Hydrothermal carbonization liquor as external carbon supplement to improve biological denitrification in wastewater treatment

This study investigates the suitability of a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) for treating the liquor (HTCL) derived from hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of sewage sludge in addition to the influent municipal wastewater. The SBR was fed for 80 days with an increasing mixing ratio HTCL/municipal wastewater. HTCL was used as external carbon source to enhance the denitrification process in the water line of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The feeding of the HTCL caused an overloading in the COD and TKN concentration of the biological treatment equal to, respectively, 25% and 8% (Period II), 50% and 16% (Period III) and 100% and 32% (Period IV). Results revealed that good efficiencies of COD removal were obtained during the entire experimental test, accounting up to 91% in Period IV. Moreover, the removal of TN was improved increasing from 28% in the reference period (Period I), where no HTCL was fed, to 33%, 47% and 64% respectively in Period II, III and IV. Thus, an improvement in the denitrification process was obtained when HTCL was fed to the biological reactor in addition to the influent wastewater. The implementation of the SBR system was supported by nitrate uptake rate (NUR) tests and respirometric assays to evaluate the nitrate removal after the addition of HTCL and the fraction of readily biodegradable COD (RBCOD) and soluble biodegradable COD (sCODbio) on the total COD of the HTCL.