Simultaneous removal of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and nitrogen in a laboratory-scale pre-denitrification biofilter system

•The biofilter system showed different removal characteristics for nitrogen and DEHP.•Biodegradation was the most important removal mechanism of DEHP.•Both denitrification and nitrification biofilter had similar DEHP removal performance. This study demonstrated the excellent di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) removal performance of a pre-denitrification biofilter system. Experimental results showed that DEHP removal efficiency remained stable while total nitrogen removal efficiency fluctuated with the nitrate recycle ratio changes when the hydraulic loading rate at 1.1m3/m2h. DEHP removal efficiency increased from 48% to 82% while the hydraulic loading rate increased from 1.1 to 2.2m3/m2h. DEHP concentration decreased gradually along the wastewater flow direction in the denitrification biofilter and a plug flow model with the reaction order of 5 and the rate constant of 0.54 was obtained. Both the denitrification biofilter and the nitrification biofilter showed similar DEHP removal performance. The overall DEHP removal efficiency of the system was 83.8%, in which biodegradation contributed 72.3%. Biodegradation plays a key role in DEHP removal in the pre-denitrification biofilter system.