Enhanced nitrogen removal at low temperature with mixed anoxic/oxic process

Different hydraulic retention times(HRTs)were tested in a mixed anoxic/oxic(A/O)system at 5C and 10C to investigate the effects of HRT and carrier on nitrogen removal in wastewater at low temperatures.The results showed that the addition of the fillers improved the treatment effect of each index in the system.With an optimal HRT of 7.5 h at 5C,the removal efficiencies of NHþ4-N and total nitrogen(TN)reached 91.2%and 75.6%,respectively.With an HRT of 6 h at 10C,the removal efficiencies of NHþ4-N and TN were 96.7%and 82.9%,respectively.The results of high-throughput sequencing showed that the addition of the suspended carriers in the aerobic zone could improve the treatment efficiency of nitrogen at low temperatures.The microbial analysis indicated that the addition of the suspended carriers enhanced the enrichment of nitrogen removal bacteria.Nitrospira,Nitrotoga,and Nitrosomonas were found to be the bacteria responsible for nitrification,and their relative concentrations on the biofilm at 5C and 10C accounted for 98.11%,92.79%,and 69.98%of all biological samples,respectively.

Variations in microbial community during nitrogen removal by in situ oxygen-enhanced indigenous nitrogen-removal bacteria

In this study, the enclosure system exhibited perfect nitrogen removal performance with in situ oxygen-enhanced indigenous aerobic denitrifying bacteria in an enclosure experiment. We explored changes in the microbial community during the nitrogen removal process using the MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology. The results revealed a total of 7974 and 33653 operational taxonomic units(OTUs) for water and sediment systems, respectively, with 97% similarity. The OTUs were found to be affiliated with eight main phyla(Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Planctomycetes, Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria). The diversity of the enhanced system was found to be higher than that of the control system. Principal component analysis(PCA) revealed that significant spatial and temporal differences were exhibited in the microbial community during nitrogen removal in the enclosure experiment. Redundancy analysis(RDA)indicated that physical parameters(temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH), nitrogen(total nitrogen and nitrate), functional genes(nirK and nirS), and dissolved organic carbon(DOC) were the most important factors affecting bacterial community function and composition. Lastly, the results suggested that the variation in the microbial community could be analyzed through the MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology,which may provide technical support for future field tests.

Isolation of aerobic denitrifier and characteristics of enhanced nitrogen removal in concentric-circles reactor with diversion wall

Three strains of aerobic denitrifiers,named as AT3,AT6 and AT7,were isolated from concentric-circles reactor with diversion wall possessing simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) effect of 69%. The three strains are all gram-positive and rod-shaped,and their colonial colors are pale yellow,milk white and pink,respectively. Combined with 16SrDNA sequence homology comparison and biochemical tests,AT3 and AT7 were identified to belong to Rhodococcus,and AT6 to Gordonia. These bacterial strains could grow well in the medium with potassium nitrate as nitrogen source and sodium citrate as carbon source. Based on the enhanced nitrogen removal experiments of selected bacteria mixture for activated sludge,the inoculum amount of 5% was supposed to be proper. The mixed biomass suspension of selected strains with PVA immobilization was put into the concentric-circles reactor in order to study the characteristics of enhanced nitrogen removal after amplifying cultivation with inoculated amount of 5%. The experimental results show that the average removal efficiencies of ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and total nitrogen (TN) in the reactor enhanced with aerobic denitrifying bacteria using PVA are 92.18% and 79.14% respectively,increasing by 5.29% and 7.83% respectively compared with removal effects of control group without strains enhancement.

