Advanced nitrogen removal from mature landfill leachate via partial nitrification-Anammox biofilm reactor (PNABR) driven by high dissolved oxygen (DO): Protection mechanism of aerobic biofilm

Development of an integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) reactor treating landfill leachate for the biological nitrogen removal through nitritation-denitritation

The current work investigated the performance of an Integrated Fixed-Film Activated Sludge Sequencing Batch Reactor (IFAS-SBR) for Biological Nitrogen Removal (BNR) from mature landfill leachate through the nitritation-denitritation process. During the experimental period two IFAS-SBR configurations were examined using two different biocarrier types with the same filling ratio (50%). The dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration ranged between 2 and 3 mg/L and 4-6 mg/L in the first (baseline-IFAS) and the second (S8-IFAS) setup, respectively. Baseline-IFAS operated for 542 days and demonstrated a high and stable BNR performance maintaining a removal efficiency above 90% under a Nitrogen Loading Rate (NLR) up to 0.45 kg N/m3-d, while S8-IFAS, which operated for 230 days, was characterized by a limited and unstable BNR performance being unable to operate sufficiently under an NLR higher than 0.20 kg N/m3-d. It also experienced a severe inhibition period, when the BNR process was fully deteriorated. Moreover, S8-IFAS suffered from extensive biocarrier stagnant zones and a particularly poor sludge settleability. The attached biomass cultivated in both IFAS configurations had a negligible content of nitrifying bacteria, probably attributed to the insufficient DO diffusion through the biofilm, caused by the low DO concentration in the liquid in the baseline case and the extensive stagnant zones in the S8-IFAS case. As a result of the high biocarrier filling ratio, the S8-IFAS was unstable and low. This was probably attributed to the mass transfer limitations caused by the biocarrier stagnant zones, which hinder substrate and oxygen diffusion, thus reducing the biomass activity and increasing its vulnerability to inhibitory and toxic factors. Hence, the biocarrier filling fraction is a crucial parameter for the efficient operation of the IFAS-SBR and should be carefully selected taking into consideration both the media type and the overall reactor configuration.

Bioaugmented biological contact oxidation reactor for treating simulated textile dyeing wastewater

In this study, modified polyamide fibers were used as biocarriers to enrich dense biofilms in a multi-stage biological contact oxidation reactor (MBCOR) in which partitioned wastewater treatment zone (WTZ) and bioaugmentation zone (BAZ) were established to enhance the removal of methyl orange (MO) and its metabolites while minimizing sludge yields. WTZ exhibited high biomass loading capacity (5.75 ± 0.31 g/g filler), achieving MO removal rate ranging from 68 % to 86 % under different aeration condition within 8 h in which the most dominant genus Chlorobium played an important role. In the BAZ, Pseudoxanthomonas was the dominant genus while carbon starvation stimulated the enrichment of chemoheterotrophy and aerobic_chemoheterotrophy genes thereby enhanced the microbial utilization of cell-released substrates, MO as well as its metabolic intermediates. These results revealed the mechanism bioaugmentation on MBCOR in effectively eliminating both MO and its metabolites.

Revealing the comprehensive impact of organic compounds on the partial nitrification-anammox system during incineration leachate treatment: metabolic hierarchy and adaptation

Organics, as widespread pollutants in high-strength ammonia wastewater, typically exert adverse effects on the performance of partial nitrification-anammox (PNA) systems. However, the in-depth knowledge on how microbial consortia respond to these disturbances remains limited. In this study, we unveiled the evolution of complex organic matter flow and its impact on the metabolic hierarchy and adaptation of microbial consortia, employing multi-omics approaches, i.e., 16S amplicon sequencing, metagenomics, and metabolomics. In a two-stage PNA system sequentially treating synthetic wastewater and incineration leachate over 230 days, partial nitrification stayed stable (nitrite accumulation > 97%) while anammox efficiency dropped (nitrogen removal decreased from 86% to 78%). The phenomenon was revealed to be correlated with the evolution of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and xenobiotic organic compounds (XOCs). In the PN stage, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) exhibited excellent adaptability through active metabolic regulation after treating leachate. Numerous heterotrophs proliferated to utilize DOM and XOCs, triggering a "boom" state evident in the glycerophospholipid metabolism. However, in the anammox stage, the competition between carbon fixation and central carbon metabolism within autotrophs and heterotrophs became evident. Increased biosynthesis costs inhibited the central metabolism (specific anammox activity decreased by 66%) and the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway of anammox bacteria (AnAOB) in the presence of recalcitrant organics. Additionally, the degradation of organics was limited, exhibiting a "bust" state. This study revealed the metabolic adaption and susceptibility of AOB and AnAOB in response to organics from the leachate, demonstrating the applicability of the two-stage configuration for treating high-strength wastewater containing abundant and diverse organics.

Effect of sludge redistribution strategy on stability of partial nitrification-anammox process: Further exploration of the potential value of sludge

The stability of the two-stage partial nitrification-anammox (PN/A) system was compromised by the inappropriate conversion of insoluble organic matter. In response, a sludge redistribution strategy was implemented. Through the redistribution of PN sludge and anammox sludge in the two-stage PN/A system, a transition was made to the Anammox-single stage PN/A (A-PN/A) system. This specific functional reorganization, facilitated by the rapid reorganization of microbial communities, has the potential to significantly decrease the current risk of suppression. The results of the study showed that implementing the sludge redistribution strategy led to a substantial enhancement in the total nitrogen removal rate (TNRR) by 87.51%, accompanied by a significant improvement of 34.78% in the chemical oxygen demand removal rate (CRR). Additionally, this approach resulted in a remarkable two-thirds reduction in the aeration requirements. High-throughput sequencing revealed that the strategy enriched anammox and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria while limiting denitrifying bacteria, as confirmed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis. Furthermore, the principal component analysis revealed that the location and duration of aeration had direct and indirect effects on functional gene expression and the evolution of microbial communities. This study emphasizes the potential benefits of restructuring microbial communities through a sludge redistribution strategy, especially in integrated systems that encounter challenges with suppression.

