Treatment of High Nitrate-Containing Wastewaters by Sequential Heterotrophic and Autotrophic Denitrification

The treatment performance of sequential heterotrophic and autotrophic denitrification process was evaluated using synthetic wastewaters containing high nitrate concentrations. The effluents from two sequentially connected reactors, for heterotrophic denitrification and sulfur-based autotrophic denitrification, were analyzed for more than 200 days. Experimental results indicated that higher than 95% of the nitrate removal could be achieved with volumetric nitrate loading rates of 2.16, 3.24, and 4.32 kg/m3d. The maximum denitrification rates, with 1,000 mgN/l influent nitrate concentrations, for the heterotrophic and sulfur-packed autotrophic reactors, were found to be 2.47 and 3.61 kg/m3d, respectively. A sequential heterotrophic and autotrophic denitrification process is considered a good alternative for the sole autotrophic denitrification process, providing excellent nitrate removal, especially for nitrate-rich wastewaters with very low organic contents.