• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.796-803
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• 2012

Potential feasibility of nutrients removal and biofuel production with microalgae was evaluated in batch culture. Distribution of microalgae in fresh water including reservoir and river was investigated to search for the species with high content of lipid that could converted into biofuel. Green algae, Chlorella and Scenedesmus sp., these are known as species containing high lipid content for biodiesel production, were observed in both summer and autumn season. However another highly lipid-containing species, botryococcus sp. was not observed in this study. In mixed culture of microalgae using synthesized wastewater medium, green algae were found to be dominant, comparing to other species of diatoms and blue-green algae. And microalgae were also capable of removing nitrogen and phosphorus in batch experiments. During the culture period of 14 days, removal efficiencies of nitrate and phosphorus were 30% and 82%, respectively. Furthermore, content of the intracellular lipid extracted from algae cell was as favorable as 12-30% in the mixed culture where Scenedesmus and Chlorella sp. were dominant. Therefore the mixed culture of microalgae could be applied to biofuel production and tertiary wastewater treatment, even though there are economic barriers to overcome.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.465-475
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• 2009

The purpose of the study was to evaluate spatial and temporal effects of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) on the water quality of downstreams (Tan Stream, TS; Daemyeong Stream, DS; Gwangju Stream, GS, and Kap Stream, KS) located in four major watersheds along with impact analysis of nutrient enrichments on the WWTPs during 2004~2008. In the four streams, seasonal means of BOD, COD, TN, and TP were significantly (p<0.01) greater in the downstreams ($D_s$) than the upstreams ($U_s$). The removal effect of nutrients (nitrogen, and phosphorus) from the WWTPs was much less than the BOD, indicating a greater nutrient impact on the downstreams. Seasonal dilution of organic matter, based on BOD, during the summer monsoon of July~September was most pronounced in the downstreams of all four watersheds. However, mean TN in the downstreams during the monsoon varied little in all four streams. Regression analysis of TN in the downstreams against TN from the WWTPs showed that in the TS, and DS regression slopes in the upstreams were similar to the slopes of downstream but there was a significant difference in the GS (p<0.001) and KS (p<0.01). Tan-Stream WWTP showed low removal efficiency of BOD and COD concentrations, compared to the nutrients, whereas, two WWTPs of Gwangju and Kap Stream had low removal effects in TN and TP. Regression analysis of TN and BOD in the downstreams showed that they was closely related (p<0.01) with stream water volume only in the GS. Our data analysis suggests that greater treatment efficiencies of phosphorus and nitrogen from the WWTPs may improve the downstream water quality.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.226-232
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• 2019

The biological wastewater treatment is more eco-friendly and can be used effectively in wastewater for a variety of purposes than that of the conventional treatment. In particular, the wastewater treatment using microalgae in biological treatment processes has attracted great attention due to its ability to remove economically nutrients from wastewater and have many advantages as a renewable energy source. This study was investigated to establish the optimal growth conditions for microalga Scenedesmus obliquus. Additionally, the removal efficiencies of nutrients (N, P) and heavy metals (Cu, Zn) from the synthetic wastewater were evaluated. As a results, the optimal growth conditions were established at $28^{\circ}C$, pH 7, and light and dark cycle of 14 : 10 h. In the evaluation of nutrient removal efficiencies at each concentrations of 500, 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 mg/L, the removal rates were 17.6~70% N and 8.4~34% P in the single treatment and 12.0~58.0% N and 3.0~40.3% P in the binary mixture treatment. In addition, the evaluation of heavy metal removal efficiencies at each concentrations of 10, 30 and 50 mg/L, the removal rates were 13.7~40.3% Cu and 10.0~30.0% Zn in the single treatment and 16.0~40.0% Cu and 12.0~20.0% Zn in the binary mixture treatment. Based on the results of the study, it appears that Scenedesmus obliquus can be used for the removal of nutrients and heavy metals from the swine wastewater.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.249-254
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• 1997