Recent advances of partial anammox by controlling nitrite supply in mainstream wastewater treatment through step-feed mode

At present, the step-feed process is a very active branch in practical application of mainstream wastewater treatment, and the anammox technology empowers the sustainable development and in-depth research of step-feed process. This review provides a systematically inspection of the realization and application of partial anammox process through step-feed mode, with a particular focus on controlling nitrite supply for anammox. The characteristics and advantages of step-feed mode in traditional management are reviewed. The unique organics utilization strategy by step-feed and indispensable intermittent aeration mode creates advantages for achieving nitritation (NH4+ → NO2-) and denitratation (NO3- → NO2-), providing flexible combination possibility with anammox. Additionally, the lab- or pilot-scale control strategies with different forms of anammox, including nitritation/anammox, denitratation/anammox, and double-anammox (combined nitritation/anammox and denitratation/anammox), are summarized. Finally, future directions and application perspectives on leveraging the relationship between flocs and biofilm, nitritation and denitratation, and different strains to maximize the anammox proportion in N-removal are proposed.

Insights into the rapid start-up of an inoculated municipal sludge system: A high-height-to-diameter-ratio airlift inner-circulation partition bioreactor based on CFD analysis

The utilization of municipal sludge as a seed sludge for initiating the autotrophic nitrogen removal (ANR) process presents a challenge due to the negligible abundance of anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AnAOB). Here, a computational fluid dynamics model was used to simulate sludge volume fraction and sludge particle velocity. A high-height-to-diameter-ratio airlift inner-circulation partition bioreactor (HHAIPBR) was operated for 175 d to enrich AnAOB from municipal sludge, and the performance of the ANR process was investigated. The start-up period of HHAIPBR inoculated with municipal sludge required approximately 69 d. A high nitrogen removal performance, with a mean total nitrogen removal efficiency of 82.1%, was obtained for 1 month. The simulation results validated the presence of sludge circulation and revealed the distribution characteristics of dissolved oxygen inside the reactor, further supporting the promotion of sludge granulation via the high height-to-diameter ratio. Nitrosomonas (3.31%) of Proteobacteria and Candidatus Brocadia (6.56%) of Planctomycetota were dominant in the HHAIPBR. This study presents a viable approach for the industrial cultivation of anammox sludge and the rapid start-up of the partial nitritation-anammox system.

Insights into current bio-processes and future perspectives of carbon-neutral treatment of industrial organic wastewater: A critical review

With the rise of the concept of carbon neutrality, the current wastewater treatment process of industrial organic wastewater is moving towards the goal of energy conservation and carbon emission reduction. The advantages of anaerobic digestion (AD) processes in industrial organic wastewater treatment for bio-energy recovery, which is in line with the concept of carbon neutrality. This study summarized the significance and advantages of the state-of-the-art AD processes were reviewed in detail. The application of expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactors and anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) were particularly introduced for the effective treatment of industrial organic wastewater treatment due to its remarkable prospect of engineering application for the high-strength wastewater. This study also looks forward to the optimization of the AD processes through the enhancement strategies of micro-aeration pretreatment, acidic-alkaline pretreatment, co-digestion, and biochar addition to improve the stability of the AD system and energy recovery from of industrial organic wastewater. The integration of anaerobic ammonia oxidation (Anammox) with the AD processes for the post-treatment of nitrogenous pollutants for the industrial organic wastewater is also introduced as a feasible carbon-neutral process. The combination of AnMBR and Anammox is highly recommended as a promising carbon-neutral process for the removal of both organic and inorganic pollutants from the industrial organic wastewater for future perspective. It is also suggested that the AD processes combined with biological hydrogen production, microalgae culture, bioelectrochemical technology and other bio-processes are suitable for the low-carbon treatment of industrial organic wastewater with the concept of carbon neutrality in future.

Effect of phosphorylated polyvinyl alcohol matrix size of cell entrapment on partial nitrification of ammonia in wastewater

Partial nitrification is known as first and critical step for autotrophic nitrogen removal in high strength nitrogenous wastewater. Phosphorylated polyvinyl alcohol gel entrapment was used for suppressing oxygen to nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in the gel matrix. The study investigated the effect of the size of gel matrix on partial nitrification. Results show that ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) proportion in the inoculum rather than the size of gel matrix governed ammonia oxidation. Nitrite oxidation depended on the size of gel matrix not the relative proportions of NOB and AOB in the inoculum. Larger size of gel matrix lead to less in situ oxygen penetration and available for NOB resulting in higher nitrite accumulation. This finding gains a better understanding of using suitable inoculum to control partial nitrification that is beneficial for the preparation of anaerobic ammonium oxidation-suited effluent.

Integrating electrochemical pre-treatment with carrier-based membrane bioreactor for efficient treatment of municipal waste transfer stations leachate

An integrated process of electrochemical pre-treatment with carrier-based membrane bioreactor (MBR) was constructed for fresh leachate from waste transfer stations with high organic and NH₄⁺-N content. Results showed that within a hydraulic retention time 40 h, the removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD), NH₄⁺-N, suspended solids (SS) and total phosphorus (TP) were over 98.5%, 91.2%, 98.3% and 98.4%, respectively, with the organic removal rate of 18.7 kg/m³. The effluent met the Grade A Standard of China (GB/T31962-2015). Pre-treatment contributed about 70 % of the degraded refractory organics and almost all the SS, with the transformation of the humic-like acid to readily biodegradable organics. Biotreatment further removed over 50% of nitrogen pollutants through simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) and consumed about 30% of organics. Meanwhile, the addition of carriers in the oxic MBR enhanced the attached biomass and denitrification enzyme activity, alleviating membrane fouling.

