Analysis of the characteristics of short-cut nitrifying granular sludge and pollutant removal processes in a sequencing batch reactor

Nitrate removal from low C/N wastewater at low temperature by immobilized Pseudomonas sp. Y39-6 with versatile nitrate metabolism pathways

For solving the challenge in nitrate removal from low C/N wastewater at low temperature, Pseudomonas sp. Y39-6 was isolated and used in nitrate removal. It showed aerobic-heterotrophic denitrification with rate of 1.77 ± 0.31 mg/L·h and unusual aerobic-autotrophic nitrate removal (rate of 0.324 mg/L·h). The aerobic-autotrophic nitrate removal mechanisms were deep investigated by analyzing the nitrate removal process and genomic information. At aerobic-autotrophic condition, the strain Y39-6 could assimilate nitrate to amino acid (NO₃^- + PHA + CO₂ → C₅H₇O₂N) with the carbon source from Polyhydroxyalkanoic acid (PHA) degradation and CO₂ fixation. Flagella motivation, swarming activity and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production regulated Pseudomonas sp. Y39-6 forming biofilm. Carriers immobilized with Pseudomonas sp. Y39-6 were used in moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) and achieved 24.83% nitrate removal at C/N < 1 and 4 °C. Results of this study provided a practical way for nitrogen removal from low C/N wastewater in cold region.

Enhanced nitrogen removal in an aerobic granular sequencing batch reactor under low DO concentration: Role of extracellular polymeric substances and microbial community structure

In this study, the role of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) in nitrogen removal and the microbial community structure of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) were analyzed under different dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions (6-7, 4-5, and 2-3 mg·L^-1). The EPSs transported and retained nitrogen in the denitrification process, and the total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) in the EPSs decreased from 6.09 to 5.54 mg·g^-1 MLSS when the DO concentration decreased from 6-7 to 2-3 mg·L^-1. The microbial community showed different core denitrifying bacterial populations involved in nitrogen removal in the AGS system under different DO conditions, with more species when they were higher relative abundances of denitrifying bacteria participating in the nitrogen removal process in AGS under low DO conditions, including Hydrogenophilaceae, Thauera, Enterobacter, Xanthomonadaceae_unclassified, Comalmonadaceae_unclassified, Nitrosomonas and Paracoccus. This study provides a more comprehensive understanding of the DO effect on the TIN removal mechanism by AGS.

Effect of chromium (VI) on the multiple nitrogen removal pathways and microbial community of aerobic granular sludge

The frequent appearance of Cr(VI) significantly impacts the microbial metabolism in wastewater. In this study, long-term effects of Cr(VI) on microbial community, nitrogen removal pathways and mechanism of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) were investigated. AGS had strong resistance ability to 1.0 mg/L Cr(VI). 3.0 mg/L Cr(VI) increased the heterotrophic-specific ammonia uptake rate (HSAUR) and heterotrophic-specific nitrate uptake rate (HSNUR) transiently, whereas 5.0 mg/L Cr(VI) sharply decreased the specific ammonia uptake rate (SAUR), specific nitrate uptake rate (SNUR) and simultaneous nitrification denitrification rate (SNDR). It was found that Cr (VI) has a greater inhibitory effect on autotrophic nitrification (ASAUR), and the maximal inhibition rate (IR) was 139.19%. Besides, the inhibition of Cr (VI) on nitrogen removal process belongs to non-competitive inhibition. Cr(VI) had a weaker negative impact on heterotrophic bacteria compared with that on autotrophic bacteria. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analyses suggest that Acidovorax sp., flavobacterium sp., uncultured soil bacterium, uncultured nitrosospira sp., uncultured prokaryote, uncultured β-proteobacterium and uncultured pseudomonas sp. were the dominant species. The inhibition of Cr(VI) on nitrite-oxidizing bacteria was the strongest, followed by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and denitrifying bacteria. Linear correlations between bacterial count and biomass-specific uptake rate were observed when the Cr(VI) concentration exceeded 3 mg/L. This study revealed the effect of Cr(VI) on nitrification is more serious than that on denitrification. Autotrophic and heterotrophic nitrification, heterotrophic denitrification and simultaneous nitrification denitrification played a significant role on nitrogen removal under Cr(VI) stress.

