Simultaneous biodegradation of nitrogen-containing aromatic compounds in a sequencing batch bioreactor

Simultaneous high p-nitrophenol concentration and nitrogen removal by two-stage membrane biofilm reactor

P-nitrophenol (PNP) is highly toxic and difficult to degrade, causing great harm to the ecological environment and human health. A two-stage bench-scale membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) was constructed to treat wastewater containing high concentration of PNP and the generated nitrogen without external organic carbon sources. The two reactors were supplied with oxygen and methane, respectively. O₂-MBfR was used for the degradation of PNP and the improvement of wastewater biodegradability. CH₄-MBfR was used for the total nitrogen (TN) removal treatment from O₂-MBfR effluent. In this experiment, the performance of the two-stage MBfR process was evaluated and optimized by adjusting operational parameters (aeration pressure, HRT, and pH). Under the optimal operation parameters, the removal efficiencies of PNP (100 mg/L) and TN attained 89.70% and 69.24%, respectively, and the removal loads were 0.930 g·m^-2·d^-1 and 241.42 mg·m^-2·d^-1, respectively. The reactor was able to accommodate the concentrations of PNP up to 200-400 mg/L, and the reactor reached maximum efficiency throughout the process when the concentration of PNP in the wastewater was 250 mg/L. The removal rates of PNP and TN reached 95.0% and 69.48%, respectively, and the removal loads were 2.37 g·m^-2·d^-1 and 96.22 mg·m^-2·d^-1, respectively. This research provides a better solution for multi-MBfR to treat toxic industrial wastewater containing phenol, nitrophenol, and further TN removal, which would not release any air pollutants into the atmosphere.

Anaerobic semi-fixed bed biofilm reactor (An-SFB-BR) for treatment of high concentration p-nitrophenol wastewater under shock loading conditions

P-nitrophenol (PNP or 4-NP) has been widely used as a biorefractory raw material in chemical industry, whereas been highly concerned for its characteristics of mutagenic/carcinogenic activity and food chain bioaccumulation. In this study, an anaerobic semi-fixed bed biofilm reactor (An-SFB-BR) was constructed and used to treat PNP wastewater which discharged from chemical industries. Experimental results revealed that the An-SFB-BR was successfully cultivated with the gradually increasing of influent PNP from 0 to 540 mg/L (gradually increased 10 mg/L every time in stage II and 30-50 mg/L for stage III), with the observation of an average removal efficiency of 98% for PNP and 80% for chemical oxygen demand (COD), also a biogas production and biogas production rate of 2.1 L/(L·d) and 0.57 m³/kg-COD, respectively. Finally, the conversion rate of P-aminophenol (PAP), the primary intermediate of PNP reached 80% after An-SFB-BR biodegradation. A relatively stable pH was maintained throughout the entire process, and insignificant VFA accumulation. The reactor exhibited a strong toxic shock resistance, and 16S rRNA sequencing results demonstrated that the dominant microbial community changed slightly with the gradually increasing of PNP concentration, which guaranteed the PNP removal efficiency.

Stability of continuous and fed batch sequential anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic moving bed bioreactor systems at phenol shock load application

The stability of two sequential moving bed bioreactor systems operated in anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic continuous moving bed bioreactor (CMBR: R1-R2-R3) and semi-continuous fed batch moving bed bioreactor (FMBR: B1-B2-B3) modes was assessed for phenol shock load (PSL) applications in the presence of thiocyanate and ammonia. Both the systems were exposed to 3000 mg phenol/L (PSL-I) and 3500 mg phenol/L (PSL-II) for 3 days each from initial 2500 mg phenol/L without any intermediate concentration at 6 days HRT (hydraulic retention time). The effect of PSL-I on R1 was reversible within 10-12 days. At PSL-II, R1 required 2 days stop of feed for stability and resumed removal efficiency of phenol (15%) and COD (3%). R2 remained robust to sustain both PSLs and recovered within 15 days from peak influent concentrations of 1727 mg phenol/L (removal: 67%) and 324 mg SCN--/L (removal: 68-70%). In B1, effluent COD increased by 2%, though effluent phenol decreased by 3% than the pre-shock condition after PSL-I exposure. B2 acted similar to R2 when exposed to PSLs. The effect of PSL-I on R3 and B3 was negligible. However, at PSL-II R3 became vulnerable for nitrification, whereas phenol, COD and SCN- removal remained unaffected. In B3, PSL-II caused a decrease in phenol, SCN- and NH+4-N removal. In B3, stop of feed for 4 days also did not improve nitrification. The performance of the CMBR system was better than that of the FMBR system for organic shock load exposure in the presence of multiple pollutants.

