Anoxic Phase Research Articles

Role of soluble microbial product as an intermediate electron station linking C/N and nitrogen removal performance in sequencing batch reactor

The C/N ratio in wastewater differs in place and time and affects the nitrogen removal performance of wastewater treatment. However, studies have focused only on the direct relationship between C/N and nitrogen removal efficiency but disregarded the significant role of soluble microbial products (SMPs) as an intermediate electron station. In this work, the contribution of SMPs to TN removal for treating wastewater with different C/N in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was investigated to extend relevance from C/N–TN removal to C/N–SMP–TN removal. TN removal efficiency was improved by increasing the influent C/N. The relative contribution of SMPs increased from 15% (C/N = 2) to 54% (C/N = 8), including 25.5% via utilization-associated product (UAP)-dependent denitrification and 28.5% via biomass-associated product (BAP)-dependent denitrification. The direct contribution of influent organic substrates dramatically decreased from 85.1% to 46%. In addition, providing an anoxic phase effectively enhanced BAP-dependent denitrification and achieved an increment of the SMP absolute contribution from 20.3% to 43% at C/N = 8 with 6.7 mg/L of TN additionally removed. This work clarified the significant contribution of SMPs to the nitrogen removal process, particularly in treating wastewater with high C/N. It also presented a new strategy for improving nitrogen removal performance via SMP reclamation.

Nitrogen removal as nitrous oxide for energy recovery: Increased process stability and high nitrous yields at short hydraulic residence times

The Coupled Aerobic-anoxic Nitrous Decomposition Operation (CANDO) is a two-stage process for nitrogen removal and resource recovery: in the first, ammonia is oxidized to nitrite in an aerobic bioreactor; in the second, oxidation of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) drives reduction of nitrite to nitrous oxide (N2O) which is stripped for use as a biogas oxidant. Because ammonia oxidation is well-studied, tests of CANDO to date have focused on N2O production in anaerobic/anoxic sequencing batch reactors. In these reactors, nitrogen is provided as nitrite; PHA is produced from acetate or other dissolved COD, and PHA oxidation is coupled to N2O production from nitrite. In a pilot-scale study, N2O recovery was affected by COD/N ratio, total cycle time, and relative time periods for PHA synthesis and N2O production. In follow-up bench-scale studies, different reactor cycle times were used to investigate these operational parameters. Increasing COD/N ratio improved nitrite removal and increased biosolids concentration. Shortening the anaerobic phase prevented fermentation of PHA and improved its utilization. Efficient PHA synthesis and utilization in the anaerobic phase correlated with high N2O production in the anoxic phase. Shortening the anoxic phase prevented reduction of N2O to N2. By shortening both phases, total cycle time was reduced from 24 to 12 h. This optimized operation enabled increased biomass concentrations, increased N2O yields (from 71 to 87%), increased N loading rates (from 0.1 to 0.25 kg N/m3-d), and shorter hydraulic residence times (from 10 to 2 days). Long-term changes in operational performance for the different bioreactor systems tested were generally similar despite significant differences in microbial community structure. Long-term operation at short anaerobic phases selected for a glycogen-accumulating community dominated by a Defluviicoccus-related strain.

Performance of Sequencing Batch Reactor Treating Sewage Using Two Stage Anoxic Aerobic

Sequencing batch reactor technology (SBR) is an increasingly popular reactor configuration because of flexibility of operation in the treatment of domestic wastewater. However, the combined two stage anoxic-aerobic for further nitrogen removal has not been explored further. This study aims to determine the performance efficiency of two-stage anoxic-aerobic using sequencing batch reactor. 10 L of SBR reactor was operated twice daily. The system was operated on a 500 minutes cycle with 10 minutes of feeding, 300 minutes for reacting, 60 minutes of sedimentation, 10 minutes of decanting and 120 minutes for an idle period. Effluent quality (chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammoniacal nitrogen (NH4–N), total suspended solids (TSS)), particle size and sludge settleability have been analyzed over a period of 35 days of operation. Results shows that the overall efficiencies for COD, TSS and NH4–N were 93.8%, 98.4 % and 85.9%, respectively. In the lab scale SBR reactor unit, the 2 h anoxic/1.5 h aerobic period resulted in good process performance with COD, NH4–N and TSS removal of 66.0%, 78.5% and 59.4 %, respectively. Increasing the length of anoxic up to 1 h did not enhance the NH4–N removal with 4.5% in anoxic phase and 7.2% in aerobic phase. Sludge settleability became poorer as the ciliate species becomes rich. The particle size of the sludge was observed to increase from 117.743 μm to 127.310 μm. It is recommended that the duration of combined anoxic/aerobic periods should be optimized to achieve maximum performance and nutrient removal.

