Insights into the mechanism of the deterioration of mainstream partial nitritation/anammox under low residual ammonium

Residual ammonium is a critical parameter affecting the stability of mainstream partial nitritation/anammox(PN/A), but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study,mainstream PN/A was established and operated with progressively decreasing residual ammonium. PN/A deteriorated as the residual ammonium decreased to below 5 mg/L, and this was paralleled by a significant loss in anammox activity in situ and an increasing nitrite oxidation rate. Further analysis revealed that the low-ammonium condition directly decreased anammox activity in situ via two distinct mechanisms. First, anammox bacteria were located in the inner layer of the granular sludge, and thus were disadvantageous when competing for ammonium with ammonium-oxidizing bacteria(AOB) in the outer layer. Second, the complete ammonia oxidizer(comammox) was enriched at low residual ammonium concentrations because of its high ammonium affinity. Both AOB and comammox presented kinetic advantages over anammox bacteria. At high residual ammonium concentrations,nitrite-oxidizing bacteria(NOB) were effectively suppressed, even when their maximum activity was high due to competition for nitrite with anammox bacteria. At low residual ammonium concentrations, the decrease in anammox activity in situ led to an increase in nitrite availability for nitrite oxidation, facilitating the activation of NOB despite the dissolved oxygen limitation(0.15–0.35 mg/L) for NOB persisting throughout the operation. Therefore, the deterioration of mainstream PN/A at low residual ammonium was primarily triggered by a decline in anammox activity in situ. This study provides novel insights into the optimized design of mainstream PN/As in engineering applications.

Does the Total Soil N Determined by Kjeldahl Method Include Fixed NH4^+?

Forty soils from top layer (0-20 cm) were sampled in different regions of China and Kjeldahl, HF-Kjeldahl and double treatment methods were used to determine total N, total N plus fixed ammonium, and total N and the residual fixed ammonium left in soil after determination of total N, respectively, to evaluate if Kjeldahl’s method could include the fixed N by soil minerals. The fixed N by soil minerals was measured by Silva-Bremner procedure to make comparison. Results showed that total N determined by Kjeldahl’s method averaged 1.622 g kg-1, while that by HF- Kjeldahl’s method 1.633 g kg-1, and that by double procedure 1.666 g kg-1. Obviously results obtained by the last two methods, particularly the double treatment method, were higher than Kjeldahl’s, showing that Kjeldahl’s method could not or not fully release N fixed by 2:1 minerals in soil, and therefore the determined results would not be the true “total N” for soils that contained large amount of the fixed N. The mineral fixedN averaged 166 mg kg-1, accounting for 10.1% of the total N while the residual fixed N amounted to 30.4 mg kg-1, equivalent to 1.9% of the total N or 18.3% of the total fixed N. The residual fixed N was correlated neither to organic matter nor to total N, but closely related to the total fixed N with a correlation coefficient of 0.598 (n=40), showing that the fixed N was the sole source of the residues. Soils having high residues of the fixed N were just those containing high fixed N, and soils containing high fixed N were just those containing high amount of 2:1 minerals. As a result, Kjeldahl’s method could not give a true value of the total N for such soils. However, for those containing small or little amount of 2:1 minerals, there was no significant difference in results measured by these methods.

Decomposition of ammonium sulfate residue in a high solid/gas ratio suspension state with an industrial-scale reactor system(production line)

Ammonium sulfate residue is a particulate solid and is produced during the manufacture of ammonium sulfate fertilizer. The residue used in this study contained a large portion of calcium carbonate, from which active lime （CaO） was recovered via thermal decomposition. We used a purpose-built device to decom- pose the residue in a semi-suspension state. We found that CaO had the highest activity when residue was decomposed at 850-900 ~C. Our experiments indicated that ammonium sulfate residue should be decom- posed in a suspension state to produce active CaO. Based on our laboratory test findings, an industrial-scale production line with a high solid/gas ratio in a suspension state was devised. The optimal operating con- ditions for the decomposition of the ammonium sulfate residue to produce high quality CaO were also investigated.We found that the CaCO3 decomposition rate was high and the CaO product was highly active, averaging 170 s by the citric acid method. Morphology measurements showed that the CaO product had a porous structure and a large specific surface ensuring high activity.