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Improvement of nitrification efficiency by bioaugmentation in sequencing batch reactors at low temperature

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Abstract

Bioaugmentation is an effective method of treating municipal wastewater with high ammonia concentration in sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) at low temperature (10°C). The cold-adapted ammonia- and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria were enriched and inoculated, respectively, in the bioaugmentation systems. In synthetic wastewater treatment systems, the average NH +4 -N removal efficiency in the bioaugmented system (85%) was much higher than that in the unbioaugmented system. The effluent NH +4 -N concentration of the bioaugmented system was stably below 8 mg·L−1 after 20 d operation. In municipal wastewater systems with bioaugmentation, the effluent NH +4 -N concentration was below 8 mg·L−1 after 15 d operation. The average NH +4 -N removal efficiency in unbioaugmentation system (about 82%) was lower compared with that in the bioaugmentation system. By inoculating the cold-adapted nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) into the SBRs after 10 d operation, the nitrite concentration decreased rapidly, reducing the NO −2 -N accumulation effectively at low temperature. The functional microorganisms were identified by PCR-DGGE, including uncultured Dechloromonas sp., uncultured Nitrospira sp., Clostridium sp. and uncultured Thauera sp. The results suggested that the cold-adapted microbial agent of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and NOB could accelerate the start-up and promote achieving the stable operation of the low-temperature SBRs for nitrification.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China

    Di Cui, Ang Li, Tian Qiu, Rui Cai, Changlong Pang, Jixian Yang, Fang Ma & Nanqi Ren

  2. School of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Normal University, Harbin, 150025, China

    Jihua Wang

Authors
  1. Di Cui
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  2. Ang Li
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  3. Tian Qiu
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  4. Rui Cai
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  5. Changlong Pang
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  6. Jihua Wang
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  7. Jixian Yang
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  8. Fang Ma
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  9. Nanqi Ren
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Correspondence to Ang Li or Fang Ma.

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Cui, D., Li, A., Qiu, T. et al. Improvement of nitrification efficiency by bioaugmentation in sequencing batch reactors at low temperature. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 8, 937–944 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-014-0668-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-014-0668-7

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