Feasibility Study on Biological Nutrient Removal in Sequencing Batch Reactor Treating Municipal Wastewater

This study elucidates the performance of sequencing batch reactor for nutrient removal from municipal wastewater. The removal of COD, ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus were investigated. The SBR with a working volume of 5 L was operated for 6 hours, with 5 min fill, 30 min settle and 5 min effluent withdrawal. The remaining time in each cycle was 90 min anaerobic phase, 130 min anoxic phase and 110 min aerobic phase. The experiment was repeated with a longer aeration time of 180 min resulting to prolong the duration cycle. In the aerobic phase, dissolved oxygen was kept in the range of more than 2 mg/L. During batch operation, the system attained stability and had a removal efficiency for ammonia nitrogen, COD and phosphorus of 51.36%, 83.33% and 99.53%, respectively. Extending the aeration period improved ammonia nitrogen removal to 54.27%. It should be noted that the stability of the granular biomass agglomerates highly depending on the bacterial consortia. The particle size of sludge reduced from 60.26 μm to 39.00 μm in 60 days. It was observed that degranulation process and biomass loss was unavoidable.

Intermittent cycle extended aeration system pilot scale (ICEAS-PS) for wastewater treatment: experimental results and process simulation

Intermittent cycle extended aeration system is a modification of a conventional sequencing batch reactor system in which the system is operated under continuous feed. The objective of this research is to study the effect of sludge retention time and aeration pattern on the performance of intermittent cycle extended aeration system pilot scale for wastewater treatment. In addition, the process simulation using GPS-X software was conducted. Five different runs of sludge retention times of 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 days were studied. The optimum sludge retention time for wastewater treatment by intermittent cycle extended aeration system pilot scale was 10 days, and under operating condition of sludge retention time of 10 days, effluent quality was 15.5 ± 3.8, 6.5 ± 1.1, 5.3 ± 1.6, 0.7 ± 0.2, 5.0 ± 1.4 mg/L and 1.4 ± 0.7 mg/L for COD, BOD5, TSS, NH4–N, TN and TP which amply met the local regulation of class A treated wastewater. GPS-X sensitivity analysis tool box was used to determine the most sensitive kinetic parameters affecting the intermittent cycle extended aeration system pilot scale performance. Out of about 50 kinetic parameters, YH, bH, μA, Ko, bA, Ka and μPAO appeared to the most sensitive kinetic parameters. The calibrated GPS-X model proved that the presence of anoxic phase in the cycle has a significant impact on nitrogen and phosphorus removal. In addition, intermittent aeration pattern achieved the highest performance compared with other patterns of aeration only, aeration/anoxic and anoxic/aeration.

Impact of cycle type on aerobic granular sludge formation, stability, removal mechanisms and system performance

This paper aimed to assess the impact of the cycle type on aerobic granular sludge (AGS) formation, stability and system performance. Six AGS reactors were operated either on A/O cycles (anaerobic followed by oxic phase) or A/O/A cycles (anaerobic, followed by oxic and anoxic phases), changing only the phase time distribution. Reactors with high percentage of aerobic phase (65% of the total cycle time) generated granules with better settleability and resistance, however denitrification was impaired. On the other hand, reactors with long anaerobic or anoxic phases presented excellent nutrients removals, but the granules were fluffy and unstable. The best results in terms of performance and stability were achieved in an A/O/A reactor with short anoxic phase (10% of the total cycle) and medium aerobic phase (55% of the total cycle). Therefore, in AGS reactors, it is indispensable to optimize the cycle, aiming at fast biomass formation, long-term granule stability and high-rate pollutants removal.

