A novel multistage anoxic/aerobic process with sludge regeneration zone (R-MAO) for advanced nitrogen removal from domestic sewage

To achieve advanced nitrogen removal from actual municipal sewage,a novel multistage anoxic/aerobic process with sludge regeneration zone(R-MAO)was developed.The reactor was used to treat actual domestic sewage and the nitrogen removal capacity of the sludge regeneration zone(R zone)was investigated during the long-term operation.The best performance was obtained at the R zone’s Oxidation-Reduction Potential(ORP)of-50±30 mV and hydraulic residence times(HRT)of 1.2 hr.The average effluent COD,TN,NH_(4)^(+)-N and NO_(3)^(−)-N of the R-MAO process were 18.0±2.3,7.5±0.6,1.0±0.5 and 4.6±0.4 mg/L,respectively,with the corresponding removal efficiency of COD,TN and NH_(4)^(+)-N were 92.9%±1.0%,84.1%±1.5% and 97.5%±1.1%.Compared to the sole MAO system,the TN removal efficiency of the R-MAO increased by 10.1%.Besides,under the optimal conditions,the contribution of the R zone in the R-MAO that removal COD,TN,NH_(4)^(+)-N and NO_(3)^(−)-N were 0.36,0.15,0.032 and 0.82 g/day.High-throughput sequencing results showed that uncultured_bacterium_f_Burkholderiaceae(5.20%),OLB8(1.04%)and Ottowia(1.03%)played an important role in denitrification in the R zone.This study provided effective guidance for the design and operation of the R-MAO process in domestic sewage treatment.

Synergistic catalysis of the N-hydroxyphthalimide on flower-like bimetallic metal-organic frameworks for boosting oxidative desulfurization

Synergic catalytic effect between active sites and supports greatly determines the catalytic activity for the aerobic oxidative desulfurization of fuel oils.In this work,Ni-doped Co-based bimetallic metal-organic framework(CoNi-MOF)is fabricated to disperse N-hydroxyphthalimide(NHPI),in which the whole catalyst provides plentiful synergic catalytic effect to improve the performance of oxidative desulfurization(ODS).As a bimetallic MOF,the second metal Ni doping results in the flower-like morphology and the modification of electronic properties,which ensure the exposure of NHPI and strengthen the synergistic effect of the overall catalyst.Compared with the monometallic Co-MOF and naked NHPI,the NHPI@CoNi-MOF triggers the efficient activation of molecular oxygen and improves the ODS performance without an initiator.The sulfur removal of dibenzothiophene-based model oil reaches 96.4%over the NHPI@CoNi-MOF catalyst in 8 h of reaction.Furthermore,the catalytic product of this aerobic ODS reaction is sulfone,which is adsorbed on the catalyst surface due to the difference in polarity.This work provides new insight and strategy for the design of a strong synergic catalytic effect between NHPI and bimetallic supports toward high-activity aerobic ODS materials.

Removal of nitrogen and phosphorus in a combined A^2/O-BAF system with a short aerobic SRT

A bench-scale anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic process-biological aerated filter （A^2/O-BAF） combined system was carded out to treat wastewater with lower C/N and C/P ratios. The A^2/O process was operated in a short aerobic sludge retention time （SRT） for organic pollutants and phosphorus removal, and denitrification. The subsequent BAF process was mainly used for nitrification. The BAF effluent was partially returned to anoxic zone of the A^2/O process to provide electron acceptors for denitrification and anoxic P uptake. This unique system formed an environment for reproducing the denitdfying phosphate-accumulating organisms （DPAOs）. The ratio of DPAOs to phosphorus accumulating organisms （PAOs） could be maintained at 28% by optimizing the organic loads in the anaerobic zone and the nitrate loads into the anoxic zone in the A^2/O process. The aerobic phosphorus over-uptake and discharge of excess activated sludge was the main mechanism of phosphorus removal in the combined system. The aerobic SRT of the A^2/O process should meet the demands for the development of aerobic PAOs and the restraint on the nitrifiers growth, and the contact time in the aerobic zone of the A^2/O process should be longer than 30 min, which ensured efficient phosphorus removal in the combined system. The adequate BAF effluent return rates should be controlled with 1--4 mg/L nitrate nitrogen in the anoxic zone effluent of A^2/O process to achieve the optimal nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiencies.