Nitrogen removal from mature landfill leachate through enhanced Partial Nitrification-Anammox process in an innovative multi-stage fixed biofilm reactor

In the current integrated PN/A method/process for mature landfill leachate treatment, microbial inhibition and low nitrogen removal capacity are the big barriers due to high ammonia concentration and low C/N. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of a high-rate nitrogen removal lab-scale reactor, which combines pre-denitrification and Partial Nitrification-Anammox (PN/A) in a multi-stage fixed biofilm reactor (MFBR), for mature landfill leachate treatment. A nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) of 90.43 % and an average nitrogen removal rate (NRR) of 0.94 kg/m³·d were observed at an influent NH+ 4-N concentration of 2274.39 mg/L during the last operational phase. The nitrogen mass balance showed that the nitrogen concentration gradually decreases along the course, and nitrogen was mainly removed in the aerobic chambers, in which Anammox contributed to 86.4 % of the removed nitrogen, while the front anoxic chamber is mainly used to remove NO- 3-N from the recirculation. Redundancy analysis showed that the variation in NH+ 4-N concentration along the course was the main factor affecting microbial community succession, which shows that the reactor configuration enables efficient cooperation and distribution of different microorganisms. Moreover, economic analysis of MFBR process showed that the energy consumption and carbon addition were reduced by 58.9 % and 100 %, respectively. Therefore, the MFBR established in this study, with its new configuration, achieves efficient treatment of landfill leachate in a single reactor and is environmentally friendly, and could be considered as a reference for full-scale landfill leachate treatment.

Rapid start-up and long-term stable operation of the anammox reactor based on biofilm process: Status, challenges, and perspectives

Anammox-biofilm processes have great potential for wastewater nitrogen removal, as it overcomes the slow growth and easy loss of AnAOB (anaerobic ammonium oxidation bacteria). Biofilm carrier is the core part of the Anammox-biofilm reactor and plays a key role in the start-up and long-term operation of the process. Therefore, the research on the biofilm carrier of Anammox-based process was summarized and discussed in terms of configurations and types. In the Anammox-biofilm process, fixed bed biofilm reactor is a relatively mature biofilm carrier configuration and has advantages in terms of nitrogen removal and long-term operational stability, while moving bed biofilm reactor has advantages in terms of start-up time. Although the long-term operational stability of fluidized bed biofilm reactor is good, its nitrogen removal performance needs to be improved. Among the different biofilm carrier categories, the inorganic biofilm carrier has an advantage in start-up time, due to the enhancement of the growth and metabolic of AnAOB by inorganic materials (such as carbon and iron). Anammox-based reactors using organic biofilm carriers, especially suspension carriers, are well-established and more stable in long-term operation. Composite biofilm carriers combine the advantages of several materials, but their complex preparation procedures lead to high costs. In addition, possible research directions for accelerating the start-up and keeping the long-term stable operation of Anammox reactor by biofilm process were highlighted. It is hoped to provide a possible pathway for the rapid start-up of Anammox-based process, and references for the optimization and promotion of process.

Achieving advanced nitrogen removal from low-carbon municipal wastewater using partial-nitrification/anammox and endogenous partial-denitrification/anammox

To achieve advanced nitrogen removal from low-carbon wastewater, a partial-nitrification/anammox and endogenous partial-denitrification/ anammox (PN/A-EPD/A) process was developed in a sequential batch biofilm reactor (SBBR). Advanced nitrogen was achieved with the effluent total nitrogen (TN) of 3.29 mg/L when the influent COD/TN and the TN were 2.86 and 59.59 mg/L, respectively. This was attributed to a stable PN/A-EPD/A, which was achieved through the integration of four strategies, including treating the inoculated sludge with free nitrous acid, inoculating anammox biofilm, discharging excess activated sludge and residual ammonium at the end of oxic stage. The 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing results demonstrated that anammox bacteria coexisted with ammonia oxidizing bacteria, nitrite oxidizing bacteria, denitrifying glycogen accumulating organisms (DGAOs) and denitrifying phosphorus accumulating organisms (DPAOs) in biofilms. The abundance of anammox bacteria in the inner layer of the biofilm is higher, while that of DGAOs and DPAOs is higher in the outer layer.

Integration of EBPR with mainstream anammox process to treat real municipal wastewater: Process performance and microbiology

The mainstream application of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) for sustainable N removal remains a challenge. Similarly, with recent additional stringent regulations for P discharges, it is imperative to integrate N with P removal. This research studied integrated fixed film activated sludge (IFAS) technology to simultaneously remove N and P in real municipal wastewater by combining biofilm anammox with flocculent activated sludge for enhanced biological P removal (EBPR). This technology was assessed in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) operated as a conventional A2O (anaerobic-anoxic-oxic) process with a hydraulic retention time of 8.8 h. After a steady state operation was reached, robust reactor performance was obtained with average TIN and P removal efficiencies of 91.3 ± 4.1% and 98.4 ± 2.4%, respectively. The average TIN removal rate recorded over the last 100 d of reactor operation was 118 mg/L·d, which is a reasonable number for mainstream applications. The activity of denitrifying polyphosphate accumulating organisms (DPAOs) accounted for nearly 15.9% of P-uptake during the anoxic phase. DPAOs and canonical denitrifiers removed approximately 5.9 mg TIN/L in the anoxic phase. Batch activity assays, which showed that nearly 44.5% of TIN were removed by the biofilms during the aerobic phase. The functional gene expression data also confirmed anammox activities. The IFAS configuration of the SBR allowed operation at a low solid retention time (SRT) of 5-d without washing out biofilm ammonium-oxidizing and anammox bacteria. The low SRT, combined with low dissolved oxygen and intermittent aeration, provided a selective pressure to washout nitrite-oxidizing bacteria and glycogen-accumulating organisms, as relative abundances of.

Advanced nitrogen removal from mature landfill leachate based on novel step-draining partial nitrification-denitrification and Anammox process: Significance of low volume exchange ratio

To save external carbon source dosage and simplify NH4+ to NO2- ratio control strategy, this study established a novel step-draining based partial nitrification-denitrification and Anammox (PND-AMX) system for advanced nitrogen removal from mature landfill leachate. Separation of partial nitrification and denitrification was realized based on step-draining, achieving 74.8 % nitrogen removal. 25 % was the optimal volume exchange ratio for synergistic removal of organics and nitrogen, allowing full use of carbon source. NH4+ to NO2- ratio was easily controlled by varying the volume ratio of the first and second effluent of PND reactor. Brocadia, Kuenenia and Jettenia collectively accounted for 13.61 % in AMX reactor, contributing 21.0 % of nitrogen removal. Nitrogen removal efficiency and nitrogen removal rate reached 98.3 ± 1.2 % and 3.07 ± 0.09 kgN/(m3∙d), respectively. Partial Anammox process based on step-draining was easier to realize and of practical significance for application in treatment of landfill leachate.

