Ultrasonic Treatment Enhanced Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacterial (AOB) Activity for Nitritation Process

Stable partial nitrification was achieved for nitrogen removal from municipal wastewater by gel immobilization: A pilot-scale study

As an energy and carbon saving process for nitrogen removal from wastewater, the partial nitrification and denitrification process (PN/D) has been extensively researched. However, achieving stable PN in municipal wastewater has always been challenging. In this study, a gel immobilized PN/D nitrogen removal process (GI-PN/D) was established. A 94 days pilot-scale experiment was conducted using real municipal wastewater with an ammonia concentration of 43.5 ± 5.3 mg N/L at a temperature range of 11.3-28.7℃. The nitrogen removal performance and associated pathways, shifts in the microbial community as well as sludge yield were investigated. The results were as follows: the effluent TN and COD were 0.6 ± 0.4 mg/L and 31.1 ± 3.8 mg/L respectively, and the NAR exceeding 95%. GI-PN/D achieved deep nitrogen removal of municipal wastewater through stable PN without taking any other measures. The primary pathways for nitrogen removal were identified as denitrification, simultaneous nitrification-denitrification, and aerobic denitrification. High-throughput sequencing analysis revealed that the immobilized fillers facilitated the autonomous enrichment of functional bacteria in each reactor, effectively promoting the dominance and stability of the microbial communities. In addition, GI-PN/D had the characteristic of low sludge yield, with an average sludge yield of 0.029 kg SS/kg COD. This study provides an effective technical for nitrogen removal from municipal wastewater through PN.

Enhancing performance in gravity-driven membrane systems through pre-coating with aluminum-based flocs: Mechanism and energy saving analysis

The gravity-driven membrane (GDM) system is an energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable water purification process; however, after prolonged operation, its membrane flux remains relatively low, making it necessary to adopt effective strategies for improving system performance. In this study, the effects of hydrostatic pressure (60, 100, 200 mbar) and pre-coating with aluminum-based flocs (ABF) on GDM flux and organic matter removal were investigated, and the regulatory mechanisms of the bio-cake layer were explored through interactions between morphological structure, composition and microbes. The results showed that the stable flux of the GDM-ABF system at a hydrostatic pressure of 60 mbar was almost equal to that at 100 mbar, and it outperformed higher hydrostatic pressure in organic matter removal, resulting in a more porous bio-cake layer structure. GDM-ABF system at 60 mbar achieved 38.51% energy saving compared to that at 100 mbar. Increased hydrostatic pressure led to a denser biofouling layer and higher EPS concentrations, whereas pre-coating reduced the EPS concentration and resulted in a looser biofouling layer. Hydrostatic stress and pre-coating determined membrane fouling by regulating microbial communities and key metabolites. Increasing hydrostatic pressure down-regulated arginine and proline metabolism and aggravated membrane fouling, while pre-coating ABF up-regulated arginine and proline metabolism, down-regulated galactose metabolism, and alleviated the membrane fouling. Hydrostatic stress and pre-coating altered the abundance of keystone species involved in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) formation within the bio-cake layer. Pre-coating with ABF at low hydrostatic pressure can achieve stable flux and effective water purification in GDM systems, similar to high hydrostatic pressure conditions, with the added benefits of being more environmentally friendly and low-carbon. This study proposes a strategy to balance flux and energy consumption in GDM systems, providing theoretical and technical support for the efficient application of GDM technology in membrane water treatment processes.

Ultrasound-induced structural changes in partial nitrification sludge: Unravelling the mechanism for improved nitrogen removal

Low-intensity ultrasound, as a form of biological enhancement technology, holds significant importance in the field of biological nitrogen removal. This study utilized low-intensity ultrasound (200 W, 6 min) to enhance partial nitrification and investigated its impact on sludge structure, as well as the internal relationship between structure and properties. The results demonstrated that ultrasound induced a higher concentration of nitrite in the effluent (40.16 > 24.48 mg/L), accompanied by a 67.76% increase in the activity of ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) and a 41.12% increase in the activity of hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (HAO), benefiting the partial nitrification. Based on the extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (XDLVO) theoretical analysis, ultrasonic treatment enhanced the electrostatic interaction energy (WR) between sludge flocs, raising the total interaction energy from 46.26 kT to 185.54 kT, thereby causing sludge dispersion. This structural alteration was primarily attributed to the fact that the tightly bonded extracellular polymer (TB-EPS) after ultrasound was found to increase hydrophilicity and negative charge, weakening the adsorption between sludge cells. In summary, this study elucidated that the change in sludge structure caused by ultrasonic treatment has the potential to enhance the nitrogen removal performance by partial nitrification.

New insights into the improved contaminants removal in SBR by intermittently weak ultrasound

The combination of intermittently weak ultrasound and sequencing batch reactor was thoroughly investigated to elucidate the relationship between enhanced contaminants removal and activated sludge characteristics, microbial composition, and regulation of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). At 12 °C, irradiation with an ultrasound intensity of 9.68 W/L, an irradiation time of 10 min, and an interval time of 24 h led to significant increases in COD, NH4+-N, and TP removals with the rates of 93.10 ± 1.51%, 95.75 ± 0.76%, and 92.52 ± 0.95%, respectively. The intermittently weak ultrasound enhanced contaminants removal was primarily attributed to the stimulated microbial metabolism, in which the mechanical oscillation rather than free radical oxidation facilitated the loosening of activated sludge flocs and promoted microorganism proliferation. Elevating the ultrasound intensity or irradiation time could weaken the effect of enhancing ammonia-oxidizing bacteria activity and suppressing nitrite-oxidizing bacteria activity. The results revealed that intermittently weak ultrasound primarily affected the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), with protein nitrogen playing a more significant role than polysaccharide within EPS against ultrasound-induced stress. Furthermore, ultrasound irradiation elevated the energy barrier in total-binding EPS interaction energy curves, thereby inhibiting activated sludge aggregation. Over prolonged operation, the relative abundance of the prevalent denitrifying genus Thauera increased by 90.3%, whereas that of the fully aerobic denitrifier and nitrite producer Dokdonella increased by 68.7%. The intermittently weak ultrasound induced enhancement of microbial metabolism-related DEGs pathways, which served as the main contributor to the improved contaminants removal. These findings provide novel insights into the mechanisms by which intermittently weak ultrasound enhances the effectiveness of biological wastewater treatment.

Effect of initial ammonium concentration on a one-stage partial nitrification/anammox biofilm system: Nitrogen removal performance and the microbial community

One-stage partial nitrification coupled with anammox (PN/A) technology effectively reduces the energy consumption of a biological nitrogen removal system. Inhibiting nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) is essential for this technology to maintain efficient nitrogen removal performance. Initial ammonium concentration (IAC) affects the degree of inhibited NOB. In this study, the effect of the IAC on a PN/A biofilm was investigated in a moving bed biofilm reactor. The results showed that nitrogen removal efficiency decreased from 82.49% ± 1.90% to 64.57% ± 3.96% after the IAC was reduced from 60 to 20 mg N/L, while the nitrate production ratio increased from 13.87% ± 0.90% to 26.50% ± 3.76%. NOB activity increased to 1,133.86 mg N/m2/day after the IAC decreased, approximately 4-fold, indicating that the IAC plays an important inhibitory role in NOB. The rate-limiting step in the mature biofilm of the PN/A system is the nitritation process and is not shifted by the IAC. The analysis of the microbial community structure in the biofilm indicates that the IAC was the dominant factor in changes in community structure. Ca. Brocadia and Ca. Jettenia were the main anammox bacteria, and Nitrosomonas and Nitrospira were the main AOB and NOB, respectively. IAC did not affect the difference in growth between Ca. Brocadia and Ca. Jettenia. Thus, modulating the IAC promoted the PN/A process with efficient nitrogen removal performance at medium to low ammonium concentrations.