Petro-chemical wastewater treatment by biological process

In order to study the feasibility of treating petro chemical wastewater by the combination of anaerobic and aerobic biological process, a research of treating wastewater in UASB reactor and aeration basin has been conducted. The test results shows that under moderate temperature, with 5\^2 kgCOD/(m\+3·d) volumetric load of COD Cr in the UASB reactor and 24h of HRT, 85% removal rate of BOD 5 and 83% of COD \{Cr\} and 1\^34 m\+3/(m\+3·d) volumetric gas production rate can be obtained respectively. The aerobic bio degradability can be increased by 20%—30% after the petro chemical wastewater has been treated by anaerobic process. As Ns=0\^45 kgCOD/(kgMLSS·d), HRT=4h in the aeration tank, 94% removal rate of BOD 5, 93% of COD \{Cr\}, 98\^8% total removal rate of COD \{Cr\} and 99% removal rate of BOD 5 can be reached.

Effect of powdered activated carbon on Chinese traditional medicine wastewater treatment in submerged membrane bioreactor with electronic control backwashing

Chinese traditional medicine wastewater, rich in macromolecule and easy to foam in aerobic biodegradation such as Glycosides, was treated by two identical bench-scale aerobic submerged membrane bioreactors （SMBRs） operated in parallel under the same feed, equipped with the same electronic control backwashing device. One was used as the control SMBR （CSMBR） while the other was dosed with powdered activated carbon （PAC） （PAC-amended SMBR, PSMBR）. The backwashing interval was 5 min. One suction period was about 90 min by adjusting preestablished backwashing vacuum and pump frequency. The average flux of CSMBR during a steady periodic state of 24 d （576 h） was 5.87 L/h with average hydraulic residence time （HRT） of 5.97 h and that of PSMBR during a steady periodic state of 30 d （720 h） was 5.85 L/h with average HRT of 5.99 h. The average total chemical oxygen demand （COD） removal efficiency of CSMBR was 89.29% with average organic loading rate （OLR） at 4.16 kg COD/（m^3.d） while that of PSMBR was 89.79% with average OLR at 5.50 kg COD/（m^3.d）. COD concentration in the effluent of both SMBRs achieved the second level of the general wastewater effluent standard GB8978-1996 for the raw medicine material industry （300 mg/L）. Hence, SMBR with electronic control backwashing was a viable process for medium-strength Chinese traditional medicine wastewater treatment. Moreover, the increasing rates of preestablished backwashing vacuum, pump frequency, and vacuum and flux loss caused by mixed liquor in PSMBR all lagged compared to those in CSMBR; thus the actual operating time of the PSMBR system without membrane cleaning was extended by up to 1.25 times in contrast with the CSMBR system, and the average total COD removal efficiency of PSMBR was enhanced with higher average OLR.

Elucidating the removal mechanism of N,N-dimethyldithiocarbamate in an anaerobic-anoxic-oxic activated sludge system

N,N-Dimethyldithiocarbamate （DMDTC） is a typical precursor of N-nitrosodimethylamine （NDMA）. Based on separate hydrolysis, sorption and biodegradation studies of DMDTC, a laboratory-scale anaerobic-anoxic-oxic （AAO） system was established to investigate the removal mechanism of DMDTC in this nutrient removal biological treatment system. DMDTC hydrolyzed easily in water solution under either acidic conditions or strong alkaline conditions, and dimethylamine （DMA） was the main hydrolysate. Under anaerobic, anoxic or oxic conditions, DMDTC was biodegraded and completely mineralized. Furthermore, DMA was the main intermediate in DMDTC biodegradation. In the AAO system, the optimal conditions for both nutrient and DMDTC removal were hydraulic retention time 8 hr, sludge retention time 20 day, mixed-liquor return ratio 3：1 and sludge return ratio 1：1. Under these conditions, the removal efficiency of DMDTC reached 99.5%; the removal efficiencies of chemical organic demand, ammonium nitrogen, total nitrogen and total phosphorus were 90%, 98%, 81% and 93%, respectively. Biodegradation is the dominant mechanism for DMDTC removal in the AAO system, which was elucidated as consisting of two steps： first, DMDTC is transformed to DMA in the anaerobic and anoxic units, and then DMA is mineralized to CO2 and NH3 in the anoxic and oxic units. The mineralization of DMDTC in the biological treatment system can effectively avoid the formation of NDMA during subsequent disinfection processes.

Advance on the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates by mixed cultures

Polyhydroxyalkanoates(PHAs)are the polymers of hydroxyalkanoates that accumulate as carbon/energy or reducing-power storage material in various microorganisms.PHAs have attracted considerable attention as biodegradable substitutes for conventional polymers.Until now,however,industrial production of PHAs has encountered only limited success.The main barrier to the replacement of synthetic plastics by PHAs has been the higher cost.The use of mixed cultures and renewable sources obtained from waste organic carbon can substantially decrease the cost of PHA and increase their market potential.This work reviews two main methods of PHA production by mixed cultures,anaerobic-aerobic processing and aerobic transient feeding processing,and analyzed the metabolic and effective factors.