A novel anammox granules-circulating expanded granular sludge bed reactor for the efficient circulation and retention of floating anammox granules

Reason and control strategy for denitrification and anammox sludge flotation in nitrogen removal process: Mechanisms, strategies and perspectives

Anaerobic biological treatment technology, especially denitrification and anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) technology as mainstream process, played dominant role in the field of biological wastewater treatment. However, the above process was prone to sludge floating during high load operation and thereby affecting the efficient and stable operation of the system. Excessive production of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) was considered to be the main reason for anaerobic granular sludge flotation, but the summaries in this area were not comprehensive enough. In this review, the potential mechanisms of denitrification and anammox sludge floatation were discussed from the perspective of granular sludge structural characteristics, nutrient transfer, and microbial flora change respectively, and the corresponding control strategies were also summarized. Finally, this paper indicated that future research on sludge flotation should focus on reducing the negative effects of EPS in sludge particles.

A new substrate equalization method for optimizing the influent conditions and fluid flow patterns of a multifed upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor with mature anammox granules

To improve nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) and achieve homogenous distribution of anammox sludge and substrate, a new substrate equalization theory and a cumulative overload index was proposed for multifed upflow anaerobic sludge bed (MUASB) reactors with mature anammox granules. The performance and flow patterns of MUASB reactors were investigated under various influent conditions. The results showed that the nitrogen removal performance and stability of MUASB reactors could be optimized by minimizing the cumulative load. The NRE gradually increased from 83.3 ± 2.2 %, 86.8 ± 4.2 % to 89.3 ± 4.1 % and 89.7 ± 1.6 % in feeding flow tests and feeding port tests, respectively. Furthermore, the flow patterns were compared based on residence time distribution and computational fluid dynamics, indicating that a better equilibrium distribution of microorganisms and substrates could be achieved in the MUASB reactors under the lowest cumulative load. Therefore, substrate equalization theory can be used to optimize the nitrogen removal performance of MUASB reactors with low-carbon footprints.

Rapid start-up of an innovative pilot-scale staged PN/A continuous process for enhanced nitrogen removal from mature landfill leachate via robust NOB elimination and efficient biomass retention

The start-up and stable operation of partial nitritation-anammox (PN/A) treatment of mature landfill leachate (MLL) still face challenges. This study developed an innovative staged pilot-scale PN/A system to enhance nitrogen removal from MLL. The staged process included a PN unit, an anammox upflow enhanced internal circulation biofilm (UEICB) reactor, and a post-biofilm unit. Rapid start-up of the continuous flow PN process (full-concentration MLL) was achieved within 35 days by controlling dissolved oxygen and leveraging free ammonia and free nitrous acid to selectively suppress nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). The UEICB was equipped with an annular flow agitator combined with the enhanced internal circulation device of the guide tube, which achieved an efficient enrichment of Candidatus Kuenenia in the biofilm (relative abundance of 33.4 %). The nitrogen removal alliance formed by the salt-tolerant anammox bacterium (Candidatus Kuenenia) and denitrifying bacteria (unclassified SBR1031 and Denitratisoma) achieved efficient nitrogen removal of UEICB (total nitrogen removal percentage: 90.8 %) and at the same time effective treatment of the refractory organic matter (ROM). The dual membrane process of UEICB fixed biofilm combined with post-biofilm is effective in sludge retention, and can stably control the effluent suspended solids (SS) at a level of less than 5 mg/L. The post-biofilm unit ensured that effluent total nitrogen (TN) remained below the 40 mg/L discharge standard (98.5 % removal efficiency). Compared with conventional nitrification-denitrification systems, the staged PN/A process substantially reduced oxygen consumption, sludge production, CO2 emissions and carbon consumption by 22.8 %, 67.1 %, 87.1 % and 87.1 %, respectively. The 195-day stable operation marks the effective implementation of the innovative pilot-scale PN/A process in treating actual MLL. This study provides insights into strategies for rapid start-up, robust NOB suppression, and anammox biomass retention to advance the application of PN/A in high-ammonia low-carbon wastewater.

Anammox-based granulation cycle for sustainable granular sludge biotechnology from mechanisms to strategies: A critical review

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) granular sludge is a promising biotechnological process for treating low-carbon nitrogenous wastewater, and is featured with low energy consumption and footprint. Previous theoretical and experimental research on anammox granular sludge processes mainly focused on granulation (flocs → granules), but pay little attention to the granulation cycle including granulation and regeneration. This work reviewed the previous studies from the perspective of anammox granules lifecycle and proposed various sustainable formation mechanisms of anammox granules. By reviewing the anaerobic, aerobic, and anammox granulation mechanisms, we summarize the mechanisms of thermodynamic theory, heterogeneous growth, extracellular polymeric substance (EPS)-based adhesion, quorum sensing (QS)-based regulation, biomineralization-based growth, and stratification of microorganisms to understand anammox granulation. In the regeneration process, the formation of precursors for re-granulation is explained by the mechanisms of physical crushing, quorum quenching and dispersion cue sensing. Based on the granulation cycle mechanism, the rebuilding of the normal regeneration process is considered essential to avoid granule floatation and the wash-out of granules. This comprehensive review indicates that future research on anammox granulation cycle should focus on the effects of filamentous bacteria in denitrification-anammox granulation cycle, the role of QS/ quorum quenching (QQ)-based autoinducers, development of diversified mechanisms to understand the cycle and the cycle mechanisms of stored granules.

