Pre-denitrification Reactor Research Articles

Coupled systems of pre-denitrification and partial nitritation/anammox improved functional microbial structure and nitrogen removal in treating swine manure digestate

This study evaluated the functional activity and microbial structure of a pre-denitrification and single-stage partial nitritation/anammox process (DB-SNAP) coupled system for effectively treating swine manure digestate (SMD). At influent ammonium concentrations of (1000 to 1500) mg/L, the pre-denitrification reactor increased the nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) by 5%, resulting in an average NRE of 96%. The DB-SNAP and nitrogen-limited strategy facilitated the rapid adoption of anammox bacteria (AnAOB) in the SMD, maintaining a high specific rate of 0.3gN/gVSS/d. A high secretion of tightly bound extracellular polymeric substances (76 mg/gVSS to 102 mg/gVSS) promoted micro-granule aggregation and stability. Moreover, Ca. Kuenenia, an AnAOB genus, was highly enriched from 21% to (27 to 30) %, whereas Nitrospira, a nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, was significantly suppressed to (0 to 0.05) %. These findings will provide valuable guidance in implementing the anammox process in swine wastewater treatment.

Treatment of Old Landfill Leachate via a Denitrification-Partial Nitritation-ANAMMOX Process

To research the performance of removing nitrogen and organics from old landfill leachate via denitrification-partial nitritation-ANAMMOX (DN-PN-ANAMMOX) process, an integrated reactor seeded with mature ANAMMOX sludge and nitritation sludge connected to a denitrification (DN) reactor was studied. The result showed that before the pre-denitrification reactor was connected, the PN-ANAMMOX reactor achieved a nitrogen removal rate (NRR) of 1.88 kg·(m3·d)-1 and a nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) of 90.3% when the concentration of influent ammonia nitrogen and COD were 600 mg·L-1 and 483 mg·L-1, respectively. The NRR of the PN-ANAMMOX process dropped to 1.50 kg·(m3·d)-1 when the concentration of influent COD>483 mg·L-1, which corresponds to C/N>0.8. To relieve the influence of organic matter on ANAMMOX, a DN reactor was put in front of the PN-ANAMMOX reactor. The DN-PN-ANAMMOX process achieved an NRR and NRE of 1.37 kg·(m3·d)-1 and 98.6%, respectively, under the conditions of influent ammonia nitrogen and COD concentrations of 1100 mg·L-1 and 1150 mg·L-1, respectively. The NRR of ANAMMOX reached 15.6 kg·(m3·d)-1. The whole system realized a highly efficient and deep removal of nitrogen without any additional carbon source. When treating old landfill leachate, most of the biodegradable organics can be removed by the system.

Highly efficient of nitrogen removal from mature landfill leachate using a combined DN-PN-Anammox process with a dual recycling system

An efficient and stable combined denitrification-partial nitrification-Anammox process with a dual recycling system was used to remove nitrogen from mature landfill leachate. After 155 d of operation, the NO3− as the PN-Anammox byproduct was almost treated with biodegradable organic carbon in raw wastewater in a pre-denitrification reactor by external recycling system. When raw landfill leachate with NH4+-N concentration of 1900 mg/L was treated, an integrated reactor with airlift recycling was combined with the PN and Anammox reactions to efficiently remove NH4+ from the inflow. The total nitrogen concentration of effluent stabilized at 20 mg/L and total nitrogen removal efficiency was 99%. The maximum NO2− production rate in the aerobic zone was 2.2 kg/(m3·d) and the maximum nitrogen removal rate in the anaerobic zone was 21.4 kg/(m3·d). The most common phyla among the nitrification and the Anammox functional bacteria were Nitrosomonas, Candidatus Kuenenia, and Candidatus Brocadia after landfill leachate treatment.

Inactivation and adaptation of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria when exposed to free nitrous acid

Inactivation and adaptation of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) to free nitrous acid (FNA) was investigated. Batch test results showed that AOB and NOB were inactivated when treated with FNA. After an 85-day operating period, AOB in a continuous pre-denitrification reactor did not adapt to the FNA that was applied to treat some of the return activated sludge. In contrast, NOB did adapt to FNA. NOB activity in the seed sludge was only 11% of the original activity after FNA batch treatment, at 0.75mg HNO2-N/L. NOB activity in the pre-denitrification reactor was not affected after being exposed to this FNA level. Nitrosomonas was the dominant AOB before and after long-term FNA treatment. However, dominant NOB changed from Nitrospira to Candidatus Nitrotoga, a novel NOB genus, after long-term FNA treatment. This adaptation of NOB to FNA may be due to the shift in NOB population makeup.

Optimizing external carbon source addition in domestics wastewater treatment based on online sensoring data and a numerical model.

The removal of total nitrogen in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is often unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons. One possible measure to improve nitrogen removal is the addition of external carbon. However, the amount of carbon addition is directly related to WWTP operation costs, highlighting the importance of accurately determining the amount of external carbon required. The objective of this study was to obtain a low nitrate concentration in the anoxic zone of WWTPs efficiently and economically by optimizing the external carbon source dosage. Experiments were conducted using a pilot-scale pre-denitrification reactor at a Nanjing WWTP in China. External carbon source addition based on online monitoring of influent wastewater quality and a developed nitrification-denitrification numerical model was investigated. Results showed that carbon addition was reduced by 47.7% and aeration costs were reduced by 8.0% compared with those using a fixed-dose addition mode in the pilot reactor. The obtained technology was applied to the full-scale Jiangxinzhou WWTP in Nanjing with promising results.

