Denitrification and phosphorus uptake by DPAOs using nitrite as an electron acceptor by step-feed strategies

Denitrifying phosphorus accumulating organisms (DPAOs) using nitrite as an electron acceptor can reduce more energy. However, nitrite has been reported to have an inhibition on denitrifying phosphorus removal. In this study, the step-feed strategy was proposed to achieve low nitrite concentration, which can avoid or relieve nitrite inhibition. The results showed that denitrification rate, phosphorus uptake rate and the ratio of the phosphorus uptaken to nitrite denitrified (anoxic P/N ratio) increased when the nitrite concentration was 15 mg·L^-1 after step-feeding nitrite. The maximum denitrification rate and phosphorus uptake rate was 12.73 mg NO2-–N·g MLSS-1?h-1 and 18.75 mg PO43-–P·g MLSS-1?h-1, respectively. These rates were higher than that using nitrate (15 mg·L^-1) as an electron acceptor. The maximum anoxic P/N ratio was 1.55 mg PO43--P?mg NO2--N-1. When the nitrite concentration increased from 15 to 20 mg NO2--N?L-1 after addition of nitrite, the anoxic phosphorus uptake was inhibited by 64.85%, and the denitrification by DPAOs was inhibited by 61.25%. Denitrification rate by DPAOs decreased gradually when nitrite (about 20 mg·L^-1) was added in the step-feed SBR. These results indicated that the step-feed strategy can be used to achieve denitrifying phosphorus removal using nitrite as an electron acceptor, and nitrite concentration should be maintained at low level (<15 mg·L^-1 in this study).     

Nitrogen recovery from wastewater using microbial fuel cells

Nitrogen is one of major contaminants in wastewater; however, nitrogen, as bio-elements for crop growth, is the indispensable fertilizer in agriculture. In this study, two-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were first operated with microorganisms in anode chamber and potassium ferricyanide as catholyte. After being successfully startup, the two-chamber MFCs were re-constructed to three-chamber MFCs which were used to recover the NO3−−N and NH4+−N of synthetic wastewater into value-added nitrogenous fertilizer from cathode chamber and anode chamber, respectively. Ferric nitrate was used as the sole electron acceptor in cathode, which also was used to evaluate the NO3−−N recover efficiency in the case major anion of NO3− in cathode. The output voltage of these MFCs was about 600–700 mV at an external load of 500 Ω. About 47% NH4+−N in anode chamber and 83% NO3−−N in cathode chamber could be recovered. Higher current density can selectively improve the recovery efficiency of both NH4+−N and NO3−−N. The study demonstrated a nitrogen recovery process from synthetic wastewater using three-chamber MFCs.     

Improvement of nitrification efficiency by bioaugmentation in sequencing batch reactors at low temperature

Bioaugmentation is an effective method of treating municipal wastewater with high ammonia concentration in sequencing batch reactors （SBRs） at low temperature （10℃）. The cold-adapted ammonia- and nitrite- oxidizing bacteria were enriched and inoculated, respectively, in the bioaugmentation systems. In synthetic wastewater treatment systems, the average NH4＋-N removal efficiency in the bioaugmented system （85%） was much higher than that in the unbioaugmented system. The effluent NH4＋ -N concentration of the bioaugmented system was stably below 8 mg. L1 after 20 d operation. In municipal wastewater systems with bioaugmentation, the effluent NH4＋- -N concentration was below 8 mg·L^-1 after 15 d operation. The average NH4＋ -N removal efficiency in unbioaugmentation system （about 82%） was lower compared with that in the bioaugmentation system. By inoculating the cold-adapted nitrite-oxidizing bacteria （NOB） into the SBRs after 10 d operation, the nitrite concentration decreased rapidly, reducing the NO2 -N accumulation effectively at low temperature. The func- tional microorganisms were identified by PCR-DGGE, including uncultured Dechloromonas sp., uncultured Nitrospira sp., Clostridium sp. and uncultured Thauera sp. The results suggested that the cold-adapted microbial agent of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria （AOB） and NOB could accelerate the start-up and promote achieving the stable operation of the low-temperature SBRs for nitrification.     

