1
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Wei Z, Li D, Li S, Zeng H, Zhang J. Negative role of filamentous bulking and its elimination in anammox process. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2024; 395:130336. [PMID: 38237642 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.130336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 01/13/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
In this study, the filamentous bulking (FB) with moderate and excessive levels were demonstrated to induce anammox failure by inhibiting nitrogen (N) removal and biomass retention. The low external mass transfer resulted from high liquid-surface friction and low turbulence of filamentous surface was considered the "trigger" of anammox failure, which decreased flux of nitrogen flow toward granular surface and directly limited N-removal loading, which meanwhile exposed granules with N-scarcity environment and indirectly inhibited N-removal bio-activity. Low bio-activity performed poor extracellular polymeric substances secretion further destroyed bio-aggregation with low suface hydrophobicity, which acted as "accelerator" for granule disintegration and biomass washout, ultimatly leading to anammox failure. Fortunately, incresing hydraulic shear stress could eradicate FB's negative effects without inhibiting FB itself, which promoted re-granulation and N-remval restore by enhancing external mass transfer more than hydraulic detachment. Enhancing mechanical stirring with FB level was necessary to maintain stable operation of granular anammox system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziqing Wei
- Key Laboratory of Water Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Dong Li
- Key Laboratory of Water Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China.
| | - Shuai Li
- Key Laboratory of Water Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Huiping Zeng
- Key Laboratory of Water Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Jie Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China
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2
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Van Tendeloo M, Baptista MC, Van Winckel T, Vlaeminck SE. Recurrent multi-stressor floc treatments with sulphide and free ammonia enabled mainstream partial nitritation/anammox. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:169449. [PMID: 38123077 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Selective suppression of nitrite-oxidising bacteria (NOB) over aerobic and anoxic ammonium-oxidising bacteria (AerAOB and AnAOB) remains a major challenge for mainstream partial nitritation/anammox implementation, a resource-efficient nitrogen removal pathway. A unique multi-stressor floc treatment was therefore designed and validated for the first time under lab-scale conditions while staying true to full-scale design principles. Two hybrid (suspended + biofilm growth) reactors were operated continuously at 20.2 ± 0.6 °C. Recurrent multi-stressor floc treatments were applied, consisting of a sulphide-spiked deoxygenated starvation followed by a free ammonia shock. A good microbial activity balance with high AnAOB (71 ± 21 mg N L-1 d-1) and low NOB (4 ± 17 % of AerAOB) activity was achieved by combining multiple operational strategies: recurrent multi-stressor floc treatments, hybrid sludge (flocs & biofilm), short floc age control, intermittent aeration, and residual ammonium control. The multi-stressor treatment was shown to be the most important control tool and should be continuously applied to maintain this balance. Excessive NOB growth on the biofilm was avoided despite only treating the flocs to safeguard the AnAOB activity on the biofilm. Additionally, no signs of NOB adaptation were observed over 142 days. Elevated effluent ammonium concentrations (25 ± 6 mg N L-1) limited the TN removal efficiency to 39 ± 9 %, complicating a future full-scale implementation. Operating at higher sludge concentrations or reducing the volumetric loading rate could overcome this issue. The obtained results ease the implementation of mainstream PN/A by providing and additional control tool to steer the microbial activity with the multi-stressor treatment, thus advancing the concept of energy neutrality in sewage treatment plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michiel Van Tendeloo
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Maria Catarina Baptista
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Tim Van Winckel
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Siegfried E Vlaeminck
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium.
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3
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Zhang L, Zhao W, Ji X, Wang J, Wu P, Qian F, Chen C, Shen Y, Liu W. Waste iron scraps promote anammox bacteria to resist inorganic carbon limitation. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:169042. [PMID: 38061648 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2023] [Revised: 11/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
The anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process is adversely affected by the limitation of inorganic carbon (IC). In this research, a new technique was introduced to assist anammox biomass in counteracting the adverse effects of IC limitation by incorporating waste iron scraps (WIS), a cheap and easily accessible byproduct of lathe cutting. Results demonstrated that reducing the influent IC/TN ratio from 0.08-0.09 to 0.04 resulted in a 20 % decrease in the nitrogen removal rate (NRR) for the control reactor, with an average specific anammox activity (SAA) of 0.65 g N/g VSS/day. Nevertheless, the performance of the WIS-assisted anammox reactor remained robust despite the reduction in IC supply. In fact, the NRR and SAA of the WIS-assisted reactor exhibited substantial improvements, reaching approximately 1.86 kg/(m3·day) and 0.98 g N/g VSS/day, respectively. These values surpassed those achieved by the control reactor by approximately 39 % and 51 %, respectively. The microbial analysis confirmed that the WIS addition significantly stimulated the proliferation of anammox bacteria (dominated by Candidatus Kuenenia) under IC limitation. The anammox gene abundances in the WIS-assisted anammox reactor were 3-4 times higher than those in the control reactor. Functional genes prediction based on the KEGG database revealed that the addition of WIS significantly enhanced the relative abundances of genes associated with nitrogen metabolism, IC fixation, and central carbon metabolism. Together, the results suggested that WIS promoted carbon dioxide fixation of anammox species to resist IC limitation. This study provided a promising approach for effectively treating high ammonium-strength wastewater using anammox under IC limitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liangwei Zhang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Wei Zhao
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Xiaoming Ji
- College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Jianfang Wang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China; National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Municipal Sewage Resource Utilization Technology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Peng Wu
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China; National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Municipal Sewage Resource Utilization Technology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Feiyue Qian
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China; National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Municipal Sewage Resource Utilization Technology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Chongjun Chen
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China; National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Municipal Sewage Resource Utilization Technology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Yaoliang Shen
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China; National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Municipal Sewage Resource Utilization Technology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Wenru Liu
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China; National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Municipal Sewage Resource Utilization Technology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China.
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4
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Song Z, Hao S, Zhang L, Fan X, Peng Y. High-rate nitrogen removal by partial nitritation/anammox with a single-stage membrane-aerated biofilm reactor. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 349:119581. [PMID: 37976648 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 10/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
In this study, a membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) coupled partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) system was established for high-rate nitrogen removal. Results showed that the nitrogen removal efficiency of 90.34% was finally obtained when influent ammonia increased from 150 mg L-1 to 300 mg L-1. Based on the fluorescence spectroscopy technology, the raised hydrophobicity tryptophan in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) promoted biofilm formation and bacteria aggregation. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed that the relative abundance of AOB and AnAOB was also enhanced by ammonia (Nitrosomonas and Candidatus Brocadia increased by 6.02 % and 10.06 % in biofilm, respectively), which further facilitated nitrogen removal efficiency. Furthermore, the key functional genes involved in partial nitritation and anammox, especially hao and nirK, up-regulated by 1.31 and 1.26 times, respectively, accelerating the electron generation and consumption. Therefore, raising influent ammonia content intensified microbial electron transfer behavior and high-rate nitrogen metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zixuan Song
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Key Laboratory of Beijing for Water Quality Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China
| | - Shiwei Hao
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Key Laboratory of Beijing for Water Quality Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China
| | - Li Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Key Laboratory of Beijing for Water Quality Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China.
| | - Xuepeng Fan
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Key Laboratory of Beijing for Water Quality Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China
| | - Yongzhen Peng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Key Laboratory of Beijing for Water Quality Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China
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5
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Zhu W, Van Tendeloo M, De Paepe J, Vlaeminck SE. Comparison of typical nitrite oxidizing bacteria suppression strategies and the effect on nitrous oxide emissions in a biofilm reactor. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2023; 387:129607. [PMID: 37544532 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2023] [Revised: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
In mainstream partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A), suppression of nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) and mitigation of N2O emissions are two essential operational goals. The N2O emissions linked to three typical NOB suppression strategies were tested in a covered rotating biological contactor (RBC) biofilm system at 21 °C: (i) low dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations, and treatments with (ii) free ammonia (FA), and (iii) free nitrous acids (FNA). Low emerged DO levels effectively minimized NOB activity and decreased N2O emissions, but NOB adaptation appeared after 200 days of operation. Further NOB suppression was successfully achieved by periodic (3 h per week) treatments with FA (29.3 ± 2.6 mg NH3-N L-1) or FNA (3.1 ± 0.3 mg HNO2-N L-1). FA treatment, however, promoted N2O emissions, while FNA did not affect these. Hence, biofilm PN/A should be operated at relatively low DO levels with periodic FNA treatment to maximize nitrogen removal efficiency while avoiding high greenhouse gas emissions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiqiang Zhu
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium; School of Water Conservancy and Environment, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, PR China
| | - Michiel Van Tendeloo
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Jolien De Paepe
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Siegfried E Vlaeminck
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium.
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6
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Huang Y, Su R, Bu Y, Ma B. A predictive model for determining the nitrite concentration in the effluent of an anammox reactor using ensemble regression tree algorithm. CHEMOSPHERE 2023; 339:139553. [PMID: 37482314 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is a cost-effective biological nitrogen removal method for treating wastewater. Nitrite has strong negative effect on microbial activity of anammox bacteria, while the conventional equitment available for determining nitrite on-line is challenging due to high price. By knowing the concentration of nitrite in the effluent, its concentration in the reactor can be controlled accordingly. To investigate this, an ensemble regression tree algorithm was used to establish the predictive model proposed in the current work. Moreover, the Bayesian algorithm was adopted to systematically optimize various parameters of machine learning algorithms. The predicted concentrations of nitrite were in good agreement with the observed values, and the coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean squared error (RMSE) values reached 0.91 and 4.81, respectively. Furthermore, the model established by the ensemble regression tree algorithm was compared with models established by commonly used machine learning algorithms. Finally, the established models were applied to another anammox reactor, and the predicted results of ensemble regression tree model were found to be in good agreement with the experimental values with R2 and RMSE values of 0.84 and 6.34, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yikun Huang
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Forestry Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, School of Ecological and Environmental Science, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Run Su
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Forestry Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, School of Ecological and Environmental Science, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Yinan Bu
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Forestry Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, School of Ecological and Environmental Science, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China.
| | - Bin Ma
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Forestry Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, School of Ecological and Environmental Science, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China.
