the efficiency of a novel cycling flow baffled reactor performance for the removal of nitrogen and organic matter from wastewater

Background and objectives: nitrogen is a potential pollutant of water resources. they penetrate in water resources through insufficiently treated wastewater that is rich in nitrogen. the present study aimed at evaluating the efficiency of an anoxic/aerobic cycling reactor (aacr) with continuous flow in removing nitrogen and organic matter from wastewater. methods: experiments were performed using a reactor with continuous intermittent influent and effluent. in this reactor, 4 phases with aeration and mixing cycles were designed and efficiency of each phase in removing nitrogen compounds was evaluated at 600 mg/l chemical oxygen demand (cod) concentration, 40 mg/lammonia concentration, and 18- to 30-hour hydraulic retention times (hrt). results: results demonstrated that all cycles had great performance in removal of cod. average cod removal efficiencies in phases 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 93%, 96.3%, 96%, and 94%, respectively. in phase 2, removal efficiency of 98.7% was obtained at hydraulic retention time of 24 hours, cod concentration of 600 mg/l, and ammonia concentration of 40 mg/l. conclusions: phase 2 showed great efficiency in removal of nitrogen compounds. combination of anoxic aeration stages and short cycles in anoxic/aerobic cycling reactor resulted in great performance of this reactor in removing nitrogen from wastewater. as a result, continuous influent and effluent flow, and not needing external carbon resulted in aacr good performance in removing nitrogen compounds and organic materials.