Simultaneous removal of Fe3+ and nitrate in the autotrophic denitrification immobilized systems

In this study, strain CC76, identified as Enterobacter sp., was tested for the reduction of Fe3+ and denitrification using immobilized pellets with strain CC76 as experimental group (IP) and immobilized pellets with strain CC76 and magnetite powder as experimental group (IPM) in the autotrophic denitrification immobilized systems (ADIS). Compared with IP, a higher nitrate removal rate was obtained with IPM by using three levels of influent Fe3+ (0, 5, and 10 mg/L), four levels of pH (5.0, 6.0, 7.0, and 8.0), and three levels of hydraulic retention time (HRT) (12, 14, and 16 h), respectively. Furthermore, response surface methodology (RSM) analysis demonstrated that the optimum removal ratios of nitrate of 87.21% (IP) and 96.27% (IPM) were observed under the following conditions: HRT of 12 h, pH of 7.0 and influent Fe3thorn concentration of 5 mg/L (IP) and 1 mg/L (IPM).