Effect of the supernatant reflux position and ratio on the nitrogen removal performance of anaerobic-aerobic slaughterhouse wastewater treatment process

Slaughterhouse wastewater (SWW) is characterized as one of the most harmful agriculture and food industrial wastewaters due to its high organic content. The emissions of SWW would cause eutrophication of surface water and pollution of groundwater. This study developed a pilot scale anaerobic-aerobic slaughterhouse wastewater treatment process (AASWWTP) to enhance the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total nitrogen (TN) removal. The optimum supernatant reflux position and ratio for TN removal were investigated through the modified Box-Behnken design (BBD) experiments. Results showed that COD could be effectively reduced over the whole modified BBD study and the removal efficiency was all higher than 98%. The optimum reflux position and ratio were suggested to be 2 alure and 100%, respectively, where effluent TN concentration was satisfied with the forthcoming Chinese discharge standard of 25 mg/L. Anaerobic digestion and ammonia oxidation were considered as the main approaches for COD and TN removal in the AASWWTP. The results of inorganic nutrients (K+, Na+, Ca2+ and Mg2+) indicated that the SWW was suitable for biological treatment and the correspondingly processes such as AASWWTP should be widely researched and popularized. Therefore, AASWWTP is a promising technology for SWW treatment but more research is needed to further improve the operating efficiency.