A review on upgrading of the anammox-based nitrogen removal processes: Performance, stability, and control strategies

The anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) process is a promising biological nitrogen removal technology. However, owing to the sensitivity and slow cell growth of anammox bacteria, long startup time and initially low nitrogen removal rate (NRR) are still limiting factors of practical applications of anammox process. Moreover, nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) is often lower than 88 %. This review summarizes the most common methods for improving NRR by increasing microorganism concentration, and modifying reactor configuration. Recent integrated anammox-based systems were evaluated, including hydroxyapatite (HAP)-enhanced one-stage partial nitritation/anammox (PNA) process for a high NRR of over 2 kg N/m3/d at 25 °C, partial denitrification/anammox (PDA) process, and simultaneous partial nitrification, anammox, and denitrification process for a high NRE of up to 100 %. After discussing the challenges for the application of these systems critically, a combined system of anaerobic digestion, HAP-enhanced one-stage PNA and PDA is proposed in order to achieve a high NRR, high NRE, and phosphorus removal simultaneously.

Formation mechanisms and assembly patterns of anammox biofilm induced by carrier type: Novel insights based on low-strength wastewater treatment

The morphological structure, properties, microbial community and function of anammox biofilms induced by large-pore carriers (Bls), small-pore carriers, filament carriers and non-carriers (Bn) in low-strength wastewater were comprehensively studied. The carriers promoted biomass accumulation and agglomeration, with Bls demonstrating the highest biomass proportion of 0.76, the highest specific anammox activity (0.41 kgN/(kgVSS·d)^-1) and the largest aggregates. Hydraulic shearing stimulated Bn to secrete most extracellular polymeric substances and capture more inorganic ions for enhanced strength. Metagenomic sequencing showed that the four biofilms shared a common core flora, but differed in cross-metabolism. The proportion of the functional bacterium Candidatus Brocadia was highest in Bls, while the increase in heterotrophic bacteria in Bn supported stronger metabolic capacity. Finally, the proposed anisotropic or isotropic carrier structure was identified as the key to generating "uniform development" and "central development" models. This study is helpful for understanding the anammox aggregation mechanism and carrier optimization.

Effect of ozone pretreatment on biogranulation with partial nitritation - Anammox two stages for nitrogen removal from mature landfill leachate

Due to the extremely low C/N ratio, high concentration of ammonia nitrogen and refractory organic matter of mature landfill leachate (MLL), appropriate processes should be selected to effectively remove nitrogen and reduce disposal costs. Partial nitritation (PN) and anaerobic ammonia oxidation (AMX) have been used as the main nitrogen removal processes for MLL, and the sludge granulation in PN and AMX processes could contribute to high biological activity, good sedimentation performance, and stable resistance to toxicity. In this study, the O₃-PN-AMX biogranules process was selected to effectively remove nitrogen from MLL without carbon addition and pH adjustment. Without uneconomical NH₄⁺-N oxidation and wasting the alkalinity of MLL, ozone pretreatment achieved color removal, decreased humic- and fulvic-like acid substances, and alleviated the MLL toxicity on ammonia oxidizers. In addition, the ozonation of MLL could shorten the start-up time and improve the treatment efficiency and biogranules stability of PN and AMX processes. Efficient and stable nitritation was achieved in PN reactor without strict dissolved oxygen (DO) control, which was attributed to the unique structure of granular sludge, ozone pretreatment, and alternating inhibition of free ammonia and free nitric acid on nitrite oxidizers. Through the application of ozone pretreatment and granular sludge, the nitrogen removal rate (NRR) and nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) of the O₃-PN-AMX biogranules process reached 0.39 kg/m³/day and 85%, respectively, for the undiluted MLL treatment. This study might provide a novel and effective operation strategy of combined process for the efficient, economical, and stable nitrogen removal from MLL.

Revealing the effect of biofilm formation in partial nitritation-anammox systems: Start-up, performance stability, and recovery

Successful application of partial nitritation-anammox (PNA) processes is currently and primarily associated with biofilm systems. Biofilm characteristics significantly influence start-up, performance stability, and recovery. Here, two PNA systems with and without carriers were implemented simultaneously for treating wastewater containing 50 mg-NH₄/L. The performance characteristics of these two PNA systems were compared. Stable nitrogen removal efficiencies of 76.3 ± 2.8% and 72.9 ± 1.6% were obtained for suspended sludge and biofilm systems, respectively. The slow process of biofilm colonization resulted in a long start-up time in the biofilm system. Biofilm enrichment and protection conferred stable performance when exposed to aeration shock. The suspended sludge system displayed good elasticity during performance recovery after shock compared to the slow recovery in the biofilm system. Moreover, suitable control of dissolved oxygen could improve the activity and abundance of the functional microbes. This study provides new insights into the operation and control of PNA systems for treating mainstream wastewater.

Nitrogen transformation in slightly polluted surface water by a novel biofilm reactor: Long-term performance and microbial population characteristics

This study proposes a modular floating biofilm reactor (MFBR) for in situ nitrogen removal from slightly polluted water in rivers using enriched indigenous microorganisms. Its main structure is a 60 cm × 60 cm × 90 cm rectangular reactor filled with hackettens. After a 96-day startup, the removal efficiencies of ammonia-N and total N (TN) reached 80% and 25%, respectively, with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 10 h, whereas those in a control reactor (without biofilm) were only 4.9% and 0.2%, respectively. The influences of HRT and dissolved oxygen (DO) were also investigated. As a key factor, HRT significantly affected the removal efficiencies of ammonia-N and TN. When HRT was close to the actual value for a river studied (2.4 min), the removal efficiencies of ammonia-N and TN were only 8.7% and 3.1%, respectively. Aeration increased the concentration of DO in water, which enhanced nitrification but inhibited denitrification. When HRT was 2.4 min, aeration intensity was 20 L/min; the ammonia-N and TN removal rates were 9.5 g/(m²·d) and 11.3 g/(m²·d), respectively. The results of microbial community analysis indicated that the microorganisms forming the biofilm were indigenous bacteria. The findings demonstrated a concept-proof of MFBR, which may be evaluated in scaling up investigation for developing a new methodology for nitrogen removal from slightly polluted surface water in plain river networks.