Hematite-facilitated microbial ammoxidation for enhanced nitrogen removal in constructed wetlands

Constructed wetlands(CWs)are widely applied for decentralized wastewater treatment.However,achieving efficient removal of ammonia(NH+-N)has proven challenging due to insufficient oxygen.In this study,natural hematite(Fe,O3)was employed as a CW substrate(H-CWs)for the first time to drive anaerobic ammonia oxidation coupled with iron(I)reduction(Feammox).Compared to gravel constructed wetlands(G-CWs),ammonia removal was enhanced by 38.14%to 54.03%and nitrous oxide(N_(2)0)emissions were reduced by 34.60%in H-CWs.The synergistic removal of ammonia and nitrate by H-CWs also resulted in the absence of ammoxidation by-products.Inhibitor and 15N isotope tracer incubations showed that Feammox accounting for approximately 40%of all ammonia removal in the H-CWs.The enrichment of iron phosphate(Fe_(3)Fe_(4)(PO_(4))_(6))promoted the accumulation of the Feammox intermediate compound FeOOH.Microbial nanowires were observed on the surface of H-CW substrates as well,suggesting that the observed biological ammoxidation was most likely related to extracellular electron transfer(EET).Microbial and metagenomics analysis revealed that H-CWs elevated the integrity and enhanced the abundance of functional microorganisms and genes associated with nitrogen metabolism.Overall,the efficient ammonia removal in the absence of O2 together with a reduction in N_(2)O emissions as described in this study may provide useful guidance for hematite-mediated anaerobic ammonia removal in CWs.

Enhanced nitrogen removal of the anaerobic ammonia oxidation process by coupling with an efficient nitrate reducing bacterium(Bacillus velezensis M3-1)

Bacillus velezensis M3-1 strain isolated from the sediment of Myriophyllum aquatium con-structedwetlandswas found to efficiently convert NO_(3)^(-)-N to NO_(2)^(−)-N,and the requirements for carbon source additionwere not very rigorous.Thiswork demonstrates,for the first time,the feasibility of using the synergy of anammox and Bacillus velezensis M3-1 microorganisms for nitrogen removal.In this study,the possibility of M3-1 that converted NO_(3)^(−)-N produced by anammox to NO_(2)^(−)-N was verified in an anaerobic reactor.The NO_(3)^(−)-N reduction ability of M3-1 and denitrifying bacteria in coupling system was investigated under different C/N conditions,and it was found that M3-1 used carbon sources preferentially over denitrifying bacteria.By adjusting the ratio of NH4+-N to NO_(2)^(−)-N,it was found that the NO_(2)^(−)-N con-verted from NO_(3)^(−)-N by M3-1 participated in the original anammox.The nitrogen removal efficacy(NRE)of the coupled system was increased by 12.1%,compared to the control group anammox system at C/N=2:1.Functional gene indicated that itmight be a nitrate reducing bacterium.This study shows that the nitrate reduction rate achieved by the Bacillus velezensis M3-1 can be high enough for removing nitrate produced by anammox process,which would enable improve nitrogen removal from wastewater.

Temporal Dynamics and Performance Association of the Tetrasphaera-Enriched Microbiome for Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal

Tetrasphaera have been recently identified based on the 16S ribosomal RNA(rRNA)gene as among the most abundant polyphosphate-accumulating organisms(PAOs)in global full-scale wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs)with enhanced biological phosphorus removal(EBPR).However,it is unclear how Tetrasphaera PAOs are selectively enriched in the context of the EBPR microbiome.In this study,an EBPR microbiome enriched with Tetrasphaera(accounting for 40%of 16S sequences on day 113)was built using a top-down design approach featuring multicarbon sources and a low dosage of allylthiourea.The microbiome showed enhanced nutrient removal(phosphorus removal~85%and nitrogen removal~80%)and increased phosphorus recovery(up to 23.2 times)compared with the seeding activated sludge from a local full-scale WWTP.The supply of 1 mg·L^(-1)allylthiourea promoted the coselection of Tetrasphaera PAOs and Microlunatus PAOs and sharply reduced the relative abundance of both ammonia oxidizer Nitrosomonas and putative competitors Brevundimonas and Paracoccus,facilitating the establishment of the EBPR microbiome.Based on 16S rRNA gene analysis,a putative novel PAO species,EBPR-ASV0001,was identified with Tetrasphaera japonica as its closest relative.This study provides new knowledge on the establishment of a Tetrasphaera-enriched microbiome facilitated by allylthiourea,which can be further exploited to guide future process upgrading and optimization to achieve and/or enhance simultaneous biological phosphorus and nitrogen removal from high-strength wastewater.

