The feasibility of using a two-stage autotrophic nitrogen removal process to treat sewage

• Published in: Bioresource technology Vol. 102; no. 17; pp. 8331 - 8334
• Main Authors: Ma, Bin, Zhang, Shujun, Zhang, Liang, Yi, Peng, Wang, Junmin, Wang, Shuying, Peng, Yongzhen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Anammox; Applied sciences; Approximation; Autotrophic nitrogen removal; Biological and medical sciences; Effluents; Exact sciences and technology; Feasibility; Feasibility Studies; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Nitrogen - isolation & purification; Nitrogen removal; Oxygen demand; Partial nitritation; Pollution; Reactors; Sewage; Strategy; Two-stage; Wastewaters; Water treatment and pollution; Anammox; Partial nitritation; Sewage; Autotrophic nitrogen removal; Two-stage; Ammonium; Autotrophy; Nitrogen; Nitrosation; Waste water; Anaerobe; Bacteria; Feasibility; Oxidation; Waste water purification; Denitrogenation
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2011.06.017

► The feasibility of using a two-stage (nitritation/anammox) autotrophic nitrogen removal process to treat sewage was examined. ► Nitritation and anammox could be instantly achieved by bioaugmentation strategy. ► Nitritation could be maintained under limited oxygen condition (below 0.2mg/L) in nitritation reactor treating sewage. ► Anammox was realized in the UASB reactor, where nitrogen removal rate was 0.39kgNm−3d−1 under limited-substrate condition. ► Based on these results, organic matter in sewage could be converted into biogas, and nitrogen could be removed with anammox. The feasibility of using a two-stage autotrophic nitrogen removal process to treat sewage was examined in this study. The obtained results showed that total nitrogen (TN) could be efficiently removed by 88.38% when influent TN and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were 45.87 and 44.40mg/L, respectively. In the first stage, nitritation was instantly achieved by the bioaugmentation strategy, and can be maintained under limited oxygen condition (below 0.2mg/L). The ratio of nitrite to ammonium in the effluent of the nitritation reactor can be controlled at approximate 1.0 by adjusting aeration rate. In the second stage, anammox was realized in the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor, where the total nitrogen removal rate was 0.40kgNm−3d−1 under limited-substrate condition. Therefore, the organic matter in sewage can be firstly concentrated in biomass which could generate biogas (energy). Then, nitrogen in sewage could be removed in a two-stage autotrophic nitrogen removal process.