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Cheng Y, Lu C, Gao S, Koju R, Li H, Zhu Z, Hu C, Qu J. Synchronous in-situ sludge reduction and enhanced denitrification through improving electron transfer during endogenous metabolisms with Fe(Ⅱ) addition. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 255:121472. [PMID: 38552492 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 02/10/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/24/2024]
Abstract
The creation of large amounts of excess sludge and residual nitrogen are critical issues in wastewater biotreatment. This study introduced Fe(II) into an oligotrophic anaerobic reactor (OARFe) that was implemented to modify an anoxic-oxic process to motivate in-situ sludge reduction and enhance denitrification under an effective electron shuttle among organic matter, nitrogen, and Fe. The addition of 15 mg L-1 Fe(II) resulted in a sludge reduction efficiency reached 32.0% with a decreased effluent nitrate concentration of 33.3%. This was mostly attributed to the electron transfer from Fe(II) to organic matters and nitrogen species in OARFe. The participation of Fe(II) led to the upregulation of Geothrix and Terrimonas, which caused active organic matter hydrolysis and cell lysis to stimulate the release of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and substance transfer between each layer of EPS. The higher utilization of released bioavailable dissolved organic matter improved endogenous denitrification, which can be combined with iron autotrophic denitrification to realize multiple electron donor-based nitrogen removal pathways, resulting in an increased nitrate removal rate of 58.2% in the absence of external carbon sources. These functional bacteria associated with the transformation of nitrogen and carbon and cycling between ferrous and ferric ions were enriched in OARFe, which contributed to efficient electron transport occurred both inside and outside the cell and increased 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride electronic transport system activity by 46.9%. This contributed to the potential operational costs of chemical addition and sludge disposal of Fe-AO being 1.9 times lower than those of conventional A2O processes. These results imply that the addition of ferrous ions to an oligotrophic anaerobic zone for wastewater treatment has the potential for low-cost pollution control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China; Centre for Urban Environmental Remediation, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 102616, China
| | - Chenghai Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shujia Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Jiangan Road 12, Guilin, Guangxi 541004, China
| | - Rashmi Koju
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Haiyan Li
- Centre for Urban Environmental Remediation, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 102616, China
| | - Zongqiang Zhu
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Jiangan Road 12, Guilin, Guangxi 541004, China.
| | - Chengzhi Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Jiuhui Qu
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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2
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Wang K, Li J, Gu X, Wang H, Li X, Peng Y, Wang Y. How to Provide Nitrite Robustly for Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation in Mainstream Nitrogen Removal. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:21503-21526. [PMID: 38096379 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c05600] [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] [Indexed: 12/27/2023]
Abstract
Innovation in decarbonizing wastewater treatment is urgent in response to global climate change. The practical implementation of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) treating domestic wastewater is the key to reconciling carbon-neutral management of wastewater treatment with sustainable development. Nitrite availability is the prerequisite of the anammox reaction, but how to achieve robust nitrite supply and accumulation for mainstream systems remains elusive. This work presents a state-of-the-art review on the recent advances in nitrite supply for mainstream anammox, paying special attention to available pathways (forward-going (from ammonium to nitrite) and backward-going (from nitrate to nitrite)), key controlling strategies, and physiological and ecological characteristics of functional microorganisms involved in nitrite supply. First, we comprehensively assessed the mainstream nitrite-oxidizing bacteria control methods, outlining that these technologies are transitioning to technologies possessing multiple selective pressures (such as intermittent aeration and membrane-aerated biological reactor), integrating side stream treatment (such as free ammonia/free nitrous acid suppression in recirculated sludge treatment), and maintaining high activity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and anammox bacteria for competing oxygen and nitrite with nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. We then highlight emerging strategies of nitrite supply, including the nitrite production driven by novel ammonia-oxidizing microbes (ammonia-oxidizing archaea and complete ammonia oxidation bacteria) and nitrate reduction pathways (partial denitrification and nitrate-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation). The resources requirement of different mainstream nitrite supply pathways is analyzed, and a hybrid nitrite supply pathway by combining partial nitrification and nitrate reduction is encouraged. Moreover, data-driven modeling of a mainstream nitrite supply process as well as proactive microbiome management is proposed in the hope of achieving mainstream nitrite supply in practical application. Finally, the existing challenges and further perspectives are highlighted, i.e., investigation of nitrite-supplying bacteria, the scaling-up of hybrid nitrite supply technologies from laboratory to practical implementation under real conditions, and the data-driven management for the stable performance of mainstream nitrite supply. The fundamental insights in this review aim to inspire and advance our understanding about how to provide nitrite robustly for mainstream anammox and shed light on important obstacles warranting further settlement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaichong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
| | - Jia Li
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
| | - Xin Gu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
| | - Han Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
| | - Xiang Li
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, P. R. 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, P. R. China
| | - Yayi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
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3
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Lu X, Oehmen A, Zhao J, Duan H, Yuan Z, Ye L. Insights on biological phosphorus removal with partial nitrification in single sludge system via sidestream free ammonia and free nitrous acid dosing. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 895:165174. [PMID: 37385509 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165174] [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: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 06/10/2023] [Accepted: 06/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