A potentiometric cobalt-based phosphate sensor based on screen-printing technology

A potentiometric cobalt-based screen-pritning sensor was fabricated by electroplating cobalt on the surface of a screen-printing electrode as the sensitive layer for the determination of dihydrogenphosphate （H2PO4） in wastewater samples. The electrochemical performance of this sensor was fully examined to determine its detection calibration, detection limit, response time, selectivity, and interference with pH, various ions, and dissolved oxygen （DO）. The cobalt-based phosphate sensor showed a phosphate-selective potential response in the range of 10 5mol·L^-1 to 10^-1 mol^-1, yielding a detection limit of 3.16 × 10μmol·L^l and a slope of -37.51 mV·decade＇ in an acidic solution （pH 4.0） of H2PO4-. DO and pH were found to interfere with sensor responses to phosphate. Ultimately, the performance of the sensor was validated for detecting wastewater samples from the Xiaojiahe Waste- water Treatment Plant against the standard speetrophotometric methods for HzPO4 analysis. The discrepancy between the two methods was generally ＋5% （relative standard deviation）. Aside from its high selectivity, sensitivity, and stability, which are comparable with conventional bulk Co-wire sensors, the proposed phosphate sensor presents many other advantages, such as low price, compactness, ease of use, and the possibility of integration with other analytical devices, such as flow injectors.     

Long-term trends of fine particulate matter and chemical composition in the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone (PRDEZ), China

Understanding the trends in PM_2.5 levels is essential for formulating clean air plans. This paper analyzes PM_2.5 data from various published sources for the years 2000 to 2010 in the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone (PRDEZ). The long-term variation in PM_2.5 mass concentration is analyzed. Results show that PM_2.5, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), and SO42− show a similar trend, increasing before 2005 and then decreasing slightly. The annual average PM_2.5 concentration ranges from 49.1 μg·m⁻³ in 2000 to 64.3 μg·m⁻³ in 2010, with a peak of 84.1 μg·m⁻³ in 2004. None of these 11 years meets the new National Ambient Air Quality standard (NAAQS) for PM_2.5 (35 μg·m⁻³). Overall average concentrations of OC, EC, and SO42− are 13.0, 6.5, and 11.8 μg·m⁻³, respectively. NO3− and NH4+ respectively have concentrations of 1.5 μg·m⁻³ and 2.9 μg·m⁻³ in 2000 and 6.4 μg·m⁻³ and 5.3 μg·m⁻³ in 2010, with a statistically significant average annual trend of+ 0.2 μg·m⁻³·yr⁻¹ and+ 0.1 μg·m⁻³·yr⁻¹. In certain geographic regions, OC and EC contribute most of the PM_2.5, while in other regions secondary water-soluble ions are more important. In general, OC and SO42− are the dominant components of PM_2.5, contributing 20.6% and 18.6%, respectively. These results provide, for the first time, a better understanding of the long-term PM_2.5 characteristics and trends, on a species-by-species basis, in the PRDEZ. The results indicate that PM_2.5 abatement needs to prioritize secondary species.     

Anoxic phosphorus removal in a pilot scale anaerobic-anoxic oxidation ditch process

The anaerobic-anoxic oxidation ditch (A²/O OD) process is popularly used to eliminate nutrients from domestic wastewater. In order to identify the existence of denitrifying phosphorus removing bacteria (DPB), evaluate the contribution of DPB to biological nutrient removal, and enhance the denitrifying phosphorus removal in the A²/O OD process, a pilot-scale A²/O OD plant (375 L) was conducted. At the same time batch tests using sequence batch reactors (12 L and 4 L) were operated to reveal the significance of anoxic phosphorus removal. The results indicated that: The average removal efficiency of COD, NH4+, PO43-, and TN were 88.2%, 92.6%, 87.8%, and 73.1%, respectively, when the steady state of the pilot-scale A²/O OD plant was reached during 31-73 d, demonstrating a good denitrifying phosphorus removal performance. Phosphorus uptake took place in the anoxic zone by poly-phosphorus accumulating organisms NO2- could be used as electron receptors in denitrifying phosphorus removal, and the phosphorus uptake rate with NO2- as the electron receptor was higher than that with NO3- when the initial concentration of either NO2- or NO3- was 40 mg/L.     