Comparative study of two biological nitrogen removal processes:A/O process and step-feeding process

Two biological nitrogen removal processes are compared in the aspect of nitrogen removal, process operation and energy saving. Results show that when the returned sludge ratio is 50% of the inflow rate, the step-feeding process achieves over 80% total nitrogen （TN） removal efficiency, but the TN removal efficiency of the A/O process is only 40%. Moreover, filamentous sludge bulking can be well restrained in the step-feeding process. Given the conditions of a returned sludge ratio of 100% and a nitrifying liquor recycle ratio of 200%, the TN removal efficiency is 78.32% in the A/O process, but the sludge volume index （SVI） value increases to 143 mL/g. In the step-feeding process, the SVI is only 94.4 mL/g when the TN removal efficiency reaches 81. 1%. The step-feeding process has distinct advantages over the A/O process in the aspects of practicability, nitrogen removal and operating stability.

Heterostructured BiOI@La(OH)_3 nanorods with enhanced visible light photocatalytic NO removal

Heterostructured BiOI@La（OH）3 nanorod photocatalysts were prepared by a facile chemical impregnation method.The enhanced visible light absorption and charge carrier separation can be simultaneously realized after the introduction of BiOI particles into La（OH）3 nanorods.The BiOI@La（OH）3 composites were applied for visible light photocatalytic oxidization of NO in air and exhibited an enhanced activity compared with BiOI and pure La（OH）3 nanorods.The results show that the energy levels between the La（OH）3 and BiOI phases matched well with each other,thus forming a heterojunctioned BiOI@La（OH）3 structure.This band structure matching could promote the separation and transfer of photoinduced electron-hole pairs at the interface,resulting in enhanced photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation.The photocatalytic performance of BiOI@La（OH）3 is shown to be dependent on the mass ratio of BiOI to La（OH）3.The highest photocatalytic performance can be achieved when the mass ratio of BiOI to La（OH）3 is controlled at 1.5.A further increase of the mass ratio of BiOI weakened the redox abilities of the photogenerated charge carriers.A new photocatalytic mechanism for BiOI@La（OH）3 heterostructures is proposed,which is directly related to the efficient separation of photogenerated charge carriers by the heterojunction.Importantly,the as-prepared BiOI@La（OH）3 heterostructures exhibited a high photochemical stability after multiple reaction runs.Our findings demonstrate that BiOI is an effective component for the formation of a heterostructure with the properties of a wide bandgap semiconductor,which is of great importance for extending the light absorption and photocatalytic activity of wide bandgap semiconductors into visible light region.

An autotrophic nitrogen removal process:Short-cut nitrification combined with ANAMMOX for treating diluted effluent from an UASB reactor fed by landfill leachate

A combined process consisting of a short-cut nitrification （SN） reactor and an anaerobic ammonium oxidation upflow anaerobic sludge bed （ANAMMOX） reactor was developed to treat the diluted effluent from an upflow anaerobic sludge bed （UASB） reactor treating high ammonium municipal landfill leachate.The SN process was performed in an aerated upflow sludge bed （AUSB） reactor （working volume 3.05 L）,treating about 50% of the diluted raw wastewater.The ammonium removal efficiency and the ratio of NO 2 N to NOx-N in the effluent were both higher than 80%,at a maximum nitrogen loading rate of 1.47 kg/（m 3 ·day）.The ANAMMOX process was performed in an UASB reactor （working volume 8.5 L）,using the mix of SN reactor effluent and diluted raw wastewater at a ratio of 1：1.The ammonium and nitrite removal efficiency reached over 93% and 95%,respectively,after 70-day continuous operation,at a maximum total nitrogen loading rate of 0.91 kg/（m 3 ·day）,suggesting a successful operation of the combined process.The average nitrogen loading rate of the combined system was 0.56 kg/（m 3 ·day）,with an average total inorganic nitrogen removal efficiency 87%.The nitrogen in the effluent was mostly nitrate.The results provided important evidence for the possibility of applying SN-ANAMMOX after UASB reactor to treat municipal landfill leachate.

Simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in step feeding biological nitrogen removal process

The simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in step-feeding biological nitrogen removal process were investigated under different influent substrate concentrations and aeration flow rates. Biological occurrence of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification was verified in the aspect of nitrogen mass balance and alkalinity. The experimental results also showed that there was a distinct linear relationship between simultaneous nitrification and denitrification and DO concentration under the conditions of low and high aeration flow rate. In each experimental run the floc sizes of activated sludge were also measured and the results showed that simultaneous nitrification and denitrification could occur with very small size of floc.

High nitrogen removal from wastewater with several new aerobic bacteria isolated from diverse ecosystems

Three new bacteria HS-03, HS-043 and HS-047 isolated from different ecosystems were found capable of aerobic denitrification. The potential application of these strains in wastewater treatment under aerobic conditions was investigated, These three bacteria all presented high nitrogen removal from wastewater that more than 98% of 10 mmol/L nitrate could be removed in 12--24 h by adding cheap external carbon source and low concentration of iron as well as molybdate. The mechanism at molecular level was analyzed. The success of this aerobic denitrification applied to wastewater treatment may serve as an alternative to enhance the practical nitrogen removal from wastewater. Main biochemical and physiological features of these strains were characterized. The 16S rDNA sequences were compared with the published data in GenBank by using BLAST. The results of phenotype and genotype proved that strain HS-03 and HS-047 belonged to Pseudomonas stutzeri and Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes respectively. Strain HS-043 was identified as Delftia clcidovorans of which denitrifying activity has not previously been explored.

Achieving and maintaining biological nitrogen removal via nitrite under normal conditions

The principal aim of this paper is to develop an approach to realize stable biological nitrogen removal via nitrite under normal conditions. Validation of the new method was established on laboratory-scale experiments applying the sequencing batch reactor（SBR） activated sludge process to domestic wastewater with low C/N ratio. The addition of sodium chloride（NaCI） to influent was established to achieve nitrite build-up. The high nitrite accumulation, depending on the salinity in influent and the application duration of salt, was obtained in SBRs treating saline wastewater. The maintenance results indicated that the real-time SBRs can maintain stable nitrite accumulation, but conversion from shorter nitrification-denitrification to full nitrification-denitrification was observed after some operation cycles in the other SBR with fixed-time control. The presented method is valuable to offer a solution to realize and to maintain nitrogen removal via nitrite under normal conditions.

Applying real-time control to enhance the performance of nitrogen removal in CAST system

A bench-scale reactor（72 L） red with domestic sewage, was operated more than 3 months with three operation modes： traditional mode, modified mode and real-time control mode, so as to evaluate effects of the operation mode on the system performance and to develop a feasible control strategy. Results obtained from fixed-time control study indicate that the variations of the pH and oxidation-reduction potential（ORP） profiles can represent dynamic characteristics of system and the cycle sequences can be controlled and optimized by the control points on the pH and ORP profiles. A control strategy was, therefore, developed and applied to real-time control mode. Compared with traditional mode, the total nitrogen（TN） removal can be increased by approximately 16% in modified mode and a mean TN removal of 92% was achieved in real-time control mode. Moreover, approximately 12.5% aeration energy was saved in real- time control mode. The result of this study shows that the performance of nitrogen removal was enhanced in modified operation mode. Moreover, the real-time control made it possible to optimize process operation and save aeration energy.