The sidestream sludge treatment by free ammonium (FA)/free nitrous acid (FNA) dosing was frequently demonstrated to maintain the nitrite pathway for the partial nitrification (PN) process. Nevertheless, the inhibitory effect of FA and FNA would severely influence polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs), destroying the microbe-based phosphorus (P) removal. Therefore, a strategic evaluation was proposed to successfully achieve biological P removal with a partial nitrification process in a single sludge system by sidestream FA and FNA dosing. Through the long-term operation of 500 days, excellent phosphorus, ammonium and total nitrogen removal performance were achieved at 97.5 ± 2.6 %, 99.1 ± 1.0 % and 75.5 ± 0.4 %, respectively. Stable partial nitrification with a nitrite accumulation ratio (NAR) of 94.1 ± 3.4 was attained. The batch tests also reported the robust aerobic phosphorus uptake based on FA and FNA adapted sludge after exposure of FA and FNA, respectively, suggesting the FA and FNA treatment strategy could potentially offer the opportunity for the selection of PAOs, which synchronously have the tolerance to FA and FNA. Microbial community analysis suggested that Accumulibacter, Tetrasphaera, and Comamonadaceae collectively contributed to the phosphorus removal in this system. Summarily, the proposed work presents a novel and feasible strategy to integrate enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) and short-cut nitrogen cycling and bring the combined mainstream phosphorus removal and partial nitrification process closer to practical application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuanyu Lu
- School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia; Australia Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Adrian Oehmen
- School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jing Zhao
- Sustainable minerals institute, the university of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Haoran Duan
- School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia; Australia Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Australia Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Liu Ye
- School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
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Hu Z, Li L, Cen X, Zheng M, Hu S, Wang X, Song Y, Xu K, Yuan Z. Integrated urban water management by coupling iron salt production and application with biogas upgrading. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6405. [PMID: 37828023 PMCID: PMC10570337 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42158-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Integrated urban water management is a well-accepted concept for managing urban water. It requires efficient and integrated technological solutions that enable system-wide gains via a whole-of-system approach. Here, we create a solid link between the manufacturing of an iron salt, its application in an urban water system, and high-quality bioenergy recovery from wastewater. An iron-oxidising electrochemical cell is used to remove CO2 (also H2S and NH3) from biogas, thus achieving biogas upgrading, and simultaneously producing FeCO3. The subsequent dose of the electrochemically produced FeCO3 to wastewater and sludge removes sulfide and phosphate, and enhances sludge settleability and dewaterability, with comparable or superior performance compared to the imported and hazardous iron salts it substitutes (FeCl2, and FeCl3). The process enables water utilities to establish a self-reliant and more secure supply chain to meet its demand for iron salts, at lower economic and environmental costs, and simultaneously achieve recovery of high-quality bioenergy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhetai Hu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Lanqing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, PR China
- School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, PR China
| | - Xiaotong Cen
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Min Zheng
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Shihu Hu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Xiuheng Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, PR China
- School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, PR China
| | - Yarong Song
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Kangning Xu
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Source Control Technology of Water Pollution, Collage of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
- School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
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5
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Guo H, Liu S, Wang Y, Hou J, Zhu T, Liu Y. A novel free nitrous acid (FNA)-generation pathway via ferric salts hydrolysis to mitigate sulfide and methane production in sewer: Insights into the performance and microbial mechanisms. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2023; 459:132284. [PMID: 37591170 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2023] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
Ferric chloride (FeCl3) served as a solid acid has attracted attention recently. However, the feasibility of FeCl3 combined with nitrite for free nitrous acid (FNA) generation in controlling sulfide and methane as well as the triggering mechanisms in the complex syntrophic consortium (i.e., sewer biofilm) remain largely unknown. This work disclosed FeCl3 as an alternative acid source could obtain comparable sulfide and methane mitigations at a low FNA dose (i.e., 0.26 mg N/L), compared to that of HCl acid source. Whereas, a faster recovery rate of sulfide production was observed using FeCl3 under a higher FNA dose (i.e., 0.81 mg N/L) despite the methane control still being comparable. The toxicological mechanisms revealed FNA reacted with proteins amide Ⅰ in extracellular polymeric substances and destroyed protein hydrogen bond. Enzymatic and genic analysis unveiled the overall suppression of hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis, sulfidogenesis and methanogenesis steps due to the inactivation of viable cells by reactive nitrogen species. Economic and environmental assessments demonstrated that the ferric-based FNA strategy reduced chemical costs and N2O emission (ca. 26.5% decrease) compared to the traditional HCl-based FNA method. This work broadens the application of iron salt-based technology in urban water system, together with understanding the biological mechanisms of FNA-based technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haixiao Guo
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Siru Liu
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Yufen Wang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Jiaqi Hou
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Tingting Zhu
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Yiwen Liu
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.