Microprofiles of activated sludge aggregates using microelectrodes in completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite (CANON) reactor

Microsensor measurements and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis were combined to investigate the microbial populations and activities in a laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) for completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite (CANON). Fed with synthetic wastewater rich in ammonia, the SBR removed 82.5±5.4% of influent nitrogen and a maximum nitrogen-removal rate of 0.52 kgN·m⁻³·d⁻¹ was achieved. The FISH analysis revealed that aerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (AerAOB) Nitrosomonas and anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (AnAOB) dominated the community. To quantify the microbial activities inside the sludge aggregates, microprofiles were measured using pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), NH4+, NO2− and NO3− microelectrodes. In the outer layer of sludge aggregates (0–700 μm), nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) showed high activity with 4.1 μmol·cm⁻³·h⁻¹ of maximum nitrate production rate under the condition of DO concentration higher than 3.3 mg·L⁻¹. Maximum AerAOB activity was detected in the middle layer (depths around 1700 μm) where DO concentration was 1.1 mg·L⁻¹. In the inner layer (2200–3500 μm), where DO concentration was below 0.9 mg·L⁻¹, AnAOB activity was detected. We thus showed that information obtained from microscopic views can be helpful in optimizing the SBR performance.     

Combined biologic aerated filter and sulfur/ceramisite autotrophic denitrification for advanced wastewater nitrogen removal at low temperatures

An innovative advanced wastewater treatment process combining biologic aerated filter （BAF） and sulfur/ ceramisite-based autotrophic denitrification （SCAD） for reliable removal of nitrogen was proposed in this paper. In SCAD reactor, ceramisite was used as filter and Ca （HCO3）2 was used for supplying alkalinity and carbon source. The BAF-SCAD was used to treat the secondary treatment effluent. The performance of this process was investigated, and the impact of temperature on nitrogen removal was studied. Results showed that the combined system was effective in nitrogen removal even at low temperatures （8℃）. Removal of total nitrogen （TN）, NH4＋ -N, NO3-N reached above 90% at room temperature. Nitrification was affected by the temperature and nitrification at low temperature （8℃） was a limiting factor for TN removal. However, denitrification was not impacted by the temperature and the removal of NO3 -N maintained 98% during the experimental period. The reason of effective denitrification at low temperature might be the use of easily dissolved Ca（HCO3）2 and high-flux ceramisite, which solved the problem of low mass transfer efficiency at low temperatures. Besides, vast surface area of sulfur with diameter of 2-6 mm enhanced the rate of microbial utilization. The removal of nitrate companied with the production of SO42-, and the average concentration of SO27 was about 240mg.L^-1. These findings would be beneficial for the application of this process to nitrogen removal especially in the winter and cold regions.     

Immobilization of Cu2+, Zn2+, Pb2+, and Cd2+ during geopolymerization

The present research explored the application of geopolymerization for the immobilization and solidification of heavy metal added into metakaolinte. The compressive strength of geopolymers was controlled by the dosage of heavy metal cations, and geopolymers have a toleration limit for heavy metals. The influence of alkaline activator dosage and type on the heavy metal ion immobilization efficiency of metakaolinte-based geopolymer was investigated. A geopolymer with the highest heavy metal immobilization efficiency was identified to occur at an intermediate Na₂SiO₃ dosage and the metal immobilization efficiency showed an orderly increase with the increasing Na⁺ dosage. Geopolymers with and without heavy metals were analyzed by the X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. No crystalline phase containing heavy metals was detected in geopolymers with heavy metal, suggesting that the crystalline phase containing heavy metals is not produced or most of the phases incorporating heavy metals are amorphous. FTIR spectroscopy showed that, with increasing heavy metal addition, an increase in NO3- peak intensity was observed, which was accompanied by a decrease in the CO32- peak.     

Oxidative treatment of aqueous monochlorobenzene with thermally-activated persulfate

The oxidation of aqueous monochlorobenzene （MCB） solutions using thermally- activated persulfate has been investigated. The influence of reaction temperature on the kinetics of MCB oxidation was examined, and the Arrenhius Equation rate constants at 20℃, 30℃, 40℃, 50℃, and 60℃ for MCB oxidation performance were calculated as 0, 0.001, 0.002, 0.015, 0.057 min-1, which indicates that elevated temperature accelerated the rate. The most efficient molar ratio ofpersulfate/MCB for MCB oxidation was determined to be 200 to 1 and an increase in the rate constants suggests that the oxidation process proceeded more rapidly with increasing persulfate/MCB molar ratios. In addition, the reactivity of persulfate in contaminated water is partly influenced by the presence of background ions such as CI-, HCO3, SO2 , and NO3. Importantly, a scavenging effect in rate constant was observed for both C1 and CO2- but not for other ions. The effective thermally activated persulfate oxidation of MCB in groundwater from a real contaminated site was achieved using both elevated reaction temperature and increased persulfate/MCB molar ratio.     

