Microbial production of nitrous oxide coupled with chemical reaction of gaseous nitrous oxide including phosphorus recovery and nitrite reduction to nitrous oxide

Abstract

A method to produce N2O from organic nitrogen and / or reactive nitrogen in waste uses a bioreactor coupled to a hardware reactor device in which the N2O is consumed in a gas phase chemical reaction, e.g., catalytic decomposition to form oxygen and nitrogen gas. Heat from the exothermic reaction may be used to generate power. The N2O may alternatively be used as an oxidant or co-oxidant in a combustion reaction, e.g., in the combustion of methane.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention generally relates to apparatus and methods for removing nitrogen compounds from waste using bioreactors. More specifically, it relates to coupling a bioreactor to hardware that reacts nitrous oxide from the bioreactor. Background technique [0002] N 2 O has a global warming potential (GWP) 310 times that of carbon dioxide, an extremely potent greenhouse gas (GHG). Various global emission scenario models released by the IPCC show that N 2 There is a steady increase in O formation. This high level of N 2 The effect of O will lead to a significant increase in atmospheric heat storage. [0003] except N 2 O, and other forms of reactive nitrogen are also a major threat to the environment. Anthropogenic modification of the nitrogen cycle through the Haber process, intensive cropping, and fossil fuel use has doubled the rate of nitrogen input to the terrestrial nitrogen cycle. The loss of such artificial nitrogen to natural syst...

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Problems solved by technology

However, none of the denitrification methods can directly extract energy from the waste nitrogen itself

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