Enhancement of removal efficiency of ammonia nitrogen in sequencing batch reactor using natural zeolite

Two sets of lab-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBR), i.e., control SBR and SBR using zeolite as carrier (zeo-SBR), were applied to assess nitrogen removal efficiency. The test results revealed that zeolite powder added in SBR could improve its performance. Due to the combination of zeolite adsorption for NH₄ ⁺–N and enhanced simultaneous nitrification and de-nitrification (SND), a higher removal ratio of ammonia nitrogen in wastewater was observed in the test reactor, and the introduction of zeolite powder was helpful to inhabit sludge bulging comparing with the control SBR, in other words, activated sludge immobilized by zeolite powder could remove NH₄ ⁺–N, COD, and PO₄ significantly in a shorter cycle time. Applied two hydraulic retention times (HRTs) showed that the nitrogen and phosphorus removal could be improved while adapting to load variations.