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7
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Su Z, Liu T, Guo J, Zheng M. Nitrite Oxidation in Wastewater Treatment: Microbial Adaptation and Suppression Challenges. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:12557-12570. [PMID: 37589598 PMCID: PMC10470456 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c00636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
Microbial nitrite oxidation is the primary pathway that generates nitrate in wastewater treatment systems and can be performed by a variety of microbes: namely, nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Since NOB were first isolated 130 years ago, the understanding of the phylogenetical and physiological diversities of NOB has been gradually deepened. In recent endeavors of advanced biological nitrogen removal, NOB have been more considered as a troublesome disruptor, and strategies on NOB suppression often fail in practice after long-term operation due to the growth of specific NOB that are able to adapt to even harsh conditions. In line with a review of the history of currently known NOB genera, a phylogenetic tree is constructed to exhibit a wide range of NOB in different phyla. In addition, the growth behavior and metabolic performance of different NOB strains are summarized. These specific features of various NOB (e.g., high oxygen affinity of Nitrospira, tolerance to chemical inhibitors of Nitrobacter and Candidatus Nitrotoga, and preference to high temperature of Nitrolancea) highlight the differentiation of the NOB ecological niche in biological nitrogen processes and potentially support their adaptation to different suppression strategies (e.g., low dissolved oxygen, chemical treatment, and high temperature). This review implicates the acquired physiological characteristics of NOB to their emergence from a genomic and ecological perspective and emphasizes the importance of understanding physiological characterization and genomic information in future wastewater treatment studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zicheng Su
- Australian Centre for Water
and Environmental Biotechnology, The University
of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Tao Liu
- Australian Centre for Water
and Environmental Biotechnology, The University
of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Jianhua Guo
- Australian Centre for Water
and Environmental Biotechnology, The University
of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Min Zheng
- Australian Centre for Water
and Environmental Biotechnology, The University
of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
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8
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Zhu W, Van Tendeloo M, Alloul A, Vlaeminck SE. Feasibility of a return-sludge nursery concept for mainstream anammox biostimulation: creating optimal conditions for anammox to recover and grow in a parallel tank. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2023:129359. [PMID: 37343792 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
To overcome limiting anammox activity, a return-sludge nursery concept is proposed. This concept blends reject water treated with partial nitritation with mainstream effluent to increase the temperature, N levels, and EC of the anammox nursery reactor, which sludge periodically passes through the return sludge line of the mainstream system. Various nursery frequencies were tested in two 2.5 L reactors, including 0.5-2 days of nursery treatment per 3.5-14 days of the total operation. Bioreactor experiments showed that nursery increased nitrogen removal rates during mainstream operation by 33-38%. The increased anammox activity can be partly (35-60%) explained by higher temperatures. Elevated EC, higher nitrogen concentrations, and a putative synergy and/or unknown factor were responsible for 15-16%, 12-14%, and 10-36%, respectively. A relatively stable microbial community dominated by "Candidatus Brocadia" was observed. This new concept boosted activity and sludge growth, which may facilitate mainstream anammox implementations based on partial nitritation/anammox or partial nitrification/denitratation/anammox.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiqiang Zhu
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium; School of Water Conservancy and Environment, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, PR China
| | - Michiel Van Tendeloo
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Abbas Alloul
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Siegfried E Vlaeminck
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium.
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9
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Zheng M, Li H, Duan H, Liu T, Wang Z, Zhao J, Hu Z, Watts S, Meng J, Liu P, Rattier M, Larsen E, Guo J, Dwyer J, Akker BVD, Lloyd J, Hu S, Yuan Z. One-year stable pilot-scale operation demonstrates high flexibility of mainstream anammox application. WATER RESEARCH X 2023; 19:100166. [PMID: 36685722 PMCID: PMC9845764 DOI: 10.1016/j.wroa.2023.100166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Mainstream nitrogen removal via anammox is widely recognized as a promising wastewater treatment process. However, its application is challenging at large scale due to unstable suppression of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). In this study, a pilot-scale mainstream anammox process was implemented in an Integrated Fixed-film Activated Sludge (IFAS) configuration. Stable operation with robust NOB suppression was maintained for over one year. This was achieved through integration of three key control strategies: i) low dissolved oxygen (DO = 0.4 ± 0.2 mg O2/L), ii) regular free nitrous acid (FNA)-based sludge treatment, and iii) residual ammonium concentration control (NH4 + with a setpoint of ∼8 mg N/L). Activity tests and FISH demonstrated that NOB barely survived in sludge flocs and were inhibited in biofilms. Despite receiving organic-deficient wastewater from a pilot-scale High-Rate Activated Sludge (HRAS) system as the feed, the system maintained a stable effluent total nitrogen concentration mostly below 10 mg N/L, which was attributed to the successful retention of anammox bacteria. This study successfully demonstrated large-scale long-term mainstream anammox application and generated new practical knowledge for NOB control and anammox retention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Zheng
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
- Corresponding authors.
| | - Huijuan Li
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
- Urban Utilities, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - Haoran Duan
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Tao Liu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Zhiyao Wang
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jing Zhao
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Zhetai Hu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Shane Watts
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jia Meng
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Peng Liu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Maxime Rattier
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Eloise Larsen
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jianhua Guo
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jason Dwyer
- Urban Utilities, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - Ben Van Den Akker
- South Australian Water Corporation, 250 Victoria Square, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia
| | - James Lloyd
- Melbourne Water, 990 La Trobe St, Docklands, VIC, 3000, Australia
| | - Shihu Hu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
- Corresponding authors.
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
- Corresponding authors.
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10
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Hong S, Winkler MKH, Wang Z, Goel R. Integration of EBPR with mainstream anammox process to treat real municipal wastewater: Process performance and microbiology. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 233:119758. [PMID: 36812815 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.119758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soklida Hong
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Utah, 110 S Central Campus Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
| | - Mari-K H Winkler
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, 616 Northlake Place, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
| | - Zhiwu Wang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Manassas, VA 20110, USA.
| | - Ramesh Goel
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Utah, 110 S Central Campus Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
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11
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Ikem J, Chen H, Delatolla R. Design strategy and mechanism of nitrite oxidation suppression of elevated loading rate partial nitritation system. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1142570. [PMID: 37065113 PMCID: PMC10094160 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1142570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
There is a current need for a low operational intensity, effective and small footprint system to achieve stable partial nitritation for subsequent anammox treatment at mainstream municipal wastewaters. This research identifies a unique design strategy using an elevated total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) surface area loading rate (SALR) of 5 g TAN/m2.d to achieve cost-effective, stable, and elevated rates of partial nitritation in a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) system under mainstream conditions. The elevated loaded partial nitritation MBBR system achieves a TAN surface area removal rate (SARR) of 2.01 ± 0.07 g TAN/m2.d and NO2−-N: NH4+-N stoichiometric ratio of 1.15:1, which is appropriate for downstream anammox treatment. The elevated TAN SALR design strategy promotes nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) activity suppression rather than a reduction in NOB population as the reason for the suppression of nitrite oxidation in the mainstream elevated loaded partial nitritation MBBR system. NOB activity is limited at an elevated TAN SALR likely due to thick biofilm embedding the NOB population and competition for dissolved oxygen (DO) with ammonia-oxidizing bacteria for TAN oxidation to nitrite within the biofilm structure, which ultimately limits the uptake of DO by NOB in the system. Therefore, this design strategy offers a cost-effective and efficient alternative for mainstream partial nitritation MBBR systems at water resource recovery facilities.
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12
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Wang H, Zhang L, Dan Q, Zhang Y, Wang S, Zhang Q, Li X, Wang C, Peng Y. Ultra-high nitrogen removal from real municipal wastewater using selective enhancement of glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs) in a partial nitrification-anammox (PNA) system. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 230:119594. [PMID: 36638736 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.119594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Integrating endogenous denitrification (ED) into partial nitrification-anammox (PNA) systems by adequately utilizing organics in municipal wastewater is a promising approach to improve nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE). In this study, a novel strategy to inhibit phosphorus-accumulating organisms (PAOs) by inducing phosphorus release and exclusion was adopted intermittently, optimizing organics allocation between PAOs and glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs). Enhanced ED-synergized anammox was established to treat real municipal wastewater, achieving an NRE of 97.5±2.2% and effluent total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) of less than 2.0 mg/L. With low poly-phosphorus (poly-P) levels (poly-P/VSS below 0.01 (w/w)), glycogen accumulating metabolism (GAM) acquired organics exceeded that of phosphorus accumulating metabolism (PAM) and dominated endogenous metabolism. Ca. Competibacter (GAO) dominated the community following phosphorus-rich supernatant exclusion, with abundance increasing from 3.4% to 5.7%, accompanied by enhanced ED capacity (0.2 to 1.4 mg N/g VSS /h). The enriched subgroups (GB4, GB5) of Ca. Competibcater established a consistent nitrate cycle with anammox bacteria (AnAOB) through endogenous partial denitrification (EPD) at a ∆NO2--N/∆NH4+-N of 0.91±0.11, guaranteeing the maintenance of AnAOB abundance and performance. These results provide new insights into the flexibility of PNA for the energy-efficient treatment of low-strength ammonium wastewater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanbin Wang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Liang Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Qiongpeng Dan
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Yingxin Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Shuying Wang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Qiong Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Xiyao Li
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Chuanxin Wang
- Guangdong Shouhui Lantian Engineering and Technology Co. Ltd, Guangdong 510075, PR China
| | - Yongzhen Peng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China.
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13
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Wei Z, Li D, Li S, Hao T, Zeng H, Zhang J. Improving mechanical stability of anammox granules with organic stress by limited filamentous bulking. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2023; 370:128558. [PMID: 36587769 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Under organic stress, the limited filamentous bulking (FB) was demonstrated to improve anammox capability by inhibiting granule disintegration and washout. The accumulation of internal stress played a more important role than the adverse physicochemical properties (low viscoelasticity and hydrophobicity) of granules in limiting granular strength by consuming the granular elastic energy. Different from the floc-forming heterotrophic bacteria (HB) that stored its growth stress as internal stress by pushing the surrounded anammox micro-colonies outwards under the spatial constraint of elastic anammox "shell", the filamentous HB grew into a uniform network structure within granules, endowed granules low internal stress and acted as the granular skeleton due to its rich amyloid substance, which was benefited from the elimination of inhomogeneous growth and the consequent expansion competition for living space. Combined with the mechanical instability and sticking-spring models, controlling FB at limited level was effective for improving granular strength without affecting sludge-water separation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziqing Wei
- Key Laboratory of Water Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Dong Li
- Key Laboratory of Water Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China.
| | - Shuai Li
- Key Laboratory of Water Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Tongyao Hao
- Key Laboratory of Water Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Huiping Zeng
- Key Laboratory of Water Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Jie Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China
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14
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Wei Z, Li D, Li S, Hao T, Zeng H, Zhang J. Improving anammox performance by limited filamentous bulking for wastewater treatment with organic stress. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2023; 369:128506. [PMID: 36535612 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Revised: 12/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
In this study, the filamentous bulking was demonstrated to improve anammox capability and anammox bacteria (AnAOB) population density under organic stress. The selective heterotrophic bacteria (HB) washout that involved in shear detachment, enmeshment and biomass washout was triggered. The microbial spatial distribution and granular detachment properties revealed that the filamentous bulking transferred the "location advantage" of HB from granules interior to surface, and endowed granular surface low shear tolerance for shear detachment, ultimately resulted in selective HB detachment. The detached filaments-mediated enmeshment provided additional selective pressure for free HB-flocs, eventually achieving the retention time differentiation between AnAOB (34 - 141 days) and HB (3 - 15 days), and a high anammox population density. Controlling dissolved oxygen level was crucial for regulating sludge bulking. Collectively, the filamentous bulking was developed as an effective anti-organic stress strategy to broaden the application of granular anammox process in actual wastewater treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziqing Wei
- Key Laboratory of Water Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Dong Li
- Key Laboratory of Water Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China.