Exploring the maximum nitrite production rate through the granular sludge-type reactor to match the needs of anammox process realizing efficient nitrogen removal

The reliable and efficient nitrite production rate (NPR) through nitritation process is the prerequisite for the efficient running of subsequent processes, like the anammox process and the nitrite shunt. However, there has been scant research on stable and productive nitritation process in recent years. In this study, at a stable hydraulic retention time of 12.0 h and with precise and strict DO control, the upper limit of the NPR was initially investigated using a continuous-flow granular sludge reactor. The NPR of 1.69 kg/m3/d with a nitrite production efficiency of 81.97% was finally achieved, which set a record until now in similar research. The median sludge particle size of 270.0 μm confirmed the development of clearly defined granular sludge. The genus Nitrosomonas was the major ammonium oxidizing bacteria. In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights for the practical application of the effective nitritation process driving subsequent nitrogen removal processes.

Microbiological interpretation of weak ultrasound enhanced biological wastewater treatment - using Escherichia coli degrading glucose as model system

The Escherichia coli (E.coli) degrading glucose irradiated by ultrasound irradiation (20 W, 14 min) was investigated as the model system, the glucose degradation increased by 13 % while the E.coli proliferation decreased by 10 % after culture for 18 h. It indicated a tradeoff effect between substrate degradation and cell proliferation, which drove the enhanced contaminants removal and excess sludge reduction in a weak ultrasound enhanced biological wastewater treatment. The enzymatic activities (catalase, superoxide dismutase, adenosine triphosphatases, lactic dehydrogenase, membrane permeability, intracellular reactive oxygen species and calcium ion of E. coli increased immediately by 12 %, 63 %, 124 %, 19 %, 15 %, 4-fold and 38-fold, respectively by ultrasound irradiation power of 20 W for 14 min. Furthermore, the membrane permeability of irradiated E. coli increased by 26 % even though the ultrasound stopped for 10 h. Additionally, pathways associated with glucose degradation and cell proliferation were continuously up-regulated and down-regulated, respectively.

Review on ultrasonic technology enhanced biological treatment of wastewater

As a clean, sustainable and efficient technology of wastewater treatment, ultrasonic irradiation has gained special attention in wastewater treatment. It has been widely studied for degrading pollutants and enhancing biological treatment processes for wastewater treatment. This review focuses on the mechanism and updated information of ultrasonic technology to enhance biological treatment of wastewater. The mechanism involved in improving biological treatment by ultrasonic includes: 1) degradation of refractory substances and release carbon from sludges, 2) promotion of mass transfer and change of cell permeability, 3) facilitation of enzyme-catalyzed reactions and 4) influence of cell growth. Based on the above discussion, the effects of ultrasound on the enhancement of wastewater biological treatment processes can be categorized into indirect and direct ways. The indirect effect of ultrasonic waves in enhancing biological treatment is mainly achieved through the use of high-intensity ultrasonic waves. These waves can be used as a pretreatment to improve biodegradability of the wastewater. Moreover, the ultrasonic-treated sludge or its supernatant can serve as a carbon source for the treatment system. Low-intensity ultrasound is often employed to directly enhance the biological treatment of wastewater. The propose of this process is to improve activated sludge, domesticate polyphosphate-accumulating organisms, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, and anammox bacteria, and achieve speedy start-up of partial nitrification and anammox. It has shown remarkable effects on maintaining stable operation, tolerating adverse conditions (i.e., low temperature, low C/N, etc.), resisting shock load (i.e., organic load, toxic load, etc.), and collapse recovery. These results indicate a promising future for biological wastewater treatment. Furthermore, virous ultrasonic reactor designs were presented, and their potential for engineering application was discussed.

Feasibility of low-intensity ultrasound treatment with hydroxylamine to accelerate the initiation of partial nitrification and allow operation under intermittent aeration

Partial nitrification is a key aspect of efficient nitrogen removal, although practically it suffers from long start-up cycles and unstable long-term operational performance. To address these drawbacks, this study investigated the effect of low intensity ultrasound treatment combined with hydroxylamine (NH2OH) on the performance of partial nitrification. Results show that compared with the control group, low-intensity ultrasound treatment (0.10 W/mL, 15 min) combined with NH2OH (5 mg/L) reduced the time required for partial nitrification initiation by 6 days, increasing the nitrite accumulation rate (NAR) and ammonia nitrogen removal rate (NRR) by 20.4% and 6.7%, respectively, achieving 96.48% NRR. Mechanistic analysis showed that NH2OH enhanced ammonia oxidation, inhibited nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) activity and shortened the time required for partial nitrification initiation. Furthermore, ultrasonication combined with NH2OH dosing stimulated EPS (extracellular polymeric substances) secretion, increased carbonyl, hydroxyl and amine functional group abundances and enhanced mass transfer. In addition, 16S rRNA gene sequencing results showed that ultrasonication-sensitive Nitrospira disappeared from the ultrasound + NH2OH system, while Nitrosomonas gradually became the dominant group. Collectively, the results of this study provide valuable insight into the enhancement of partial nitrification start-up during the process of wastewater nitrogen removal.

Challenges of suppressing nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in membrane aerated biofilm reactors by low dissolved oxygen control

Membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) and shortcut nitrogen removal are two types of solutions to reduce energy consumption in wastewater treatment, with the former improving the aeration efficiency and the latter reducing the oxygen demand. However, integrating these two solutions, i.e., achieving shortcut nitrogen removal in MABR, is challenging due to the difficulty in suppressing nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). In this study, four MABRs were established to demonstrate the feasibility of initiating, maintaining, and restoring NOB suppression using low dissolved oxygen (DO) control, in the presence and absence of anammox bacteria, respectively. Long-term results revealed that the strict low DO (< 0.1 mg/L) in MABR could initiate and maintain stable NOB suppression for more than five months with nitrite accumulation ratio above 90 %, but it was unable to re-suppress NOB once they prevailed. Moreover, the presence of anammox bacteria increased the threshold of DO level to maintain NOB suppression in MABRs, but it was still incapable to restore the deteriorated NOB suppression in conjunction with low DO control. Mathematical modelling confirmed the experimental results and further explored the differences of NOB suppression in conventional biofilms and MABR biofilms. Simulation results showed that it is more challenging to maintain stable NOB suppression in MABRs compared to conventional biofilms, regardless of biofilm thickness or influent nitrogen concentration. Kinetic mechanisms for NOB suppression in different types of biofilms were proposed, suggesting that it is difficult to wash out NOB developed in the innermost layer of MABR biofilms because of the high oxygen level and low sludge wasting rate. In summary, this study systematically demonstrated the challenges of NOB suppression in MABRs through both experiments and mathematical modelling. These findings provide valuable insights into the applications of MABRs and call for more studies in developing effective strategies to achieve stable shortcut nitrogen removal in this energy-efficient configuration.

