Assessment of microbial adherent carriers for possible application in nitrogen removal: A fundamental study

Abstract

Microbes have been used for cleaning polluted environments and degrading unwanted compounds. This study assessed the feasibility of using three microbial adherent carriers, Isollte®, activated carbon fiber (ACF), and a marine sediment solidified carrier, MSSC, which was newly developed from dredged waste marine sediment, to remove nitrogen in sediment. The properties of three carriers were investigated, and the extent of microbe adhesion to the carriers was observed by using scanning electron microscopy. The amount of nitrogen removed by MSSC was higher than that removed by Isolite® and ACF. We concluded that MSSC may be useful as a microbial adherent carrier.