Algae-removal performance of a fluidized-bed biofilm reactor system for lake water treatment

The algae removal efficiency of a pilot plant – based on a fluidized-bed biofilm reactor system for treating – was investigated. This system does not require back-washing because the fluidized-bed suffers no clogging. Moreover, the system uses dissolved oxygen in the influent water for aerobic biological treatment without the need for additional aeration equipment. This, it is an easy-maintenance, low-energy system for purifying eutrophic lake water. The system was operated continuously at a flow rate of 1500 m³/d for nine months at Tsuchiura Port in Lake Kasumigaura. And concentrations of chlorophyll-a and dissolved oxygen in both the influent and effluent water were continuously monitored. In summer (August to September) when water bloom occurred, the average efficiency of chlorophyll-a removal was 64% at an average influent chlorophyll-a concentration of 137.8 μg/L. Over the entire experimental period of nine months, the average daily amount of removed chlorophyll-a was 40.3 g/d at an average influent chlorophyll-a concentration of 89.5 μg/L. By analyzing the relationship between the amount of removed chlorophyll-a and the consumption of dissolved oxygen, it was estimated that almost all of the algae trapped in the reactor was biologically degraded.