• Environmental Engineering Research
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.443-448
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• 2019

The present study was conducted to compare the voltage generation in two-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs) with a biocathode where nitrate and oxygen are used as a terminal electron acceptors (TEA) and to investigate the nitrogen removal and the electrochemical characteristics depending on the separators of the MFCs for denitrification. The maximum power density in a biocathode MFC using an anion exchange membrane (AEM) was approximately 40% lower with the use of nitrate as a TEA than when using oxygen. The MFC for denitrification using an AEM allows acetate ($CH_3COO^-$) as a substrate and nitrate ($NO_3{^-}$) as a TEA to be transported to the opposite sides of the chamber through the AEM. Therefore, heterotrophic denitrification and electrochemical denitrification occurred simultaneously at the anode and the cathode, resulting in a higher COD and nitrate removal rate and a lower maximum power density. The MFC for the denitrification using a cation exchange membrane (CEM) does not allow the transport of acetate and nitrate. Therefore, as oxidation of organics and electrochemical denitrification occurred at the anode and at the cathode, respectively, the MFC using a CEM showed a higher coulomb efficiency, a lower COD and nitrate removal rate in comparison with the MFC using an AEM.

• 한국지하수토양환경학회지:지하수토양환경
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.30-38
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• 2010

This study was conducted to determine the potential applicability of slowly released molasses (SRM) to treat nitratecontaminated groundwater. SRM was made by dispersing molasses in hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose-silicamicrocrystalline cellulose matrix. Column test indicated that SRM could continuously release molasses with slowly decreasing release rates of $64.6mg-COD/L{\cdot}h$ up to 65 hrs, $12.1mg-COD/L{\cdot}h$ up to 215 hrs, and $4.4mg-COD/L{\cdot}h$up to 361 hrs. A batch test using an isolated indigenous heterotrophic denitrifier Pseudomonas sp. KY1 having nitrite reductase (nirK) and liquid molasses demonstrated that the bacterium decreased 100 mg-N/L of nitrate to less than 10 mg-N/L at the C/N ratio of 10/1 in 48 hours. In a Pseudomonas sp. KY1-attached Ottawa sand column which continuously received molasses from a SRM-containing reservoir, the bacterium successfully removed nitrate from 20 mg-N/L to 3 mg-N/L during the 361 hours of column operation. The results showed the possibility that SRM can be used as a reliable, longterm extra carbon source for indigenous heterotrophic denitrifiers.

• 상하수도학회지
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.259-265
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• 2008

Generally speaking, there are two widely used methods of Nitrogen removal from waste water: 1) nitrification using autotrophic microorganisms, and 2) denitrification using heterotrophic microorganisms. The C/N ratio is an important factor of the denitrification process. In this case, if methanol is added to increase the lacking organic matter, a high economic cost is incurred and methanol is left in the processed water. In an effort to fix these issues, autotrophic denitrification through the use of Hydrogen, Iron and Sulfur is being studied, and among those Sulfur is cheaper and carries out denitrification effectively, and therefore is being studied the most. In this study, after cultivating T. denitrificans, the presence of T. denitrificans was determined and the effectiveness of denitirification via T. denitrificans was studied. In order to find out about the inhibition of T. denitrificans from the loading of organic matter, this shows that the greater the loading of organic matter, the more the denitrification ability of T. denitrificans is hindered. In order to research the hindrance of T. denitrificans resulting from the loading of $NO_3{^-}-N$, these results show that concentrations less than 100mg/L per 100mL of gel volume do not hinder T. denitrificans. In order to research the optimization of denitrification resulting from T. denitrificans, three 500mL samples of Sulfur granules were prepared: 1) one with only T. denitrificans attached (Mode I), 2) one with both T. denitrificans and active sludge attached (Mode II), and 3) one with only active sludge attached (Mode III). The results showed that autotrophic denitrification using S from Mode I was the most active.

• 한국환경과학회지
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• 제21권8호
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• pp.989-996
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• 2012

Nitrate contamination of water environments can create serious problems such as eutrophication of rivers. Conventional biological processes for nitrate removal by heterotrophic denitrification often need additional organic substrates as carbon sources and electron donors. We tried to accelerate biological denitrification by using bioelectrochemical reactor (BER) in which electrode works as an electron donor. Denitrification activity of 8 environmental samples from various sediments, soils, groundwaters, and sludges were tested to establish an efficient enrichment culture for BER. The established enrichment culture from a soil sample showed stable denitrification activity without any nitrite accumulation. Microbial community analysis by using PCR-DGGE method revealed that dominant denitrifiers in the enrichment culture were Pantoea sp., Cronobacter sakazakii, and Castellaniella defragrans. Denitrification rate ($0.08kg/m^3{\cdot}day$) of the enrichment culture in BER with electrode poised at -0.5 V (vs Ag/AgCl) was higher than that ($2.1{\times}10^{-2}kg/m^3{\cdot}day$) of BER without any poised potential. This results suggested that biological denitrification would be improved by supplying potential throughout electrode in BER. Further research using BER without any organic substrate addition is needed to apply this system for bioremediation of water and wastewater contaminated by nitrate.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제21권9호
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• pp.988-994
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• 2011

