COMBINED NITRIFICATION AND DENITRIFICATION INA SINGLE AERATED REACTORUSING THE AEROBIC DENITRIFIER COMAMONAS SP STRAIN SGLY2

A mixed culture of an aerobic denitrifier, named SGLY2, and autotrophi c nitrifiers was carried out either in batch culture or in a single co ntinuous, stirred aerobic reactor. The batch assays were used to show the effect of different carbon sources on the nitrifying activity, and to determine the optimum conditions to maintain the strain SGLY2 in t he complex microflora. In particular, conditions of discontinuous addi tion of the carbon source, as well as nitrifying and denitrifying acti vities were observed under continuous culture with aerobic reduction o f the N-oxides produced by autotrophs into nitrous oxide and dinitroge n. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.