| | - Shuai Li
- Key Laboratory of Water Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Tongyao Hao
- Key Laboratory of Water Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Huiping Zeng
- Key Laboratory of Water Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Jie Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Water Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China; State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China
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15
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Jia C, Wu L, Yu K, Hu J, Qi JW, Luo A. Achieving stable anammox process and revealing shift of bacteria during the start-up in landfill leachate treatment. WATER ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH : A RESEARCH PUBLICATION OF THE WATER ENVIRONMENT FEDERATION 2023; 95:e10841. [PMID: 36789674 DOI: 10.1002/wer.10841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2022] [Revised: 01/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Partial nitrification-anammox (PN/A) is an energy-efficient technology for nitrogen removal in landfill leachate treatment. Numerous studies have reported successful implementation of the PN/A process and its stable operation under laboratory conditions. One of the primary challenges in PN/A engineering applications is the mass of the seed sludge required for start-up. This study examined the PN/A using a sequence batch reactor (SBR) inoculating a common mixture to treat landfill leachate. After 70 days of operation, the system successfully realized a one-stage PN/A process and maintained a stable ammonium NH 4 + $$ \left({NH}_4^{+}\right) $$ removal efficiency of 97.65% ± 1%, where the effluent of NH 4 + $$ {NH}_4^{+} $$ and nitrate ( NO 3 - $$ {NO}_3^{-} $$ ) were less than 4 ± 1.5 mg L-1 and 10 mg L-1 . In addition, the relative abundances of Ca. Kuenenia and Ca. Brocadia, which are typical anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AnAOB), increased from 0.08% to 3.99% (70 days) and 0.01% to 0.45%, respectively. The relative abundances of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) Nitrosomonas and Nitrosospira increased from 0.9% to 2.89% and 0.007% to 0.1% (70 days), respectively. Both AnAOB and AOB are important niches of the system. PRACTITIONER POINTS: The research realized PN/A rapidly by inoculating common mixture sludge. The experiment successfully enriched AnAOB from 0.09% to 3.89% within 70 days. The article revealing the ecological roles of AOB and AnAOB in the landfill leachate treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunfang Jia
- Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment (Ministry of Education), Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, China
| | - Lina Wu
- Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment (Ministry of Education), Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, China
| | - Ke Yu
- School of Environment and Energy, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jincheng Hu
- School of Environment and Energy, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jiabao Wendy Qi
- Department of Civil and Environmental engineering, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Anteng Luo
- Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment (Ministry of Education), Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, China
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16
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Zhu Z, Zhang L, Li X, Zhang Q, Wang S, Peng Y. Robust nitrogen removal from municipal wastewater by partial nitrification anammox at ultra-low dissolved oxygen in a pure biofilm system. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2023; 369:128453. [PMID: 36503089 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Efficient nitrogen removal from municipal wastewater applying a pure biofilm system has promise. In this study, a partial nitrification anammox (PNA) pure biofilm system was established in a sequencing batch reactor with anaerobic/oxic/anoxic operation; using this reactor, robust nitrogen removal from municipal wastewater at ambient temperature was achieved with a nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) of 93.3 %. Partial nitrification with anammox could be coupled at dominant nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) abundance by controlling ultra-low dissolved oxygen (<0.1 mg/L) in the aerobic section where the contribution to nitrogen removal was 79.4 %. Microorganisms with different oxygen affinity spatially distributed on the carrier. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) dominated on the surface of the carrier, while anammox bacteria dominated on the interior of the carrier, with their relative abundance increasing from 0.26 % to 1.78 %. The intercalary NOB were inhibited by the restricted oxygen transfer. Overall, this study provides a new approach to realize PNA in biofilm system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuo Zhu
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Liyuan Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Xiyao Li
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Qiong Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Shuying Wang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Yongzhen Peng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China.
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17
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Li Y, Liang H, Yang W, Cheng L, Cao J, Wang P, Gao D. Enhanced nitrogen removal in mainstream deammonification systems at ambient temperature by novel modified carriers and differentiation of microbial community transformation. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2022; 366:128158. [PMID: 36272683 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Zeolite-modified polyurethane (ZP) carriers and zeolite/tourmaline-modified polyurethane (ZTP) carriers were proposed to enhance mainstream deammonification. The system with ZTP carriers was rapidly established in 28 days with a nitrogen removal rate (NRR) of 0.150 kg N·(m3·d)-1. Moreover, the facilitative effect of tourmaline was suggested by the highest humic acid peak intensity and more balanced potential activity. Besides, SEM-EDS analysis revealed carrier characteristic improvement was achieved in both novel carriers while maintaining an excellent spatial structure. Moreover, the microbial analysis suggested that both modified carriers support the substrate supply to anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AnAOB) by enhancing dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium and partial denitrification under nitrate accumulation conditions. Nevertheless, the ZTP system had a greater advantage over maintaining the original AnAOB (Candidatus Jettenia) and ammonium oxidizing bacteria (Nitrosomonas) abundance. Overall, this study provides ZTP carriers with great potential for facilitating the establishment of mainstream deammonification at full-scale WWTPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqi Li
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Hong Liang
- Centre for Urban Environmental Remediation, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Energy Conservation & Emission Reduction and Sustainable Urban-Rural Development in Beijing, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Wenbo Yang
- Centre for Urban Environmental Remediation, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Energy Conservation & Emission Reduction and Sustainable Urban-Rural Development in Beijing, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Lang Cheng
- Centre for Urban Environmental Remediation, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Energy Conservation & Emission Reduction and Sustainable Urban-Rural Development in Beijing, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Jiasuo Cao
- Centre for Urban Environmental Remediation, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Energy Conservation & Emission Reduction and Sustainable Urban-Rural Development in Beijing, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Peng Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, Heilongjiang, China
| | - Dawen Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, Heilongjiang, China; Centre for Urban Environmental Remediation, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Energy Conservation & Emission Reduction and Sustainable Urban-Rural Development in Beijing, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China.
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18
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Elsayed A, Yu J, Lee T, Kim Y. Model study on real-time aeration based on nitrite for effective operation of single-stage anammox. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 212:113554. [PMID: 35644493 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Revised: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Anaerobic ammonia oxidation (Anammox) is an innovative technology for cost-efficient nitrogen removal without intensive aeration. However, effective control of the competition between nitrite oxidizing bacteria (XNOB) and Anammox bacteria (XANA) for nitrite is a key challenge for broad applications of single-stage Anammox processes in real wastewater treatment. Therefore, a real-time aeration scheme was proposed to determine dissolved oxygen (DO) based on nitrite concentration for effective control of XNOB growth while maintaining the XANA activity in a single-stage Anammox process. In this study, a non-steady state mathematical model was developed and calibrated using previously reported lab-scale Anammox results to investigate the efficiency of the proposed real-time aeration scheme in enhancing the Anammox process. Based on the calibrated model simulation results, DO of about 0.10 mg-O2/L was found to be ideal for maintaining effective nitrite creation by ammonia oxidizing bacteria (XAOB) while slowing down the growth of XNOB. If DO is too low (e.g., 0.01 mg-O2/L or lower), the overall rate of the ammonia removal is limited due to slow growth of XAOB. On the other hand, high DO (e.g., 1.0 mg-O2/L or higher) inhibits the growth of XANA, resulting in dominancy of XAOB and XNOB. According to the simulation results, nitrite concentration was found to be a rate-limiting parameter on effective nitrogen removal in single-stage Anammox processes. We also found that nitrite concentration can be used as a real-time switch for aeration in a single-stage Anammox process. A schematic aeration method based on real-time nitrite concentration was proposed and examined to control the competition between XANA and XNOB. In the model simulation, the XANA activity was successfully maintained because the schematic aeration prevented an outgrowth of XNOB, allowing energy-efficient nitrogen removal using single-stage Anammox processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed Elsayed
- Department of Civil Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Irrigation and Hydraulics Department, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
| | - Jaecheul Yu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pusan National University, Republic of Korea
| | - Taeho Lee
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pusan National University, Republic of Korea
| | - Younggy Kim
- Department of Civil Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
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Meng J, Hu Z, Wang Z, Hu S, Liu Y, Guo H, Li J, Yuan Z, Zheng M. Determining Factors for Nitrite Accumulation in an Acidic Nitrifying System: Influent Ammonium Concentration, Operational pH, and Ammonia-Oxidizing Community. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:11578-11588. [PMID: 35877959 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c07522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Acidic nitrification is attracting wide attention because it can enable robust suppression of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in wastewater treatment. This study reports a comprehensive assessment of the novel acidic nitrification process to identify the key factors that govern stable nitrite accumulation. A laboratory-scale moving-bed biofilm reactor receiving low-alkalinity wastewater was continuously operated under acidic conditions (pH < 6) for around two years, including nine stages varying influent and operational conditions. The results revealed that nitrite accumulation was related to three factors, i.e., influent ammonium concentration, operating pH, and ammonia-oxidizing microbial community. These three factors impact nitrite accumulation by altering the in situ concentration of free nitrous acid (FNA), which is a potent inhibitor of NOB. The critical FNA concentration is approximately one part per million (ppm, ∼1 mg HNO2-N/L), above which nitrite accumulation is stably maintained in an acidic nitrifying system. The findings of this study suggest that stable nitrite accumulation via acidic ammonia oxidation can be maintained under a range of influent and operational conditions, as long as a ppm-level of FNA is established. Taking low-strength mainstream wastewater (40-50 mg NH4+-N/L) with limited alkalinity as an example, stable nitrite accumulation was experimentally demonstrated at a pH of 4.35, under which an in situ FNA of 2.3 ± 0.6 mg HNO2-N/L was attained. Under these conditions, Candidatus Nitrosoglobus became the only ammonia oxidizer detectable by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results of this study deepen our understanding of acidic nitrifying systems, informing further development of novel wastewater treatment technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Meng
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, 73 Huanghe Road, Harbin 150090, China
| | - Zhetai Hu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Zhiyao Wang
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Shihu Hu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Yanchen Liu
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Hongguang Guo
- MOE Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Science and Engineering, College of Architecture and Environment, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
| | - Jianzheng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, 73 Huanghe Road, Harbin 150090, China
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Min Zheng
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
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20
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Pimenov NV, Nikolaev YA, Dorofeev AG, Grachev VA, Kallistova AY, Kanapatskii TA, Litti YV, Gruzdev EV, Begmatov SA, Ravin NV, Mardanov AV. Introduction of Exogenous Activated Sludge as a Way to Enhance the Efficiency of Nitrogen Removal in the Anammox Process. Microbiology (Reading) 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s0026261722300178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
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21
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Hausherr D, Niederdorfer R, Bürgmann H, Lehmann M, Magyar P, Mohn J, Morgenroth E, Joss A. Successful year-round mainstream partial nitritation anammox: Assessment of effluent quality, performance and N 2O emissions. WATER RESEARCH X 2022; 16:100145. [PMID: 35789883 PMCID: PMC9250041 DOI: 10.1016/j.wroa.2022.100145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
For two decades now, partial nitritation anammox (PNA) systems were suggested to more efficiently remove nitrogen (N) from mainstream municipal wastewater. Yet to date, only a few pilot-scale systems and even fewer full-scale implementations of this technology have been described. Process instability continues to restrict the broad application of PNA. Especially problematic are insufficient anammox biomass retention, the growth of undesired aerobic nitrite-oxidizers, and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. In this study, a two-stage mainstream pilot-scale PNA system, consisting of three reactors (carbon pre-treatment, nitritation, anammox - 8 m3 each), was operated over a year, treating municipal wastewater. The aim was to test whether both, robust autotrophic N removal and high effluent quality, can be achieved throughout the year. A second aim was to better understand rate limiting processes, potentially affecting the overall performance of PNA systems. In this pilot study, excellent effluent quality, in terms of inorganic nitrogen, was accomplished (average effluent concentrations: 0.4 mgNH4-N/L, 0.1 mgNO2-N/L, 0.9 mgNO3-N/L) even at wastewater temperatures previously considered problematic (as low as 8 °C). N removal was limited by nitritation rates (84 ± 43 mgNH4-N/L/d), while surplus anammox activity was observed at all times (178 ± 43 mgN/L/d). Throughout the study, nitrite-oxidation was maintained at a low level (<2.5% of ammonium consumption rate). Unfortunately, high N2O emissions from the nitritation stage (1.2% of total nitrogen in the influent) were observed, and, based on natural isotope abundance measurements, could be attributed to heterotrophic denitrification. In situ batch experiments were conducted to identify the role of dissolved oxygen (DO) and organic substrate availability in N2O emission-mitigation. The addition of organic substrate, to promote complete denitrification, was not successful in decreasing N2O emission, but increasing the DO from 0.3 to 2.9 mgO2/L decreased N2O emissions by a factor of 3.4.