Effects of carbon sources on sludge performance and microbial community for 4-chlorophenol wastewater treatment in sequencing batch reactors

Considering carbon sources are often supplied to satisfy the removal of high nitrogen and refractory pollutants in industrial wastewater, two sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) were used in this study to treat 1.5 ± 0.5 mg/L 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) wastewater containing ammonium nitrogen and phosphate with different carbon sources. The favorable removal efficiencies of influent COD, NH₄⁺-N, PO₄^3--P, and 4-CP suggested that the both SBRs were not influenced by supplying dissolved starch and sodium acetate, respectively. The phyla Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were dominant in both SBRs, while the dominant phylum Candidatus Saccharibacteria was only existed in SBR with carbon source of dissolved starch. The relative abundance of bacterial communities had significant differences at class, family, and order level in both SBRs. And the mutually dominant genus in both SBRs was only Gemmobacter, which was first found in 4-CP wastewater treatment. The changed extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were related with microbial communities.

Dominance of candidate Saccharibacteria in a membrane bioreactor treating medium age landfill leachate: Effects of organic load on microbial communities, hydrolytic potential and extracellular polymeric substances

A membrane bioreactor (MBR), accomplishing high nitrogen removal efficiencies, was evaluated under various landfill leachate concentrations (50, 75 and 100% v/v). Proteinous and carbohydrate extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and soluble microbial product (SMP) were strongly correlated (p<0.01) with organic load, salinity and NH₄⁺-N. Exceptionally high β-glucosidase activities (6700-10,100Ug^-1) were determined during MBR operation with 50% v/v leachate, as a result of the low organic carbon availability that extendedly induced β-glucosidases to breakdown the least biodegradable organic fraction. Illumina sequencing revealed that candidate Saccharibacteria were dominant, independently of the leachate concentration applied, whereas other microbiota (21.2% of total reads) disappeared when undiluted leachate was used. Fungal taxa shifted from a Saccharomyces- to a newly-described Cryptomycota-based community with increasing leachate concentration. Indeed, this is the first report on the dominance of candidate Saccharibacteria and on the examination of their metabolic behavior in a bioreactor treating real wastewater.

Sequential anaerobic-aerobic biodegradation of emerging insensitive munitions compound 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO)

Insensitive munitions, such as 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO), are being considered by the U.S. Army as replacements for conventional explosives. Environmental emissions of NTO are expected to increase as its use becomes widespread; but only a few studies have considered the remediation of NTO-contaminated sites. In this study, sequential anaerobic-aerobic biodegradation of NTO was investigated in bioreactors using soil as inoculum. Batch bioassays confirmed microbial reduction of NTO under anaerobic conditions to 3-amino-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (ATO) using pyruvate as electron-donating cosubstrate. However, ATO biodegradation was only observed after the redox condition was switched to aerobic. This study also demonstrated that the high-rate removal of NTO in contaminated water can be attained in a continuous-flow aerated bioreactor. The reactor was first fed ATO as sole energy and nitrogen source prior to NTO addition. After few days, ATO was removed in a sustained fashion by 100%. When NTO was introduced together with electron-donor (pyruvate), NTO degradation increased progressively, reaching a removal efficiency of 93.5%. Mineralization of NTO was evidenced by the partial release of inorganic nitrogen species in the effluent, and lack of ATO accumulation. A plausible hypothesis for these findings is that NTO reduction occurred in anaerobic zones of the biofilm whereas ATO was mineralized in the bulk aerobic zones of the reactor.