A significant amount of nitrous oxide ($N_2O$), which is one of the serious greenhouse gases, is emitted from nitrification and denitrification of wastewater. Batch wastewater nitrifications with enriched nitrifiers were carried out under oxygen-limited condition with synthetic (without organic carbon) and real wastewater (with organic carbon) in order to find out the effect of ammonium concentration on $N_2O$ emission. Cumulated $N_2O$-N emission reached 3.0, 5.7, 6.2, and 13.5 mg from 0.4 l of the synthetic wastewater with 50, 100, 200, and 500 mg/l ${NH_4}^+$-N, respectively, and 1.0 mg from the real wastewater with 125 mg/l ${NH_4}^+$-N. The results indicate that $N_2O$ emission increased with ammonium concentration and the load. The ammonium removal rate and nitrite concentration also increased $N_2O$ emission. Comparative analysis of $N_2O$ emission from synthetic and real wastewaters revealed that wastewater nitrification under oxygen-limited condition emitted more $N_2O$ than that of heterotrophic denitrification. Summarizing the results, it can be concluded that denitrification by autotrophic nitrifiers contributes significantly to the $N_2O$ emission from wastewater nitrification.

• 한국물환경학회지
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• 제34권1호
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• pp.109-120
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• 2018

Sidestream in domestic wastewater treatment plants contains high concentration of ammonium, which increases nitrogen loading rate in the mainstream. The process for deammonification consisting of partial nitritation-anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) and heterotrophic denitrification is an economical method of solving this problem. Currently, about 130 full-scale deammonification plants are fully operating around the world, but none is in Korea. In order to transfer the principal information about sidestream deammonification processes to researchers and operators, we summarized basic concepts, processes type, and key influence factors (e.g., concentration of nitrogen compounds, dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature, and pH). This review emphasis on the processes of single-stage sequencing batch reactor (SBR) deammonification, which are widely used as full-scale plants. Since simultaneous processes of partial nitritation, ANAMMOX and heterotrophic denitrification occur in a single reactor, the single-stage SBR deammonification requires appropriate control/monitoring strategies for several operating factors (DO and pH mostly) to achieve efficient and stable operation. In future, AB-process consisting of A-stage (energy harvesting from organics) and B-stage (ammonium removal without organics) will be applied to the wastewater treatment process. Thus, we suggest mainstream deammonification for B-stage connected with the sidestream deammonification as seeding source of ANAMMOX. We expect that many researchers will become more interested in the sidestream deammonification.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제15권6호
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• pp.1221-1228
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• 2005

Carbon electrode was applied to a wastewater treatment system as biofilm media. The spatial distribution of heterotrophic bacteria in aerobic wastewater biofilm grown on carbon electrode was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and biomass measurement. Five volts of electric oxidation and reduction potential were charged to the carbon anode and cathode of the bioelectrochemical system, respectively, but were not charged to electrodes of a conventional system. To correlate the biofilm architecture of bacterial populations with their activity, the bacterial treatment efficiency of organic carbons was measured in the bioelectrochemical system and compared with that in the conventional system. In the SEM image, the biofilm on the anodic medium of the bioelectrochemical system looked intact and active; however, that on the carbon medium of the conventional system appeared to be shrinking or damaging. In the AFM image, the thickness of biofilm formed on the carbon medium was about two times of those on the anodic medium. The bacterial treatment efficiency of organic carbons in the bioelectrochemical system was about 1.5 times higher than that in the conventional system. Some denitrifying bacteria can metabolically oxidize $H_{2}$, coupled to reduction of $NO_{3}^{-}\;to\;N_{2}$. $H_{2}$ was produced from the cathode in the bioelectrochemical system by electrolysis of water but was not so in the conventional system. The denitrification efficiency was less than $22\%$ in the conventional system and more than $77\%$ in the bioelectrochemical system. From these results, we found that the electrochemical coupling reactions between aerobic and anaerobic reactors may be a useful tool for improvement of wastewater treatment and denitrification efficiency, without special manipulations such as bacterial growth condition control, C/N ratio (the ratio of carbon to nitrogen) control, MLSS returning, or biofilm refreshing.