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Affiliation(s)
- D. Hausherr
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf 8600, Switzerland
- Corresponding author:
| | - R. Niederdorfer
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Kastanienbaum, 6047, Switzerland
| | - H. Bürgmann
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Kastanienbaum, 6047, Switzerland
| | - M.F. Lehmann
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Aquatic and Isotope Biogeochemistry, Basel 4056, Switzerland
| | - P. Magyar
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Aquatic and Isotope Biogeochemistry, Basel 4056, Switzerland
| | - J. Mohn
- Empa, Swiss Federal Institute for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Air Pollution / Environmental Technology, Dübendorf 8600, Switzerland
| | - E. Morgenroth
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf 8600, Switzerland
- ETH Zürich, Institute of Environmental Engineering, Zürich 8093, Switzerland
| | - A. Joss
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf 8600, Switzerland
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22
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Deng L, Peng Y, Wu C, Gao R, Li W, Kao C, Li J. Mutual boost of granulation and enrichment of anammox bacteria in an anaerobic/oxic/anoxic system as the temperature decreases when treating municipal wastewater. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2022; 357:127336. [PMID: 35618188 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Low temperature is an important factor affecting the municipal wastewater treatment systems. The aim of this study was tracking the variations in the abundance of anammox bacteria (AnAOB) and the sludge form as the temperature decreased. Mutual boost of granulation and enrichment of AnAOB was achieved even though the temperature dropped from 20.4 °C to 12.9 °C. The average particle size of the sludge increased from 128.5 μm to 245.6 μm. With low dissolved oxygen (DO) aeration (0.2-0.5 mg/L) and short oxic hydraulic retention time (HRT) (5 h), nitritation in the anaerobic/oxic/anoxic (AOA) system was stable enough to provide NO2- for AnAOB. Ca. Brocadia, a type of typical AnAOB, was enriched from 0.03% to 0.24% in the suspended sludge and reached 16.09% in the granular sludge. Overall, this study presents the prospects of anammox and granule technologies when treating municipal wastewater at a low temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liyan Deng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China; College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Yongzhen Peng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Changyong Wu
- Research Center of Environmental Pollution Control Technology, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Ruitao Gao
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Wenyu Li
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Chengkun Kao
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Jianwei Li
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China.
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23
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Palomo A, Azevedo D, Touceda-Suárez M, Domingo-Félez C, Mutlu AG, Dechesne A, Wang Y, Zhang T, Smets BF. Efficient management of the nitritation-anammox microbiome through intermittent aeration: absence of the NOB guild and expansion and diversity of the NOx reducing guild suggests a highly reticulated nitrogen cycle. ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOME 2022; 17:39. [PMID: 35869541 PMCID: PMC9306079 DOI: 10.1186/s40793-022-00432-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Obtaining efficient autotrophic ammonia removal (aka partial nitritation-anammox, or PNA) requires a balanced microbiome with abundant aerobic and anaerobic ammonia oxidizing bacteria and scarce nitrite oxidizing bacteria. Here, we analyzed the microbiome of an efficient PNA process that was obtained by sequential feeding and periodic aeration. The genomes of the dominant community members were inferred from metagenomes obtained over a 6 month period. Three Brocadia spp. genomes and three Nitrosomonas spp. genomes dominated the autotrophic community; no NOB genomes were retrieved. Two of the Brocadia spp. genomes lacked the genomic potential for nitrite reduction. A diverse set of heterotrophic genomes was retrieved, each with genomic potential for only a fraction of the denitrification pathway. A mutual dependency in amino acid and vitamin synthesis was noted between autotrophic and heterotrophic community members. Our analysis suggests a highly-reticulated nitrogen cycle in the examined PNA microbiome with nitric oxide exchange between the heterotrophs and the anammox guild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Palomo
- Microbial Ecology and Technology Lab, Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Daniela Azevedo
- Microbial Ecology and Technology Lab, Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
| | - María Touceda-Suárez
- Microbial Ecology and Technology Lab, Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
- Department of Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Carlos Domingo-Félez
- Microbial Ecology and Technology Lab, Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
| | - A Gizem Mutlu
- Microbial Ecology and Technology Lab, Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
- Hydrotech - Veolia Water Technologies, Vellinge, Sweden
| | - Arnaud Dechesne
- Microbial Ecology and Technology Lab, Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Yulin Wang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China
| | - Tong Zhang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China
| | - Barth F Smets
- Microbial Ecology and Technology Lab, Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark.
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24
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Wang Z, Zheng M, Duan H, Yuan Z, Hu S. A 20-Year Journey of Partial Nitritation and Anammox (PN/A): from Sidestream toward Mainstream. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:7522-7531. [PMID: 35657148 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c06107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) was discovered as a new microbial reaction in the late 1990s, which led to the development of an innovative energy- and carbon-efficient technology─partial nitritation and anammox (PN/A)─for nitrogen removal. PN/A was first applied to remove the nitrogen from high-strength wastewaters, e.g., anaerobic digestion liquor (i.e., sidestream), and further expanded to the main line of wastewater treatment plants (i.e., mainstream). While sidestream PN/A has been well-established with extensive full-scale installations worldwide, practical application of PN/A in mainstream treatment has been proven extremely challenging to date. A key challenge is achieving stable suppression of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). This study examines the progress of NOB suppression in both sidestream- and mainstream PN/A over the past two decades. The successful NOB suppression in sidestream PN/A was reviewed, and these successes were evaluated in terms of their transferability into mainstream PN/A. Drawing on the learning over the past decades, we anticipate that a hybrid process, comprised of biofilm and floccular sludge, bears great potential to achieve efficient mainstream PN/A, while a combination of strategies is entailed for stable NOB suppression. Furthermore, the recent discovery of novel nitrifiers would trigger new opportunities and new challenges for mainstream PN/A.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiyao Wang
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology (ACWEB, formerly AWMC), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Min Zheng
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology (ACWEB, formerly AWMC), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Haoran Duan
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology (ACWEB, formerly AWMC), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology (ACWEB, formerly AWMC), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Shihu Hu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology (ACWEB, formerly AWMC), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
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25
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Du R, Cao S, Jin R, Li X, Fan J, Peng Y. Beyond an Applicable Rate in Low-Strength Wastewater Treatment by Anammox: Motivated Labor at an Extremely Short Hydraulic Retention Time. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:8650-8662. [PMID: 35537060 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c05123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The application of anammox technology in low-strength wastewater treatment is still challenging due to unstable nitrite (NO2--N) generation. Partial denitrification (PD) of nitrate (NO3--N) reduction ending with NO2--N provides a promising solution. However, little is known about the feasibility of accelerating nitrogen removal toward the practical application of anammox combined with heterotrophic denitrification. In this work, an ultrafast, highly stable, and impressive nitrogen removal performance was demonstrated in the PD coupling with an anammox (PD/A) system. With a low-strength influent [50 mg/L each of ammonia (NH4+-N) and NO3--N] at a low chemical oxygen demand/NO3--N ratio of 2.2, the hydraulic retention time could be shortened from 16.0 to 1.0 h. Remarkable nitrogen removal rates of 1.28 kg N/(m3 d) and excellent total nitrogen removal efficiency of 94.1% were achieved, far exceeding the applicable capacity for mainstream treatment. Stimulated enzymatic reaction activity of anammox was obtained due to the fast NO2--N jump followed by a famine condition with limited organic carbon utilization. This high-rate PD/A system exhibited efficient renewal of bacteria with a short sludge retention time. The 16S rRNA sequencing unraveled the rapid growth of the genus Thauera, possibly responsible for the incomplete reduction of NO3--N to NO2--N and a decreasing abundance of anammox bacteria. This provides new insights into the practical application of the PD/A process in the energy-efficient treatment of low-strength wastewater with less land occupancy and desirable effluent quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Du
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Shenbin Cao
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Rencun Jin
- Laboratory of Water Pollution Remediation, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Xiangchen Li
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Jiarui Fan
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Yongzhen Peng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
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26
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Hausherr D, Niederdorfer R, Bürgmann H, Lehmann MF, Magyar P, Mohn J, Morgenroth E, Joss A. Successful mainstream nitritation through NOB inactivation. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 822:153546. [PMID: 35101485 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
The development of new wastewater treatment processes can assist in reducing the impact of wastewater treatment on the environment. The recently developed partial nitritation anammox (PNA) process, for example, consumes less energy for aeration and reduces nitrate in the effluent without requiring additional organic carbon. However, achieving stable nitritation (ammonium oxidation; NH4+ → NO2-) at mainstream conditions (T = 10-25 °C, C:N > 10, influent ammonium < 50 mgNH4-N/L and effluent < 1 mgNH4-N/L) remains challenging. This study explores the potential and mechanism of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) suppression in a bottom-fed sequencing batch reactor (SBR). Two bench-scale (11 L) reactors and a pilot-scale reactor (8 m3) were operated for over a year and were fed with organic substrate depleted municipal wastewater. Initially, nitratation (nitrite oxidation; NO2- → NO3-) occurred occasionally until an anaerobic phase was integrated into the operating cycle. The introduction of the anaerobic phase effectively suppressed the regrowth of NOB while nitritation was stable over 300 days, down to 8 °C and at ammonium influent concentrations < 25 mgNH4-N/L. Batch experiments and process data revealed that parameters typically affecting NOB growth (e.g., dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, trace elements, lag-phase after anoxia, free nitrous acid (FNA), free ammonia (FA), pH, sulfide, or solids retention time (SRT)) could not fully explain the suppression of nitratation. Experiments in which fresh nitrifying microbial biomass was added to the nitritation system indicated that NOB inactivation explained NOB suppression better than NOB washout at high SRT. This study concludes that bottom-fed SBRs with anaerobic phases allow for stable nitritation over a broad range of operational parameters. Coupling this type of SBR to an anammox reactor can enable efficient mainstream anammox-based wastewater treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Hausherr
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Process Engineering Department, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
| | - R Niederdorfer
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Surface Water Department, 6047 Kastanienbaum, Switzerland.