Operation adjustments of an electrochemically coupled system for total nitrogen removal and the associated mechanism.

A coupled system consisting of sequencing batch reactor and microbial fuel cell (SBR-MFC) was designed to buffer pH drift and purify wastewater. The addition of nitrifying sludge and the adjustment of hydraulic retention time (HRT) were performed to achieve better removal of total nitrogen (TN). When anaerobic/aerobic/anoxic phases in one cycle were 6/4/2h, the removal efficiency of ammonium was 99.0±1.3%, whereas denitrification was insufficient and the overall removal efficiency of TN was only 29.1±5.8%. When the phases were adjusted to 6/2/4h, the removal efficiencies of ammonium were 100.0±0.0% in both closed and open circuits, and the overall removal efficiencies of TN were 91.4±0.2% and 71.7±4.2%, respectively, improved by 20% in MFC mode; the maximum voltage (200Ω) maintained at 0.1V. Ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and Nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in the sludge carried out nitrification. The main denitrification pathways in anoxic phase involved polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) denitrification by denitrifying glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs) and electrochemical denitrification by electrochemical active bacteria (EAB). Few polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) were present, which accounted for poor P removal.

Hydrogen producing water treatment through mesoporous TiO2 nanofibers with oriented nanocrystals

The development of well-defined TiO2 nanoarchitectures is a versatile strategy to achieve high-efficiency photocatalytic performance. In this study, mesoporous TiO2 nanofibers consisting of oriented nanocrystals were fabricated by a facile vapothermal-assisted topochemical transformation of preformed H-titanate nanobelts. The vapothermal temperature is crucial in tuning the microstructures and photocatalytic redox properties of the resulting mesoporous TiO2 nanofibers. The microstructures were characterized with XRD, TEM, XPS and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, etc. The photocatalytic activities were evaluated by photocatalytic oxidation of organic pollutant (Rhodamine B as an example) as well as photocatalytic reduction of water to generate hydrogen (H2). The nanofibers vapothermally treated at 150°C showed the highest photocatalytic activity in both oxidation and reduction reactions, 2 times higher than that of P25. The oriented alignment and suitable mesoporosity in the resulting nanofiber architecture were crucial for enhancing photocatalytic performances. The oriented alignment of anisotropic anatase nanocrystals shall facilitate faster vectorial charge transportation along the nanofibers architecture. And, the suitable mesoporosity and high surface area would also effectively enhance the mass exchange during photocatalytic reactions. We also demonstrate that efficient energy-recovering photocatalytic water treatments could be accomplished by a cascading oxic-anoxic process where the dye is degraded in the oxic phase and hydrogen is generated in the successive anoxic phase. This study showcases a novel and facile method to fabricate mesoporous TiO2 nanofibers with high photocatalytic activity for both clean energy production and environmental purification.

Assessment of Full-Scale N2O Emission Characteristics and Testing of Control Concepts in an Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Plant with Alternating Aerobic and Anoxic Phases.

This work aims to obtain full-scale N2O emission characteristics translatable into viable N2O control strategies and conduct full-scale testing of the proposed N2O control concepts. Data of a long-term monitoring campaign was first used to quantify full-scale N2O emission and probe into the seasonal pattern. Then trends between N2O production/emission and process variables/conditions during typical operating cycles were revealed to explore the dynamic N2O emission behavior. A multivariate statistical analysis was performed to find the dependency of N2O emission on relevant process variables. The results show for the first time that relatively low/high N2O emission took place in seasons with a decreasing/increasing trend of water temperature, respectively. Aerobic phase contributed to N2O production/emission probably mainly through the hydroxylamine pathway. Comparatively, heterotrophic bacteria had a dual role in the anoxic phase and could be responsible for both net N2O production and consumption. Incomplete denitrification might contribute mainly to the N2O production/emission in the anoxic phase and the accumulation of N2O to be significantly emitted in the following cycle due to the competition between different denitrification steps for electron donors. Therefore, properly extending the length of anoxic phase could serve as a potential control means to regulate N2O accumulation in the anoxic phase. The full-scale testing not only verified the efficacy of reduced dissolved oxygen set-point in reducing N2O emission by 60%, but also confirmed the proposed concepts of control over the aerobic and anoxic phases collectively.

