• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.302-308
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• 2005

Nitrate is one of common contaminants frequently found in the bank filtrate. Biological autotrophic denitrification into permeable reactive barrier(PRB) system to reduce nitrate concentration in bank filtrate was implanted. The objectives of research are to investigate effect of inoculation, to evaluate alternative alkalinity sources, and to determine effect of hydraulic characteristics, such as retention time, flow rate on the performance of semi-pilot PRB system. Semi-pilot scale biological PRB system was installed using elemental sulfur and limestone/oyster shell as reactive materials near Nakdong River in Kyoungnam province, Korea. Nitrate concentration in bank filtrate was reduced by indigenous microorganisms in oyster shell as welt as by inoculating microorganisms isolated from the sludge of an anaerobic digester in a wastewater treatment plant. Oyster shell as well as limestone can be used as an alkalinity source. However, oyster shell resulted in suspended solids of effluent. As the flow rate in the system increased from 66 to 132 mL/min and accordingly the residence time decreased from 15 to 7.5 hours, nitrate concentration in effluent increased and nitrate removal efficiencies decreased from 75 to 58% at the fixed thickness of 80 cm of PRB.