Adaptability of Nitrifying Biofilm Systems to Low Temperature: MBBR and IFAS

Abstract

The long-term effects of a decreasing temperature on the nitrification performance, biofilm characteristics, and nitrifier community in a moving-bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) and integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) system were investigated at various temperatures (20, 15, and 10℃) to explore the adaptability of nitrifying biofilm systems to low temperatures. During the experiment, the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in the biofilms increased with decreasing temperature, which resulted in an increased biofilm mass and thickness. As there was only a biofilm phase in the MBBR to remove ammonia, the part of the carriers in the MBBR at 10℃ became plugged, which partially led to a deterioration in the effluent water quality. This indicated that the IFAS system was more adaptable to low temperatures than was the MBBR. Meanwhile, the results for the nitrifier activities showed that, although the nitrification contribution rate of the suspended phase in the IFAS system always dominated during the experiment, that of the fixed phase with regards to the ammonia uptake rate (AUR) gradually increased from 30.72% at 20℃ to 39.85% at 10℃. This indicated that the biofilm played an enhanced role in nitrification in the IFAS system. Moreover, the qPCR results revealed that the nitrifier copies of the number of biofilms increased slightly with decreased temperature, and coincided with an increase in biomass, which partially compensated for the decreased nitrification activity. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the application of the biofilm systems to wastewater treatment.