The effect of ammonia loading on the nitrification kinetic of aerobic baffled continuous biological reactor

The purpose of this study is to determine the degradation rate of ammonia in the modified activated-sludge system through a modified, laboratory scale biological reactor.
To achieve this, a modified biological reactor with pre-installed continuous narrow baffle walls operating at extended aeration (SRT = 40 days) was designed to intentionally create a number of complete-mix activated-sludge zones. In order to compare the performance, a control reactor (SRT = 2 days) operating at conventional aeration was created to simulate the conventional
activated-sludge process in the domestic STP. After the
acclimatization period, the influent ammonia was increased
gradually by approximately 15 mg/L and the corresponding
effluent ammonia level was monitored. Based on the analysis,
the nitrification kinetic of the control and modified reactor was observed to be 0.0823 and 10.321, respectively. The nitrification kinetic of the control reactor was considered as negligible due to the conventional activated-sludge process, which inhibits the growth of nitrifiers. In contrast, the modified reactor has achieved nitrification kinetic of 10.32, due to the narrow baffle walls that increased the overall retention time.