Nitrifying population dynamics in a redox stratified membrane biofilm reactor (RSMBR) for treating ammonium-rich wastewater

Nitrogen removal performance and nitrifying population dynamics were investigated in a redox stratified membrane biofilm reactor (RSMBR) under oxygen limited condition to treat ammonium-rich wastewater. When the NH4+-N loading rate increased from 11.1±1.0 to 37.2±3.2 gNH4+-N·m-2·d-1, the nitrogen removal in the RSMBR system increased from 18.0±9.6 mgN·d^-1 to 128.9±61.7 mgN·d^-1. Shortcut nitrogen removal was achieved with nitrite accumulation of about 22.3±5.3 mgNO2--N·L-1. Confocal micrographs showed the stratified distributions of nitrifiers and denitrifiers in the membrane aerated biofilms (MABs) at day 120, i.e., ammonia and nitrite oxidizing bacteria (AOB and NOB) were dominant in the region adjacent to the membrane, while heterotrophic bacteria propagated at the top of the biofilm. Real-time qPCR results showed that the abundance of amoA gene was two orders of magnitude higher than the abundance of nxrA gene in the MABs. However, the nxrA gene was always detected during the operation time, which indicates the difficulty of complete washout of NOB in MABs. The growth of heterotrophic bacteria compromised the dominance of nitrifiers in biofilm communities, but it enhanced the denitrification performance of the RSMBR system. Applying a high ammonia loading together with oxygen limitation was found to be an effective way to start nitrite accumulation in MABs, but other approaches were needed to sustain or improve the extent of nitritation in nitrogen conversion in MABs.     

Ferrihydrite preparation and its application for removal of anionic dyes

Anionic dyes are hazardous and toxic to living organisms. For this study, ferrihydrite was prepared to test its removal capabilities on anionic dyes. A ferrihydrite particle prepared in neutral environmental conditions is sphere-like with a diameter of 2–4 nm and its total surface area is approximately 229 m²·g^-1. In this paper, the effects of solution pH, competitive anions, and temperature on the adsorption of acid fuchsine onto ferrihydrite and the regeneration-reutilization of ferrihydrite were investigated in detail. The results indicate that ferrihydrite is an efficient sorbent for the removal of acid fuchsine at pH 4.0. The inhibitory effect of various competing anions on the present adsorption follows the precedence relationship: NO3-<Cl-<SO42-<H2PO4-. Adsorption isotherms of acid fuchsine on ferrihydrite fit the Langmuir equation well. The Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, and entropy data of adsorption indicate that this adsorption is a spontaneous, exothermic, and physical process. A ferrihydrite was regenerated and reused five times, still retaining its original adsorption capacity.     

Effect of Fe loading quantity on reduction reactivity of nano zero-valent iron supported on chelating resin

In this study, nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) were immobilized within a chelating resin (DOW 3N). To investigate the effect of Fe loading on NZVI reactivity, three NZVI-resin composites with different Fe loading were obtained by preparing Fe(III) solution in 0, 30 and 70% (v/v) ethanol aqueous, respectively; the bromate was used as a model contaminant. TEM reveals that increasing the Fe loading resulted in much larger size and poor dispersion of nanoscale iron particles. The results indicated that the removal efficiency of bromate and the rate constant (K_obs) were decreased with increasing the Fe loading. For the NZVI-resin composite with lower Fe loading, the removal efficiency of bromate declined more significantly with the increase of DO concentrations. Under acidic conditions, decreasing the pH value had the most significant influence on NZVI-R3 with highest Fe loading for bromate removal; however, under alkaline conditions, the most significant influence of pH was on NZVI-R1 with lowest Fe loading. The effects of co-existing anions NO3−, PO43− and HCO3− were also investigated. All of the co-existing anions showed the inhibition to bromate reduction.     

