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.

Acclimation and Characterization of a Pseudomonas Strain for Improved Phosphorus Removal

A Pseudomonas strain(named as P.PAO-1) with phosphorous removal function was isolated and characterized.A new method of two-stage cultivation was applied to the strain to induce the synthesis of intracellular polyhydroxylbutyrate(PHB) in the cells.In the first stage,bacterial cells were enriched under a high carbon source condition;in the second stage,the bacteria cells were cultivated under the nutrient-imbalanced conditions with the carbon source-regulated medium.As a result,the PHB content of strain P.PAO-1 reached 22.8% compared with the normal 7.41% in the non-acclimated strain.This change had led to the rising of P uptake from 1 to 25 mg·L^(-1).When added the strain P.PAO-1into the activated sludge(with the addition proportion of 1:1),the ratio of biological phosphorus removal increased by 14.9%under the normal alternating anaerobic/aerobic conditions with low-carbon consumption.The results demonstrated that the isolated pure culture strain P.PAO-1 belonged to the functional group of poly-P accumulating microorganism.When cultured by the two-stage cultivation method,the initial accumulation of PHB in the strain cells could be achieved and the phosphorous removal capacity of strain P.PAO-1 could be induced subsequently.When applied to the wastewater,strain P.PAO-1 performed phosphorus removal from the wastewater with or without the addition of activated sludge.

Strain Pseudomonas putida PAO-1 Isolate with Polyphosphate Accumulating and Elongation Ability

Filamentous bacteria(FB)overgrowth is an important cause of sludge bulking in wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs).However,to date,methods for the cultivation and preservation of isolated FB in the laboratory have not been completely described.Furthermore,research on whether FB can function as phosphorus accumulating organisms(PAOs)is limited.In this study,a pure strain,a Pseudomonas putida PAO-1(P.putida PAO-1)isolate with phosphorus removal functions was isolated from the biofilm of an alternating anaerobic/aerobic biofilter(AABF),and its physiological characteristics were studied.Nitrate or nitrite could be used by the strain P.putida PAO-1 as electron acceptors for denitrification during phosphorus anoxic uptake,and 0.63 mg NO-3-N was consumed to reduce 1 mg soluble orthophosphate(SOP)by P.putida PAO-1.The strain P.putida PAO-1 consumed phosphorus within the optimal pH range of 6 to 8 and the temperature range of 25℃to 35℃.Cell deformity was a main morphological trait of the strain P.putida PAO-1,and it could elongate(with an elongation rate of 300%-500%)when it was subjected to oligotrophic or high-salt stress(15 g·L-1 NaCl).The findings in this study provide a microbiological reference for understanding the special characteristics of a denitrifying PAO.

Biological nitrogen removal with enhanced phosphate uptake in (AO)2SBR using single sludge system

Simultaneous biological phosphorus and nitrogen removal with enhanced anoxic phosphate uptake via nitrite was investigated in an anaerobic-aerobic-anoxic-aerobic sequencing batch reactor((AO)2 SBR). The system showed stable phosphorus and nitrogen removal performance, and average removals for COD, TN and TP were 90%, 91% and 96%, respectively. The conditions of pH 7.5—8.0 and temperature 32℃ were found detrimental to nitrite oxidation bacteria but favorable to ammonia oxidizers, and the corresponding specific oxygen uptake rates(SOUR) for phase 1 and 2 of nitrification process were 0.7 and 15 mgO 2/(gVSS·h) in respect, which led to the nitrite accumulation in aerobic phase of(AO)2 SBR. Respiratory tests showed that 40 mgNO 2-N/L did not deteriorate the sludge activity drastically, and it implied that exposure of sludge to nitrite periodically enabled the biomass to have more tolerance capacity to resist the restraining effects from nitrite. In addition, batch tests were carried out and verified that denitrifying phosphorus accumulation organisms(DPAOs) could be enriched in a single sludge system coexisting with nitrifiers by introducing an anoxic phase in an anaerobic-aerobic SBR, and the ratio of the anoxic phosphate uptake capacity to aerobic phosphate uptake capacity was 45%. It was also found that nitrite(up to 20 mgNO 2-N/L) was not inhibitory to anoxic phosphate uptake and could serve as an electron acceptor like nitrate, but presented poorer efficiency compared with nitrate.