Transfer of functional microorganism: Regulation of N-acyl-homoserine lactones on the microbial community in aniline-degrading sequencing batch biofilm reactor

Due to the inhibition of nitrification from aniline toxicity, exogenous N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) addition was attempted to enhance nitrogen removal in this work. Two sequencing batch biofilm reactors (SBBRs): S1 (the control) and S2 (C6-HSL and 3-oxo-C8-HSL dosing) were used to treat aniline wastewater. The NH₄⁺-N and TN removal rates of S2 were 42.50% and 26.99% higher than S1 in the aerobic phase, respectively. It revealed the nitrogen removal performance of S2 much better than S1. High-throughput sequencing results indicated that many nitrifiers and denitrifiers of S2, such as Nitrosomonas and Thauera, transferred from sludge to biofilm significantly and built closer relationships each other. Overall, main nitrogen removal was contributed by biofilm rather than sludge with the regulation of AHLs. A mild and collaborative environment of biofilms for microorganisms enhanced nitrogen removal. The work provided a new idea for reconciling the contradiction between nitrification and denitrification in aniline wastewater treatment.

Advanced nitrogen removal from landfill leachate via a two-stage combined process of partial nitrification-Anammox (PNA) and partial denitrification-Anammox (PDA)

In this study, a two-stage combined process of partial nitrification-Anammox (PNA) and partial denitrification-Anammox (PDA) was established achieving advanced nitrogen removal from landfill leachate. The PNA sludge used to treat reject water adapted to the leachate in 37 days, resulting in fast start-up of the PNA process with a nitrogen removal rate (NRR) of 0.22 kgN/(m³·d). Partial denitrification (PD) was induced using sodium acetate and proceeded in a stepwise manner using sludge fermentation liquid (SFL), achieving a NO₃^--N to NO₂^--N transformation ratio (NTR) of 52.1 ± 1.1% within 16 days. PDA was established via the addition of mature Anammox biofilms. The nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) of this system was 97.6 ± 1.5%, of which PNA and PDA contributed 74.8 ± 4.0% and 18.7 ± 4.1%, respectively. Nitrosomonas (2.6% in PNA), Thauera (16.0% in PDA) and Candidatus Brocadia (23.0% in PNA, 1.4% in PDA) were dominant in the two-stage system. This study provides valuable and novel insights, supporting the practical application of PNA-PDA processes in landfill sites.

Nitrogen Removal from Mature Landfill Leachate via Anammox Based Processes: A Review

Mature landfill leachate is a complex and highly polluted effluent with a large amount of ammonia nitrogen, toxic components and low biodegradability. Its COD/N and BOD5/COD ratios are low, which is not suitable for traditional nitrification and denitrification processes. Anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) is an innovative biological denitrification process, relying on anammox bacteria to form stable biofilms or granules. It has been extensively used in nitrogen removal of mature landfill leachate due to its high efficiency, low cost and sludge yield. This paper reviewed recent advances of anammox based processes for mature landfill leachate treatment. The state of the art anammox process for mature landfill leachate is systematically described, mainly including partial nitrification–anammox, partial nitrification–anammox coupled denitrification. At the same time, the microbiological analysis of the process operation was given. Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) has the merit of saving the carbon source and aeration energy, while its practical application is mainly limited by an unstable influent condition, operational control and seasonal temperature variation. To improve process efficiency, it is suggested to develop some novel denitrification processes coupled with anammox to reduce the inhibition of anammox bacteria by mature landfill leachate, and to find cheap new carbon sources (methane, waste fruits) to improve the biological denitrification efficiency of the anammox system.

Effective restoration of partial nitritation and anammox biofilm process by short-term hydroxylamine dosing: Mechanism and microbial interaction

The one-stage partial nitritation and anammox (PN-A) process frequently experiences deterioration from ammonium accumulation and nitrate build-up. In this study, hydroxylamine was dosed to restore the process from deterioration in a continuously aerated PN-A sequencing biofilm batch reactor, and the impact of hydroxylamine on the metabolism of PN-A process was studied. PN-A process was totally restored in 5 days via 10 mg N·L^-1 hydroxylamine dosing, reducing nitrate-produced/ammonium-removed ratio from 28.5% to less than 11.0%. hydroxylamine dosing promoted biological production of nitric oxide and nitrous oxide and reduced the production of nitrate in the PN-A process. This study advanced the understanding of the metabolism versatility of hydroxylamine and nitric oxide as well as their function in interaction between aerobic ammonium oxidation bacteria and anaerobic ammonium oxidation bacteria, and proposed the potential application of hydroxylamine dosing in ammonium-contained wastewater treatment.

Robustness of mainstream anammox activity at bench and pilot scale

New technologies and processes, such as mainstream anammox, aim to reduce energy requirements of wastewater treatment and improve effluent quality. However, in municipal wastewater (MWW) anammox system are often unstable due to process control disturbance, influent variability, or unwanted nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB). This study examines the anammox system by focusing on anammox activity and its robustness in a mainstream environment. An 8 m³ pilot-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) receiving pretreated MWW (with external nitrite addition) was seeded with pre-colonized carriers. Within six months at 12-20 °C an anammox activity of 200 gN·m^-3·d^-1 was achieved. After the startup an anammox activity of 260 ± 83 gN·m^-3·d^-1 was maintained over 450 days. The robustness of the anammox activity was analyzed through three disturbance experiments. Anammox biofilm on carriers were exposed to dissolved oxygen (DO = 1.6 mg·L^-1, intermittent aeration), organic loading rate (OLR, C/N increased from 2:1 to 5:1) and temperature disturbances (20 °C to 12 °C) in triplicate 12 L bench scale reactors. The anammox activity and microbial community was monitored during these disturbances. The DO and OLR disturbance experiments were replicated at pilot scale to investigate upscaling effects. Bench and pilot scale anammox activity were unaffected by the DO disturbance. Similarly, an increase in OLR did not deteriorate the bench and pilot scale anammox activity, if nitrate was available. When, at bench scale, the reactor temperature was reduced from 20 °C to 12 °C overnight, anammox activity decreased significantly, this was not the case for the slow seasonal temperature changes (12-25 °C) at pilot scale where no strong temperature dependency was detected in winter. Metagenomic analysis revealed a broad range of Brocadiaceae species with no single dominant anammox species. Anammox thrive under mainstream conditions and can withstand typical process disruptions.

