Effectiveness of Nitrification and Denitrification Processes in Biofilters Treating Wastewater from De-Icing Airport Runways

The basic factors determining the efficiency of the removal of nitrogen and carbon compounds from airport wastewater containing de-icing agents are low temperature and the C/N ratio (carbon to nitrogen ratio). Biofilm reactors (biofilters) create better conditions for nitrification and denitrification than suspended biomass reactors. The scope of the study included determination of the influence of the C/N ratio in the wastewater on nitrification, denitrification and organic compound removal in biofilm reactors depending on the temperature. The experiment was performed in 24 circular laboratory biofilters with LECA (Light Expanded Clay Aggregates) filling. The study was divided into three series differing in organic carbon loading. In each series, carried out at the same hydraulic retention time, biofilters were operated at 25, 8, 4 or 0 °C. The study showed the effective removal of nitrogen compounds across a very wide temperature range. The applied filling and properly selected operating parameters of the reactors resulted in effective simultaneous nitrification and denitrification. The highest efficiency of nitrogen removal at 0 °C (34.57 ± 4.54%) was obtained at the C/N ratio of 0.5 gC/gN. The efficiency of denitrification (the lowest at the temperature of 0 °C) increased as the temperature and C/N ratio increased in the wastewater.

The use of Leca (Light Expanded Clay Aggregates) for the removal of phosphorus from wastewater

Increasing attention is being focused on the phosphorus retention capacity of wetlands. Several attempts have been made to improve the reduction of phosphorus in wastewater by the use of constructed wetlands. One way of improving the phosphorus reduction capacity is to use efficient filter materials in the wetland. Leca® (Light Expanded Clay Aggregates) has been tested in Norway, where laboratory and field investigations gave promising results. To further study the chemical removal mechanism of Leca, an experiment utilising five columns was performed. A phosphate solution was applied to the columns intermittently and samples were taken twice a week. Parallel to this study, a P-fractionation experiment was conducted to find out how the phosphate was sorbed to various components of the material. Both experiments showed that only a small amount of the applied phosphate was sorbed by the Leca. The amount sorbed was primarily attached to Al-complexes. In a second column experiment Opoka, a reactive medium rich in CaCO3, was added to Leca and sand to investigate the P-sorption capacity. The results from this investigation showed a higher P-uptake than in the previous column experiment. The lime additive clearly increased the P-sorption and, in this study, Leca in its pure form could be considered as chemically non-reactive.