Fate of aniline and sulfanilic acid in UASB bioreactors under denitrifying conditions

Abstract

Two upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors were operated to investigate the fate of aromatic amines under denitrifying conditions. The feed consisted of synthetic wastewater containing aniline and/or sulfanilic acid and a mixture of volatile fatty acids (VFA) as the primary electron donors. Reactor 1 (R1) contained a stoichiometric concentration of nitrate and Reactor 2 (R2) a stoichiometric nitrate and nitrite mixture as terminal electron acceptors. The R1 results demonstrated that aniline could be degraded under denitrifying conditions while sulfanilic acid remains. The presence of nitrite in the influent of R2, caused a chemical reaction that led to immediate disappearance of both aromatic amines and the formation of an intense yellow coloured solution. HPLC analysis of the influent solution, revealed the emergence of three product peaks: the major one at retention time (Rt) 14.3 min and two minor at Rt 17.2 and 21.5 min. In the effluent, the intensity of the peaks at Rt 14.3 and 17.2 min was very low and of that at Rt 21.5 min increased (~3-fold). Based on the mass spectrometry analysis, we propose the structures of some possible products, mainly azo compounds. Denitrification activity tests suggest that biomass needed to adapt to the new coloured compounds, but after a 3 days lag phase, activity is recovered and the final (N2 + N2O) is even higher than that of the control.