The constructed wetland system which is applicable to rural wastewater treatment was examined by pilot plant experiment. Removal rates of nutrients including nitrogen and phosphorus and total coliform were evaluated. The $NH_4\;^+$ concentration of the influent was in the range of 91.57 to 275.88mg/l and the effluent concentration was about 40% lower than the influent. The decreasing of the $NH_4\;^+$ concentration might be due to volatilization, plant uptake, adsorption onto soil particles, and mainly nitrification. However, generally concentrations of $NO_2\;^-$ and $NO_3\;^-$ were increased in the effluents compared to the influent concentrations, which implies that nitrogen components in the system were nitrified. Overall, the average removal rate of the nitrogen was about 5% which seems inadequate as a wastewater treatment system, and this system needs improvement on nitrogen removal mechamism. The removal rate of the phosphorus was quite high and effluent concentration was very low. Reason for high removal rate of the phosphorus might be mainly strong adsorption characteristic onto soil particles. The average removal rate of the total coliforms was about 83%, and main removal mechanisms are thought to be adsorption onto soil and inability to compete against the established soil microflora. From the results of the study, the constructed wetland system needs to be improved in nitrogen removal mechanism for field application.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.70-76
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• 2008

Surface of hydrophobic media was modified to become hydrophilic by ion beam irradiation. Fixed bed biofilm reactors packed with or without surface modification were used to remove organics, nitrogen, and phosphorus from sewage. This system composed of anoxic/oxic cycles to increase the nutrient removal. A cylindrical polyethylene was used as a packing media in this study. With 12 hours of hydraulic retention time (HRT), the reactors with and without surface modification showed 95% and 92% $COD_{cr}$ removal, respectively. Both reactors showed over 95% $COD_{cr}$ removals for a longer HRT of 16 hours. Nitrogen removal ranged 54.8% to 70.2% for the surface modified system and 57.5% to 76.5% for the non-modified system under same condition. Finally, phosphorus removal ranged 59.4% to 69.8% for the surface modified system and 51.3% to 63.4% for the non-modified system under same condition. From this study organics and phosphorus were better removed in using surface modified media and vice versa for nitrogen removal.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.155-161
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• 2008

This study examined effects of the fermented leachate of food waste (FLFW) on nitrogen and phosphorous removal for domestic wastewater containing a low carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio in sequencing batch reactor (SBR). When the FLFW was not supplied in the process, release of phosphorus and excessive intake was not observed at both anaerobic and aerobic stages. On the other hand, when the FLFW was gradually added, active release of phosphorus and intake of phosphorus was noticed at an anaerobic stage and aerobic stage, respectively, resulting in improved phosphorus removal efficiency. The removal efficiency of nitrogen and phosphorus was increased from 75% and 37% (R-1, control test) to 97% and 80% (R-4, the highest substrate ratio test), respectively. In addition, although activity of the nitrogen oxidizing microorganisms was reduced when the reaction temperature was decreased to $10^{\circ}C$, the phosphorus removal efficiency was shown to increase with the addition of FLFW, indicating an independence from temperature. Overall, this study suggests that an efficient nutrients removal process can be successfully employed into a SBR when the FLFW is added to a wastewater which has a low C/N ratio.

• ALGAE
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.319-327
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• 2018

Ettlia sp. YC001, a highly settleable and productive microalga, was shown to be effective in removing nutrients and capturing suspended solids from eutrophic pond water. The optimum conditions for the Ettlia sp. YC001 cultivation were investigated using water from a landscape pond. The pond water was supplemented with different N : P ratios by weight, and the biomass production and nutrient removal compared in batch cultures. The maximum removal rate of N and P was with an N : P ratio of 16 : 1. Plus, the turbidity dropped to near zero within 4 days. Meanwhile, chemostat cultivation showed that the biomass productivity and nutrient removal rate increased when increasing the dilution rate, where a dilution rate of $0.9d^{-1}$ showed the highest N and P removal rate at $32.4mg\;L^{-1}\;d^{-1}$ and $1.83mg\;L^{-1}\;d^{-1}$, respectively, and highest biomass and lipid productivity at $0.432g\;L^{-1}\;d^{-1}$ and $67.8mg\;L^{-1}\;d^{-1}$, respectively. The turbidity was also reduced by 98% in the chemostat cultivation. Moreover, auto-flocculation and pH were closely connected to the turbidity removal. As a result, this study identified the optimal N : P ratio for small pond water treatment using an Ettlia sp. YC001, while also establishing the optimal conditions for nutrient removal, turbidity reduction, and biomass production.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.30-36
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• 2002