Effect of bioreduced graphene oxide on anaerobic biotransformation of nitrobenzene in an anaerobic reactor

Bioreduced graphene oxide (BRGO) has been proven to be capable of accelerating nitrobenzene (NB) biotransformation by anaerobic sludge (AS). To realize its application, in the present study, two continuous anaerobic reactors (R1 with BRGO/AS composite; R2 with AS) were employed to treat NB-containing wastewater during a long-term run. Compared with R2, the start-up time of R1 was shortened from 70 to 45 d and R1 exhibited better removal efficiency (87% of R1 and 74% of R2 with an influent NB concentration of 200 mg L(-1) at hydraulic retention time = 24 h, NaCl = 3%). Moreover, R1 exhibited better stability with over 81% NB removal efficiency within 90 d. Further study demonstrated that the presence of BRGO facilitated microorganisms to secrete extracellular polymeric substances, resulting in the higher electrochemical and dehydrogenase activities of R1 compared with those of R2.

Interactions among mononitrophenol isomers during biodegradation of their mixtures

Continuous aerobic biodegradation of 4-NP, 3-NP and 2-NP mixture was monitored in a packed bed reactor in simulated wastewater with a mixed microbial culture immobilized on expanded slate. Substrate loading was varied by increasing the concentration of one isomer while keeping the other two at constant levels, all at a constant residence time of 60 min. At large concentrations, all of the individual NP isomers suppressed the degradation rates of the other isomers at steady state; however, the observed patterns and threshold concentrations were different for all three substrates. As a result, conditions were determined for stable and efficient removal of NP mixtures. Changes of the biofilm composition during a long-term operation were identified.

Effects of hydraulic retention time and nitrobenzene concentration on the performance of sequential upflow anaerobic filter and air lift reactors in treating nitrobenzene-containing wastewater

Sequential upflow anaerobic filter (UAF)/air lift (ALR) reactors were employed to investigate the effects of hydraulic retention time (HRT) and nitrobenzene (NB) concentration on treatment of NB-containing wastewater. The results showed that NB was effectively reduced to aniline (AN) with glucose as co-substrate in the UAF reactor. The AN and the remaining intermediates after the UAF reactor were then efficiently degraded in the ALR reactor. A removal efficiency of 100% and 96% was obtained for NB and chemical oxygen demand (COD), respectively, using sequential UAF/ALR reactors with an HRT of 8-72 h in the UAF reactor and 2-18 h in the ALR reactor. The corresponding optimal influent NB concentration varied between 100 and 400 mg l(-1) to achieve the optimal NB and COD removal. The NB removal efficiency decreased to 90% and to 97% if the HRT in the UAF reactor decreased from 8 to 2 h and the influent NB concentration increased from 400 to 800 mg l(-1), respectively. The results showed that sequential UAF/ALR system can be operated at low HRTs and high NB concentrations without significantly affecting the removal efficiency of NB in the reactor system. The UAF/ALR system can provide an effective yet low cost method for treatment of NB-containing industrial wastewater.

Comparative Studies on Nitrophenol Removal byAdsorption and Simultaneous Adsorption-Biodegradation Processes

In this paper, it was aimed to study the removal of 4-nitrophenol (NP) from aqueous solution by adsorption using granular activated carbon (GAC); and in sequencing batch reactor (SBR) without any adsorbent (blank-SBR) and with an SBR loaded with GAC (GAC–SBR). During adsorption study with GAC, effect of pH, adsorbent dose (m) and contact time (t) were studied. Adsorption isotherm, kinetic and thermodynamic parameters were determined. During NP removal in SBR, effect of hydraulic retention time (HRT), initial concentration (C 0) and m were studied. The percent removal in case of GAC–SBR was found to be greater in comparison to blank-SBR. The removal of NP from blank-SBR and GAC–SBR for C 0 of 35, 65 and 100 mg/l was found to be 90.46% and 91.23% (m=2 g/l); 52.33% and 96.05% (m=2.5 g/l); 20.01% and 92.72% (m=2.5 g/l), respectively.