Fast start-up and enhancement of partial nitritation and anammox process for treating synthetic wastewater in a sequencing bath biofilm reactor: Strategy and function of nitric oxide

In this study, the partial nitritation and anammox (PN-A) process was initiated within 30 days in a sequencing batch biofilm reactor (SBBR) by employing pre non-aeration and post non-aeration with fixed aeration rates. The average ammonia removal efficiency (ARE), total nitrogen removal efficiency (TNRE) of 98.5 ± 1.5% and 89.5 ± 1.6% were achieved. By doubling aeration rate and agitation rate and adopting pre non-aeration, the TNRR was promoted from 0.135 ± 0.013 kg N·m^-3·d^-1 to 0.285 ± 0.015 kg N·m^-3·d^-1, obtaining an average ARE and TNRE of 97.5 ± 1.5% and 85.5 ± 2.6%. Nitric oxide might induce anaerobic ammonia oxidation bacteria (AnAOB) during the start-up stage, and could be an indicator for synergetic state between ammonia oxidation bacteria (AOB) and AnAOB. Lower nitrous oxide emission factor of 0.51% was obtained. The abundance of AOB, AnAOB and nitrite oxidation bacteria (NOB) accounted for 1.6%, 19.3% and 0.3%, respectively.

Novel insights into overcoming nitrite oxidation bacteria acclimatization problem in treatment of high-ammonia wastewater through partial nitrification

A partial nitrification sequencing batch reactor was operated to reveal mechanisms behind nitrite oxidation bacteria (NOB) acclimatization in high-ammonia wastewater treatment. The influent NH₄⁺-N increased stepwise from 499.7 ± 4.2 mg/L to 6994.5 ± 7.5 mg/L with initial free ammonia (FA) concentration rising from 37.9 ± 3.2 mg NH₃-N/L to 715.3 ± 47.3 mg NH₃-N/L, respectively. NOB acclimatized this FA range with NO₃^--N production increasing from 29.2 ± 2.6 mg/L to 144.1 ± 31.0 mg/L in a cycle, which was caused by the shift of dominant NOB genus from Nitrospira to Nitrolencea. Nitrosomonas as ammonia oxidation bacteria, could sustain its activity of 62.1 ± 0.1 mg NH₄⁺-N/(gVSS∙L∙h) under the same condition. Hydroxylamine addition could be implemented as an emergency measure to alleviate NOB acclimatization in short-term operation. The findings expanded knowledge about NOB acclimatization types and provided novel insights for addressing this problem in a targeted way.

Culturing sludge fermentation liquid-driven partial denitrification in two-stage Anammox process to realize advanced nitrogen removal from mature landfill leachate

The two-stage partial nitrification (PN)-Anammox process, during long term treatment of high-ammonia nitrogen leachate, faces challenges such as the adaptation of nitrite oxidation bacteria (NOB) and failure of real-time control of pH. Resultant instabilities including NH₄⁺-N and NO₃^--N accumulation were overcome by culturing sludge fermentation liquid (SFL)-driven partial denitrification (PD) in situ in the Anammox process. Biodegradation of slowly biodegradable organics (SBO) in SFL created organics restriction condition, which limited the activity of denitrification bacteria and achieved its balance with Anammox bacteria. Produced NO₃^--N is reduced to NO₂^--N through PD, which further improved the removal of NH₄⁺-N through Anammox. NO₂^--N was utilized timely by Anammox bacteria, which avoid further reduction of NO₂^--N to N₂, and result in a high nitrate to nitrite transformation ratio (NTR) of 93.3%. Satisfactory nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) and nitrogen removal rate (NRR) of 99.6% and 822.0 ± 9.0 g N/(m³∙d) were obtained, respectively. Key genera related to degradation of SBO, PD and Anammox were enriched. The value of narG/(nirK+nirS) increased from 0.05 on day 1-0.15 on day 250. Combining SFL-driven PD with two-stage Anammox process provided a novel insight for applying this process to realize advanced nitrogen removal in practical engineering.

Carrier type induces anammox biofilm structure and the nitrogen removal pathway: Demonstration in a full-scale partial nitritation/anammox process

In this study, two typical carrier types, microporous and macroporous carriers, were collected from a full-scale partial nitritation/anammox reactor for analysis and comparison of the biofilm structure characteristics, performance and removal nitrogen pathway. For microporous carriers, a thicker biofilm (>5 mm) was obtained with higher biomass and abundance of anammox bacteria as well as a higher nitrogen removal efficiency due to the integration of denitrifying and anammox bacteria. In addition, higher microbial community stability can be expected under varying environmental conditions. In comparison, macroporous carrier biofilm exhibited a lower thickness (0.4-2.3 mm) and lower microbial richness, with a strong network correlation among genera. Analysis showed that the mainly positive correlation between anammox bacteria and ammonium oxidizing bacteria, enhancing coupling partial nitritation and anammox. These findings help further our understanding of the mechanisms of anammox biofilm nitrogen removal and provide a baseline for optimization of the design of carrier structures.

