[Denitrification using polylactic acid as solid carbon source].

Polylactic acid (PLA) was used as solid carbon source and biofilm support simultaneously, to investigate the applicability of PLA in the denitrification process. The effect of temperature on denitrification performance was also studied. The IR analysis and SEM observation were performed to investigate the PLA surface structure and biofim morphology. The results showed that when the initial concentration of nitrate nitrogen was 50 mg/L and the temperature was 30 degrees C, the average denitrification rate was 2.6 x 10(-1) mg/(g x h) and nitrate could be completely removed within 13h. Temperature had a significant influence on the denitrification rate. The IR analysis and SEM observation of PLA surface structure confirmed the feasibility of PLA as solid carbon source. The SEM observation of biofim showed that the biofilm was thin and mainly consisted of cocci.