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6
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Hu Z, Hu S, Hong PY, Zhang X, Prodanovic V, Zhang K, Ye L, Deletic A, Yuan Z, Zheng M. Impact of electrochemically generated iron on the performance of an anaerobic wastewater treatment process. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 875:162628. [PMID: 36889383 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Revised: 02/26/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Anaerobic treatment of domestic wastewater has the advantages of lower biomass yield, lower energy demand and higher energy recover over the conventional aerobic treatment process. However, the anaerobic process has the inherent issues of excessive phosphate and sulfide in effluent and superfluous H2S and CO2 in biogas. An electrochemical method allowing for in-situ generation of Fe2+ in the anode and hydroxide ion (OH-) and H2 in the cathode was proposed to overcome the challenges simultaneously. The effect of electrochemically generated iron (e‑iron) on the performance of anaerobic wastewater treatment process was explored with four different dosages in this work. The results showed that compared to control, the experimental system displayed an increase of 13.4-28.4 % in COD removal efficiency, 12.0-21.3 % in CH4 production rate, 79.8-98.5 % in dissolved sulfide reduction, 26.0-96.0 % in phosphate removal efficiency, depending on the e‑iron dosage between 40 and 200 mg Fe/L. Dosing of the e‑iron significantly upgraded the quality of produced biogas, showing a much lower CO2 and H2S contents in biogas in experimental reactor than that in control reactor. The results thus demonstrated that e‑iron can significantly improve the performance of anaerobic wastewater treatment process, bringing multiple benefits with the increase of its dosage regarding effluent and biogas quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhetai Hu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Shihu Hu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Pei-Ying Hong
- Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, SA 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Xueqin Zhang
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Veljko Prodanovic
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Kefeng Zhang
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Liu Ye
- School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Ana Deletic
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia; School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, QLD 4001, Australia
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Min Zheng
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
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7
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Cen X, Li J, Jiang G, Zheng M. A critical review of chemical uses in urban sewer systems. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 240:120108. [PMID: 37257296 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 05/13/2023] [Accepted: 05/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Chemical dosing is the most used strategy for sulfide and methane abatement in urban sewer systems. Although conventional physicochemical methods, such as sulfide oxidation (e.g., oxygen/nitrate), precipitation (e.g., iron salts), and pH elevation (e.g., magnesium hydroxide/sodium hydroxide) have been used since the last century, the high chemical cost, large environmental footprint, and side-effects on downstream treatment processes demand a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to these approaches. In this paper, we aimed to review the currently used chemicals and significant progress made in sustainable sulfide and methane abatement technology, including 1) the use of bio-inhibitors, 2) in situ chemical production, and 3) an effective dosing strategy. To enhance the cost-effectiveness of chemical applications in urban sewer systems, two research directions have emerged: 1) online control and optimization of chemical dosing strategies and 2) integrated use of chemicals in urban sewer and wastewater treatment systems. The integration of these approaches offers considerable system-wide benefits; however, further development and comprehensive studies are required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaotong Cen
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jiuling Li
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Guangming Jiang
- School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| | - Min Zheng
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
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Hu Z, Hu S, Ye L, Duan H, Wu Z, Hong PY, Yuan Z, Zheng M. Novel Use of a Ferric Salt to Enhance Mainstream Nitrogen Removal from Anaerobically Pretreated Wastewater. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:6712-6722. [PMID: 37038903 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c08325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