| | - H Bürgmann
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Surface Water Department, 6047 Kastanienbaum, Switzerland.
| | - M F Lehmann
- University of Basel, Aquatic and Isotope Biogeochemistry, Department of Environmental Sciences, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.
| | - P Magyar
- University of Basel, Aquatic and Isotope Biogeochemistry, Department of Environmental Sciences, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.
| | - J Mohn
- Empa, Swiss Federal Institute for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Air Pollution/Environmental Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
| | - E Morgenroth
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Process Engineering Department, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; ETH Zürich, Institute of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - A Joss
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Process Engineering Department, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
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27
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Wang L, Gu W, Liu Y, Liang P, Zhang X, Huang X. Challenges, solutions and prospects of mainstream anammox-based process for municipal wastewater treatment. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 820:153351. [PMID: 35077796 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Revised: 01/02/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) process has a promising application prospect for the mainstream deammonification of municipal wastewater due to its high efficiency and low energy consumption. In this paper, challenges and solutions of mainstream anammox-based process are summarized by analyzing the literature of recent ten years. Slow growth rate of anammox bacteria is a main challenge for mainstream anammox-based process, and enhancement of bacteria retention has been recognized to be necessary. Compared with directly increasing sludge retention time (SRT) with membrane bioreactors or sequencing batch reactors, culturing anammox bacteria in the form of biofilm or granule sludge is more promising for its feasibility of eliminating nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Besides, adding external electron donors or conductive materials and enriching the concentration of ammonia with absorption materials have also been proved helpful to improve the activity of anammox bacteria. Other challenges include the elimination of NOB and achieving ideal ratio of NH4+ and NO2-. To solve these problems and achieve stable partial nitrification, composite control strategies based on low SRT and limited aeration are needed based on the special characteristics of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and NOB. When treating actual wastewater, interference of low temperature and components in the influent is another problem. Relatively high activity of anammox bacteria has been realized after artificial acclimation at low temperature and the mechanism was also preliminary explored. Different pre-treatment sections have been designed to reduce the concentration of COD and S2- from the influent. As for the nitrate produced by the anammox reaction, coupling processes are useful to reduce the concentration of nitrate in the effluent. In brief, suitable reactor and coupling process should be selected according to the temperature, influent quality and discharge targets of different regions. The future prospects of the mainstream anammox-based process are also put forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisheng Wang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Wancong Gu
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Yanchen Liu
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
| | - Peng Liang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoyuan Zhang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Xia Huang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; Research and Application Center for Membrane Technology, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
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28
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Yu L, Zhang C, Zhang M, Yu L, Huang P, Pang J, Wu J. Successful startup of the single-stage PN-A (partial nitrification-anammox) process by controlling the oxygen supply. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2022; 29:36763-36772. [PMID: 35064878 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-18645-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The single PN-A (partial nitrification-anammox) reactor offers a cost-effective solution for nitrogen removal. However, optimal control of the PN-A reactor is challenging due to the interactive mechanisms among the oxygen supply, bulk liquid DO (dissolved oxygen) concentration, and the balance of various functional bacterial species. In this study, a mathematical model was used to derive the optimal control variable for the maximum nitrogen removal, and an experimental PN-A reactor was operated to verify the model simulation results. The model simulation results indicate that the oxygen supply to the ammonium load ratio is the key factor to control the single-stage PN-A reactor for optimal TN removal. For optimal TN removal, the oxygen supply to the ammonium load ratio should be 1.9 mg O2/mg N. The DO concentration is not the key control parameter to get the maximum TN removal as the optimal TN removal could be achieved under a wide range of DO concentration. The model simulation results were verified in the experimental PN-A reactor under oxygen transfer rate ([Formula: see text]) at 52 day-1, HRT at 24 h, and ammonium load ratio of 0.55 kg N/(m3∙day).
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Affiliation(s)
- Lianze Yu
- School of Environmental Engineering and Science, Yangzhou University, 196 West Huayang Road, Yangzhou, 225127, Jiangsu, China
| | - Chi Zhang
- School of Environmental Engineering and Science, Yangzhou University, 196 West Huayang Road, Yangzhou, 225127, Jiangsu, China
| | - Miao Zhang
- School of Environmental Engineering and Science, Yangzhou University, 196 West Huayang Road, Yangzhou, 225127, Jiangsu, China
| | - Lintang Yu
- School of Environmental Engineering and Science, Yangzhou University, 196 West Huayang Road, Yangzhou, 225127, Jiangsu, China
| | - Penglan Huang
- Yangzhou Municipal Pipe Network Co., Ltd, Yangzhou, 225127, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jingjing Pang
- Yangzhou Municipal Pipe Network Co., Ltd, Yangzhou, 225127, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jun Wu
- School of Environmental Engineering and Science, Yangzhou University, 196 West Huayang Road, Yangzhou, 225127, Jiangsu, China.
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29
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Kirim G, McCullough K, Bressani-Ribeiro T, Domingo-Félez C, Duan H, Al-Omari A, De Clippeleir H, Jimenez J, Klaus S, Ladipo-Obasa M, Mehrani MJ, Regmi P, Torfs E, Volcke EIP, Vanrolleghem PA. Mainstream short-cut N removal modelling: current status and perspectives. WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY : A JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION ON WATER POLLUTION RESEARCH 2022; 85:2539-2564. [PMID: 35576252 DOI: 10.2166/wst.2022.131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
This work gives an overview of the state-of-the-art in modelling of short-cut processes for nitrogen removal in mainstream wastewater treatment and presents future perspectives for directing research efforts in line with the needs of practice. The modelling status for deammonification (i.e., anammox-based) and nitrite-shunt processes is presented with its challenges and limitations. The importance of mathematical models for considering N2O emissions in the design and operation of short-cut nitrogen removal processes is considered as well. Modelling goals and potential benefits are presented and the needs for new and more advanced approaches are identified. Overall, this contribution presents how existing and future mathematical models can accelerate successful full-scale mainstream short-cut nitrogen removal applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gamze Kirim
- modelEAU, Université Laval, 1065 avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC G1 V 0A6, Canada E-mail: ; CentrEau, Quebec Water Research Centre, 1065 avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC G1 V 0A6, Canada
| | - Kester McCullough
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA; Hampton Roads Sanitation District, 1434 Air Rail Ave., Virginia Beach, VA 23455, USA
| | - Thiago Bressani-Ribeiro
- BioCo Research Group, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Gent 9000, Belgium
| | - Carlos Domingo-Félez
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby 2800, Denmark
| | - Haoran Duan
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Ahmed Al-Omari
- Brown and Caldwell, 1725 Duke St. Suite 250, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
| | - Haydee De Clippeleir
- DC Water and Sewer Authority, 5000 Overlook Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20032, USA
| | - Jose Jimenez
- Brown and Caldwell, 1725 Duke St. Suite 250, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
| | - Stephanie Klaus
- Hampton Roads Sanitation District, 1434 Air Rail Ave., Virginia Beach, VA 23455, USA
| | - Mojolaoluwa Ladipo-Obasa
- DC Water and Sewer Authority, 5000 Overlook Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20032, USA; Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The George Washington University, 800 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA
| | - Mohamad-Javad Mehrani
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Ul. Narutowicza 11/12, Gdansk 80-233, Poland; Department of Urban Water and Waste Management, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universit¨atsstraße 15, 45141, Essen, Germany
| | - Pusker Regmi
- Brown and Caldwell, 1725 Duke St. Suite 250, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
| | - Elena Torfs
- Centre for Advanced Process Technology for Urban Resource recovery (CAPTURE), Frieda Saeysstraat 1, Gent 9000, Belgium; BIOMATH, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Gent 9000, Belgium
| | - Eveline I P Volcke
- BioCo Research Group, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Gent 9000, Belgium; Centre for Advanced Process Technology for Urban Resource recovery (CAPTURE), Frieda Saeysstraat 1, Gent 9000, Belgium
| | - Peter A Vanrolleghem
- modelEAU, Université Laval, 1065 avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC G1 V 0A6, Canada E-mail: ; CentrEau, Quebec Water Research Centre, 1065 avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC G1 V 0A6, Canada
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30
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Liu W, Wang J, Shen Y, Ji X, Yang D. Response of nitritation granules to anaerobically pre-treated municipal wastewater at low temperatures in a continuous-flow reactor. CHEMOSPHERE 2022; 294:133831. [PMID: 35120951 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.133831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Revised: 12/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Achieving mainstream nitritation with aerobic granules is attractive based on increasing evidence but generally treating artificial low-ammonium wastewater. Real municipal wastewater is much more complex in composition, the behavior of the nitritation granules would be different when treating real municipal wastewater. Herein, the response of nitritation granules to influent shift from artificial low-ammonium (35-40 mg/L) wastewater to anaerobically pre-treated municipal wastewater (MWWpre-treated) was investigated at low temperatures. Results showed that MWWpre-treated caused the outgrowth of filamentous bacteria on the granule surface and developed into finger-like structures, which in turn resulted in the decrease of the overall granular sludge settleability. Batch-tests and microbial analysis indicated the functional and microbial differentiation between the newly formed fluffy exterior and the original compact granule. The fluffy exterior was dominated by genus Flavobacterium (66.6%) and primarily functioned as COD removal, whereas the nitrifiers (mainly Nitrosomonas) were still located in the compact core and performed nitritation. Moreover, the heterotrophs-dominated fluffy exterior hindered the oxygen transfer towards nitrifiers located in the compact granule and thereby facilitated the stable NOB repression in the granule particularly at low temperatures (<10 °C). Finally, gradual recovery of the granular sludge morphology and settleability occurred after the influent reverted to synthetic low-ammonium wastewater. Overall, this work demonstrated that the feeding of MWWpre-treated only caused morphological changes of the nitritation granules, but its structural and functional stability could be maintained stably.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenru Liu
- National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Municipal Sewage Resource Utilization Technology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, 215009, China; School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, 215009, China.
