Enhanced phenol removal in an innovative lignite activated coke-assisted biological process

In this study, a lignite activated coke (LAC)-assisted activated sludge (AS) process was developed for enhancing biodegradation of phenol, while the effects of LAC on sludge properties and microbial community structure were investigated. It was found that more than 90% of phenol was removed within 1...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhang, Chen, Li, Jianfeng, Cheng, Fangqin, Liu, Yu
Other Authors: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/140007
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
Description
Summary:In this study, a lignite activated coke (LAC)-assisted activated sludge (AS) process was developed for enhancing biodegradation of phenol, while the effects of LAC on sludge properties and microbial community structure were investigated. It was found that more than 90% of phenol was removed within 1 h in the LAC/AS, which was 3 times higher than the conventional AS process. Moreover, the floc size and settleability were also significantly improved in the LAC/AS. These results suggested that LAC could serve as the nucleating agent to promote the formation of compact floc, which was beneficial for toxicity mitigation and system stability. The microbial community analysis by 16S high-throughput pyrosequencing technology further revealed a more abundant bacterial richness and diversity in the LAC/AS process loaded with phenol, while some phenol degraders, such as Propionibacteriaceae were enriched. Engineering implications further suggests the LAC-assisted AS process is technically sound and economically viable.