This study aims to demonstrate a new technology roadmap to support the ongoing paradigm shift in wastewater management from pollutant removal to resource recovery. This is achieved by developing a novel use of an iron salt (i.e., FeCl3) in an integrated anaerobic wastewater treatment and mainstream anammox process. FeCl3 was chosen to be dosed in a proposed sidestream unit rather than in a primary settler or a mainstream reactor. This causes acidification of returned activated sludge and enables stable suppression of nitrite-oxidizing bacterial activity and excess sludge reduction. A laboratory-scale system, which comprised an anaerobic baffled reactor, a continuous-flow anoxic-aerobic (A/O) reactor, and a secondary settler, was designed to treat real domestic wastewater, with the performance of the system comprehensively monitored under a steady-state condition. The experimental assessments showed that the system had good effluent quality, with total nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations of 12.6 ± 1.3 mg N/L and 0.34 ± 0.05 mg P/L, respectively. It efficiently retained phosphorus in excess sludge (0.18 ± 0.03 g P/g dry sludge), suggesting its potential for further recovery. About half of influent organic carbon was recovered in the form of bioenergy (i.e., methane). This together with low energy consumption revealed that the system could produce a net energy of about 0.11 kWh/m3-wastewater, assessed by an energy balance analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhetai Hu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Shihu Hu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Liu Ye
- School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Haoran Duan
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Ziping Wu
- School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Pei-Ying Hong
- Environmental Science and Engineering, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Min Zheng
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
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9
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Hu Z, Liu T, Wang Z, Meng J, Zheng M. Toward Energy Neutrality: Novel Wastewater Treatment Incorporating Acidophilic Ammonia Oxidation. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:4522-4532. [PMID: 36897644 PMCID: PMC10035426 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c06444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Revised: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) followed by partial nitritation and anammox (PN/A) and anaerobic digestion (AD) is a promising roadmap to achieve energy-neutral wastewater treatment. However, the acidification of wastewater caused by ferric hydrolysis in CEPT and how to achieve stable suppression of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in PN/A challenge this paradigm in practice. This study proposes a novel wastewater treatment scheme to overcome these challenges. Results showed that, by dosing FeCl3 at 50 mg Fe/L, the CEPT process removed 61.8% of COD and 90.1% of phosphate and reduced the alkalinity as well. Feeding by low alkalinity wastewater, stable nitrite accumulation was achieved in an aerobic reactor operated at pH 4.35 aided by a novel acid-tolerant ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), namely, Candidatus Nitrosoglobus. After polishing in a following anoxic reactor (anammox), a satisfactory effluent, containing COD at 41.9 ± 11.2 mg/L, total nitrogen at 5.1 ± 1.8 mg N/L, and phosphate at 0.3 ± 0.2 mg P/L, was achieved. Moreover, the stable performances of this integration were well maintained at an operating temperature of 12 °C, and 10 investigated micropollutants were removed from the wastewater. An energy balance assessment indicated that the integrated system could achieve energy self-sufficiency in domestic wastewater treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhetai Hu
- Australian
Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia 4072, Queensland, Australia
| | - Tao Liu
- Australian
Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia 4072, Queensland, Australia
| | - Zhiyao Wang
- Australian
Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia 4072, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jia Meng
- State
Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, 73 Huanghe Road, Harbin 150090, China
| | - Min Zheng
- Australian
Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia 4072, Queensland, Australia
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10
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Hu Z, Li W, Duan H, Huang X, Meng J, Yang L, Zheng M. An integrated approach to vivianite recovery from waste activated sludge. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2023; 371:128608. [PMID: 36640822 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128608] [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: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The waste activated sludge (WAS) of wastewater treatment system is often rich in phosphorus (P), which is a basic element of human life and could use up in the near future. This study proposed an integrated approach to efficiently recover P as vivianite from WAS and simultaneously enhance the sludge dewaterability. The raw WAS was first acidified using FeCl3, which was then fed to anaerobic fermenter for Fe3+ reduction. After fermentation, a technology named acid-elutriation was introduced to convert Fe and P from solid phase to liquid phase and concomitantly enhance the liquor-solid separation. Finally, vivianite was obtained via sludge eluate neutralization. The enhanced sludge dewaterability not only increases the recovery efficiency of Fe and P but also decreases the cost of sludge disposal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhetai Hu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Weiwei Li
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Haoran Duan
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Xin Huang
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jia Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, 73 Huanghe Road, Harbin 150090, China
| | - Liangzhen Yang
- 2005 Pioneer Park, Longcheng Residential Street, Shenzhen Tongdao Environmental Technology Co., Ltd, Shenzhen 518001, China
| | - Min Zheng
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