Development and Experimental Evaluation of a Steady-state Model for the Step-feed Biological Nitrogen Removal Process

In this article,a steady-state mathematical model was developed and experimentally evaluated to inves- tigate the effect of influent flow distribution and volume ratios of anoxic and aerobic zones in each stage on the to- tal nitrogen concentration of the effluent in the step-feed biological nitrogen removal process.Unlike the previous modeling methods,this model can be used to calculate the removal rates of ammonia and nitrate in each stage and thereby predict the concentrations of ammonia,nitrate,and total nitrogen in the effluent.To verify the simulation results,pilot-scale experimental studies were carried out in a four-stage step feed process.Good correlations were achieved between the measured data and the simulation results,which proved the validity of the developed model. The sensitivity of the model predictions was analyzed.After verification of the validity,the step feed process was optimally operated for five months using the model and the criteria developed for the design and operation.During the pilot-scale experimental period,the effluent total nitrogen concentrations were all below 5mg·L -1 ,with more than 90%removal efficiency.

Ultrafiltration Enhanced with Activated Carbon Adsorption for Efficient Dye Removal from Aqueous Solution

In this study, orange G dye was efficiently removed from aqueous solution by ultraflltration （UF） membrane separation enhanced with activated carbon adsorption. The powdered activated carbon （PAC） was deposited onto the UF membrane surface, forming an intact filter cake. The enhanced UF process simultaneously exploited the high water permeation flux of porous membrane and the high adsorption ability of PAC toward dye molecules. The influencing factors on the dye removal were investigated. The results indicated that with sufficient PAC incorporation, the formation of intact PAC filtration cake led to nearly complete rejection for dye solution under opti-mized dye concentration and operation pressure, without large sacnticlng the permeation tlux ot the filtration process. Typically, the dye rejection ratio increased from 43.6% for single UF without adsorption to nearly 100% for the enhanced UF process, achieving long time continuous treatment with water permeation flux of 47 L·m^-2·h^-1. The present study demonstrated that adsorption enhanced UF may be a feasible method for the dye wastewater treatment.

Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal with Pseudomonas putida GM6 from Activated Sludge

The enhanced biological phosphorus removal （EBPR） method is widely adopted for phosphorus removal from wastewater, yet little is known about its microbiological and molecular mechanisms. Therefore, it is difficult to predict and control the deterioration of the EBPR process in a large-scale municipal sewage treatment plant. This study used a novel strain isolated in the laboratory, Pseudomonas putida GM6, which had a high phosphate accumulating ability and could recover rapidly from the deteriorated system and enhance the capability of phosphorus removal in activated sludge. Strain GM6 marked with gfp gene, which was called GMTR, was delivered into a bench-scale sequencing batch reactor （SBR） of low efficiency, to investigate the colonization of GMTR and removal of phosphorus. After 21 days, the proportion of GMTR in the total bacteria of the sludge reached 9.2%, whereas the phosphorus removal rate was 96%, with an effluent concentration of about 0.2 mg L^-1. In the reactor with the addition of GMTR, phosphorus was removed quickly, in 1 h under anaerobic conditions, and in 2 h under aerobic conditions. These evidences were characteristic of EBPR processes. Field testing was conducted at a hospital sewage treatment facility with low phosphorus removal capability. Twentyone days after Pseudomonas putida GM6 was added, effluent phosphorus concentration remained around 0.3 mg L^-1, corresponding to a removal rate of 96.8%. It was therefore demonstrated that Pseudomonas putida GM6 could be used for a quick startup and enhancement of wastewater biological phosphorus removal, which provided a scientific basis for potential large-scale engineering application.