Insight into the roles of tightly and loosely bound extracellular polymeric substances on a granular sludge in ammonium nitrogen removal

To explicitly understand the function of extracellular polymeric substances in the treatment of ammonium-nitrogen-rich wastewater using aerobic granular sludge, the three forms of nitrogen (ammonium, nitrite and nitrate nitrogen) contained in tightly and loosely bound extracellular polymeric substances were analyzed. The three forms of nitrogen were monitored in the tightly and loosely bound extracellular polymeric substances in aerobic granular sludge after adsorption. The ammonium nitrogen contained in the extracellular polymeric substances was distributed in both the tightly and loosely bound forms and decreased gradually as the aeration time increased. Ammonium nitrogen remained in the tightly bound extracellular polymeric substances even after aeration was complete. The nitrite and nitrate nitrogen species in the extracellular polymeric substances were mainly present in the loosely bound extracellular polymeric substances. The sources of the three nitrogen forms detected in the extracellular polymeric substances differed relative to the different nitrogen forms.

Simultaneous nitrification and denitrification by EPSs in aerobic granular sludge enhanced nitrogen removal of ammonium-nitrogen-rich wastewater

In this study, role of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) in enhancing nitrogen-removal from ammonium-nitrogen-rich wastewater using aerobic granular sludge (AGS) technology were analyzed. AGS enabled ammonium oxidation and denitrification to occur simultaneously. Air stripping and simultaneous nitrification-denitrification contributed to total-nitrogen removal. Clone-library analysis revealed that close relatives of Nitrosomonas eutropha and heterotrophic denitrifiers were dominant in the AGS, whereas anammox bacteria were not detected. EPSs adsorption of ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate nitrogen results in improved removal of nitrogen in batch experiments.

Simultaneous nitritation-denitritation for the treatment of high-strength nitrogen in hypersaline wastewater by aerobic granular sludge

Fish processing industries produce wastewater containing high amounts of salt, organic matter and nitrogen. Biological treatment of such wastewaters could be problematic due to inhibitory effects exerted by high salinity levels. In detail, high salt concentrations lead to the accumulation of nitrite due to the inhibition of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. The feasibility of performing simultaneous nitritation and denitritation in the treatment of fish canning wastewater by aerobic granular sludge was evaluated, and simultaneous nitritation-denitritation was successfully sustained at salinities up to 50 gNaCl L(-1), with a yield of over 90%. The total nitrogen concentration in the effluent was less than 10 mg L(-1) at salinities up to 50 gNaCl L(-1). Nitritation collapsed above 50 gNaCl L(-1), and then, the only nitrogen removal mechanism was represented by heterotrophic synthesis. In contrast, organic matter removal was not affected by salinity but was instead affected by the organic loading rate (OLR). Both COD and BOD removal efficiencies were over 90%. The COD fractionation analysis indicated that aerobic granules were able to remove more than 95% of the particulate organic matter. Finally, results obtained in this work noted that aerobic granular sludge had an excellent ability to adapt under adverse environmental conditions.

Role and significance of extracellular polymeric substances from granular sludge for simultaneous removal of organic matter and ammonia nitrogen

This study analyzed the organics and content of metal ions in extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs), tightly (TB-EPSs) and loosely (LB-EPSs) bound EPSs of granular sludge with simultaneous removal of organic matters and ammonia nitrogen, studied the dynamic variation of metal ions in EPSs from granular sludge with different particle sizes and the change of zeta potential before and after cation exchange resin (CER) treatment. Results showed, with particle size increasing, the protein content gradually increased, the content of polysaccharide basically unchanged; the content of Ca, Mg, K, Na and Zn also increased, whereas others did not show a consistent regularity. The existence of metal ions reduced zeta potential of EPSs. The existence of metal ions helped to the adhesion among granules, in order to form a granule with bigger particle size.

Remediation of pharmaceuticals and personal care products using an aerobic granular sludge sequencing bioreactor and microbial community profiling using Solexa sequencing technology analysis

Recently, a new type of organic pollution derived from pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) is gradually on the rise. Wastewater treatment to remove PPCPs was investigated using an aerobic granular sludge sequencing bioreactor (GSBR). After optimization of influent organic load, hydraulic shear stress, sludge settling time, etc., aerobic granular sludge was analyzed for its physiological and biochemical characteristics and tested for its efficacy to remove PPCPs wastewater. The granular sludge effectively removed some but not all of the PPCPs tested; removal correlated with the microbial profiles in the granules, as assessed using Solexa sequencing technology. Sequencing revealed the presence of five phylogenetic groups: Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Betaproteobacteria, an unclassified genus, and Zoogloea. The results demonstrated changes in the microbial profiles with time in response to the presence of PPCPs. The effects of PPCPs on microbial communities in granular sludge process are discussed.