Dynamic Simulation of Nitrifying Microbial Communities for Establishing Acidic Partial Nitritation in Suspended Activated Sludge

Acidic partial nitritation (PN) is a promising technology to achieve low-cost and energy-efficient shortcut nitrogen removal from wastewater. However, a comprehensive understanding of the acidic PN under dynamic changes of pH in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) is still lacking. In this study, we successfully established acidic PN (NO2- accumulation ratio >80%) under dynamic pH variation from 7.0 to 4.5 in a lab-scale SBR. By accumulating in situ free nitrous acid (FNA) generation based on the dynamic pH change, acidic PN maintained stability even at a low NH4+ concentration of 100 mg N L-1. The microbial community analysis revealed that two ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) genera, Nitrosospira and Nitrosomonas, successfully coexisted and cooperated during acidic PN. None of the species of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) showed adaptation to intermittent inhibition of in situ FNA even under high DO conditions (>4.0 mg O2 L-1). Furthermore, we innovatively incorporated the classic nitrification model with the growth and decay of different nitrifying bacterial species and their inhibition by pH, FNA, and free ammonia (FA) to predict the nitrifying microbial communities shifting for establishing acidic PN. The extended model was calibrated by using short-term batch experiments and was validated by using long-term dynamic data of the nitrifying microbial community during SBR operation. The validated model was further used to identify feasible influent conditions for the SBR PN process, including influent HCO3- concentration, NH4+ concentration and molar ratio (HCO3/NH4+). Outcomes from this study support the optimal design of acidic PN-based short-cut nitrogen removal processes for future application.

A critical review of improving mainstream anammox systems: Based on macroscopic process regulation and microscopic enhancement mechanisms

Full-scale anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) engineering applications are vastly limited by the sensitivity of anammox bacteria to the complex mainstream ambience factors. Therefore, it is of great necessity to comprehensively summarize and overcome performance-related challenges in mainstream anammox process at the macro/micro level, including the macroscopic process variable regulation and microscopic biological metabolic enhancement. This article systematically reviewed the recent important advances in the enrichment and retention of anammox bacteria and main factors affecting metabolic regulation under mainstream conditions, and proposed key strategies for the related performance optimization. The characteristics and behavior mechanism of anammox consortia in response to mainstream environment were then discussed in details, and we revealed that the synergistic nitrogen metabolism of multi-functional bacterial genera based on anammox microbiome was conducive to mainstream anammox nitrogen removal processes. Finally, the critical outcomes of anammox extracellular electron transfer (EET) at the micro level were well presented, carbon-based conductive materials or exogenous electron shuttles can stimulate and mediate anammox EET in mainstream environments to optimize system performance from a micro perspective. Overall, this review advances the extensive implementation of mainstream anammox practice in future as well as shedding new light on the related EET and microbial mechanisms.

Effect of ultrasound on the stability of partial nitrification: Under the interference of aeration rate

The fluctuation of dissolved oxygen is one of the primary cause of disruptions to the consistent operation of partial nitrification, and the level of dissolved oxygen is mainly controlled by the aeration rate. This study investigated the influence of ultrasonic treatment on the stability of partial nitrification of activated sludge under different aeration conditions. After being treated with ultrasound (energy density = 0.20 W·mL-1, treatment time = 10 min), partial nitrification process operated stably for 67 days, with the nitrite accumulation rate above 83.89 %. The effluent contained 42.50 mg·L-1 of nitrite, much higher than the control reactor (0.30 mg·L-1). The gap between the specific ammonia and nitrite oxidation rates widened continuously as the aeration rate increased, and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria activity did not recover even under conditions with a very high oxygen content. Further analysis showed that ultrasonic treatment had obvious stripping effect on excess extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), especially loosely bound EPS and protein. Additionally, long-term ultrasonic treatment promoted the enrichment of Nitrosomonas and strongly inhibited Nitrotoga. Based on these findings, it appears that under conditions of high aeration rate, ultrasound effectively suppress the recovery of Nitrotoga activity and improve the stability of partial nitrification.

Toward Energy Neutrality: Novel Wastewater Treatment Incorporating Acidophilic Ammonia Oxidation

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.

Achieving robust mainstream nitritation by implementing light irradiation: long-term performance and microbial dynamics

The effective inhibition of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) is widely acknowledged to be a critical issue for mainstream short-cut biological nitrogen removal. This study demonstrated a stable mainstream nitritation by implementing light irradiation. A sequencing batch reactor with ultraviolet-A (UVA) irradiation was operated for 250 days, and a high nitrite accumulation ratio was achieved and stabilized at about 90 %. UVA irradiation also positively impacts denitrification activity, with total nitrogen removal up to 63 %. Microbial community analysis confirmed that the UVA effectively and stably decreased the abundance of Nitrospira (the only detected NOB) from 6.0 % to 0.1 %, while it showed no effect on Nitrosomonas. The enriched genus Rhodocyclaceae was the major contributor to the increase in denitrification activity in the light-induced nitritation system. The proposed UVA irradiation strategy has the potential to be integrated with an anoxic/aerobic (A/O) or integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) process for achieving mainstream short-cut biological nitrogen removal.

Achieving robust mainstream nitrite shunt at pilot-scale with integrated sidestream sludge treatment and step-feed

As a promising energy- and carbon efficient process for nitrogen removal from wastewater, mainstream nitrite shunt has been extensively researched. However, beyond the laboratory it is challenging to maintain stable performance by suppressing nitrite-oxidising bacteria (NOB). In this study, a pilot-scale reactor system receiving real sewage was operated in two stages for >850 days to evaluate two novel NOB suppression strategies for achieving nitrite shunt: i) sidestream sludge treatment based on alternating free nitrous acid (FNA) and free ammonia (FA) and ii) sidestream FNA/FA sludge treatment integrated with in-situ NOB suppression via step-feed. The results showed that, with sidestream sludge treatment alone, NOB developed resistance relatively quickly to the treatment, leading to unstable nitrite shunt. In contrast, robust nitrite shunt was achieved and stably maintained for more than a year when sidestream sludge treatment was integrated with a step-feed strategy. Kinetic analyses suggested that sludge treatment and step-feed worked in synergy, leading to stable NOB suppression. The integrated strategy demonstrated in this study removes a key barrier to the implementation of stable mainstream nitrite shunt.

