• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.260-265
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• 2002

Microbiologically influenced Corrosion (MIC) is one of the most deleterious effects of metal microbe interactions. When a fresh metal surface comes in contact with a non-sterile fluid, biofilm formation is ensued. This might result in the initiation of corrosion. The sites and materials where MIC is implicated are versatile. Industries such as shipping, power generation, chemical etc are reported to be affected. The rapid and unexpected failure of AISI type 304 stainless steel was investigated in the laboratory by simulation studies for a period of 4 months. Slime and water samples from the failure site were screened for corrosion causing bacteria. Both aerobic and anaerobic nora were enumerated and identified using PCR techniques. Pseudomonas sp. and Bacillus sp. were the most common aerobic bacteria isolated from the water and slime samples, whilst sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) were the major anaerobic bacteria. The aerobic bacteria were used for the corrosion experiments in the laboratory. Coupon exposure studies were conducted using a very dilute (0.1%V/V) nutrient broth medium. The coupons after retrieval were observed under a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) for the presence of MIC pits. Compared to sterile controls, metal coupons exposed to Pseudomonas sp and Bacillus sp. showed the initiation of severe pitting corrosion. However, amongst these two strains, Psudomonas sp. caused pits in a very short span of 14 days. Towards the end of the experiment, severe pitting was observed in both the cases. The detailed observation of pits showed they vary both in number and shapes. Whilst the coupons exposed to Bacillus sp. showed widely spread scales like pits, those exposed to Pseudomonas sp. showed smaller and circular pits, which had grown in number and size by the end of the experiment. From these results it is inferred that the rapid and unexpected failure of 304 SS might be due to MIC. Pseudonwnas sp. could be considered as the major responsible bacteria that could initiate pits in the metallic structures. As the appearance of pits was different in both the tested strains, it was thought that the mechanisms of pit formation are different. Experiments on these lines are being continued.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.323-336
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• 2010

We evaluated the properties of a fixed-bed column reactor for high-concentration tetrachloroethylene (PCE) removal. The anaerobic bacterium Clostridium bifermentans DPH-1 was able to dechlorinate PCE to cis-1,2-dichloroethylene (cDCE) via trichloroethylene (TCE) at high rates in the monoculture biofilm of an upflow fixed-bed column reactor. The first-order reaction rate of C. bifermentans DPH-1 was relatively high at $0.006\;mg\;protein^{-1}{\cdot}l{\cdot}h^{-1}$, and comparable to rates obtained by others. When we gradually raised the influent PCE concentration from $30\;{\mu}M$ to $905\;{\mu}M$, the degree of PCE dechlorination rose to over 99% during the operation period of 2,000 h. In order to maintain efficiency of transformation of PCE in this reactor system, more than 6 h hydraulic retention time (HRT) is required. The maximum volumetric dechlorination rate of PCE was determined to be $1,100\;{\mu}mol{\cdot}d^{-1}l$ of reactor $volume^{-1}$, which is relatively high compared to rates reported previously. The results of this study indicate that the PCE removal performance of this fixed-bed reactor immobilized mono-culture is comparable to that of a fixed-bed reactor mixture culture system. Furthermore, our system has the major advantage of a rapid (5 days) start-up time for the reactor. The flow characteristics of this reactor are intermediate between those of the plug-flow and complete-mix systems. Biotransformation of PCE into innocuous compounds is desirable; however, unfortunately cDCE, which is itself toxic, was the main product of PCE dechlorination in this reactor system. In order to establish a system for complete detoxification of PCE, co-immobilization of C. bifermentans DPH-1 with other bacteria that degrade cDCE aerobically or anaerobically to ethene or ethane may be effective.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.507-516
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• 2008

This research was conducted to elucidate the effect of temperature on the nitrogen removal of municipal wastewater with waste-tire media. The experiments were carried out in laboratory-scale batch reactor and pilot-scale moving bed biofilm reactor filled at a 0.15 filling ratio with waste-tire media, respectively. In batch tests, specific nitrification rate(SNR) with media was 3.4 mg NH$_4^+$-N/g Mixed-Liquor Volatile Suspended Solid(MLVSS)$\cdot$hr, compared with 1.7 mg NH$_4^+$-N/g MLVSS$\cdot$hr without media. In pilot-scale test with media, total nitrogen removal efficiency increased from 53 $\pm$ 8% to 76 $\pm$ 5% as the temperature increased from 9$\sim$10$^{\circ}C$ to 20$\sim$24$^{\circ}C$. At the temperature of 9$\sim$10$^{\circ}C$, 10$\sim$20$^{\circ}C$, and 20$\sim$24$^{\circ}C$, the SNRs were 0.8 $\pm$ 0.5, 3.1 $\pm$ 1.9, and 3.4 $\pm$ 2.1 mg NH$_4^+$-N/g MLVSS$\cdot$hr and the specific denitrification rates(SDNR) were 0.6 $\pm$ 0.2, 1.1 $\pm$ 0.6, 1.4 $\pm$ 0.6 mg NO$_3^-$-N/g MLVSS.hr, respectively. The overall activities of biomass in anaerobic, anoxic, and oxic zones at 20$\sim$24$^{\circ}C$ increased to 22, 20, and 15%, compared with those at 9$\sim$10$^{\circ}C$, respectively. The activity distribution of Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter also increased with the increase of temperature.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.323-328
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• 2008

