Biotreatment of Al-Yarmook Hospital Wastewater Using Packed Bed Bioreactor

Biotreatment systems of wastewater for hospitals are a challenge for environmental engineers. In this study, a pilot- scale system of aerobic fixed film packed bed was constructed for wastewater treatment of Al-Yarmok hospital which located in Baghdad. The aim of this study was to test the performance of fixed film packed-bed for elimination of the organic compounds from wastewater under aerobic condition. The parameters studied were: inoculums concentration, circulation rate, packing type and temperature. The results showed that the system efficiently removed about 85% of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and 82% of Biological oxygen demand (BOD), while percent reduction in turbidity was about 93% and reduction in nitrate concentration was about 85%. It was found that temperature of 35oC and circulation rate of 16 L/min and inoculums concentration of 5% gave the best results for biotreatment of wastewater.