Effect of temperature on anoxic metabolism of nitrites to nitrous oxide by polyphosphate accumulating organisms

Temperature is an important physical factor, which strongly influences biomass and metabolic activity. In this study, the effects of temperature on the anoxic metabolism of nitrite （NO2） to nitrous oxide （N2O） by polyphosphate accumulating organisms, and the process of the accumulation of N2O （during nitrite reduction）, which acts as an electron acceptor, were investigated using 91% ：e 4% Candidatus Accumulibacterphosphatis sludge. The results showed that N2O is accumulated when Accumulibacter first utilize nitrite instead of oxygen as the sole electron acceptor during the denitrifying phosphorus removal process. Properties such as nitrite reduction rate, phosphorus uptake rate, N2O reduction rate, and polyhydroxyalkanoate degradation rate were all influenced by temperature variation （over the range from 10 to 30℃ reaching maximum values at 25℃）. The reduction rate of N2O by N2O reductase was more sensitive to temperature when N2O was utilized as the sole electron acceptor instead of NO2, and the N2O reduction rates, ranging from 0.48 to 3.53 N2O-N/（hr.g VSS）, increased to 1.45 to 8.60 mg N2O-N/（hr·g VSS）. The kinetics processes for temperature variation of 10 to 30℃ were （01 = 1.140-1.216 and θ2 = 1.139-1.167）. In the range of 10℃ to 30℃, almost all of the anoxic stoichiometry was sensitive to temperature changes. In addition, a rise in N2O reduction activity leading to a decrease in N2O accumulation in long term operations at the optimal temperature （27℃ calculated by the Arrhenius model）.

Carbon and nitrogen allocations in corn grown in Central and Northeast China: different responses to fertilization treatments

In order to reveal the impact of various fertilization strategies on carbon（C） and nitrogen（N） accumulation and allocation in corn（Zea mays L.）, corn was grown in the fields where continuous fertilization management had been lasted about 18 years at two sites located in Central and Northeast China（Zhengzhou and Gongzhuling）, and biomass C and N contents in different organs of corn at harvest were analyzed. The fertilization treatments included non-fertilizer（control）, chemical fertilizers of either nitrogen（N）, or nitrogen and phosphorus（NP）, or phosphorus and potassium（PK）, or nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium（NPK）, NPK plus manure（NPKM）, 150% of the NPKM（1.5NPKM）, and NPK plus straw（NPKS）. The results showed that accumulated C in aboveground ranged from 2 550–5 630 kg ha^–1 in the control treatment to 9 300–9 610 kg ha^–1 in the NPKM treatment, of which 57–67% and 43–50% were allocated in the non-grain organs, respectively. Accumulated N in aboveground ranged from 44.8–55.2 kg ha^-1 in the control treatment to 211–222 kg ha^–1 in the NPKM treatment, of which 35–48% and 33–44% were allocated in the non-grain parts, respectively. C allocated to stem and leaf for the PK treatment was 65 and 49% higher than that for the NPKM treatment at the both sites, respectively, while N allocated to the organs for the PK treatment was 18 and 6% higher than that for the NPKM treatment, respectively. This study demonstrated that responses of C and N allocation in corn to fertilization strategies were different, and C allocation was more sensitive to fertilization treatments than N allocation in the area.

Simultaneous denitrifying phosphorus accumulation in a sequencing batch reactor

In order to achieve simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal in the biological treatment process,denitrifying phosphorus accumulation(DNPA)and its affecting factors were studied in a sequencing batch reactor(SBR)with synthetic wastewater.The results showed that when acetate was used as the sole carbon resource in the influent,the sludge acclimatized under anaerobic/aerobic operation had good phos-phorus removal ability.Denitrifying phosphorus accumulation was observed soon when fed with nitrate instead of aeration following the anaerobic stage,which is a vital premise to DNPA.If DNPA sludge is fed with nitrate prior to the anaerobic stage,the DNPA would weaken or even disappear.At the high concen-tration of nitrate fed in the anoxic stage,the longer anoxic time needed,the better the DNPA was.Induced DNPA did not disap-pear even though an aerobic stage followed the anoxic stage,but the shorter the aerobic stage lasted,the higher the proportions of phosphorus removal via DNPA to total removal.