Preparation of Clay/Biochar Composite Adsorption Particle and Performance for Ammonia Nitrogen Removal from Aqueous Solution

This study aimed to present a novel clay/biochar composite adsorption particle, which made from abandoned reed straw and clay to remove ammonia nitrogen(NH4^+-N) from micro-contaminated water. The removal performance of NH4^+-N by composite adsorption particle was monitored under different raw material proportions and initial NH4^+-N concentration. Besides, adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherms were investigated to reveal the adsorption mechanisms. The results showed that NH4^+-N was effectively removed under optimal proportion of biochar, foaming agent and crosslinker with 20%, 3%, and 3%, respectively. The optimal contact time was 150 min and the best removal efficiency was 88.6% at initial NH4^+-N concentration of 20 mg L^-1. The adsorption performance was well described by the second order kinetic model and Freundlich model. The novel clay/biochar composite adsorption particle in this study demonstrated a high potential for NH4^+-N removal from surface water.

Effect of Sludge Retention Time on Nitrite Accumulation in Real-time Control Biological Nitrogen Removal Sequencing Batch Reactor

In this study,four sequencing batch reactors(SBR),with the sludge retention time(SRT)of 5,10,20 and 40 d,were used to treat domestic wastewater,and the effect of SRT on nitrite accumulation in the biological nitrogen removal SBR was investigated.The real-time control strategy based on online parameters,such as pH,dissolved oxygen(DO)and oxidation reduction potential(ORP),was used to regulate the nitrite accumulation in SBR. The model-based simulation and experimental results showed that with the increase of SRT,longer time was needed to achieve high level of nitritation.In addition,the nitrite accumulation rate(NAR)was higher when the SRT was relatively shorter during a 112-day operation.When the SRT was 5 d,the system was unstable with the mixed liquor suspended solids(MLSS)decreased day after day.When the SRT was 40 d,the nitrification process was significantly inhibited.SRT of 10 to 20 d was more suitable in this study.The real-time control strategy combined with SRT control in SBR is an effective method for biological nitrogen removal via nitrite from wastewater.

Fuzzy Control of Nitrate Recirculation and External Carbon Addition in A/O Nitrogen Removal Process

Nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations of effluent water must be taken into account for the design and operation of wastewater treatment plants. In addition, the requirement for effluent quality is becoming strict. Therefore, intelligent control approaches are recently required in removing biological nutrient. In this study, fuzzy control has been successfully applied to improve the nitrogen removal. Experimental results showed that a close relationship between nitrate concentration and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) at the end of anoxic zone was found for anoxic/oxic (A/O) nitrogen removal process treating synthetic wastewater. ORP can be used as online fuzzy control parameter of nitrate recirculation and external carbon addition. The established fuzzy logic controller that includes two inputs and one output can maintain ORP value at - 86 mV and - 90 mV by adjusting the nitrate recirculation flow and external carbon dosage respectively to realize the optimal control of nitrogen removal, improving the effluent quality and reducing the operating cost.

Study of control strategy and simulation in anoxic-oxic nitrogen removal process

The control strategy and simulation of external carbon addition were specially studied in an anoxic-oxic(A/O) process with low carbon: nitrogen(C/N) domestic wastewater. The control strategy aimed to adjust the flow rate of external carbon dosage to the anoxic zone, thus the concentration of nitrate plus nitrite(NOx--N) in the anoxic zone was kept closed to the set point. The relationship was studied between the NOx--N concentration in the anoxic zone(S_ NO) and the dosage of external carbon, and the results showed that the removal efficiency of the total nitrogen(TN) could not be largely improved by double dosage of carbon source when S_ NO reached about 2 mg/L. Through keeping S_ NO at the level of about 2 mg/L, the demand of effluent quality could be met and the carbon dosage could be optimized. Based on the Activated Sludge Model No.1(ASM No.1), a simplified mathematical model of external carbon dosage was developed. Simulation results showed that PI controller and feed-forward PI controller both had good dynamic response and steady precision. And feed-forward PI controller had better control effects due to its consideration of influent disturbances.