• 환경위생공학
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• 제13권1호
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• pp.44-56
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• 1998

This study was performed to investigate the reaction characteristics of piggery wastewater for biological nutrient removal. The reaction characteristics were discussed the fraction of organics, the behavior of nitrogen, nitrification, denitrification, and the behavior of phosphorus. The fraction of readily biodegradable soluble COD was 11-12 percent. The ammonia nitrogen was removed via stripping, nitrification, autotrophic cell synthesis, and heterotrophic cell synthesis. The removal percents by each step were 12.1%, 68.9%, 15.0%, and 4.0%, respectively. Nitrification inhibition of piggery wastewater was found to occur at an influent volumetric loading rate over 0.2 NH$_{3}$-N kg/m$^{3}$/d. Denitrification rates were the highest in the raw wastewater and the lowest in the anaerobic effluent. The denitritation of piggery wastewater came out to be possible, and the rate of organic carbon consumption decreased about 10 percent. The phosphorus removed was released in the form of ortho-p in the aerobic fixed biofilm reactor, it was caused by autooxidation. The synthesis and release of phosphorus were related to the ORP and the boundary value for the phase change was about 170mV. In the synthesis phase, the phosphorus removal rate per COD removed was 0.023mgP$_{syn}$/mgCOD$_{rem}$. The phosphorus contents of the microorganism were 4.3-6.0% on a dry weight basis.

• 한국토양비료학회지
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• 제39권6호
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• pp.409-414
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• 2006

황산화 미생물인 Genus Thiobacillus 중 몇 종류의 탈질균은 여러 종류의 황 화합물($S^{2-}$, So, $S_2O{_3}^{2-}$, $S_4O{_6}^{2-}$, $SO{_3}^{2-}$)을 황산염이온으로 산화시키면서 동시에 질산성질소를 질소 가스 형태로 전환시킨다. 이는 독립영양 미생물이므로 외부 탄소원이 필요치 않으며, C/N비가 낮은 폐수에 에탄올 대신 값이 싼 황 입자의 투입으로 경제적이며 효과적인 탈질화를 유도할 수 있다. 후탈질시 인위적인 유기물의 투입대신 값 싼 황입자를 사용하여 질소를 제거하며, 처리효율이 안정적이고, 운전이 쉬워, 최근 이 공정은 세계적으로 많이 연구되고 있다. 그러나 탈질시 알칼리도가 파괴되어 특히 알칼리도가 낮은 폐수의 경우 고농도 탈질시 pH가 떨어져 탈질이 더 이상 진행되지 않으며, 고농도의 질산성질소를 처리할 경우 부산물로서 고농도의 황산염이온이 생성된다는 부수적인 단점을 안고 있다. 본 연구에서는 MCR로부터 독립영양 미생물을 분리 characterization 및 미생물 동정을 하였다. MCR내에는 주로 Paracoccus denitrificans and Paracoccus versutus (formerly Thiobacillus versutus)가 주종을 이루었으며 이들 미생물들은 유기물도 에너지원으로 이용할 수 있는 facultative autotrophic denitrifier이었다. 이들 미생물을 탈질에 이용할 시 유기물이 있는 조건에서도 성장하기 때문에 유입 폐수 내 유기물 농도에 영향을 받지 않고 또는 인위적으로 소량의 유기물을 넣어 독립영양탈질과 종속영양탈질을 동시에 일어날 수 있도록 함으로서 독립영양탈질의 단점인 높은 황산염이온 생성 및 알칼리도 파괴를 막을 수 있을 것으로 사료된다.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.91-99
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• 2014

Ordinary heterotrophic organism (OHO) active biomass plays key roles in biological wastewater treatment processes. However, due to the lack of measurement techniques, the OHO active biomass exists hypothetically within the design and simulation of biological wastewater treatment processes. This research was purposed to develop a quick and easy quantifying technique for the OHO active biomass applying a modified batch aerobic growth test. Two nitrification-denitrification activated sludge systems, with 10- and 20-day sludge ages, were operated to provide well-cultured mixed liquor to the batch tests. A steady state design model was firstly applied to quantify the "theoretical" OHO active biomass concentration of the two parent systems. The mixed liquor from the parent systems was then inoculated to a batch growth test and a batch digestion test to estimate the "measured" OHO active biomass concentration in the mixed liquor. The measured OHO active biomass concentrations with the batch growth test and the batch digestion test were compared to the theoretical concentrations of the parent system. The measured concentrations with the batch growth test were generally smaller than the theoretical concentrations. However, the measured concentrations with the batch aerobic digestion tests showed a good correlation to the theoretical concentrations. Thus, a different microbial growth condition (i.e., a higher food/biomass ratio) in the batch growth test, compared to the parent system or the batch digestion test, was found to cause underestimation of the OHO active biomass concentrations.