Efficient and advanced nitrogen removal from mature landfill leachate via combining nitritation and denitritation with Anammox in a single sequencing batch biofilm reactor

A novel combined partial nitrification-Anammox and partial denitrification-Anammox (PnA/PdA) single sequencing batch biofilm reactor (SBBR) was established to realize efficient and advanced nitrogen removal from mature landfill leachate with low biodegradability. Nitrogen removal rate and nitrogen removal efficiency were increased to 2.83 ± 0.06 kgN/(m³∙d) and 98.6 ± 0.2% by stepwise increase of dissolved oxygen (DO, from 0.5 to 3.5 mg/L) and continuous carbon source feeding. Comparable activities of ammonia oxidation bacteria and Anammox bacteria were realized during aerobic period. More organic carbon was redirected from complete denitrification to partial denitrification during anoxic period. The main pathway PnA jointly synergized with PdA, which contributed to 76.04% and 19.44% nitrogen removal, respectively. Nitrosomonas, Thauera, and Kuenenia dominated in floc sludge (0.78%, 5.38%, and 1.14%, respectively) and biofilm (0.34%, 5.18%, and 0.98%, respectively). Overall, this study provides new insight into the high-efficiency treatment of landfill leachate at full-scale landfill sites.

Impact of low temperature on ex situ nitritation/in situ denitritation in field pilot-scale landfill for postclosure care of leachate treatment and gas content

Leachates and landfill gas (LFG) are the major problems for closed landfills (CL) and cause significant threats to receiving waterbody and ambient air quality. In this study, a field pilot-scale CL with ex situ nitritation/in situ denitritation process was constructed and operated continuously under wide temperature variations. The effect of low temperature on leachate treatment, and LFG content was studied. Results showed that the combined process can efficiently remove nitrogen and organic matters from leachate, and change LFG content under low-temperature condition. In the ex situ nitritaion, maximum removal efficiencies of ammonia and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were over 99% and 85%, respectively. The loading rate of nitrogen and COD reached 0.5 kg N m^-3 d^-1 and 0.7 kg COD m^-3 d^-1, respectively. The inhibitions of free ammonia (FA) and free nitrous acid (FNA), and low temperature were the key factors affecting nitritation. With recirculating nitrified leachate, total oxidized nitrogen (TON) was completely reduced, and the refuse decomposition was accelerated. Denitritation was the main reaction responsible in the CL. Additionally, methane content was observed lowly at non-inhibitory TON loading rate of 5.8 ± 3.7 g N ton^-1 TS d^-1. This decrease was not caused by the increased of TON loading, but a carbon source competition by denitrificans. The estimated COD consumption and methane reduction were 55.0 kg d^-1 by TON reduction, and 20 m³ d^-1, respectively. Hence, this study served a potential strategy for postclosure care of landfills under low temperature variation.

One-stage partial nitrification and anammox process in a sequencing batch biofilm reactor: Start-up, nitrogen removal performance and bacterial community dynamics in response to temperature

A one-stage partial nitrification and anammox (PN/A) process was started up and operated under varying temperatures in a lab-scale sequencing batch biofilm reactor. The start‑up phase took 110 days with an intermittent aeration strategy, and the removal efficiencies of ammonia‑nitrogen and total nitrogen were found to be 92.22% and 76.07%, respectively. The total nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) increased by 9.49% when temperature decreased from 30 °C to 25 °C, but declined by 83.84% from 25 °C to 20 °C. The PN process was inhibited and subsequently limited the nitrogen removal performance at 20 °C. When temperature returned to 28 °C, the NRE recovered to 67.27%, but it was still lower than the value before the decrease in temperature (79.40%). Microbial community analysis showed that the predominant ammonia oxidation bacteria and anammox bacteria were Nitrosomonas and Candidatus Kuenenia, respectively. Nitrosomonas grew, while the relative abundance of Candidatus Kuenenia increased as temperature decreased and vice versa.

Advances in Biological Nitrogen Removal of Landfill Leachate

With the development of economy and the improvement of people’s living standard, landfill leachate has been increasing year by year with the increase in municipal solid waste output. How to treat landfill leachate with high efficiency and low consumption has become a major problem, because of its high ammonia nitrogen and organic matter content, low carbon to nitrogen ratio and difficult degradation. In order to provide reference for future engineering application of landfill leachate treatment, this paper mainly reviews the biological treatment methods of landfill leachate, which focuses on the comparison of nitrogen removal processes combined with microorganisms, the biological nitrogen removal methods combined with ecology and the technology of direct application of microorganisms. In addition, the mechanism of biological nitrogen removal of landfill leachate and the factors affecting the microbial activity during the nitrogen removal process are also described. It is concluded that the treatment processes combined with microorganisms have higher nitrogen removal efficiency compared with the direct application of microorganisms. For example, the nitrogen removal efficiency of the combined process based on anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) technology can reach more than 99%. Therefore, the treatment processes combined with microorganisms in the future engineering application of nitrogen removal in landfill leachate should be paid more attention to, and the efficiency of nitrogen removal should be improved from the aspects of microorganisms by considering factors affecting its activity.

Enrichment and retention of key functional bacteria of partial denitrification-Anammox (PD/A) process via cell immobilization: A novel strategy for fast PD/A application

Cell immobilization was used to enrich and retain functional bacteria within partial denitrification-Anammox (PD/A) process to achieve its fast start-up for the first time. To do so, residue sludge and Anammox sludge were immobilized in poly (vinyl alcohol)/sodium alginate (PVA/SA) gel for PD cultivation and Anammox bacteria inoculation, respectively. Stable PD with NO₃^--N to NO₂^--N transformation ratio (NTR) of 72.0% was achieved within 13 days at 25 °C and successfully combined with Anammox on 14th day. The hydrous porous PVA/SA gel matrix played the role of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) and thus protected the microbes against low temperature. Satisfactory nitrogen removal rate (NRR) (301.6 ± 6.1 g N/(m³·d)) was achieved even when temperature decreased to 13 °C. The contribution of nitrogen removal via Anammox was as high as 77.10%. Abundance of Thauera and Candidatus Kuenenia increased from 0.9% and 1.1% to 30.6% and 2.1%, respectively.