Recovery of anammox process performance after substrate inhibition: Reactor performance, sludge morphology, and microbial community

Most of the current studies have focused on the inhibition of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) by substrates, however, little attention has been paid to the recovery process of the reactor after inhibition. Therefore, we investigated the changes in reactor performance, granular sludge structure, and microbial community during the recovery phase after being inhibited by a high nitrogen load for 15 d. The nitrogen removal rate of the reactorwasrestored to pre-inhibition levels after 75 d of recovery, and the stoichiometric ratio converged to the theoretical value. The surface of the granular sludge developed into a broccoli-like structure, and the Ca and P contents of the granules increased from 6.88% and 4.39% to 24.42% and 13.88%, respectively. The abundance of the anammox bacterium Candidatus brocadia increased from 5.86% to 12.10%, and network analysis indicated that SMA102 and SBR1031 were positively correlated with the occurrence of Candidatus brocadia.

Deciphering the floatation reversibility of anammox sludge: A balance between sludge rheological intensity and external hydraulic shearing

Sludge floatation is inevitable in anammox granular reactors, which reduces the effective granules participating in anammox reaction and weakens the robust operation of anammox reactors. However, so far, the involved floatation mechanisms as well as the floatation mitigation measurements have not been well proposed. In this study, floating sludge (including irreversibly floating sludge (FS_I) and reversibly floating sludge (FS_R)) and settled granule sludge (SGS) were collected from an anammox expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor and compared in terms of morphological, physical, chemical and microbial properties. The particle size ranked FS_I > SGS > FS_R, and cavities were distinctly observed in FS_I due to the gas pockets and cell lysis. Rheological measurements revealed that the storage modulus (represent intensity of sludge) of FS_I and SGS were comparable, both of which were approximately1.4 times greater than that of FS_R. High storage modulus indicated that the hydraulic shear force in the EGSB was not strong enough to destroy FS_I and release the gases trapped in gas pocket, resulting in the irreversible floatation of FS_I. Whereas, the dinitrogen gases adhered onto FS_R were readily stripped from FS_R under hydraulic shearing, which contributed to their reversible floatation property. It is concluded that sludge floatation is resulted from the gas accumulation or gas adhesion onto the sludges, while the sludge floatation reversibility depends on the sludge intensity and hydraulic shear force. Our findings elucidate the floatation properties of anammox sludge via rheological analysis, which will contribute to the proper sludge floatation control and facilitate the optimization of anammox granule fluidization in EGSB reactor.

Effects of biotin on promoting anammox bacterial activity

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria significantly improve the efficiency and reduce cost of nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment plants. However, their slow growth and vulnerable activity limit the application of anammox technology. In this paper, the enhancement of biotin on the nitrogen removal activity of anammox bacteria in short-term batch experiments was studied. We found that biotin played a significant role in promoting anammox activity within a biotin concentration range of 0.1-1.5 mg/L. At a biotin concentration of 1.0 mg/L, the total nitrogen removal rate (NRR) increased by 112%, extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) secretion and heme production significantly improved, and anammox bacterial biomass increased to maximum levels. Moreover, the predominant genus of anammox bacteria was Candidatus Brocadia.

Review of characteristics of anammox bacteria and strategies for anammox start-up for sustainable wastewater resource management

Wastewater management has experienced different stages, including pollutant removal, resource recovery, and water nexus. Within these stages, anaerobic ammonia oxidation-based biotechnology can be incorporated for nitrogen removal, which can help achieve sustainable wastewater management, such as reclamation and ecologization of wastewater. Here, the physiology, metabolism, reaction kinetics and microbial interactions of anammox bacteria are discussed, and strategies to start-up the anammox system are presented. Anammox bacteria are slow growers with a high doubling time and a low reaction rate. Although most anammox bacteria grow autotrophically, some types can grow mixotrophically. The reaction stoichiometric coefficients can be affected by loading rates and other biological reactions. Microbial interactions also contribute to enhanced biological nitrogen removal and promote activities of anammox bacteria. The start-up of the anammox process is the key aspect for its practical application, which can be realized through seed selection, system stimulation, and biomass concentration enhancement.

Advances and challenges of mainstream nitrogen removal from municipal wastewater with anammox-based processes

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is a novel process of deammonification that exhibits superior ecological and economic potential compared to that of traditional heterotrophic processes. Although this process has been successfully implemented in treating high-strength nitrogen-contaminated wastewater, it still faces many challenges in treating mainstream municipal wastewater. This review aims to provide an overview of the status and challenges of mainstream anammox-based processes. The different configurations and crucial factors are discussed in this review. Finally, the future needs for feasible application are stated. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Factors restricting mainstream application of anammox-based processes are reviewed. Control strategies for selecting and maintaining anammox bacteria are discussed. Recent advances in nitrite production via partial nitrification or denitrification are summarized. Future needs for the feasible application of anammox-based nitrogen removal technology for mainstream municipal wastewater treatment are outlined.