Improving Wastewater Nitrogen Removal and Reducing Effluent NOx - -N by an Oxygen-Limited Process Consisting of a Sequencing Batch Reactor and a Sequencing Batch Biofilm Reactor

Abstract A series of reactors including a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) and a sequencing batch biofilm reactor (SBBR) were used for nitrogen removal. The aim of this study was simultaneous removal of NH4+-N and NOx–-N from synthetic wastewater. In the novel proposed method, the effluent from SBR was sequentially introduced into SBBR, which contained 0.030 m3 biofilm carriers, so the system operated under a paired sequence of aerobic-anoxic conditions. The effects of different carbon sources and aeration conditions were investigated. A low dissolved oxygen (DO) level in the biofilm depth of the fixed-bed process (SBBR) simulated the anoxic phase conditions. Accordingly, a portion of NH4+-N that was not converted to NO3–-N by the SBR process was converted to NO3–-N in the outer layer of the biofilm in the SBBR process. Further, simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) was achieved in the SBBR where NO2–-N was converted to N2 directly, before NO3–-N conversion (partial nitrification). The level of mixed liquid suspended solids (MLSS) was 2740 mg/l at the start of the experiments. The required carbon source (C: N ratio of 4) was provided by adding an internal carbon source (through step feeding) or ethanol. Firstly, as part of the system (SBR and SBBR), SBR operated at a DO level of 1 mg/l while SBBR operated at a DO concentration of 0.3 mg/l during Run-1. During Run-2, the system operated at the low DO concentration of 0.3 mg/l. When the source of carbon was ethanol, the nitrogen removal rate (RN) was higher than the operation with an internal carbon source. When the reactors were operated at the same DO concentration of 0.3 mg/l, 99.1 % of the ammonium was removed. The NO3–-N produced during the aerobic SBR operation of the novel method was removed in SBBR reactor by 8.3 %. The concentrations of NO3--N and NO2–-N in the SBBR effluent were reduced to 2.5 and 5.5 mg/l, respectively. Also, the total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency was 97.5 % by adding ethanol at the DO level of 0.3 mg/l. When C:N adjustment was carried out SND efficiency at C:N ratio of 6.5 reached to 99 %. The increasing nitrogen loading rate (NLR) to 0.554 kg N/m3 d decreased SND efficiency to 80.7 %.

In-situ utilization of soluble microbial product (SMP) cooperated with enhancing SMP-dependent denitrification in aerobic-anoxic sequencing batch reactor

Soluble microbial products (SMPs), as secondary pollutants, comprise a dominant percentage of residual COD in effluents from biological wastewater treatment processes. They can also be regarded as substitute electron sources if the in-situ utilization of SMPs could be achieved. In this study, the fate of SMPs in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) treating artificial municipal sewage was investigated. Based on the regular SBR operation mode, a 3 h extension of anoxic phase was provided to promote SMP degradation. Meanwhile, the denitrification efficiencies achieved by adopting SMPs and influent organic substrates (IOSs) were compared to reveal the significant contribution of the in-situ utilization of SMP for nitrogen removal. Approximately 21.1 mg N/L of total nitrogen (TN) was removed over a single cyclic reaction, in which only 13.2 mg N/L was removed via IOS-dependent denitrification. The remaining 7.9 mg N/L of TN was realized via SMP-dependent denitrification, including 3.9 mg N/L by utilization-associated products and 4.0 mg N/L by biomass-associated products, which significantly contributed 37.4% of TN removal. The aromatic proteins, tryptophan-like proteins, polysaccharides and fulvic acids contained in SMP were the potential precursors of electron donors to support SMP-dependent denitrification process.