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Tian L, Guo H, Wang Y, Hou J, Zhu T, Tong Y, Sun P, Liu Y. Unveiling the Mechanism of Urine Source Separation-Derived Pretreatment on Enhancing Short-Chain Fatty Acid Yields from Anaerobic Fermentation of Waste Activated Sludge. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:16178-16188. [PMID: 36318116 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c04170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
A novel strategy employing urine wastewater derived from source separation technology, to pretreat waste activated sludge (WAS) for promoting yields of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), has been proposed in this study. It was found experimentally that SCFA production could ascend up to 305.4 mg COD/g VSS (volatile suspended solids) with a urine volumetric proportion of 1:2 to the whole reaction system, being 8.8 times that produced in the control. Exploration of the mechanism indicated that WAS disintegration was significantly enhanced due to the synergistic effect of urea and free ammonia (FA). Degradation rates of model organic substrates and measurements of critical enzymatic activities demonstrated that hydrolysis and acidogenesis were inhibited under high urine content (urine proportion of 1:2), while not significantly affected under low urine content (i.e., 1:4), which might be attributed to metal ions existing in urine wastes alleviating the inhibition induced by FA. In contrast, methanogenesis was negatively suppressed by any urine concentration owing to its higher sensitivity to the environmental variations. Shift of microbial population further elucidated the abundance of hydrolytic and acidogenic microbes were enriched in the fermenters with urine addition. The findings provide a new thought for recovering resources from wastes, potentially reducing the pressure of sewage and sludge treatment in wastewater treatment plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lixin Tian
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin300072, P. R. China
| | - Haixiao Guo
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin300072, P. R. China
| | - Yufen Wang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin300072, P. R. China
| | - Jiaqi Hou
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin300072, P. R. China
| | - Tingting Zhu
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin300072, P. R. China
| | - Yindong Tong
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin300072, P. R. China
| | - Peizhe Sun
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin300072, P. R. China
| | - Yiwen Liu
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin300072, P. R. China
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Hu Z, Zheng M, Hu S, Hong PY, Zhang X, Prodanovic V, Zhang K, Pikaar I, Ye L, Deletic A, Yuan Z. Electrochemical iron production to enhance anaerobic membrane treatment of wastewater. WATER RESEARCH 2022; 225:119202. [PMID: 36215837 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.119202] [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: 08/15/2022] [Revised: 10/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Although iron salts such as iron(III) chloride (FeCl3) have widespread application in wastewater treatment, safety concerns limit their use, due to the corrosive nature of concentrated solutions. This study demonstrates that local, electrochemical generation of iron is a viable alternative to the use of iron salts. Three laboratory systems with anaerobic membrane processes were set up to treat real wastewater; two systems used the production of either in-situ or ex-situ electrochemical iron (as Fe2+ and Fe2+(Fe3+)2O4, respectively), while the other system served as a control. These systems were operated for over one year to assess the impact of electrochemically produced iron on system performance. The results showed that dosing of electrochemical iron significantly reduced sulfide concentration in effluent and hydrogen sulfide content in biogas, and mitigated organics-based membrane fouling, all of which are critical issues inherently related to sustainability of anaerobic wastewater treatment. The electrochemical iron strategy can generate multiple benefits for wastewater management including increased removal efficiencies for total and volatile suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand and phosphorus. The rate of methane production also increased with electrochemically produced iron. Economic analysis revealed the viability of electrochemical iron with total cost reduced by one quarter to a third compared with using FeCl3. These benefits indicate that electrochemical iron dosing can greatly enhance the overall operation and performance of anaerobic membrane processes, and this particularly facilitates wastewater management in a decentralized scenario.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhetai Hu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Min Zheng
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
| | - Shihu Hu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Pei-Ying Hong
- Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, SA 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - Xueqing Zhang
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Veljko Prodanovic
- Water Research Centre, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Kefeng Zhang
- Water Research Centre, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Ilje Pikaar
- School of Civil Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Liu Ye
- School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Ana Deletic
- Water Research Centre, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia; School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, QLD 4001, Australia
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
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