This study was accomplished using Anaerobic/Anoxic/Oxic biofilm reactors with fixed media and post-treatment reactor for natural purification with aquatic floating plants. The objectives of this study was to investigate the characteristics of organics, nitrogen and phosphorus removal from sewage with the HRT. The average removal efficiency of SS and $COD_{Cr}$ increases as increasing the hydraulic retention time (HRT) until 12 hr of the HRT, and it was constant over 12 hr of the HRT. The removal efficiency of them was about 93% and 89% respectively over the 12 hr of HRT. The average $BOD_5$ and $COD_{Mn}$ increases as increasing the HRT and the removal efficiency of them was 84.91 % and 76.03% respectively at the 26 hr of HRT. The removal efficiency of T-N and T-P increases as increasing the HRT until 61 hr of the HRT, and it was constant over 61 hr of the HRT. At the HRT of 61 hr, it was 70.20%, 77.86% respectively. It was found that the optimum HRT was 61 hr in case of the nutrients. Before and after experiment, the nitrogen content was similar in leaves of the water hyacinths but the nitrogen content in roots after experiment was 5.5% more than its content before experiment. It was known that the nitrogen was absorbed by the water hyacinths.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.253-261
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• 2007

Molecular and cultivation techniques were used to characterize the bacterial communities of biobead reactor biofilms in a sewage treatment plant to which an Aerated Up-Flow Biobead process was applied. With this biobead process, the monthly average values of various chemical parameters in the effluent were generally kept under the regulation limits of the effluent quality of the sewage treatment plant during the operation period. Most probable number (MPN) analysis revealed that the population of denitrifying bacteria was abundant in the biobead #1 reactor, denitrifying and nitrifying bacteria coexisted in the biobead #2 reactor, and nitrifying bacteria prevailed over denitrifying bacteria in the biobead #3 reactor. The results of the MPN test suggested that the biobead #2 reactor was a transition zone leading to acclimated nitrifying biofilms in the biobead #3 reactor. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA sequences cloned from biofilms showed that the biobead #1 reactor, which received a high organic loading rate, had much diverse microorganisms, whereas the biobead #2 and #3 reactors were dominated by the members of Proteobacteria. DGGE analysis with the ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) gene supported the observation from the MPN test that the biofilms of September were fully developed and specialized for nitrification in the biobead reactor #3. All of the DNA sequences of the amoA DGGE bands were very similar to the sequence of the amoA gene of Nitrosomonas species, the presence of which is typical in the biological aerated filters. The results of this study showed that organic and inorganic nutrients were efficiently removed by both denitrifying microbial populations in the anaerobic tank and heterotrophic and nitrifying bacterial biofilms well-formed in the three functional biobead reactors in the Aerated Up-Flow Biobead process.

• Clean Technology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.67-77
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• 2006

A simple dual sludge process, called as $KNR^{(R)}$ (Kwon's Nutrient Removal) system, was developed for small sewage treatment. It is a hybrid system that consists of an UMBR (Upflow multi-layer bioreactor) as anaerobic and anoxic reactor with suspended denitrifier and a post aerobic biofilm reactor, filled with pellet-like media, with attached nitrifier. To evaluate the stability and performance of this system for small sewage treatment, the pilot-scale $KNR^{(R)}$ plant with a treatment capacity of $50m^3/d$ was practically applied to the actual sewage treatment plant, which was under retrofit construction during pilot plant operation, with a capacity of $50m^3/d$ in a small rural community. The HRTs of a UMBR and a post aerobic biofilm reactor were about 4.7 h and 7.2 h, respectively. The temperature in the reactor varied from $18.1^{\circ}C$ to $28.1^{\circ}C$. The pilot plant showed stable performance even though the pilot plant had been the severe fluctuation of influent flow rate and BOD/N ratio. During a whole period of this study, average concentrations of $COD_{cr}$, $COD_{Mn}$, $BOD_5$, TN, and TP in the final effluent obtained from this system were 11.0 mg/L, 8.8 mg/L, 4.2 mg/L, 3.5 mg/L, 9.8 mg/L, and 0.87/0.17 mg/L (with/without poly aluminium chloride(PAC)), which corresponded to a removal efficiency of 95.3%, 87.6%, 96.3%, 96.5%, 68.2%, and 55.4/90.3%, respectively. Excess sludge production rates were $0.026kg-DS/m^3$-sewage and 0.220 kg-DS/kg-BOD lower 1.9 to 3.8 times than those in activated sludge based system such as $A_2O$ and Bardenpho.