| | - Jianfang Wang
- National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Municipal Sewage Resource Utilization Technology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, 215009, China; School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, 215009, China
| | - Yaoliang Shen
- National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Municipal Sewage Resource Utilization Technology, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, 215009, China; School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, 215009, China
| | - Xiaoming Ji
- College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Dianhai Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
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31
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Chen R, Zhou Y. Mainstream nitrogen removal in membrane aerated biofilm reactor at minimal lumen pressure. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 818:151758. [PMID: 34801505 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen removal via anammox is a promising and sustainable solution in mainstream wastewater treatment. To maintain stable anammox process, competitors of anammox bacteria should be suppressed while cooperators need to be favoured. This study demonstrated a synchronous aerobic and anaerobic ammonium removal process in a membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) under minimal lumen pressure. By adjusting the lumen pressure, aerobic and anaerobic ammonium oxidation rate can be synchronized to minimize interference of nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) by limiting NOB's access to both oxygen and nitrite. Long-term performance indicated that PN/A in MABR could be achieved at zero positive aeration pressure. Furthermore, by connecting two MABRs in series, high total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency of 71.1% ± 5.3% was attained with a TN removal rate of 30.1 ± 3.2 mg-N/L/d. The organic carbon present in the wastewater reduced the nitrate concentration in the effluent while not affecting the overall nitrogen removal efficiency and rate. Real-time qPCR analysis suggested that the abundance of amoA gene was relatively stable while K-strategist Nitrospira 16S rRNA gene did not surge in the long-term operation. High throughput sequencing showed that Candidatus Brocadia and uncultured anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria from Chloroflexi were the most abundant anammox taxa. Denitrifiers, such as Denitratisoma may be responsible to reduce the nitrate in the effluent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongfen Chen
- Interdisciplinary Graduate School, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore; Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre, Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Singapore 637141, Singapore
| | - Yan Zhou
- Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre, Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Singapore 637141, Singapore; School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
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Chen Y, Sun Y, Zhang J, Li J, Peng Y. A novel control strategy to strengthen nitrogen removal from domestic wastewater through eliminating nitrite oxidizing bacteria in a plug-flow process. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2022; 350:126856. [PMID: 35183731 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.126856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2021] [Revised: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 02/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In this study, intermittent aeration strategy was investigated in a plug-flow reactor on real municipal wastewater. Over 200 days of operation, the total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) removal efficiency of 72.43 ± 7.56% was achieved with a total aerobic hydraulic retention time in the range 2.4-3.0 h under a low C/N ratio of 3.19. The batch tests showed that the activity of nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) was effectively inhibited, and simultaneous nitrification and denitrification via nitrite were observed under double intermittent aeration mode. The Illumina MiSep sequencing revealed that the relative abundance of the Nitrospira as the only detected NOB, decreased from 2.22% (day 0) to 0.91% (day 207) at the genus level. Overall, this study provides a new strategy for NOB suppression to strengthen nitrogen removal from low C/N domestic wastewater through the continuous process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanhui Chen
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Yawen Sun
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Jianhua Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Jianwei Li
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Yongzhen Peng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China.
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Pimenov NV, Nikolaev YA, Dorofeev AG, Grachev VA, Kallistova AY, Mironov VV, Vanteeva AV, Grigor’eva NV, Berestovskaya YY, Gruzdev EV, Begmatov SA, Ravin NV, Mardanov AV. Bioaugmentation of Anammox Activated Sludge with a Nitrifying Bacterial Community as a Way to Increase the Nitrogen Removal Efficiency. Microbiology (Reading) 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s0026261722020102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract—
Bioaugmentation, i.e., increasing the abundance of certain microorganisms in the community by adding appropriate cells or establishing the conditions promoting their growth, is widely used in environmental technologies. Its application for launching of the anammox reactors is usually limited to introduction of anammox bacteria. We expected addition of nitrifiers during anammox bioreactor launching to stimulate the anammox process due to rapid production of nitrite, which anammox bacteria use for ammonium oxidation. The present work investigated the effect of introduction of a nitrifying community on the composition and activity of the microbial community in an anammox reactor. At the time of inoculation of a laboratory SBR reactor, an active nitrifying community (5 days old) (ASB) (bioaugmenting activated sludge, ASB) containing group I nitrifiers, primarily Nitrosospira, was added (1 : 100 by biomass) to anammox activated sludge (ASA) stored for 1 month at 4°C and exhibiting low metabolic activity. The use of ASB resulted in increased efficiency of nitrogen removal. While noticeable nitrogen removal in the control (7%) was observed since day 11 of incubation, nitrogen removal in the experimental reactor began on day 4 at the level of 20%. Nitrogen removal after 30 days of incubation was ~60% in the experiment and 20% in the control. The rate of ammonium oxidation in the presence of ASB increased due to activity of nitrifying bacteria (during the first 10 days of operation) and anammox bacteria of the genus Brоcadia, which were already present in ASA (throughout all period of operation). Activity of group II nitrifiers (genera Nitrobacter and Nitrococcus), which were present in ASB, prevented accumulation of nitrite, which in high concentrations is toxic to both nitrifiers and anammox bacteria. High activity of the Nitrosospira nitrifiers introduced with ASB probably provided the anammox bacteria with one of the substrates (nitrite), promoting their rapid growth. During subsequent operation of the reactor, nitrifiers of the genus Nitrosomonas from the initial ASA community were mainly responsible for growth of the anammox bacteria. Thus, ASA bioaugmentation at the loading of the anammox reactor by active nitrifiers resulted in significantly improved efficiency of ammonium removal via the anammox process and accelerated transition of the reactor to the working mode.
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Chen R, Cao S, Zhang L, Zhou Y. NOB suppression strategies in a mainstream membrane aerated biofilm reactor under exceptionally low lumen pressure. CHEMOSPHERE 2022; 290:133386. [PMID: 34952024 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Integrating the aeration-efficient membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) with anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) could yield further reduction in energy in wastewater treatment facilities. However, nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) suppression remained challenging due to the absence of intrinsic inhibition factors in mainstream conditions. This study investigated selective NOB suppression strategies in MABR under <5 kPa lumen pressure. Three MABRs were seeded from different seeding sludge, and operated under various ammonium loading rates, aeration pressure, and temporary inhibitory shock conditions. The three reactors were operated for 170-456 days depending on studied parameters. The results showed that higher ammonium loading could create a substrate-oxygen imbalance and quickly contain emergent NOB activity when aeration pressure was not excessive. In addition, lowering of aeration pressure reversed nitrite oxidizing activities without affecting ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB). Cultivating partial nitritation biofilm under zero positive aeration pressure slowed down the growth of NOB yet resulted in self-induced anammox activities. With the aid of temporary free ammonia (FA)/free nitrous acid (FNA) treatment, full-nitrifying biofilm could be transformed to stable partial nitritation biofilm. More than 84% nitrite accumulation ratio (NAR) was sustained during stable operation in each reactor together with an ammonium removal rate of more than 100 mg-N/L/d. Microbial analysis revealed that Nitrosomonas was the main AOB taxon in the three reactors while K-strategist Nitrospira showed presence despite low nitrite oxidizing activities. Under zero positive pressure, proliferation of Nitrospira was much slower while Candidatus Brocadia was self-induced. Furthermore, Nitrospira showed downturn after temporary inhibition treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongfen Chen
- Interdisciplinary Graduate School, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore; Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre, Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Singapore, 637141, Singapore
| | - Shenbin Cao
- Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre, Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Singapore, 637141, Singapore
| | - Liang Zhang
- Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre, Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Singapore, 637141, Singapore
| | - Yan Zhou
- Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre, Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Singapore, 637141, Singapore; School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore.
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Zhu W, Van Tendeloo M, Xie Y, Timmer MJ, Peng L, Vlaeminck SE. Storage without nitrite or nitrate enables the long-term preservation of full-scale partial nitritation/anammox sludge. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 806:151330. [PMID: 34717986 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2021] [Revised: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Bioaugmentation with summer harvested sludge during winter could compensate for bacterial activity loss but requires that sludge activity can be restored after storage. This study assesses the effect of temperature and redox adjustment during the storage over 180 days of partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) granular resp. floccular sludge from potato processing resp. sludge reject water treatment. Anoxic storage conditions (in the presence of nitrite or nitrate and the absence of oxygen) resulted in a loss of 80-100% of the anammox bacteria (AnAOB) activity capacity at 20 °C and 4 °C, while anaerobic conditions (without oxygen, nitrite, and nitrate) lost only 45-63%. Storage at 20 °C was more cost-effective compared to 4 °C, and this was confirmed in the sludge reactivation experiment (20 °C). Furthermore, AnAOB activity correlated negatively with the electrical conductivity level (R2 > 0.85, p < 0.05), so strong salinity increases should be avoided. No significant differences were found in the activity capacity of aerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AerAOB) under different storage conditions (p > 0.1). The relative abundance of dominant AnAOB (Candidatus Brocadia) and AerAOB genera (Nitrosomonas) remained constant in both sludges. In conclusion, preserving PN/A biomass without cooling and nitrite or nitrate addition proved to be a cost-effective strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiqiang Zhu
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Michiel Van Tendeloo
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Yankai Xie
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Marijn Juliaan Timmer
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Lai Peng
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Siegfried E Vlaeminck
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium.
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Comparison of the Efficiency of Deammonification under Different DO Concentrations in a Laboratory-Scale Sequencing Batch Reactor. WATER 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/w14030368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The efficiency of deammonification depends on the cooperation of ammonium oxidizing bacteria and archaea (AOB/AOA), anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AnAOB) and the effective suppression of nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) that compete with AnAOB for nitrite (NO2-N). One of the effective NOB suppression strategies is intermittent aeration. However, it is important to have a good understanding of the optimum dissolved oxygen (DO) value in the aeration period and optimize the non-aeration time used during the reaction phase. This study comprised the investigation of the effect of different DO set points (0.4, 0.7, 1.0 and 1.5 mg O2/L) under the same aeration length off/on (12/3 min). Moreover, three different intermittent aeration modes (9/3, 6/3, 3/3) under the same DO set point (0.7 mg O2/L) were more investigated. The experiment was conducted for 6 months (180 days) in a laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with a working volume of 10 L. The results indicated that a high N removal efficiency was achieved 74% at the DO set point = 0.7 mg O2/L during aeration strategy off/on (6/3 min) due to the low nitrate production rate (NPR) 0.9 mg N/g VSS/h and high ammonium utilization rate (AUR) 13 mg N/g VSS/h (NPR/AUR = 0.06). Mathematical modeling results confirmed that the feasible DO set point 0.7 and intermittent aeration mode off/on (6/3 min) were especially suitable for the optimal balance between the NOB suppression and keeping high activities of AOB and anammox in the system.
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Xiao R, Zhu W, Xu S, Chai W, Tong Y, Zheng P, Lu H. Low strength wastewater anammox start-up by stepwise decrement in influent nitrogen: Biofilm formation mechanism and mathematical modelling. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2022; 158:106929. [PMID: 34649049 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Revised: 09/25/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The application of mainstream anammox process is hampered by its overlong start-up and instability under disturbance. A lab-scale mainstream anammox moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) was successfully started in 120 days with stepwise decrement in influent nitrogen concentration from sidestream to mainstream condition. The initial colonization by Candidatus Jettenia and filamentous fermenter Anaerolineaceae were potentially mediated by hydrophobic interaction and type IV pilus. Ca. Kuenenia with higher substrate affinity outcompeted Ca. Jettenia, and the predominant fermenters shifted to fermentative Ignavibacteriaceae in the mature biofilm. A novel mainstream anammox biofilm development (MABD) model was constructed to describe biofilm growth, population dynamics, and nitrogen removal performance. The simulation results suggested that higher inocula biomass (460-690 mgVSS·L-1), relative abundance of low-affinity AnAOB in the inocula (e.g., Ca. Jettenia, 1.3-2%), and the early-stage solids retention time (45-68 days) were desired to form thicker biofilm and improve effluent quality during 120-day mainstream anammox MBBR start-up. The mechanistic insights into biofilm formation and predictive power of the newly developed MABD model are of importance to the design and operation of mainstream anammox processes towards more biofilm biomass and higher nitrogen removal efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environmental Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wanlu Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environmental Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shaoyi Xu
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environmental Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wenbo Chai
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environmental Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yu Tong
- Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environmental Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ping Zheng
- Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environmental Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
| | - Huijie Lu
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environmental Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China.