Initial nitrite concentration promote nitrite-oxidizing bacteria activity recovery from transient anoxia: Experimental and modeling investigations

Transient anoxia due to the periodic anoxic/aerobic operation is beneficial for the nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) suppression. A continuous reactor of modified University of Cape Town process treating municipal wastewater was equipped with alternating anoxic/aerobic zones to maintain nitritation. Higher nitrite accumulation ratio in the oxic zones was achieved through transient anoxia and shorter aerobic actual hydraulic retention time (15 min), but it steeply deteriorated from above 95.0% to 21.0% after elevated temperature (25 °C). Batch experiments indicated that the existence of initial nitrite at the starting of aerobic phase promoted the recovery of NOB activity from transient anoxia and inhibited the activity of ammonium-oxidizing bacteria. Furthermore, a supplemental modeling further confirmed that the specific growth rates of NOB (μNOB) decreased at the anoxic phase and the recovery extent of μNOB after anoxic exposure have a positive correlation with the initial concentrations of nitrite, leading to the failure of maintaining nitritation.

Continuous sulfur biotransformation in an anaerobic-anoxic sequential batch reactor involving sulfate reduction and denitrifying sulfide oxidization

The pathways and intermediates of continuous sulfur biotransformation in an anaerobic and anoxic sequential batch reactor (AA-SBR) involving sulfate reduction (SR) and denitrifying sulfide oxidization (DSO) were investigated. In the anoxic phase, DSO occurred in two sequential steps, the oxidation of sulfide (S2−) to elemental sulfur (S0) and the oxidation of S0 to sulfate (SO42−). The oxidation rate of S2− to S0 was 3.31 times faster than that of S0 to SO42−, resulting in the accumulation of S0 as a desired intermediate under S2−-S/NO3−-N ratio (molar ratio) of 0.9:1. Although, approximately 60% of generated S0 suspended in the effluent, about 40% of S0 retained in the sludge, which could be further oxidized or reduced in anoxic or anaerobic phase. In anoxic, S0 was subsequently oxidized to SO42− under S2−-S/NO3−-N ratio of 0.5:1. In anaerobic, S0 coexist with SO42− (in fresh wastewater) were simultaneously reduced to S2−, and the reduction rate of SO42− to S2− was 3.17 times faster than that of S0 to S2−, resulting in a higher production of S0 in subsequent anoxic phase. Microbial community analysis indicated that SO42−/S0-reducing bacteria (e.g. Desulfomicrobium and Desulfuromonas) and S2−/S0-oxidizing bacteria (e.g. Paracoccus and Thermothrix) co-participated in continuous sulfur biotransformation in the AA-SBR. A conceptual model was established to describe these main processes and key intermediates. The research offers a new insight into the reaction processes optimization for S0 recovery and simultaneous removal of SO42− and NO3− in an AA-SBR.

Nitrous oxide emission mitigation during low-carbon source wastewater treatment: effect of external carbon source supply strategy.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) generated during biological nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment processes has contributed an important proportion to the global warming effect. To evaluate the possibility of N2O emission mitigating by changing carbon source supply strategies, nitrogen transformation characteristics and N2O emissions with methanol one-time dosing and step dosing were investigated. Two sets of laboratory-scale sequencing batch biofilm reactors (SBBRs) were conducted to treat real domestic wastewater with low carbon source. The results revealed that reactors with methanol step dosing showed a lower N2O emission of 0.0402 ± 0.0016mg/(L·h), together with a higher total nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen removal efficiencies of 83.30% ± 1.21 and 93.45% ± 1.20, respectively. While N2O emission from conventional one-time dosing reactors was 0.0741 ± 0.0025mg/(L·h), total nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen removal efficiencies were 75.71% ± 0.54 and 88.45% ± 0.59, respectively. The N2O emission factor of SBBR was reduced from 6.26% ± 0.21 to 3.40% ± 0.14 with methanol step dosing. Moreover, nitrification rates in aerobic phases were reduced, while denitrification rates in anoxic phases were elevated. Hence, carbon source step dosing enhanced nitrogen removal and reduced N2O emission compared with one-time dosing, which is a simply achievable strategy for N2O emission reduction in highly automated systems like wastewater treatment plants.

