THE EFFECT OF CLAY PARTICLES ON THE ACTIVITY OF SUSPENDED AUTOTROPHIC NITRIFYING BACTERIA AND ON THE PERFORMANCE OF AN AIR- LIFT REACTOR

摘要

Clay minerals have some properties, namely a high surface area and the ability of ion exchange that may exert some effects on microbial systems. It is often difficult to know the way the clay is exerting its influence and whether its presence improves a given metabolic process. The present work concerns the study of the effect of the addition of powdered kaolin to autotrophic nitrification systems, and includes the study of the effects of the particles on the activity of a suspended nitrifying bacteria consortium and on the performance of an air-lift biofilm reactor used for tertiary nitrification.