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Liu W, Hao S, Ma B, Zhang S, Li J. In-situ fermentation coupling with partial-denitrification/anammox process for enhanced nitrogen removal in an integrated three-stage anoxic/oxic (A/O) biofilm reactor treating low COD/N real wastewater. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2022; 344:126267. [PMID: 34737049 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.126267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Mainstream partial-denitrification with anammox (PD-anammox) process faced the challenge of complex organics involved in real sewage. Herein, PD-anammox coupled with in-situ fermentation was successfully achieved in a full biofilm system formed by three-stage anoxic/oxic reactor to treat real wastewater with low COD/N of 3.6. The total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency was enhanced to 78.4% ± 3.6% with average TN and ammonium concentrations in effluent of 10.6 and 0.5 mg N/L, respectively. Batch tests confirmed that partial-denitrification was the major nitrite provider for anammox in the anoxic biofilm, while in-situ fermentation could decompose the complex organics to readily-biodegradable organics for full- or partial-denitrification. Additionally, a significant anammox bacteria (Candidatus Brocadia) population was detected in the second (3.53%) and third (4.46%) anoxic zones, while denitrifiers and fermentative bacteria were mainly enriched in the first anoxic zone. This study presents a feasible approach for PD-anammox process in practical application under mainstream condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenlong Liu
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Shufeng Hao
- Beijing Drainage Group Co. Ltd (BDG), Beijing 100022, China
| | - Bin Ma
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Forestry Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, School of Ecological and Environmental Science, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
| | - Shujun Zhang
- Beijing Drainage Group Co. Ltd (BDG), Beijing 100022, China
| | - Jun Li
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China.
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Liu G, Zhou X, Liang H, Han L, Qiao Z, Su B. Effects of alkalinity addition with different strategies on CANON process: Start-up, performance, and microbial community. WATER ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH : A RESEARCH PUBLICATION OF THE WATER ENVIRONMENT FEDERATION 2022; 94:e1674. [PMID: 34873788 DOI: 10.1002/wer.1674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2021] [Revised: 11/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The effects of alkalinity addition with different strategies on the start-up, performance, and microbial community of completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite (CANON) were investigated over 450 days. In phase I, the alkalinity was increased gradually from 300 to 2,000 mg/L to obtain the optimal range. In phase II, the reactor was restarted to verify the appropriate alkalinity value of 1,600 mg/L. The fact that it only took 90 days (phase I: 170 days) to complete the start-up of CANON in phase II demonstrated that an alkalinity value of 1,600 mg/L was suitable when the influent NH4 + -N concentration was 200 mg/L (alkalinity/NH4 + -N = 8:1). The slope (k = 2.00) of NH4 + -N concentration decrease in phase II during the start-up process was significantly higher than that in phase I (k = 1.50). High removal efficiencies of NH4 + -N (98%) and TN (80%) were attained in both phases. Specific anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) activity tests showed that the anammox activity of the two phases reached 3.31 and 5.31 mg TN/(g VSS·h), respectively. High-throughput sequencing analysis revealed that appropriate alkalinity could promote the enrichment of Candidatus Brocadia, C. Jettenia, and C. Kuenenia (total abundance of 31.96%) while effectively inhibiting Nitrospira (abundance of less than 0.50%). PRACTITIONER POINTS: An alkalinity/NH4 + -N ratio of 8 promoted the rapid start-up and stable performance of CANON. NH4 + -N and TN removal efficiencies of 98% and 80%, respectively, were obtained. High alkalinity promoted the enrichment of Candidatus Brocadia, Candidatus Jettenia, Candidatus Kuenenia and inhibited Nitrospira.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangqing Liu
- Biomass Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Center, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaohua Zhou
- Biomass Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Center, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Huili Liang
- Biomass Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Center, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Liming Han
- Biomass Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Center, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Zhuangming Qiao
- Research and Development Center, Shandong Meiquan Environmental Protection Technology Co. Ltd., Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Bensheng Su
- Biomass Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Center, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
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Meng J, Liu T, Zhao J, Lu X, Li J, Zheng M. Assessing the stability of one-stage PN/A process through experimental and modelling investigations. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 801:149740. [PMID: 34425444 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Revised: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The mainstream partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) process has been intensively studied but its stability remains a key challenge. It is shown here that biofilm thickness can exhibit a critical role in controlling the process stability of mainstream PN/A against dissolved oxygen (DO) variation. In a laboratory moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR), PN/A performance was initially established in 200 days by controlling a low DO of 0.13 ± 0.07 mg O2/L in the bulk liquid, which deteriorated with an increase of DO (0.35 ± 0.13 mg O2/L) for over two months, and then rapidly recovered in a month with the initial low DO level re-applied. Biofilm thickness of PN/A carriers was measured during the experiment, which became significantly thinner (367 ± 146 μm) at mainstream conditions. The thin thickness primarily decreased the in-situ consumption rate of nitrite, rather than ammonium, when DO increased from 0.1 to 0.4 mg O2/L, due to that the thin thickness can only restrict anammox capacity. These results illustrated the role of biofilm thickness in regulating PN/A performance and microbial activities. Further investigation using an established model revealed the joint contribution of biofilm thickness and DO concentration to PN/A process, while particularly, the biofilm thickness can determine the optimal DO level for maximizing the nitrogen removal efficiency and system robustness against DO variation. These results highlight the need of considering biofilm thickness in PN/A process optimization and stability improvement in low-strength wastewater treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, 73 Huanghe Road, Harbin 150090, China; Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Tao Liu
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jing Zhao
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Xin Lu
- Petrochina North China Gas Marketing Company, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Jianzheng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, 73 Huanghe Road, Harbin 150090, China
| | - Min Zheng
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
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Dorofeev AG, Nikolaev YA, Grachev VA, Kallistova AY, Berestovskaya YY, Pimenov NV. Effect of Abrupt Increase in Ammonium Load on Activity of the Anammox Bacterial Community in a Sequencing Batch Reactor. Microbiology (Reading) 2021. [DOI: 10.1134/s0026261721060060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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Wang S, Yu H, Su Q, Zuo J. Exploring the role of heterotrophs in partial nitritation-anammox process treating thermal hydrolysis process - anaerobic digestion reject water. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2021; 341:125762. [PMID: 34450441 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Revised: 08/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Heterotrophic bacteria (HB) are generally prevalent in anammox-based processes, but their functional and ecological roles in partial nitritation-anammox (PN/A) process treating high-organics wastewater remained unclear. This study aimed to elucidate HB activities and microbial interactions in a one-stage PN/A treating thermal hydrolysis process (THP) - anaerobic digestion (AD) reject water. The PN/A reactor achieved a satisfactory nitrogen removal rate of 0.58 ± 0.06 g N/(L·d), and around 12% of COD in the THP-AD reject water was removed. N2O emission factors of the PN/A reactor were 1.15% ± 0.18% treating synthetic wastewater, and 0.95% ± 0.06% treating reject water. A balanced symbiotic relationship was maintained between HB and functional groups (i.e., anammox bacteria and aerobic-ammonia-oxidizing bacteria) over the reactor operation. The relative abundances of Anaerolineae spp. clearly increased, while Denitratisoma, capable of denitrification, slightly decreased when treating THP-AD reject water. The preference for electron donors of heterotrophs explained discrepant growth trends.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sike Wang
- Department of Material and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen Polytechnic, Shenzhen 518055, China; State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Heng Yu
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xi'an Shiyou University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710065, China
| | - Qingxian Su
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs., Lyngby 2800, Denmark
| | - Jiane Zuo
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China.
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Chi Y, Shi X, Jin P, Wang XC, Ren T, Ren B, Jin X. Enhanced nitrogen removal by partial nitrification-anammox process with a novel high-frequency micro-aeration (HFMA) mode: Metabolic interactions among functional bacteria. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2021; 342:125917. [PMID: 34534941 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
A novel high-frequency micro-aeration (HFMA) mode with aeration frequency of 15 times/h and DO concentration lower than 0.5 mg/L was proposed. Advanced partial nitrification-anammox (PN-A) performance was achieved in a two-stage sequencing batch reactor-integrated fixed-film activated sludge reactor with the HFMA mode. When treating wastewater with carbon/nitrogen ratio of 3, the abundance of NO2--N oxidation related genes decreased, and the genes carried out NO3--N reduction and carbon source consumption were up-regulated. These variations in microbial metabolism brought more NO2--N substrate for the subsequent anammox process, and consumed part of the accumulated organic matter and NO3--N. Thus, the HFMA conditions eventually promoted the expression of anammox bacteria with NH2OH as an intermediate metabolite and the substance exchange activity of anammox bacteria. The changes in microorganisms lead to increase in the nitrite accumulation rate, nitrogen removal efficiency and abundance of anammox bacteria (16.34%, 18.71% and 5.92%, respectively).
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulei Chi
- School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710049, China; School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710055, China
| | - Xuan Shi
- School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710049, China; School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710055, China
| | - Pengkang Jin
- School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710049, China; School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710055, China.
| | - Xiaochang C Wang
- School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710055, China
| | - Tong Ren
- School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710055, China
| | - Bo Ren
- School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710055, China
| | - Xin Jin
- School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710049, China; School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710055, China
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Van Tendeloo M, Xie Y, Van Beeck W, Zhu W, Lebeer S, Vlaeminck SE. Oxygen control and stressor treatments for complete and long-term suppression of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in biofilm-based partial nitritation/anammox. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2021; 342:125996. [PMID: 34598074 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Revised: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Mainstream nitrogen removal by partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) can realize energy and cost savings for sewage treatment. Selective suppression of nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) remains a key bottleneck for PN/A implementation. A rotating biological contactor was studied with an overhead cover and controlled air/N2 inflow to regulate oxygen availability at 20 °C. Biofilm exposure to dissolved oxygen concentrations < 0.51 ± 0.04 mg O2 L-1 when submerged in the water and < 1.41 ± 0.31 mg O2 L-1 when emerged in the headspace (estimated), resulted in complete and long-term NOB suppression with a low relative nitrate production ratio of 10 ± 4%. Additionally, weekly biofilm stressor treatments with free ammonia (FA) (29 ± 1 mg NH3-N L-1 for 3 h) could improve the NOB suppression while free nitrous acid treatments had insufficient effect. This study demonstrated the potential of managing NOB suppression in biofilm-based systems by oxygen control and recurrent FA exposure, opening opportunities for resource efficient nitrogen removal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michiel Van Tendeloo
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Yankai Xie
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Wannes Van Beeck
- Research Group Environmental Ecology and Applied Microbiology (ENdEMIC), Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Weiqiang Zhu
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Sarah Lebeer
- Research Group Environmental Ecology and Applied Microbiology (ENdEMIC), Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Siegfried E Vlaeminck
- Research Group of Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology, Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium.