Changes in the Species and Functional Composition of Activated Sludge Communities Revealed Mechanisms of Partial Nitrification Established by Ultrasonication

To achieve energy-efficient shortcut nitrogen removal of wastewater in the future, selective elimination of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) while enriching ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms is a crucial step. However, the underlying mechanisms of partial nitrification are still not well understood, especially the newly discovered ultrasound-based partial nitrification. To elucidate this issue, in this study two bioreactors were set up, with one established partial nitrification by ultrasonication while the other didn't. During the operation of both reactors, the taxonomic and functional composition of the microbial community were investigated through metagenomics analysis. The result showed that during ultrasonic partial nitrification, ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), Nitrososphaerales, was enriched more than ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), Nitrosomonas. The enrichment of microorganisms in the community increased the abundance of genes involved in microbial energy generation from lipid and carbohydrates. On the other hand, the abundance of NOB, Nitrospira and Nitrolancea, and Comammox Nitrospira decreased. Selective inhibition of NOB was highly correlated with genes involved in signal transduction enzymes, such as encoding histidine kinase and serine/threonine kinase. These findings provided deep insight into partial nitrification and contributed to the development of shortcut nitrification in wastewater treatment plants.

A 20-Year Journey of Partial Nitritation and Anammox (PN/A): from Sidestream toward Mainstream

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.

Wastewater Primary Treatment Using Forward Osmosis Introduces Inhibition to Achieve Stable Mainstream Partial Nitrification

Achieving stable long-term mainstream nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) suppression is the bottleneck for the novel partial nitrification (PN) process toward energy- and carbon-efficient wastewater treatment. However, long-term PN stability remains a challenge due to NOB adaptation. This study proposed and demonstrated a novel strategy for achieving NOB suppression by the primary treatment of mainstream wastewater with a forward osmosis (FO) membrane process, which facilitated two external NOB inhibition factors (salinity and free nitrous acid, FNA). To evaluate the proposed strategy, a lab-scale sequencing batch reactor was operated for 200 days. A stable PN operation was achieved with a nitrite accumulation ratio of 97.7 ± 2.8%. NOB were suppressed under the combined inhibition effect of NaCl (7.9 ± 0.2 g/L, as introduced by the FO direct filtration) and FNA (0.11 ± 0.02 mg of HNO₂-N/L, formed as a result of the increased NH₄⁺-N concentration after the FO process). The two inhibition factors worked in synergy to achieve a more stable PN operation. The microbial analysis showed that the elevated salinity and accumulation of FNA reshaped the microbial community and selectively eliminated NOB. Finally, an economic and feasibility analysis was conducted, which suggests that the integration of an FO unit into PN/A is a feasible and economically viable wastewater treatment process.

Effect of short-term light irradiation with varying energy densities on the activities of nitrifiers in wastewater

Microalgal-bacterial consortium (MBC) process has been proposed as an alternative to conventional activated sludge process for nitrogen removal from wastewater. As one of the most influencing parameters, light irradiation effects on microalgae have been extensively investigated. However, light influence on the performance of nitrifiers in activated sludge and its mechanism remains unclear. In this study, the effects of three factors (light irradiation power, irradiation time and sludge concentration) on activities and physiological characteristics of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) were systematically studied through both the Design of Experiments driven response surface methodology (RSM) approach and light-nitrification kinetic modeling. Results indicated that light irradiation with the specific light energy density (Es) at 0.0203-0.1571 kJ·mg^-1 VSS (80-160 W/400-1000 μmol·m^-2·s^-1, 2.0-5.0 h and 2750-4250 mg·L^-1) stimulated the relative AOB activities (rAOB) by 120.0%. This was supported by the increased electron transport system activity, key enzyme activity (AMO) , gene expression (amoA) and energy generation (ATP consumption) in the light treatment. Moreover, further Es increasing up to 0.18 kJ·mg^-1 VSS inhibited both AOB and NOB activities. The inhibition was ascribed to the joint light responses of metabolic disorders and lipid peroxidation. The findings enhance our understanding of nitrifiers' physiological responses to short-term light irradiation, and promote the development of MBC as a sustainable approach for wastewater treatment.

Recovery of Iron-Dependent Autotrophic Denitrification Activity from Cell-Iron Mineral Aggregation-Induced Reversible Inhibition by Low-Intensity Ultrasonication

Iron-dependent autotrophic denitrification (IDAD) has garnered increasing interests as an efficient method for removing nitrogen from wastewater with a low carbon to nitrogen ratio. However, an inevitable deterioration of IDAD performance casts a shadow over its further development. In this work, the hidden cause for such a deterioration is uncovered, and a viable solution to this problem is provided. Batch test results reveal that the aggregation of microbial cells and iron-bearing minerals induced a cumulative and reversible inhibition on the activity of IDAD sludge. Extracellular polymeric substances were found to play a glue-like role in the cell-iron mineral aggregates, where microbial cells were caged, and their metabolisms were suppressed. Adopting low-intensity ultrasound treatment efficiently restored the IDAD activity by disintegrating such aggregates rather than stimulating the microbial metabolism. Moreover, the ultrasonication-assisted IDAD bioreactor exhibited an advantageous nitrogen removal efficiency (with a maximum enhancement of 72.3%) and operational stability compared to the control one, demonstrating a feasible strategy to achieve long-term stability of the IDAD process. Overall, this work provides a better understanding about the mechanism for the performance deterioration and a simple approach to maintain the stability of IDAD.

Sonoprocessing: From Concepts to Large-Scale Reactors

Intensification of ultrasonic processes for diversified applications, including environmental remediation, extractions, food processes, and synthesis of materials, has received attention from the scientific community and industry. The mechanistic pathways involved in intensification of ultrasonic processes that include the ultrasonic generation of cavitation bubbles, radical formation upon their collapse, and the possibility of fine-tuning operating parameters for specific applications are all well documented in the literature. However, the scale-up of ultrasonic processes with large-scale sonochemical reactors for industrial applications remains a challenge. In this context, this review provides a complete overview of the current understanding of the role of operating parameters and reactor configuration on the sonochemical processes. Experimental and theoretical techniques to characterize the intensity and distribution of cavitation activity within sonoreactors are compared. Classes of laboratory and large-scale sonoreactors are reviewed, highlighting recent advances in batch and flow-through reactors. Finally, examples of large-scale sonoprocessing applications have been reviewed, discussing the major scale-up and sustainability challenges.

Micro-nano aeration is a promising alternative for achieving high-rate partial nitrification

Biological nitrogen removal is the most prevalent wastewater nitrogen removal process but nitrification limits the rate of the whole process mainly due to the low efficiency of oxygen transfer. In this study, clean-water oxygenation tests, batch tests, long-term operational tests and metagenomic analyses were applied to assess the effects of micro-nano aeration on nitrification. The oxygen transfer coefficient (K_La), oxygen transfer rate (OTR) and oxygen transfer efficiency (OTE) were determined to be 0.56 min^-1, 0.36 kg·m^-3·h^-1 and 71.43%, respectively during micro-nano-bubble aeration. Impressively, these values were 15 times greater than those of conventional aeration. The results of batch tests and long-term operation experiments found that the ammonia removal rate of micro-nano aeration was 3.2-fold that of conventional aeration. The energy cost for micro-nano aeration was calculated to be 3694.5 mg NH₄⁺-N/kW·h, a 50% energy saving in comparison to conventional aeration. In addition, the nitrite accumulation ratio in the Micro-nano (MN) reactor was 1.5 that of the Conventional (CV) reactor. Metagenomic analysis showed that after long-term operation in micro-nano aeration, the abundances of genes encoding ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) and hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (hao) was more than 8-fold and 4-fold of those in conventional aeration, respectively. The abundance of the gene encoding nitrite oxidoreductase (nxrA) was similar in both reactors. Read taxonomy revealed that abundance of AOB-Nitrosomonas increased significantly when using micro-nano aeration, while abundance of NOB-Nitrospira abundance was similar in both reactors. The results of this study indicated that the micro-nano aeration process will increase the ammonia oxidation performance by enhancing oxygen transfer but was also shown to be beneficial for enhancing partial nitrification by specific enrichment of ammonia oxidizing bacteria. This latter result demonstrates the potential benefits of the micro-nano aeration process as an alternative approach to establishing high-rate partial nitrification.