Effect of steel slag in recycling waste activated sludge to produce anaerobic granular sludge

The amount of waste activated sludge (WAS) has grown dramatically in China. WAS is considered as a problematic and hazardous waste, which should be disposed in a safe and sustainable manner. In order to recycle WAS to an anaerobic granular sludge (AnGS) process for anaerobic digestion, Fe powder and steel slags (rusty and clean slags) were used to enhance the granulation process. The results demonstrated that both rusty and clean slags encouraged the development of granular sludge. Adding 10 g/L clean slags could increase AnGS granulation rate by 37%. In the presence of clean slags, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) concentration in granules increased noticeably to 715 mg/g mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS). High throughput sequencing analysis exhibited more diversity and higher abundance of functional microbial communities in the batch bottle with 10 g/L clean slags. This study suggested that adding clean slags at 10 g/L dosage was a sustainable and effective method for the sludge granulation.

Organic compounds evolution and sludge properties variation along partial nitritation and subsequent anammox processes treating reject water

Reject water contains complex components of organic compounds, which have significant influences on the nitrogen removal performance when treated using biological autotrophic nitrogen removal technology. In this study, a two-stage partial nitritation (PN)-anammox (floc-granule) system was established to treat reject water (COD/NH₄⁺-N = 0.97 ± 0.15), and the evolution of organic compounds along PN and annamox bioreactors was investigated using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and excitation-emission matrix. Also, the variation of PN and anammox sludge properties relating to COD reduction was examined. The PN-anammox system removed approximately 80% of total inorganic nitrogen and COD with hydraulic reaction time of 16 h. The influent organics (330-600 mg COD/L) in reject water were primarily composed of volatile, protein-like and humic acid-like organic compounds. PN process contributed 53 ± 18% of the overall COD removal, primarily including oxygen-containing organics (e.g. phenol), proteins and humic acids. Anammox process contributed 22 ± 15% of the overall COD removal, but large molecule acids (e.g. lactic acid) and small molecule alcohols (e.g. glycerol) were reoccurred, contributing to the effluent COD with recalcitrant hydrocarbons (e.g. n-Octadecane). Reject water increased the extracellular proteins/polysaccharides ratio of PN and anammox sludge, promoting the adsorption and degradation of organic compounds. High-throughput sequencing results showed that denitrifying bacteria of Ottowia increased from 0.03% to 14.4% in PN reactor, and of Denitratisoma increased from 9.6% to 15.4% in anammox reactor. The occurrence of these denitrifiers might mitigate the negative impact of organics to functional organisms. This study highlights the organics fate during PN-anammox treatment system, which is important to maintain the robust nitrogen removal when treating organics-containing and high ammonium concentration wastewater.

Characteristics and mechanism of anammox granular sludge with different granule size in high load and low rising velocity sewage treatment

An integrated investigation to structural, activity and microbial diversity of anammox granular sludge (AnGS) in a wastewater treatment system with high ammonia nitrogen load was performed and aimed to establish the relationship between granular size and performance. With the increase in granule size, the main component of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) changed from slime EPS to tightly-bound EPS, while the organic component remained the same, and the specific anammox activity increased. However, the results of qPCR and high-throughput sequencing showed that for granules with sizes inferior than 4.75 mm, the abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AnAOB) increased as the size increased, and the copies of AnAOB decreased when the granule size increased above 4.75 mm, and the community complexity increased. According to the correlation analysis results, AnAOB first accumulated and then optimized the flora structure to improve efficiency and 2.8 mm to 4.75 mm was the optimal size of AnGS.

Insight into the influence of microbial aggregate types on nitrogen removal performance and microbial community in the anammox process - A review and meta-analysis

The anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process has been paid close attention in the wastewater treatment field because of its energy-saving advantages. Different microbial aggregates have been used in the anammox process, and there is an urgent need to evaluate the comparative efficiencies of the widely used types of microbial aggregates with respect to their nitrogen removal performance as well as microbial community. To address this, 1724 published papers concentrating on three types of microbial aggregates, namely granules, biofilm, and flocs were compiled. A quantitative meta-analysis was carried out to compare the standard error of nitrogen removal efficiencies among these three microbial aggregates. The data sources of this meta-analysis comprised articles on granules (42%), followed by those on biofilm (33%) and flocs (25%). The granular sludge appeared to be competent in achieving the highest average nitrogen removal efficiencies of 81.1%, followed by biofilm (80.8%). Flocs provided comparatively poor removal of nitrogen pollutants with the lowest removal efficiency of 74.1%. Biofilm had the highest abundance of functional microbial communities with 43.4% on Candidatus Kuenenia and 11.2% on Candidatus Brocadia, which were detected in the anammox system as common genera. This meta-analysis suggested that the microbial aggregate types of granules and biofilm had a relatively low heterogeneity and high total nitrogen removal efficiencies for the anammox process and were the recommended microbial aggregates for anammox bacteria cultivation and operation of the anammox process.