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Liu W, Shen C, Liu C, Zhang S, Hao S, Peng Y, Li J. Achieving stable mainstream nitrogen and phosphorus removal assisted by hydroxylamine addition in a continuous partial nitritation/anammox process from real sewage. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 794:148478. [PMID: 34217093 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Hydroxylamine (NH2OH) as the putative intermediate for anammox ensures the robustness of partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) process; however, the feasible for NH2OH addition to improve the stability of PN/A process under low-strength ammonia (NH4+-N) condition need to be further investigated. In this study, the restoration and steady operation of mainstream PN/A process were investigated to treat real sewage with in situ NH2OH added in a continuous alternating anoxic/aerobic with integrated fixed-film activated sludge (A3-IFAS) reactor. Results showed that the deteriorated PN/A process caused by nitrate (NO3--N) built-up was rapidly restored with a distinct decrease of the NO3--Nproduced/NH4+-Nconsumed ratio from 28.7% to <10.0% within 20 days, after 5 mg N/L of NH2OH was added daily into the aerobic zone of A3-IFAS reactor. After 230 days of operation, the average total nitrogen (TN) and phosphate (PO43--P) removal efficiencies of 80.8% and 91.5%, respectively were stably achieved, with average effluent sCOD, NH4+-N, TN and PO43--P concentrations reaching 23.1, 2.3, 7.7 and 0.4 mg/L, respectively. Microbial community characterization revealed Candidatus Brocadia (3.60% and 2.92%) and Ignavibacteriae (1.56% and 2.66%) as the dominant anammox bacteria and denitrifying bacteria, respectively, jointly attached in the biofilm_1 and biofilm_2, while Candidatus Microthrix (5.17%) dominant in floc sludge was main responsible for phosphorus removal. This study confirmed that NH2OH addition is an effective strategy for nitrite-oxidizing bacteria suppression, contributing to the in situ restoration of PN/A process and high stable mainstream nitrogen and phosphorus removal in a continuous PN/A process from real sewage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenlong Liu
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
| | - Chen Shen
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Key Laboratory of Beijing for Water Quality Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Chao Liu
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Key Laboratory of Beijing for Water Quality Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Shujun Zhang
- Beijing Drainage Group Co. Ltd (BDG), Beijing 100022, China
| | - Shufeng Hao
- Beijing Drainage Group Co. Ltd (BDG), Beijing 100022, China
| | - Yongzhen Peng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Key Laboratory of Beijing for Water Quality Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Jun Li
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China.
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Achieving high-rate partial nitritation with aerobic granular sludge at low temperatures. Biodegradation 2021; 33:45-58. [PMID: 34727273 DOI: 10.1007/s10532-021-09965-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Partial nitritation is necessary for the implementation of the mainstream anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation) process in wastewater treatment plants. However, the difficulty in outcompeting nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) at mainstream conditions hinders the performance of partial nitritation. The present work aimed to develop a high-rate partial nitritation process for low-ammonium wastewater treatment at low temperatures by seeding aerobic granules. Experimental results suggested that both stratified structure of nitrifiers developed in the granules and sufficient residual ammonium concentration (18-35 mg N L-1) in the bulk liquid contributed to efficient NOB repression. With the hydraulic retention time progressively shortened from 1.0 to 0.17 h, the influent nitrogen loading rate of the partial nitritation process reached 6.8 ± 0.4 kg N m-3 d-1 even at 10-15 °C. The high concentration (7.5 gVSS L-1) and activity (0.48 g N g-1 VSS d-1 at 11 °C) of granular sludge made the reactor possess an overcapacity evaluated by the ratio between the actual ammonium oxidation rate of the granules and their maximum potential. The overcapacity helped the reactor to face the adverse effect of decreasing temperatures. Overall, this work indicated the great potential of applying aerobic granules to achieve high-rate partial nitritation at mainstream conditions. Moreover, anammox bacteria with a relative abundance of 2.8% was also identified in the partial nitritation granules at the end of this study, suggesting that the granules provided a habitable niche for anammox bacteria growth. Note that these results cannot fully relate to the treatment of real domestic/municipal wastewater, they are a source of important information increasing the knowledge about low temperature partial nitrification.
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Hu Z, Duan H, Wang Z, Zhao J, Ye L, Yuan Z, Zheng M, Hu S. Centralized iron-dosing into returned sludge brings multifaceted benefits to wastewater management. WATER RESEARCH 2021; 203:117536. [PMID: 34403845 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Iron salts (i.e. FeCl3) are the most used chemicals in the urban wastewater system. Iron is commonly dosed into sewage or the mainstream system, which provides multiple benefits such as enhanced phosphorus removal and improved sludge settleability/dewaterability. This study reported and demonstrated a new approach that dosed FeCl3 into returned sludge in order to bring two more benefits to wastewater management: short-cut nitrogen removal via the nitrite pathway and less biomass production. This approach is achieved based on our findings that with similar amount of FeCl3, centralized iron dosing into a sidestream sludge unit generated iron concentration two orders of magnitude higher than the common mainstream dosing (e.g. 10-40 mg Fe/L-wastewater), leading to sludge acidification (pH = 2.1) with Fe (III) hydrolysis. Together with accumulated nitrite in the supernatant of the sludge, ppm-level of free nitrous acid was generated and thus enabled sludge disintegration, cell lysis, and selective elimination of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Long-term effects on nitrifying bacteria and overall reactor performance were evaluated using two laboratory reactor experiments for over one year. The experimental reactor showed stable nitrite accumulation with an average NO2-/(NO2- + NO3-) ratio above 80% and ∼30% observed biomass yield reduction compared to those in control reactors. In addition, the centralized sludge dosing strategy still provided benefits such as improved settleability and dewaterability of sludge and enhanced phosphorus removal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhetai Hu
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Haoran Duan
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia; School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Zhiyao Wang
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jing Zhao
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Liu Ye
- School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Min Zheng
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia.
| | - Shihu Hu
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia
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Feng Z, Gu M, Sun Y, Wu G. Potential microbial functions and quorum sensing systems in partial nitritation and anammox processes. WATER ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH : A RESEARCH PUBLICATION OF THE WATER ENVIRONMENT FEDERATION 2021; 93:1562-1575. [PMID: 33583099 DOI: 10.1002/wer.1538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Diverse microbial communities coexist in the partial nitritation-anaerobic ammonium oxidation (PNA) process, in which nitrogen metabolism and information exchange are two important microbial interactions. In the PNA process, the existence of diverse microorganisms including nitrifiers, anammox bacteria, and heterotrophs makes it challenging to achieve a balanced relationship between anaerobic ammonium oxidation bacteria and ammonia oxidizing bacteria. In this study, potential microbial functions in nitrogen conversion and acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs)-based quorum sensing (QS) in PNA processes were examined. Candidatus_Kuenenia and Nitrosomonas were the key functional bacteria responsible for PNA, while Nitrospira was detected as the dominant nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Heterotrophs containing nxr might play a similar function to NOB. The AHLs-QS system was an important microbial communication pathway in PNA systems. N-octanoyl-L-homoserine lactone, N-decanoyl homoserine lactone, and N-dodecanoyl homoserine lactone were the main AHLs, which might be synthesized by nitrogen converting microorganisms and heterotrophs. However, only heterotrophs had the potential to sense and degrade AHLs, such as Saccharophagus (sensing) and Leptospira (degradation). These results provide comprehensive information about the possible microbial functions and interactions in the PNA system and clues for system optimization from a microbial perspective. PRACTITIONER POINTS: ●Potential functions of anammox bacteria, nitrifiers, and heterotrophs were revealed. ●Diverse nitrogen conversion and AHLs-quorum sensing related genes were detected. ●Anammox bacteria and AOB played important roles in the AHLs synthesis process. ●Heterotrophs could sense and degrade AHLs during information exchange.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaolu Feng
- Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Mengqi Gu
- Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yuepeng Sun
- Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Guangxue Wu
- Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China
- Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, National University of Ireland, Galway, Galway, Ireland
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Application of Anammox-Based Processes in Urban WWTPs: Are We on the Right Track? Processes (Basel) 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/pr9081334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The application of partial nitritation and anammox processes (PN/A) to remove nitrogen can improve the energy efficiency of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) as well as diminish their operational costs. However, there are still several limitations that are preventing the widespread application of PN/A processes in urban WWTPs such as: (a) the loss of performance stability of the PN/A units operated at the sludge line, when the sludge is thermally pretreated to increase biogas production; (b) the proliferation of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in the mainstream; and (c) the maintenance of a suitable effluent quality in the mainstream. In this work, different operational strategies to overcome these limitations were modelled and analyzed. In WWTPs whose sludge is thermically hydrolyzed, the implementation of an anerobic treatment before the PN/A unit is the best alternative, from an economic point of view, to maintain the stable performance of this unit. In order to apply the PN/A process in the mainstream, the growth of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) should be promoted in the sludge line by supplying extra sludge to the anaerobic digesters. The AOB generated would be applied to the water line to partially oxidize ammonia, and the anammox process would then be carried out. Excess nitrate generated by anammox bacteria and/or NOB can be removed by recycling a fraction of the WWTP effluent to the biological reactor to promote its denitrification.
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Activity-Based Cell Sorting Reveals Resistance of Functionally Degenerate Nitrospira during a Press Disturbance in Nitrifying Activated Sludge. mSystems 2021; 6:e0071221. [PMID: 34282936 PMCID: PMC8407113 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00712-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Managing and engineering activated sludge wastewater treatment microbiomes for low-energy nitrogen removal requires process control strategies to stop the oxidation of ammonium at nitrite. Our ability to out-select nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) from activated sludge is challenged by their metabolic and physiological diversity, warranting measurements of their in situ physiology and activity under selective growth pressures. Here, we examined the stability of nitrite oxidation in activated sludge during a press disturbance induced by treating a portion of return activated sludge with a sidestream flow containing free ammonia (FA) at 200 mg NH3-N/liter. The nitrite accumulation ratio peaked at 42% by day 40 in the experimental bioreactor with the press disturbance, while it did not increase in the control bioreactor. A subsequent decrease in nitrite accumulation within the experimental bioreactor coincided with shifts in dominant Nitrospira 16S rRNA amplicon sequence variants (ASVs). We applied bioorthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT) coupled with fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) to investigate changes in the translational activity of NOB populations throughout batch exposure to FA. BONCAT-FACS confirmed that the single Nitrospira ASV washed out of the experimental bioreactor had reduced translational activity following exposure to FA, whereas the two Nitrospira ASVs that emerged after process acclimation were not impacted by FA. Thus, the coexistence of functionally degenerate and physiologically resistant Nitrospira populations provided resilience to the nitrite-oxidizing function during the press disturbance. These results highlight how BONCAT-FACS can resolve ecological niche differentiation within activated sludge and inform strategies to engineer and control microbiome function. IMPORTANCE Nitrogen removal from activated sludge wastewater treatment systems is an energy-intensive process due to the large aeration requirement for nitrification. This energy footprint could be minimized with engineering control strategies that wash out nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) to limit oxygen demands. However, NOB populations can have a high degree of physiological diversity, and it is currently difficult to decipher the behavior of individual taxa during applied selective pressures. Here, we utilized a new substrate analog probing approach to measure the activity of NOB at the cellular translational level in the face of a press disturbance applied to the activated sludge process. Substrate analog probing corroborated the time series reactor sampling, showing that coexisting and functionally degenerate Nitrospira populations provided resilience to the nitrite oxidation process. Taken together, these results highlight how substrate analog approaches can illuminate in situ ecophysiologies within shared niches, and can inform strategies to improve microbiome engineering and management.
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