Study on Nutrient Removal Performance and Biological Community Structure in Hybrid Biofilm Reactor

To investigate nutrient removal and biological community structure in wastewater treatment system under different ratio of C/N/P, hybrid biofilm reactor (HBR) and sequencing batch reactor (SBR) in lab scale were set up. Results showed that both HBR and SBR achieved the best removal efficiency of nitrogen and phosphorus when C/N/P=100/6.25/1. With the rise of C/N/P from 50/6.25/1 to 100/6.25/1, the removal efficiencies of NH3-N were greater than 93% in three phases of both reactors; the efficiencies of TN were increased from 65% to 79% in SBR while these values at HBR were from 73% to 86%; the efficiencies of TP were increased from 42% to 93% in SBR while these values at HBR were from 32% to 93%. Microbial community structure response to different C/N/P was determined by PCR-DGGE technology. Similarity coefficient was lowest and denitrifying phosphate accumulating bacteria became dominant bacteria in SBR when C/N/P was 100/6.25/1. There were many functional bacteria in HBR, such as bacteria for removing nutrients (Uncultured BacteroidetesFJ828150), bacteria for removing organic (Uncultured Saprospiraceae) bacteria for removing nitrogen (Ferribacterium sp.), and nitrifying bacteria (Uncultured Nitrospira sp.) which became dominant bacteria. Because of microbial diversity index of biofilm was up to 3.3, similarity coefficient was as low as 43.4%.

Biodegradation of a mixture of mononitrophenols in a packed-bed aerobic reactor

Aerobic biodegradation of individual mononitrophenols (4-, 3- and 2-NPs) and their mixture in simulated wastewater was investigated in a packed-bed bench scale bioreactor continuously operated in a flow mode, with a mixed microbial culture adsorbed on expanded slate. Under a low, suboptimal hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 30 min the reactor removed more than 3 g.L(-1).day(-1) of the NP mixture while maintaining a > 85-90% removal efficiency (RE). Under higher HRT values, starting at 45 min, more than 2 g.L(-1).day(-1) of the NP mixture were removed with an RE > 98%. Significant substrate interactions were observed; the addition of other NPs caused the saturation of 2-NP catabolic capacity whereas the addition of 2-NP caused the de-saturation of the 4- and 3-NP catabolic capacity. 3- and 4-NPs appeared to be removed independently, i.e., by different enzyme systems. After ten months of operation, the biofilm composition was significantly altered to become predominantly bacterial. Only one originally inoculated strain remained indicating microbial contamination followed by a genetic material exchange.

Pollutant interactions during the biodegradation of phenolic mixtures with either 2- or 3-mononitrophenol in a continuously operated packed bed reactor

Pollutant interactions during the aerobic biodegradation of phenolic mixtures with either 2-nitrophenol (2-NP) or 3-nitrophenol (3-NP) by a NP-adapted microbial consortium in simulated wastewater were studied in a packed-bed bench scale bioreactor continuously operated in a flow mode. Phenol/2-NP and phenol/3-NP mixtures with varied phenol/nitrophenol ratios were shown to exhibit different biodegradability patterns. The presence of 2-NP led to a much lower overall elimination capacity and lower process stability in comparison to mixtures with 3-NP. In contrast to the expected greater degradation of a more biodegradable substrate in mixtures, phenol was degraded with a lower efficiency at higher phenol concentrations than NPs, although this difference became less pronounced with the gradual biofilm adaptation to phenol. This unusual substrate interaction, which appears to be common in the biotreatment of substituted phenol mixtures, was explained by prior biofilm adaptation to less degradable substrates, NPs. The biofilm composition was significantly altered during the long-term reactor operation. Although eukaryotes were not present in the inoculum, four fungal species were isolated from the biofilm after 1.5 years of operation. Of the initially present strains, only Chryseobacterium sp. and several Pseudomonas species persisted till the end of operation.

