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Effects of aeration and internal recycle flow on nitrous oxide emissions from a modified Ludzak–Ettinger process fed with glycerol

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Abstract

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is emitted from a modified Ludzak–Ettinger (MLE) process, as a primary activated sludge system, which requires mitigation. The effects of aeration rates and internal recycle flow (IRF) ratios on N2O emission were investigated in an MLE process fed with glycerol. Reducing the aeration rate from 1.5 to 0.5 L/min increased gaseous the N2O concentration from the aerobic tank and the dissolved N2O concentration in the anoxic tank by 54.4 and 53.4 %, respectively. During the period of higher aeration, the N2O–N conversion ratio was 0.9 % and the potential N2O reducers were predominantly Rhodobacter, which accounted for 21.8 % of the total population. Increasing the IRF ratio from 3.6 to 7.2 decreased the N2O emission rate from the aerobic tank and the dissolved N2O concentration in the anoxic tank by 56 and 48 %, respectively. This study suggests effective N2O mitigation strategies for MLE systems.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (11B13001d), a Grant-in-Aid for Exploratory Research (26630420), Kurita Water and Environment Foundation (13B188), and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (No. 268245) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). The authors thank Ms. Kanako Mori (Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology), Dr. Ronald R. Navarro, and Ms. Tomo Aoyagi for technical support with molecular analyses. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Air Force Institute of Technology, United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or United States government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8588, Japan

    Kang Song, Toshikazu Suenaga, Shohei Riya, Masaaki Hosomi & Akihiko Terada

  2. Research Fellow of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, 5-3-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0083, Japan

    Kang Song

  3. Department of Systems Engineering and Management, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, OH, 45433, USA

    Willie F. Harper Jr.

  4. National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8568, Japan

    Tomoyuki Hori

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  1. Kang Song
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Correspondence to Akihiko Terada.

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Song, K., Suenaga, T., Harper, W.F. et al. Effects of aeration and internal recycle flow on nitrous oxide emissions from a modified Ludzak–Ettinger process fed with glycerol. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 19562–19570 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5129-8

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