A 0.19 hectare natural-type wetland for stream water treatment demonstration was constructed and planted with cattails from April 2001 to May 2001. Part of its bottom surfaces adjacent to levees have a variety of slope of 1 : 4~1 : 15. Two small open water areas were installed, in which emergent plants could not grow. Removal of nutrients from stream waters was a major objective of the wetland. Waters of Sinyang Stream flowing into Kohung Estuarine Lake were pumped and funneled into the wetland. The lake had been formed by a salt marsh reclamation project and was located southern coastal region of Korean Peninsula. Volumes and water quality of inflow and outflow were analyzed from July 2001 through December 2001. Inflow and outflow averaged $120.4m^3/day$ and $112.1m^3/day$, respectively. Hydraulic retention time was about 3.1 days. Average total phosphorous concentration of influent and effluent was $0.19mg/{\ell}$ and $0.075mg/{\ell}$, respectively. Total phosphorous loading rate of inflow and outflow averaged $12.05mg\;m^{-2}\;day^{-1}$ and $4.44mg\;m^{-2}\;day^{-1}$, respectively. Average total phosphorous removal rate in the wetland was $7.61mg\;m^{-2}\;day^{-1}$. Seasonal changes of phosphorous retention rates were observed. The wetland acted as effective phosphorous sinks in the initial stage of the constructed wetland.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.861-871
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• 2005

This study was carried out to get more operational characteristics of Anoxic(anaerobic)-Oxic-Anoxic-Oxic $(AO)_2$ sequencing batch biofilm reactors (SBBRs) at the low TOC concentration, The operating time in anoxic (anaerobic) time to oxic time was I : I. Experiments were conducted to find the effects of the aeration time distribution on the organic matters and nutrients removal. Three lab-scale reactors were fed with synthetic wastewater based on glucose as carbon source. During studies, the operation mode was fixed. The first aeration time to the second aeration time in SBBR-I was 2 : 3, and those in SBBR-2 and SBBR-3 were I : 4 and 3 : 2, respectively. The organic removal efficiency didn't show large difference among three reactors of different aeration time distribution. However, from these study results, the optimum aeration time distribution in the first and the second aeration time for biological nutrient removal was shown as 3 : 2. The release of phosphorus was inhibited at the second non-aeration period because of the low TOC concentration and the nitrate produced by the nitrification at the first aeration period.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.273-278
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• 2007

Modern society has moved from a phosphorus recycling loop, where animal manure and human wastes were spread on farming land to recycle nutrients, to a once-through system, where phosphates are extracted from mined, non-renewable phosphate rock and end up either in landfill(sewage sludge, incinerator ash) or in surface waters. In this research, crystallization of nitrogen and phosphate with natural sources of $Mg^{2+}$ in synthetic water was tested. The operational parameters of pH, mixing time, and the magnesium molar ratio were investigated to find optimal conditions of the MAP precipitation using synthetic wastewater. The removal efficiency of phosphate increased with pH up to 11. By MAP precipitaiton of the synthetic waste water, 94% of the phosphate were eliminated at pH 11. It was found that at least 10 minutes mixing time was required and 20 minutes mixing time was recommended for efficient phosphate removal. High efficiency removal of phosphate was possible when the magnesium molar ratio was 1.0~2.0. The comparative study of different magnesium sources showed that coagulants (PAC) was the more efficient sources than only magnesium. The result showed that 97% of phosphate removal. In conclusion, coagulants (PAC) induced crystallization of struvite and hydroxyapatite was shown to be a technically viable process that could prove cost effective for removing phosphate in wastewater.