Denitrification by Fluidized Bed Biofilm Reactor Using Stone Dust as Biofilm Carrier Media

In many areas of the world, nitrate concentration has reached serious level, which is responsible for environmental problems. Hence it is necessary to remove nitrate from water resources. Among the various options, denitrification is the versatile option for the removal of nitrate. This paper represents the results of experimental work of biological denitrification by Fluidized Bed Biofilm Reactor using stone dust as biofilm carrier media.In this study, the maximum average nitrogen removal efficiency of 96.93% at HRT of 30 minutes and optimum efficiency of 90.57% at HRT of 10 minutes is observed. For nitrogen loading rates varying from 0.48 to 28.80 kg N m-3 d-1 , denitrification rates observed are 0.46 kg N m-3 d-1 to 17.91 kg N m-3 d-1. Optimum nitrogen loading rate and denitrification rate observed are 4.32 kg N m-3 d-1 and 3.98 kg N m-3 d-1 respectively. The results of the study depict the usefulness of FBBR for denitrification.