Validation of a new model for the sizing of denitrification reactors, by testing full-scale plants

ABSTRACTA new deterministic model for the calculation of the specific denitrification rate (SDNR), useful for the design of pre-denitrification reactors, was tested on eight full-scale activated sludge plants. The model represents the SDNR at 20°C (SDNR20°C) as a function of the sludge loading in the denitrification reactor (F:MDEN) and the residual dissolved oxygen in the denitrification reactor (DODEN). The results proved the ability of the model in calculating the SDNR20°C. The model shows a lower degree of adaptability for small-sized plants. SDNR20°C proved to have a strong sensitivity to DODEN, mainly in correspondence with low DO concentrations (less than 2 mg L−1). The sensitivity decreases at greater DO values, but with a progressively less marked gradient, up to becoming weak only at DO concentrations greater than 0.4-0.5 mg L−1, which are rarely found in full-scale plants. DO concentrations measured in real-scale facilities are mostly in the range 0.2-0.4 mg L−1. These concentrations cause adverse effects on the kinetics of nitrogen removal, and consequently on the denitrification performance. Thus, minimizing DO in the pre-denitrification reactor is relevant. The sensitivity of SDNR20°C to F:MDEN was less important, as it is characterized by a growing linear behaviour with a low slope.

Oxygen Control and Improved Denitrification Efficiency by Means of a Post-Anoxic Reactor

The presence of dissolved oxygen (DO) in biological denitrification reactors determines inhibition effects on the denitrification rate. The article shows the results of an experimental study to control the DO concentration in the pre-denitrification stage by a post-anoxic reactor. The results demonstrate that the post-anoxic reactor is very effective in improving the nitrogen removal efficiency because it causes a considerable reduction of the DO content in the mixed liquor recycle sent to the pre-denitrification reactor. This reduction is influenced by both the retention time and the F:M ratio (referred to the denitrification and the oxidation-nitrification volume). In fact, a retention time and a F:M ratio equal to 1.5 h and 0.130 kgBOD5 kgMLVSS−1·day−1, respectively, allow to limit DO in the post-anoxic reactor at 0.31 mgO2·L−1. Such concentration determines a DO concentration of 0.11 mgO2·L−1 in the pre-denitrification reactor and, consequently, a denitrification efficiency of 91%. Moreover, the contribution of the endogenous denitrification to the whole denitrification efficiency was found negligible. The paper contributes to the progress in nitrogen removal from sewage, a fundamental issue for a sustainable management of water resources.

Evaluating the effects of nitrogen loading rate and substrate inhibitions on partial nitrification with FISH analysis

The effects of free ammonia (FA) or free nitrous acid (FNA) on partial nitrification (PN) has been well investigated. Nevertheless, little information was known about the combined effects of nitrogen loading rate (NLR) and substrate inhibition, as well as the impact on the community structure of nitrifiers. In this work, real reject water was treated in a pre-denitrification reactor. PN was achieved by gradually increasing NLR, and it was successfully maintained when average FA and FNA were within 0.8-3.2 mg NH₃-N/L and 0.003-0.067 mg HNO₂-N/L, respectively. When NLR was reduced, PN was slightly affected due to the FA declination. As FNA inhibition was also eliminated by adding alkalinity into the influent, PN was completely destroyed quickly. FISH results indicated the deterioration of the PN was mainly attributed to the recovery of NOB when inhibition effects were limited. It concluded the increase of NLR benefited the partial nitrification. However, the stability of the nitrite path way was more dependent on selective substrate inhibition effects, especially the FNA inhibition. These findings would be important for further treatment of actual reject water.

Organic carbon and nitrogen removal from a strong wastewater using a denitrifying suspended growth reactor and a horizontal-flow biofilm reactor

Recirculation of fully nitrified effluent from a laboratory horizontal-flow biofilm reactor (HFBR) to a mixed pre-denitrification reactor (DR) was used to remove organic carbon and nitrogen from synthetic dairy wastewater. Three recirculation ratios of 2, 4, and 6 were examined in this study and the average filtered chemical oxygen demand (COD f) and total nitrogen (TN) removals were up to 97.4% and 85.5%, respectively, at 11 °C. In the DR, the nitrate nitrogen removal efficiencies and rates were 86–96% and 22–34 g N/m 3 d. In the HFBR, the ammonium nitrogen removal rates were 293–337 mg N/m 2 d.

Coarse media filtration - an alternative to settling in wastewater treatment

In this paper coarse media filtration has been analysed as an alternative to the traditional settling in primary, secondary and tertiary treatment of wastewater. Various filter media configurations were evaluated for enhanced primary filtration. It was found that a dual media configuration based on Kaldnes biofilm media (1 and K2modified) were most suitable when taking both separation efficiency as well as filter run time into consideration. SS removal efficiencies of around 75% were achieved in the dual Kaldnes primary filter at around 20 m/h without any chemical addition and around 85% at low dosage (1-2 mg/l) of a high MW cationic polymer FO4440SH. In the latter case COD was removed by around 70%. Further experiments were carried out on a multi-media Kaldnes-Filtralite-Sand (KFS) filter for enhanced primary treatment as well as for secondary filtration directly downstream of a high-rate moving bed biofilm reactor, resulting in an extremely compact secondary treatment process. The secondary KFS-filter gave SS-removal efficiencies around 90% (effluent SS < 15 mg/l) and filter run times of around 24 hrs at filtration rates of 10 m/h (sludge loading rates of around 1 kg/m2h) when a small dose (2 mg/l) of polymer was used. It is also demonstrated that the primary filter may also be utilised as a pre-denitrification reactor. A denitrification rate of 1.5 kg NO3-N(equiv.)/m3d was achieved when the filter was operated at a filtration rate of 5 m/h.