerVolume and PowerPerVolume with AreaPerVolume=37.7 m2/m3 ........................................................................ 29 Figure 15. Simplified model variable interaction profile.................................................. 30 Figure 16. Response surface simplified model PowerPerVolume: 531.5 W/m3, AreaPerVolume: 25.15 m2/m3, PressurePerVolume: 57456 kPa/ m3 ................... 31 Figure 17. Response surface simplified model PowerPerVolume: 531.5 W/m3, AreaPerVolume: 25.15 m2/m3, PressurePerVolume: 57456 kPa/ m3 ................... 32 Figure 18. Response surface simplified model PowerPerVolume: 531.5 W/m3, AreaPerVolume: 25.15 m2/m3, PressurePerVolume: 57456 kPa/ m3 ................... 33 Figure 19. Partial nitrification reactor configuration ....................................................... 45 Figure 20. Nitrogen profile of partial nitrification reactor after 6 days of operation ....... 50 Figure 21. Nitrogen profile of partial nitrification reactor after 14 days of operation ..... 51 Figure 22. Nitrogen profile of partial nitrification reactor after 26 days of operation ..... 52 Figure 23. Partial nitrification at low influent ammonium concentration ....................... 53 Figure 24. 200x scanning electron microscope magnification of biomass attached to silicone membrane surface. ................................................................................................ 54 Figure 25. 10,000x scanning electron microscope magnification of individual organisms attached to silicone membrane surface. ................................................................ 55 Figure 26. 20,000x scanning electron microscope magnification of individual organisms attached to silicone membrane surface. ................................................................ 56 Figure 27. Partial Nitrification utilizing a polypropylene membrane aeration system .... 63 Figure 28. Scanning electron microscope image of biomass attachment on polypropylene membrane surface, 5000x magnification .............................................................. 64 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Variables and their respective levels for this membrane study .......................... 16 Table 2. List of experiments and response oxygen mass transfer determination ............ 17 Table 3. Full model summary of fit ................................................................................. 19 Table 4. Full model analysis of variance .......................................................................... 19 Table 5. Full model parameter estimates .......................................................................... 20 Table 6. Synthetic wastewater composition..................................................................... 46 Table 7. Ct values for real-time PCR analysis comparing ammonium oxidizing bacteria and nitrite oxidizing bacteria ....................................................................................... 57 vi ABSTRACT Excess nutrients in lakes, rivers, and streams harm aquatic ecosystems. Advanced treatment at wastewater treatment plants can reduce this pollutant load. An innovative nutrient removal system, ANAMMOX, anaerobically converts ammonium and nitrite to N2 + - gas. Because this system requires a 1:1.31 NH4 : NO2 ratio, a partial nitrification system is coupled with the ANAMMOX system to provide the necessary substrates. A hollow fiber membrane reactor was employed to create this partial nitrification system. Gas mass transfer was first evaluated to determine the KLa oxygen transfer coefficient. Reactor parameters, such as mixing speed, membrane length, and gas pressure, were evaluated to determine how KLa was affected by these variables. This hollow fiber membrane was then used to control oxygen delivery to the partial nitrification system, producing an effluent with ammonium and nitrite. Controlling dissolved oxygen at low concentration selects for ammonium oxidizing bacteria, while nitrite oxidizing bacteria are suppressed. This system effectively treated + + influent ammonium concentrations ranging from 50 mg/L NH4 -N to 250 mg/L NH4 -N. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was employed to verify the system preference for ammonium oxidizing bacteria. Hollow fiber membrane aeration is effective for controlling oxygen transfer. 1 CHAPTER 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION Introduction Nutrients play an important role in the earth’s ecosystem. Specifically, nitrogen is necessary for plant growth; this creates a dependence on nutrients for all species in our ecosystems. However, like many natural systems, there exists a natural balance necessary for maintaining healthy conditions. When discharged into waterways, nutrient pollution negatively impacts lakes, streams, rivers, and coastal areas, upsetting the nutrient balance. Nitrogen and phosphorus cause eutrophication. Eutrophication is the presence of excess nutrients in an ecosystem, which leads to algal blooms and hypoxia (low dissolved oxygen conditions). Hypoxia and algal blooms harm the aquatic ecosystem, killing fish, reducing water quality, and changing the ecosystem characteristics. The presence of nutrients is attributed to wastewater, agriculture, and the burning of fossil fuels.1 In the United States, 78 percent of coastal areas have been identified as demonstrating signs of eutrophication.2 To mitigate environmental problems caused by nutrient discharge into waterways, regulators are looking to increase restrictions on point sources for nutrients. Aquatic nitrogen-based nutrient contribution from