Deammonification process start-up after enrichment of anammox microorganisms from reject water in a moving-bed biofilm reactor

Abstract

Deammonification via intermittent aeration in biofilm process for the treatment of sewage sludge digester supernatant (reject water) was started up using two opposite strategies. Two moving-bed biofilm reactors were operated for 2.5 years at 26 (±0.5)°C with spiked influent (and hence free ammonia (FA)) addition. In the first start-up strategy, an enrichment of anammox biomass was first established, followed by the development of nitrifying biomass in the system (R1). In contrast, the second strategy aimed at the enrichment of anammox organisms into a nitrifying biofilm (R2). The first strategy was most successful, reaching higher maximum total nitrogen (TN) removal rates over a shorter start-up period. For both reactors, increasing FA spiking frequency and increasing effluent concentrations of the anammox intermediate hydrazine correlated to decreasing aerobic nitrate production (nitritation). The bacterial consortium of aerobic and anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria in the bioreactor was determined via denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis, polymerase chain reaction and pyrosequencing. In addition to a shorter start-up with a better TN removal rate, nitrite oxidizing bacteria (Nitrospira) were outcompeted by spiked ammonium feeding from R1.