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Partial Nitrification and Denitrifying Phosphorus Removal in a Pilot-Scale ABR/MBR Combined Process

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Abstract

A pilot-scale combined process consisting of an anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) and an aerobic membrane bioreactor (MBR) for the purpose of achieving easy management, low energy demands, and high efficiencies on nutrient removal from municipal wastewater was investigated. The process operated at room temperature with hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 7.5 h, recycle ratio 1 of 200 %, recycle ratio 2 of 100 %, and dissolved oxygen (DO) of 1 mg/L and achieved good effluent quality with chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 25 mg/L, NH4 +-N of 4 mg/L, total nitrogen (TN) of 11 mg/L, and total phosphorus (TP) of 0.7 mg/L. The MBR achieved partial nitrification, and NO2 −-N has been accumulated (4 mg/L). Efficient short-cut denitrification was occurred in the ABR with a TN removal efficiency of 51 %, while the role of denitrification and phosphorus removal removed partial TN (14 %). Furthermore, nitrogen was further removed (11 %) by simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in the MBR. In addition, phosphorus accumulating organisms in the MBR sufficiently uptake phosphorus; thus, effluent TP further reduced with a TP removal efficiency of 84 %. Analysis of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) showed that ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and phosphorus accumulating organisms (PAOs) were enriched in the process. In addition, the accumulation of NO2 −-N was contributed to the inhibition on the activities of the NOB rather than its elimination.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Bill McCann for a comprehensive review of this manuscript and the anonymous reviewers for the useful suggestions. This research was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (51308367), the priority academic program development of Jiangsu higher education institution, the key project of Natural Science Research (12KJA610002), and the project of scientific Innovation Research (CXZZ12_0857) to Jiangsu universities. We gratefully acknowledge Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Environmental Science and Engineering for the technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, 215009, China

    Peng Wu, Lezhong Xu, Jianfang Wang & Yaoliang Shen

  2. School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China

    Zhenxing Huang

  3. College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China

    Jiachao Zhang

  4. Key Laboratory of Environmental Science and Engineering of Jiangsu Province, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, 215009, China

    Yaoliang Shen

  5. Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Technology and Material of Water Treatment, Suzhou, 215009, China

    Yaoliang Shen

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  1. Peng Wu
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  2. Lezhong Xu
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  3. Jianfang Wang
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  4. Zhenxing Huang
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  5. Jiachao Zhang
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Correspondence to Yaoliang Shen.

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Wu, P., Xu, L., Wang, J. et al. Partial Nitrification and Denitrifying Phosphorus Removal in a Pilot-Scale ABR/MBR Combined Process. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 177, 1003–1012 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-015-1855-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-015-1855-0

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