Achieving stable nitrogen removal performance of mainstream PN-ANAMMOX by combining high-temperature shock for selective recovery of AOB activity

This paper describes the new concept of the mainstream partial nitritation (PN)-anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) combined with a high-temperature shock strategy for the selective recovery of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) activity. In the preliminary test, the temperature shock condition for PN was optimized (60 °C and > 20 min). Based on this, the implementation strategy in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) system was studied further, and the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/sodium alginate carrier exposure ratio (ER) and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration were considered as primary variables. The AOB activity was recovered selectively when the ER of the carrier ranged from 20 to 40%, and the DO was higher than 2.3 mg O₂/L. This was not the case for nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) (AOB: 1.17±0.1 gNH₄⁺-N/L_Carrier/d, NOB: 0.34±0.1 gNO₃^--N/L_Carrier/d). As a result, the activity of AOB was recovered selectively with a decrease in Nitrospira spp., which was verified by kinetic and microbial analyses for the AOB (K_{S, DO} = 3.89 mgO₂/L) and NOB (K_{S, DO} = 1.14 mgO₂/L). Eventually, the mainstream PN-ANAMMOX was achieved with a nitrogen removal efficiency of 81.5±3.3% for 95 days. The findings provide insight to establishing a stable mainstream PN-ANAMMOX process using a high-temperature shock strategy.

Light Irradiation Enables Rapid Start-Up of Nitritation through Suppressing nxrB Gene Expression and Stimulating Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria

Nitritation facilitates the application of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox)-based processes for cost-efficient nitrogen removal from wastewater. This study proposed light irradiation as a novel strategy to rapidly start up nitritation by stimulating both the activities and growth of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) while suppressing that of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Batch assays and kinetic model jointly suggested that AOB activity presented an initial increase followed by a decline while NOB decreased continuously throughout the light energy densities applied. Under optimal light energy densities (0.03-0.08 kJ/mg VSS), the highest nitrite accumulation ratio of 70.0% was achieved in sequencing batch reactors with both mainstream online and sidestream offline light treatments when treating real or synthetic municipal wastewater. Light irradiation induced different responses of AOB and NOB, leading to microbial structure optimization. Specifically, the expression of nxrB was downregulated, while the expression of amoA was upregulated under appropriate light irradiation. Moreover, although Nitrosomonas as typical AOB disappeared, the family Nitrosomonadaceae was doubled with enrichment of Ellin6067 and another four Nitrosomonadaceae genera that were only identified in light-treated reactors, thus ensuring AOB predominance and stable nitritation. These findings offer a new approach to rapidly establishing nitritation using light irradiation in municipal wastewater, especially for nitritation/microalgae system.

A review of partial nitrification in biological nitrogen removal processes: from development to application

To further reduce the energy consumption in the wastewater biological nitrogen removal process, partial nitrification and its integrated processes have attracted increasing attentions owing to their economy and efficiency. Shortening the steps of ammonia oxidation to nitrate saves a large amount of aeration, and the accumulated nitrite could be reduced by denitritation or anammox, which requires less electron donors compared with denitrification. Therefore, the strategies through mainstream suppression and sidestream inhibition for the achievement of partial nitrification in recent years are reviewed. Specifically, the enrichment strategies of functional microorganisms are obtained on the basis of their growth and metabolic characteristics under different selective pressures. Furthermore, the promising developments, current application bottlenecks and possible future trends of some biological nitrogen removal processes integrating partial nitrification are discussed. The obtained knowledge would provide a new idea for the fast realization of economic, efficient and long-term stable partial nitrification and biological nitrogen removal process.

Robust Nitritation Sustained by Acid-Tolerant Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria

Oxidation of ammonium to nitrite rather than nitrate, i.e., nitritation, is critical for autotrophic nitrogen removal. This study demonstrates a robust nitritation process in treating low-strength wastewater, obtained from a mixture of real mainstream sewage with sidestream anaerobic digestion liquor. This is achieved through cultivating acid-tolerant ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in a laboratory nitrifying bioreactor at pH 4.5-5.0. It was shown that nitrite accumulation with a high NO₂^-/(NO₂^- + NO₃^-) ratio of 95 ± 5% was stably maintained for more than 300 days, and the obtained volumetric NH₄⁺ removal rate (i.e., 188 ± 14 mg N L^-1 d^-1) was practically useful. 16S rRNA gene sequencing analyses indicated the dominance of new AOB, "Candidatus Nitrosoglobus," in the nitrifying guild (i.e., 1.90 ± 0.08% in the total community), with the disappearance of typical activated sludge nitrifying microorganisms, including Nitrosomonas, Nitrospira, and Nitrobacter. This is the first identification of Ca. Nitrosoglobus as key ammonia oxidizers in a wastewater treatment system. It was found that Ca. Nitrosoglobus can tolerate low pH (<5.0), and free nitrous acid (FNA) at levels that inhibit AOB and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) commonly found in wastewater treatment processes. The in situ inhibition of NOB leads to accumulation of nitrite (NO₂^-), which along with protons (H⁺) also produced in ammonium oxidation generates and sustains FNA at 3.0 ± 1.4 mg HNO₂-N L^-1. As such, robust PN was achieved under acidic conditions, with a complete absence of NOB. Compared to previous nitritation systems, this acidic nitritation process is featured by a higher nitric oxide (NO) but a lower nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission level, with the emission factors estimated at 1.57 ± 0.08 and 0.57 ± 0.03%, respectively, of influent ammonium nitrogen load.

Low-dose Ultraviolet-A irradiation selectively eliminates nitrite oxidizing bacteria for mainstream nitritation

Nitritation is currently known as a bottleneck for mainstream nitrite shunt or partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A). Here we propose a new approach to selectively eliminate nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) for mainstream nitritation by low-dose ultraviolet-A (UVA) irradiation. The results showed that mainstream nitritation was rapidly achieved within 10 days with UVA irradiation at the dose of 0.87 μE L^-1 s^-1, and nitrite accumulation ratio (NO₂^--N/(NO₂^--N + NO₃^--N) ×100%) stabilized over 80%. Microbial community analysis revealed that two typical NOB populations (Nitrospira and Ca. Nitrotoga) detected in the control reactor were suppressed efficiently in UVA irradiation reactor, whereas the Nitrosomonas genus of ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB) remained at similar level. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) analysis indicated that NOB-dominant sludge tends to generate more intracellular ROS compared with AOB-dominant sludge in the presence of UVA, leading to the inactivation and elimination of NOB. Additionally, amounts of microalgae found in UVA irradiation reactor could help to suppress NOB by generating ROS during photosynthesis. Briefly, the UVA irradiation approach proposed in this study was shown to be promising in NOB suppression for reliable mainstream nitritation.

