Biological nitrate removal using wheat straw and PLA as substrate

Biological nitrate removal using wheat straw and polylactic acid (PLA) as both carbon source and biofilm support was investigated. The results showed that biofilm could develop on the surface of wheat straw within 15 d, the denitrification rate was 0.067 mg-N/(g-wheat straw.h) and nitrate removal efficiency was about 100%. For PLA, the time required for biofilm development was 40 d, the denitrification rate was 0.0026 mg-N/(g-PLA.h) and nitrate removal efficiency could also reach 100%. Temperature had a substantial influence on the denitrification performance of both wheat straw and PLA. The FTIR analysis and SEM observation confirmed that wheat straw and PLA were used for denitrification, and explained some reasons for the differences between the two substrates. The wheat straw was superior to PLA when used as carbon source for nitrate removal, in terms of the denitrification rate.