Denitrifying Attached Growth Bioreactor

The Brookfield Zoo (BZ) has been experiencing algal growth in the Great Bear Wilderness exhibit pools. BZ employees currently drain, scrub, and refill the pools every six weeks, which wastes water. A design that increases water conservation would better fulfill BZ’s mission of environmental sustainability. We propose a denitrifying attached growth bioreactor for BZ’s current wastewater system. The high ratio of surface area in the bioreactor compared to the pool walls will encourage biofilm to grow within the reactor at a higher rate than in the pools and the biofilm growing inside will uptake nutrients that the algae feeds on