Performance and microbial community analysis of two sludge type reactors in achieving mainstream deammonification with hydrazine addition

The deammonification process is a promising and energy efficient nitrogen removal technology. Since deammonification process has succeeded in high-strength ammonia nitrogen wastewater treatment (sidestream deammonification) but its application in treating low-strength ammonium nitrogen wastewater (mainstream deammonification) remains a great challenge. In this study, mainstream deammonification process in two reactors maintained stability with hydrazine (N₂H₄) addition. The two reactors consisted of a deammonification granular reactor and a mixed ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) flocculent with anaerobic ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AnAOB) granular reactor. Deammonification granular reactor had a more efficient total nitrogen removal efficiency (TNRE, 80.5 ± 5.8%) and nitrogen removal rate (NRR, 0.33 ± 0.04 g/(L·day)). The advantage of retain biomass in granular sludge reactor lead to a more balanced ex-situ activity between AOB (0.37 mg N/(g VSS·h)) and AnAOB (0.43 mg N/(g VSS·h)). Candidatus Brocadia and Nitraspira were detected the dominant genus responsible for the observed AnAOB and nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB), respectively. The more obvious effect of N₂H₄ on enhancing AnAOB and suppressing NOB both in ex-situ activity and genus abundances in mixed sludge reactor were also founded may due to loose spatial distribution among species.

The occurrence and role of Nitrospira in nitrogen removal systems

Application of the modern microbial techniques changed the paradigm about the microorganisms performing nitrification. Numerous investigations recognized representatives of the genus Nitrospira as a key and predominant nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in biological nutrient removal systems, especially under low dissolved oxygen and substrate conditions. The recent discovery of Nitrospira capable of performing complete ammonia oxidation (comammox) raised a fundamental question about the actual role of Nitrospira in both nitrification steps. This review summarizes the current knowledge about morphological, physiological and genetic characteristics of the canonical and comammox Nitrospira. Potential implications of comammox for the functional aspects of nitrogen removal have been highlighted. The complex meta-analysis of literature data was applied to identify specific individual variables and their combined interactions on the Nitrospira abundance. In addition to dissolved oxygen and influent nitrogen concentrations, temperature and pH may play an important role in enhancing or suppressing the Nitrospira activity.

Effects of low-intensity ultrasound on nitrite accumulation and microbial characteristics during partial nitrification

Ultrasound technology has attracted increasing attention in the field of sewage sludge treatment. This study investigated the nitrite accumulation ratio (NAR) and microbial characteristics of the partial nitrification (PN) process in a sequencing batch reactor employing ultrasonic treatment (ultrasound density = 0.25 W/mL, irradiation time = 10 min). PN was achieved over 73 days with a NAR above 85% under ambient temperatures. A low dissolved oxygen (DO) environment was generated in the reactor by enhancing the oxygen utilization rate of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). Additionally, the application of long-term ultrasonic treatment led to the enhancement of the dominance of the Nitrosomonas genus of AOB, while populations of the Nitrospira genus of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) were eradicated. At the same time, the activities of the aerobic denitrifying bacteria Thauera, Terrimonas, Defluviimonas, and Thermomonas were enhanced and their relative abundance was increased. Overall, the results suggest that ultrasonic treatment can enhance AOB activity and generate a low DO environment that facilitates effective PN.

Achieving Stable Partial Nitritation in an Acidic Nitrifying Bioreactor

Partial nitritation providing a suitable effluent for subsequent anammox is a critical step in a two-stage autotrophic nitrogen removal system. This study demonstrates an innovative approach for attaining partial nitritation in an acidic bioreactor operating at a slightly low pH (i.e., 5-6). This approach is based on our hypothesis in this study that acid-tolerant ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) can produce nitrite and protons to self-sustain free nitrous acid (FNA, NO₂^- + H⁺ ↔ HNO₂) at a parts per million level, as an inhibitor of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). With influent nitrogen of about 200 mg/L and operating conditions of high dissolved oxygen, long sludge retention time, and moderate temperature, a lab-scale acidic bioreactor with FNA up to 2 mg of HNO₂-N/L successfully established stable nitrite accumulation in the effluent for 200 days, with an average ratio [NO₂^-/(NO₂^- + NO₃^-)] exceeding 95%. A 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing analysis showed that Nitrosospira was the dominant AOB in the biomass of the bioreactor, while Nitrosomonas and Nitrospira, two typical nitrifying genera in neutral wastewater treatment, both disappeared after the startup of partial nitritation. Kinetic characterization revealed that Nitrosospira had a substrate affinity of 11.4-16.5 mg of total ammonia (NH₄⁺ + NH₃)/L. It also revealed that less than 3.5 mg of HNO₂-N/L FNA did not inhibit AOB activity significantly. Acidic operation is economically attractive because it can be achieved via acidophilic ammonia oxidation without adding chemical acid. However, hazardous gas, nitric oxide (NO), should be removed from gas produced by acidic nitrifying bioreactors.

Enhancement in the partial nitrification of wastewater sludge via low-intensity ultrasound: Effects on rapid start-up and temperature resilience

The partial nitrification process can reduce the aeration energy consumption in bioreactors by 25%. Low-intensity ultrasound (0.25 W·mL^-1) was applied during the partial nitrification process to evaluate its effects on start-up and temperature resilience. Ultrasound application led to rapid start-up of the partial nitrification process (within 18 d) with a nitrite accumulation ratio of above 80% at 18 °C. Moreover, when the temperature was increased to 28 °C, the partial nitrification process was effectively maintained with a nitrite accumulation ratio of above 80%. Ultrasonic treatment for a long duration had a positive effect on ammonia oxidizing bacteria of the genus Nitrososphaera, whereas the population of nitrite oxidizing bacteria, Nitrospira, decreased. The temperature resilience of Nitrososphaera was also enhanced. These findings indicate that ultrasound induces rapid start-up of the partial nitrification process and enhances the temperature resilience of Nitrososphaera.

Effects of ultrasonic treatment on the ammonia-oxidizing bacterial (AOB) growth kinetics

Ultrasound has in the past few decades found applications in a variety of disciplines including chemistry, medicine, physics, and to a much less extent microbiology. Our previous studies found that ultrasonic treatment increases the activity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) while suppressing nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), resulting in beneficial effects in wastewater treatment. In this study, the kinetic and microbiological features of nitrifying microorganisms in activated sludge intermittently treated with ultrasound were investigated to gain an improved understanding of the mechanism involved in ultrasound-induced stimulation of AOB kinetics. The nitrifying microorganisms were initially enriched over 100 days in a laboratory sequential batch reactor (SBR). Ultrasonic treatment of the sludge was then applied with the treatment time in each 12 h SBR cycle progressively increased from 4 to 24 min. Application of the treatment for 21 days led to a doubled maximum specific ammonia oxidation rate, and also the enhanced dominance of known AOB Nitrosomonas genus in the biomass. This stimulatory effect is well described by a modified enzyme catalyzed reaction model, showing a good linear relationship between the natural logarithm value of μ_max,AOB and the applied ultrasonic energy density. This result suggests that ultrasonic treatment likely reduced the activation energy of key enzymes involved in ammonium oxidation.

