Simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in activated sludge system under low oxygen concentration

Simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND), which is more economical compared with the traditional method for nitrogen removal, is studied in this paper. In order to find the suitable conditions of this process, a mixed flow activated sludge system under low oxygen concentration is investigated, and some key control parameters are examined for nitrogen removal from synthetic wastewater. The results show that SND is accessible when oxygen concentration is 0.3–0.8 mg/L. The nitrogen removal rate can be obtained up to 66.7% with solids retention time (SRT) of 45 d, C/N value of 10, and F/M ratio of 0.1 g COD/(g MLSS·d). Theoretical analysis indicates that SND is a physical phenomenon and governed by oxygen diffusion in flocs.