Characteristics of oxygen mass transfer and its impact on pollutant removal performance and microbial community structure in an aerobic fluidized bed biofilm reactor for treatment of municipal wastewater

A laboratory-scale aerobic fluidized bed biofilm reactor (AFBBR) was established to evaluate the oxygen mass transfer (OMT) process and its impact on municipal wastewater treatment performance. Aeration rates had different effects on the OMT of the wastewater and biofilm. In the wastewater, oxygenation performance, oxygen uptake rate (OUR), and volumetric OMT coefficient (k_La) improved under high aeration rates. However, within the biofilm, the OMT process under the aeration rate of 0.096 L/(min·L) were higher than under other conditions [0.064 L/(min·L) and 0.128 L/(min·L)]. The denitrifying bacteria (DNB) abundance under the aeration rate of 0.096 L/(min·L) were improved so that total nitrogen (TN, 66.98 ± 4.23%) and ammonia nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N, 74.70 ± 2.30%) removal were higher than those under other aeration conditions. These results showed that suitable aeration could improve wastewater treatment efficiency through changing the OMT process and microbial community structure.

Influence of biodegradable polybutylene succinate and non-biodegradable polyvinyl chloride microplastics on anammox sludge: Performance evaluation, suppression effect and metagenomic analysis

Microplastics (MPs) has been widely detected in wastewater treatment plants. However, there is a lack of research on its influence on anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) process. Therefore, the effects of polybutylene succinate (PBS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) MPs on the nitrogen removal performance, microbial community and metabolites of anammox sludge were investigated. Results showed that PBS and PVC MPs reduced the nitrite removal efficiency of the anammox sludge, and PVC1 (0.1 g/L PVC) group was the most significant at 19.2 %. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra showed that PBS2 (0.5 g/L PBS) group increased the polysaccharide content in the anammox sludge. This may be because of the byproduct, which was produce during the biodegradation of PBS MPs, and decrease the agglomeration capacity of sludge, so as to increase the mass transfer. PBS2 group reduced the relative abundance of Methanosaeta (10.18 %) and the methane modules, and stimulated the anammox bacteria Ca. Brocadia (1.17 %) and the relative nitrogen metabolism modules. PVC2 group reduced the relative abundance of Ca. Brocadia (3.02 %), while was enriched Methanosaeta (2.1 %). Non-biodegradable PVC MPs was more harmful to anammox sludge, which would draw attention to the entry of PVC MPs into the anammox system.

Iron coupling with carbon fiber to stimulate biofilms formation in aerobic biological film systems for improved decentralized wastewater treatment: Performance, mechanisms and implications

Iron coupling with carbon fiber (ICF) as carriers to stimulate the biofilms formation for decentralized wastewater treatment was proposed. The typical pollutants removal was accelerated and enhanced (increased by 13.65% for chemical oxygen demand, 19.68% for ammonia nitrogen and 32.66% for phosphate) in ICF compared with the traditional carbon fiber (CF) system. Mechanism explorations indicated that the iron coupling improved the surface properties of carbon fibers and contributed to the attachment and growth of biomass significantly. The components of biomass were changed with increasing proteins proportion in ICF, which was beneficial to the biofilms formation and stability. The microbial community was altered with the enrichment of functional microorganisms (i.e. Pseudomonas and Thauera). Moreover, the microbial metabolic functions (i.e. enzymatic activities and encoding genes) involved in pollutants removal derived from decentralized wastewater were highly expressed in ICF. This work provided an effective strategy to enhance the decentralized wastewater treatment.

Tailoring the distribution of microbial communities and gene expressions to achieve integrating nitrogen transformation in a gravity-driven submerged membrane bioreactor

A pilot-scale upgraded gravity-driven submerged membrane (GDSM) reactor was constructed to enhance nitrogen removal. It was artificially formed multiple stratified environments (dissolved oxygen (DO) and substrate supply (TOC, TN, COD, NH₄⁺-N, NO₂^--N, and NO₃^--N)) by embedding moving water baffles to control water-flow process in bulk liquid with slow-flowing liquid state. Significant diversity and relative abundance of microorganisms associated with nitrogen transformation paths (i.e., ammonia-oxidizing archaea, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, nitrite oxidizing bacteria, and denitrifying bacteria) were tailored to distribute on different spatial and temporal regions, and performed their dominant functions. The process simultaneously integrated diverse and effective nitrogen transformation paths (i.e., nitrification, partial nitrification, denitrification, anammox, and dissimilatory nitrate reduction) to achieve high nitrogen removal, with NH₄⁺-N, TN, and COD eliminated by 94.68 ± 2.55%, 55.16 ± 5.53%, and 80.17 ± 6.75%, respectively. Gene expressions involved in the nitrogen transformations were estimated by qPCR to explore the shifts of dominant nitrogen transforming bioreactions in multiple stratified environments. Pearson correlation coefficients supported that the functional genes had more stable and active ability by complementing each other. As a result, an endogenous integration of diverse nitrogen transformation paths was achieved in a single system by artificially tailoring the distributions of microbial communities and gene expressions with enhanced nitrogen removal.

Unclassified Anammox bacterium responds to robust nitrogen removal in a sequencing batch reactor fed with landfill leachate

Treatment of landfill leachate was conducted in a lab-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR). The SBR was started through inoculating activated sludge with controlling dissolved oxygen of 0.5-1.0 mg/L. Anammox reaction took place within around three months. The SBR established robust nitrogen removal with incremental NLRs of 0.25-2.17 kg N/m³/d. At the final phase, it achieved elevated nitrogen removals of 1.68-1.91 kg N/m³/d. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing analysis revealed Nitrosomonas, unclassified Anammox bacterium, and diverse denitrifying populations coexisted and accounted for 4.02%, 20.05% and 34.69%, respectively. Phylogenic analysis and average nucleotide identity comparison jointly suggested the unclassified Anammox bacterium potentially pertained to a novel Anammox lineage. The functional profiles' prediction suggested sulfate reduction, arsenate reduction and eliminations of antibiotics and drugs likely occurred in the SBR. The finding from this study suggests contribution of unclassified Anammox bacteria in influencing nitrogen budget in natural and engineering systems is currently being underestimated.