Study on the aerobic biodegradability and degradation kinetics of 3-NP; 2,4-DNP and 2,6-DNP

Four biodegradability tests (BOD(5)/COD ratio, production of carbon dioxide, relative oxygen uptake rate and relative enzymatic activity) were used to determine the aerobic biodegradability of 3-nitrophenol (3-NP), 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP) and 2,6-dinitrophenol (2,6-DNP). Furthermore, biodegradation kinetics of the compounds was investigated in sequencing batch reactors both in the presence of glucose (co-substrate) and with nitrophenol as the sole carbon source. Among the three tested compounds, 3-NP showed the best biodegradability while 2,6-DNP was the most difficult to be biodegraded. The Haldane equation was applied to the kinetic test data of the nitrophenols. The kinetic constants are as follows: the maximum specific degradation rate (K(max)), the saturation constants (K(S)) and the inhibition constants (K(I)) were in the range of 0.005-2.98 mg(mgSS d)(-1), 1.5-51.9 mg L(-1) and 1.8-95.8 mg L(-1), respectively. The presence of glucose enhanced the degradation of the nitrophenols at low glucose concentrations. The degradation of 3-NP was found to be accelerated with the increasing of glucose concentrations from 0 to 660 mg L(-1). At high (1320-2000 mg L(-1)) glucose concentrations, the degradation rate of 3-NP was reduced and the K(max) of 3-NP was even lower than the value obtained in the absence of glucose, suggesting that high concentrations of co-substrate could inhibit 3-NP biodegradation. At 2,4-DNP concentration of 30 mg L(-1), the K(max) of 2,4-DNP with glucose as co-substrate was about 30 times the value with 2,4-DNP as sole substrate. 2,6-DNP preformed high toxicity in the case of sole carbon source degradation and the kinetic data was hardly obtained.

Anaerobic degradation of benzene by enriched consortia with humic acids as terminal electron acceptors

The anaerobic degradation of benzene coupled to the reduction of humic acids (HA) was demonstrated in two enriched consortia. Both inocula were able to oxidize benzene under strict anaerobic conditions when the humic model compound, anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS), was supplied as terminal electron acceptor. An enrichment culture originated from a contaminated soil was also able to oxidize benzene linked to the reduction of highly purified soil humic acids (HPSHA). In HPSHA-amended cultures, 9.3 μM of benzene were degraded, which corresponds to 279 ± 27 micro-electron equivalents (μEq)L(-1), linked to the reduction of 619 ± 81 μEq L(-1) of HPSHA. Neither anaerobic benzene oxidation nor reduction of HPSHA occurred in sterilized controls. Anaerobic benzene oxidation did not occur in soil incubations lacking HPSHA. Furthermore, negligible reduction of HPSHA occurred in the absence of benzene. The enrichment culture derived from this soil was dominated by two γ-Proteobacteria phylotypes. A benzene-degrading AQDS-reducing enrichment originated from a sediment sample showed the prevalence of different species from classes β-, δ- and γ-Proteobacteria. The present study provides clear quantitative demonstration of anaerobic degradation of benzene coupled to the reduction of HA.

Biodegradation of p-nitrophenol using Arthrobacter chlorophenolicus A6 in a novel upflow packed bed reactor

A novel packed bed reactor (PBR) was designed with cross flow aeration at multiple ports along the depth to improve the hydrodynamic conditions of the reactor, and the biodegradation efficiency of Arthrobacter chlorophenolicus A6 on p-nitrophenol (PNP) removal in PBR at different PNP loading rates were evaluated. The novel PBR was designed to improve the hydrodynamic features such as mixing time profile (t(m95)), oxygen mass transfer coefficient (k(L)a), and overall gas hold up capacity (ɛ(G)) of the reactor. PNP concentration in the influent was varied between 600 and 1400 mg l(-1) whereas the hydraulic retention time (HRT) in the reactor was varied between 18 and 7.5h. Complete removal of PNP was achieved in the reactor up to a PNP loading rate of 2787 mg l(-1)d(-1). More than 99.9% removal of PNP was achieved in the reactor for an influent concentration of 1400 mg l(-1) and at 18 h HRT. In the present study, PNP was utilized as sole source of carbon and energy by A. chlorophenolicus A6. Furthermore, the bioreactor showed good compatibility in handling shock loading of PNP.