Comparing two hydrazine addition strategies to stabilize mainstream deammonification: Performance and microbial community analysis

In this study, an expanded granular sludge blanket reactor (EGSB) was proposed to achieve stable mainstream deammonification process by adding hydrazine (N₂H₄). Two N₂H₄ addition methods consisted of constant concentration (strategy A) and variable concentration (strategy B) both can inhibit nitrite oxidizing bacteria. A efficient performance was achieved with higher total nitrogen removal efficiency (82 ± 6%) and nitrogen removal rate (0.32 ± 0.02 kg N/(m³·d)) under strategy B. For strategy A, anaerobic ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AnAOB) in-situ activity was decreased from 2.76 to 0.68 mg N/(g VSS·h) at 42 mg/L NH₄⁺-N. Candidatus Brocadia abundance increase from 14.62% to 20.07% under the strategy may indicated the self-regulate mechanism of AnAOB. Aerobic ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB, mainly Nitrosomonas) and AnAOB (mainly Candidatus Brocadia) were always dominated under two strategies. Strategy B provided better environment for most microorganisms (mainly Chloroflexri, Planctomycetes, Proteobacteria and Chlorobi).

Nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) contained in influent deteriorate mainstream NOB suppression by sidestream inactivation

Sidestream sludge treatment approaches have been developed in recent years to achieve mainstream nitrite shunt or partial nitritation, where NOB are selectively inactivated by biocidal factors such as free nitrous acid (FNA) or free ammonium (FA) in a sidestream reactor. The existence of NOB in raw wastewater has been increasingly realized and could pose critical challenge to stable NOB suppressions in those systems. This study, for the first time, evaluated the impact of influent NOB on the NOB suppressions in a mainstream nitrite shunt system achieved through sidestream sludge treatment. An over 500-day sequential batch reactor operation with six experimental phases rigorously demonstrated the negative effects of influent NOB on mainstream NOB control. Continuously seeding of NOB contained in influent stimulated NOB community shifts, leading to different extents of ineffective NOB suppression. The role of primary wastewater treatment in NOB removal from raw wastewater was also investigated. Results suggest primary settling and High Rate Activated Sludge system could remove a large part of NOB contained in raw wastewater. Primary treatment for raw wastewater is necessary for ensuring stable mainstream NOB suppressions.

Achieving mainstream nitrogen removal via the nitrite pathway from real municipal wastewater using intermittent ultrasonic treatment

Achieving mainstream nitrogen removal via the nitrite pathway (NH₄⁺ → NO₂^- → N₂) is highly beneficial for energy neutral/positive wastewater treatment. Our previous batch assays revealed that ultrasonic treatment can suppress nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) while enhancing the activity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). Based on this concept, this study investigated the feasibility of applying ultrasonication to achieve the nitrite pathway in mainstream wastewater treatment. Two lab-scale sequencing batch reactors were set-up in parallel and fed with real municipal wastewater. With 100% of the sludge treated every 12 h at a treatment energy input of 0.066 kJ per mg mixed liquor suspended solids, the nitrite pathway was rapidly (within two weeks) established in the experimental reactor with stable effluent nitrite accumulation ratio (NO₂^-/(NO₂^- + NO₃^-)) of above 80% and significantly decreased NOB population. In comparison, the control reactor always possessed the conventional nitrification and denitrification pathway. Economic analysis indicated that energy consumption is too high for practical applications. However, this technology may be used in conjunction with other technologies, whereby this ultrasonic treatment can be used infrequently (e.g. once every few months) when the nitrite pathway becomes unstable.

Effects of free nitrous acid treatment conditions on the nitrite pathway performance in mainstream wastewater treatment

Inline sludge treatment using free nitrous acid (FNA) was recently shown to be effective in establishing the nitrite pathway in a biological nitrogen removal system. However, the effects of FNA treatment conditions on the nitrite pathway performance remained to be investigated. In this study, three different FNA treatment frequencies (daily sludge treatment ratios of 0.22, 0.31 and 0.38, respectively), two FNA concentrations (1.35 mgN/L and 4.23 mgN/L, respectively) and two influent feeding regimes (one- and two-step feeding) were investigated in four laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactors. The nitrite accumulation ratio was positively correlated to the FNA treatment frequency. However, when a high treatment frequency was used e.g., daily sludge treatment ratio of 0.38, a significant reduction in ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) activity occurred, leading to poor ammonium oxidation. AOB were able to acclimatise to FNA concentrations up to of 4.23 mgN/L, whereas nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) were limited by an FNA concentration of 1.35 mgN/L over the duration of the study (up to 120 days). This difference in sensitivity to FNA could be used to further enhance nitrite accumulation, with 90% accumulation achieved at an FNA concentration of 4.23 mgN/L and a daily sludge treatment ratio of 0.31 in this study. However, this high level of nitrite accumulation led to increased N₂O emission, with emission factors of up to 3.9% observed. The N₂O emission was mitigated (reduced to 1.3%) by applying two-step feeding resulting in a nitrite accumulation ratio of 45.1%. Economic analysis showed that choosing the optimal FNA treatment conditions depends on a combination of the wastewater characteristics, the nitrogen discharge standards, and the operational costs. This study provides important information for the optimisation and practical application of FNA-based sludge treatment technology for achieving the mainstream stable nitrite pathway.

Predictions of the Influent and Operational Conditions for Partial Nitritation with a Model Incorporating pH Dynamics

Ammonium partial oxidation to nitrite (i.e., partial nitritation) is required in a two-stage autotrophic nitrogen removal system, to provide effluent suitable for the anammox reaction. This study aims to establish influent (ammonium and bicarbonate concentrations) and operational (dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration and solids retention time (SRT)) conditions that favor partial nitritation. This is achieved through extending the nitritation and nitratation models to predict pH variation as well as the effects of pH, free ammonia (NH₃), and free nitrous acid (HNO₂) on the two reactions. Experiments were performed on a lab-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) operated for over 500 days to provide dynamic data for the calibration of model parameters, particularly those related to the NH₃ and HNO₂ inhibition on nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). The influent ammonium (19-84 mM) and bicarbonate (23-72 mM) were varied, which led to dynamic ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate data suitable for model calibration and validation. The model was able to well-describe pH dynamics as well as the inhibitory effects of NH₃ and HNO₂ on NOB. Model-based scenario analysis was then undertaken to establish the joint regions of influent ammonium and bicarbonate concentrations and the operational DO, temperature, and SRT conditions that favor partial nitritation. The results provide support to the design and optimization of partial nitritation reactors.