Methods of reconstruction and modification of the sequencing batch reactor at municipal wastewater treatment plants in Vietnam

Introduction. Vietnamese urban municipal wastewater treatment plants are mainly of aeration-type facilities. Nowadays, an aeration-type plant, the Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR), is widely applied and possesses a number of advantages over traditional systems with suspended activated sludge. Advantages of the SBR are mainly concluded in simplicity of operation, occupied area and cost. There is a number of problems at the wastewater treatment plants; they are connected with supplying only a half of wastewater design amount for the treatment as well as with quality of the purified water that must satisfy requirements of the Vietnamese discharge standard, the Standard A. Therefore, reconstruction and modification of the SBR is the major challenger to ensure the sustained development of large Vietnamese cities and maintenance of ecological balance.
 Materials and methods. To enhance the efficiency of wastewater purification in the SBR, the experiments were set on reactor reconstruction and modification by two directions: (1) Technological method, i.e. applying the Biochip 25 biocarrier, and (2) Operation method, i.e. adding the anoxic phase in reactor operation cycle. Laboratory tests were conducted for each of the directions, including comparison of a typical reactor with the modified one.
 Results. The study resulted in obtaining an optimal amount of the BioChip biocarrier material (10 to 20 %) that increased efficiency of wastewater purification by 10 to 20 %. In addition to this, when creating an anoxic phase of the operation cycle, efficiency of nitrogen removal increased by 20 %. When the denitrification occurs under the anoxic conditions, it contributes to stabilization of ammonium nitrogen removal for daily nitrogen loading in reactor of 0.3 to 0.8 TKN kg/sludge kg.
 Conclusions. The suggested technology provides the quality of treated water corresponding with the Vietnamese Standard A requirements. At the present, it is planned to proceed with the experiment on the base of Vietnamese semi-industrial plant for research and appraisal of the SBR reconstruction and modification method.
 Acknowledgements. The authors are grateful to AKVA Control company in Samara for granted biocarrier Mutag BioChip 25 and to Associate Professor Tran Van Quang and his students, Nguyen Ngoc Phuong and Truong Quoc Dai, of Environment Protect Research Center, Danang University for support of the experiment.

Study on ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus removal using sequencing batch reactor

Study on ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus removal using sequencing batch reactor

RESEARCHING NEW WAYS TO REDUCE N2O EMISSION FROM A GRANULAR SLUDGE SEQUENCING BATCH REACTOR TREATING DOMESTIC WASTEWATER UNDER SUBTROPICAL CLIMATE CONDITIONS

ABSTRACT N2O emissions from wastewater treatment plants have become an important issue, since this compound is a significant greenhouse gas that affects the sustainability of sewage treatment. This work aimed to investigate and to reduce N2O emission from a pilot-scale aerobic granular sludge sequencing batch reactor (AGS-SBR) operated for carbon and nitrogen removal from domestic wastewater under subtropical climate condition. Three operational strategies (S-I, S-II and S-III) with different anoxic phase durations were compared regarding treatment efficiency and N2O emission. For all the studied strategies, volatile suspended solids (VSS) was between 1.0 and 1.2 g/L. S-III, with the longest anoxic phase, obtained the highest biological oxygen demand (BOD) and NH4+-N removal efficiencies (86% and 84%, respectively), the lowest N2O emission factor (16.99 gN2O-N/person·year) and the lowest total nitrogen (TN) to N2O conversion ratio (0.47%). The results indicated that the extension of the anoxic phase was an effective way to significantly reduce N2O emission and to improve treatment efficiency.

