Abstract
Ammonia nitrogen and natural organic matter (NOM) seriously degrade the quality of surface waters. In this study, the optimum preparation conditions of a yeast-chitosan bio-microcapsule of the Candida tropicalis strain, used to treat micro-polluted surface water, were investigated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the bio-microcapsules. A continuous laboratory-scale reaction apparatus was built to evaluate the engineering applications of the bio-microcapsules and their treatment efficiency for major pollutants in micro-polluted raw water. The yeast-chitosan bio-microcapsules were found to rapidly and effectively remove suspended solids and ammonia nitrogen. Moreover, the bio-microcapsule pre-treatment process was capable of resisting impact loads and fluctuations in water quality. Even at low temperatures (12 °C), the removal rate of ammonia nitrogen still reached 79%. The treatment did not lead to a temporary increase in nitrite concentration, nor to the excessive accumulation of nitrogen. The application of bio-microcapsules is simple; it only requires aeration and certain nutrient substrates, and can be adapted to treat raw drinking water with a poor nutrient substrate, therefore showing promise for future use in engineering applications.