Evaluating the excess sludge reduction in activated sludge system with ultrasonic treatment

Ultrasonic treatment for enhancing biological processes has recently attracted considerable attention in wastewater treatment. In this study, we systematically investigated the mixed liquor properties of activated sludge under ultrasonic treatment. The sludge samples were collected from the aerobic tank of a full-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) treating municipal wastewater, and the volatile suspended solids (VSS) concentration was approximately 6.0 g/L. The results showed that ultrasonic treatment induced floc disintegration, organics release, temperature increase, microbial activity and pH variation. The maximum mg soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD) per mg VSS released was estimated to be 0.147 using the Monod equation. The exponential increase in the concentration of dissolved organic matter is related to the loss of relative heterotrophic bacterial activity. A sonolysis-cryptic growth model was demonstrated to be capable of describing ultrasonic sludge reduction, which would support the further development of ultrasonic treatment technology in activated sludge systems.

The transformation from anammox granules to deammonification granules in micro-aerobic system by facilitating indigenous ammonia oxidizing bacteria

Granular deammonification process is a good way to retain aerobic and anaerobic ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB and anammox bacteria) and exhaust flocculent nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB). In this study, to facilitate indigenous AOB growth on anammox granules, by stepwise reducing influent nitrite, anammox granules were effectively transformed into deammonification granules in a micro-aerobic EGSB in 100 days. Total nitrogen removal efficiency of 90% and nitrogen removal rate of 2.3 g N/L/d were reached at stable deammonification stage. High influent FA and limited oxygen supply contributed suppression for Nitrospira-like NOB. In transition stages, Proteobacteria and Chloroflexi were always dominated. Anammox abundance decreased, while AOB abundance grew fast. Anammox bacteria and AOB were dominated by Brocadia fulgida and Nitrosomonas europaea, respectively. Denitrification activity and bacteria existed although without influent organic. The final AOB abundance was about 4.55-13.8 times more than anammox bacteria abundance, with almost equal potential activities.

Effects of graphite nanoparticles on nitrification in an activated sludge system

Graphite nanoparticles (GNPs) might result in unexpected effects during their transportation and transformation in wastewater treatment systems, including strong thermo-catalytic and catalytic effects and microbial cytotoxicity. In particular, the effects of GNPs on the nitrification process in activated sludge systems should be addressed. This study aimed to estimate the influence of GNPs on the nitrification process in a short-term nitrification reactor with exposure to different light sources. The results indicated that GNPs could only improve the efficiency of photothermal transformation slightly in the activated sludge system because of its photothermal effects under the standard illuminant (imitating 1 × sun). However, even with better photothermal effects, the nitrification efficiency still decreased significantly with GNP dosing under the standard illuminant, which might result from stronger cytotoxic effects of GNPs on the nitrifying bacteria. The disappearance of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) around bacterial cells was observed, and the total quantity of viable bacteria decreased significantly after GNP exposuring. Variation in bacterial groups primarily occurred in nitrifying microbial communities, including Nitrosomonas sp., Nitrosospira sp., Comamonas sp. and Bradyrhizobiace sp. Nitrifiers significantly decreased, while the phyla Gammaproteobacteria, Deinocccus, and Bacteroidetes exhibited greater stability during GNP treatment.

Weak magnetic field: A powerful strategy to enhance partial nitrification

Partial nitrification (PN) combined with anaerobic ammonium oxidation process has been recognized as a promising technology for the removal of nitrogenous contaminants from wastewater. This research aimed to investigate the potential of external magnetic field for enhancing the PN process in short and long term laboratory-scale experiments. Different strength magnetic fields (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 mT) were evaluated in short-term batch tests and 5 mT magnetic field was found to have better ability to increase the activities of aerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB) of PN consortium. Long-term effect of magnetic field on PN consortium was studied with 5 mT magnetic field. The results demonstrated that the positive effect of magnetic field on PN process could also be testified at all of the four stages. Furthermore, a decrease of bacterial diversity was noted with the increase of magnetic field strength. Relative abundance of Nitrosomonadaceae decreased significantly (p < 0.01) from 13.9% in R_CK to 12.9% in R_5mT and 5.5% in R_25mT. Functional genes forecast based on KEGG database indicated that the expressions of functional genes related to signal transduction and cell motility in 5 mT environment were higher expressed compared with no magnetic field addition and high magnetic field addition. The existence of 5 mT magnetic field didn't increase the abundance of AOB but increased the activity of AOB by increasing the rate of free ammonia into the interior of microbial cells. Addition of magnetic field couldn't change the final state of PN process according to the hypothesis proposed in this article. These findings indicated that the weak magnetic field was useful and reliable for the fast start-up of PN process since it was proved as a simple and convenient approach to enhance AOB activity.

Evaluating the feasibility of ratio control strategy for achieving partial nitritation in a continuous floccular sludge reactor: Experimental demonstration

To investigate the applicability of ratio control strategy to other systems, a continuous floccular sludge reactor was used in this study. It was found that nitrite accumulation was barely detected throughout 70days' investigation, being the average concentration in the effluent of 0.7±0.4mg/L. Batch experiments indicated that low dissolved oxygen (DO<0.3mg·L^-1) greatly repressed the ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB) but only slightly inhibited the nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB). However, high-throughput sequencing revealed that the ratio of abundance between Nitrospira and Nitrosomonas, being the dominant NOB and AOB respectively, was considerably low (1.2%/18.7%). The weak oxygen gradients in floccular sludge and the selectively enriched K-strategist NOB Nitrospira under oxygen-limited conditions were both contributed to the failure of achieving partial nitritation; therefore, the rapid start-up of partial nitritation process based on proposed ratio control strategy is not feasible for continuous floccular sludge systems treating low-strength wastewater.

Ultrasonic-template technology inducing and regulating cationic microblocks in CPAM: characterization, mechanism and sludge flocculation performance

In this study, the ultrasonic-template polymerization technique (UTPT) was used to generate and regulate the distribution of cationic microblocks in a polymer.

In-situ restoration of one-stage partial nitritation-anammox process deteriorated by nitrate build-up via elevated substrate levels

The one-stage partial nitritation and anammox process (PN/A) has been a promising microbial process to remove ammonia from wastewater especially with low carbon/nitrogen ratio. The main breakdown was the deterioration caused by overgrowth of nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) resulting effluent nitrate build-up in the PN/A process. This study presented an in-situ restoring strategy for suppressing NOB activity in a one-stage granular PN/A system deteriorated over 2 months, using elevated concentrations of substrates (ammonia and nitrite) under limited dissolved oxygen level. The results showed that the NOB activity was successfully suppressed after 56 days of restoration, and finally the ratio of produced nitrate/consumed ammonium was reduced from 36.8% to 7%. On day 66 the nitrogen removal rate obtained as 1.2 kg N/(m³·d). The high FA level (5-40 mg/L) and low dissolved oxygen (<0.13 mg/L) were responsible for NOB suppression. From quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis, after this restoration, anammox bacteria had a widely growth, and AOB stay stable, but Nitrospira increase and Nitrobacter declined. High amount of NOB was still persistent in the granules, which was not easy to wash-out and threaten the deammonification performance.