Nitrite effect on the phosphorus uptake activity of phosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) in pilot-scale SBR and MBR reactors

Batch tests were performed to investigate the nitrite effect on the P-uptake of biomass grown in pilot-scale SBR and MBR systems. The results showed that the nitrite has an inhibitory effect on the aerobic P-uptake of the SBR and the MBR biomasses. The degree of inhibition was observed to be 65 % and 37 % at 10 mg NO2-N/l for the SBR and the MBR respectively. Both biomasses were found capable of using nitrite as electron acceptor as effectively as nitrate. Moreover, for the SBR biomass the anoxic P-uptake rate using nitrite was found even higher (60%) than the P-uptake rate with nitrate. From a modelling point of view, the current models require appropriate extensions to describe these various effects of nitrite. Hence, an extension of the ASM2d model has been provided. Prevention of nitrite build-up in full-scale EBPRs will eliminate the nitrite inhibition problem. Alternatively one can adopt a proactive approach in which the aerobic P-uptake phase is replaced with an anoxic P-uptake phase using only nitrite as electron acceptor. Such an approach offers considerable cost savings and enhanced nitrogen and phosphorus removal. This, however, requires further research for experimental validation and testing.

Effect of Carbon Sources on the Accumulation of Endogenous Polymers and Denitritation in the O/A-F/F Mode

To accumulate endogenous polymers during the aerobic phase, the aerobic/anoxic-feast/famine (O/A-F/F) selection mode can be used. It can also be used in situ for endogenous denitrification by activated sludge during the anoxic phase. To further explore the effect of carbon sources on the activated sludge accumulation of endogenous polymers and endogenous denitrification, this study used acetic and glucose as the main carbon sources to investigate the accumulation of endogenous polymers, endogenous denitrification, and the structure and function of enriched activated sludge. The results show that acetic (Ac-SBR) and glucose (Gc-SBR) as the main carbon source systems achieved a 40 mg·L-1 nitrate removal by endogenous denitrification when the influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) was~500 mg·L-1 in the O/A-F/F selection mode. Both the Ac-SBR and Gc-SBR achieved partial denitrification, but the nitrite accumulation of the Ac-SBR was higher than that of the Gc-SBR. Acetic is favorable for the accumulation of endogenous polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA); PHA drives the endogenous denitrification. The yield of PHA was 0.52 and the denitrification rate (DNR) was 9.65 mg·(L·h)-1. The Gc-SBR system achieved the simultaneous accumulation of PHA and glycogen (Gly). The yield of Gly was higher than that of PHA and the DNR driven by Gly was 4.35 mg·(L·h)-1. The Gly was the main driving force to achieve endogenous denitrification and contributed to 77% of the total nitrogen removal. The 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing analysis of activated sludge flora shows that the class of β-Proteobacteria in the Proteobacteria was dominant, with an abundance of 40.56% in the Ac-SBR. However, the abundance of β-Proteobacteria was only 18.05% in the Gc-SBR. The class of α-Proteobacteria contributes to glycogen accumulation in the Gc-SBR. The PHA can be accumulated by β-Proteobacteria, Unclassified Bacteroidetes, and Lgnavibacteria in the Ac-SBR.

Application of anoxic phase in SBR reactor to increase the efficiency of ammonia removal in Vietnamese municipal WWTPs

Process removal nutrients, especially nitrogen – ammonia in municipal wastewater treatment is a challenger of design and operate wastewater treatment plant. Nowadays in Vietnam, technology SBR has been wide applied in biological wastewater treatment but the concentration of nitrogen – ammonia in treated water cannot achieve the discharge standard. For the purpose to reach the Vietnamese Standard A, the modification of SBR has been added the anoxic phase into operated cycle to create the denitrification’s environment and enhance performance of ammonia – nitrogen removal in municipal wastewater treatment at present and in the near future. The results of experiment shows that, the efficiency of N – NH4 removal in reactors sustainable in range 75 – 80% with the nitrogen loadings rate from 0.07 – 0.25 kg N – NH4/kg sludge/d. However, in 3 hours of anoxic phase, the value of specific denitrification rate is 0.10 – 0.15 kg N – NO3/kg sludge/d with the organic loadings rate in range 0.3 – 1.0 kg BOD/kg sludge/d and can reach the maximum is 0.2 kg N – NO3/kg sludge/d when the organic loadings rate increase to 2.0 kg BOD/kg sludge/d.