Optimization of process parameters for mature landfill leachate pretreatment using MAP precipitation

Chemical precipitation is a useful technology as a pretreatment to treat mature landfill leachate with high concentrations of ammonium-nitrogen (NH4+-N) and refractory organic compounds. Orthogonal experiments and factorial experiments were carried out to determine the optimal conditions enhancing the magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) precipitation process, and the experimental results demonstrated that the removal rate of NH4+-N was more than 85% when MgO and NaH₂PO₄·2H₂O were applied as external sources of magnesium and phosphorous under the optimal conditions that molar ratio n(Mg)∶n(N)∶n(P) = 1.4∶1∶0.8, reaction time 60 min, original pH of leachate and settling time 30 min. In the precipitation process, pH could be maintained at the optimal range of 8–9.5 because MgO could release hydroxide ions to consume hydrogen ions. Calcium ions and carbonate ions existed in the leachate could affect the precipitation process, which resulted in the decrease of NH4+-N removal efficiency. The residues of MAP sediments decomposed by heating under alkaline conditions can be reused as the sources of phosphorous and magnesium for the removal of high concentrations of NH4+-N, and up to 90% of ammonium could be released under molar ratio of n[OH]∶n[MAP] = 2.5∶1, heating temperature 90°C and heating time 2h.     

Effects of hydraulic retention time on nitrification activities and population dynamics of a conventional activated sludge system

The effects of hydraulic retention time (HRT) on the nitrification activities and population dynamics of a conventional activated sludge system fed with synthetic inorganic wastewater were investigated over a period of 260 days. When the HRT was gradually decreased from 30 to 5 h, the specific ammonium-oxidizing rates (SAOR) varied between 0.32 and 0.45 kg NH4+-N (kg mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS)·d)^-1, and the specific nitrate-forming rates (SNFR) increased from 0.11 to 0.50 kg NO3--N (kg MLSS·d)^-1, showing that the decrease in HRT led to a significant increase in the nitrite oxidation activity. According to fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis results, the proportion of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOBs) among the total bacteria decreased from 33% to 15% with the decrease in HRT, whereas the fraction of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOBs), particularly the fast-growing Nitrobacter sp., increased significantly (from 4% to 15% for NOBs and from 1.5% to 10.6% for Nitrobacter sp.) with the decrease in HRT, which was in accordance with the changes in SNFR. A short HRT favored the relative growth of NOBs, particularly the fast-growing Nitrobacter sp., in the conventional activated sludge system.     

Preliminary study of groundwater denitrification using a composite membrane bioreactor

A composite membrane bioreactor (CMBR) integrating the immobilized cell technique and the membrane separation technology was developed for groundwater denitrification. The CMBR had two well mixed compartments with one filled with the nitrate- containing influent and the other with a dilute ethanol solution; the compartments were separated by the composite membrane consisting of a microporous membrane facing the influent and an immobilized cell membrane facing the ethanol solution. Nitrate and ethanol molecules diffused from the respective compartments into the immobilized cell membrane where nitrate was reduced to gaseous nitrogen by the denitrifying bacteria present there with ethanol as the carbon source. The microporous membrane was attached to one side of the immobilized cell membrane for retention of the disaggregated bacteria. Relative to the single dose of external ethanol, the two-dose supplementation produced better treatment results as evidenced by the lower concentrations of NO3--N and ethanol (as measured by total organic carbon) of the effluent. The batch treatment in CMBR removed most of the nitrate in the influent and attained a stable denitrification rate of 0.1 g·m^-2·h^-1 for most of the 96-h cycles during the 30-cycle study. The effluent was essentially free of ethanol and nitrite nitrogen.     

Influence of influent on anaerobic ammonium oxidation in an Expanded Granular Sludge Bed-Biological Aerated Filter integrated system

Shortcut nitrification-denitrification, anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX), and methanogenesis have been successfully coupled in an Expanded Granular Sludge Bed-Biological Aerated Filter (EGSB-BAF) integrated system. As fed different synthetic wastewater with chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 300–1200 mg·L^-1 and NH4+-N of 30–120 mg·L^-1 at the outer recycle ratio of 200%, the influence of influent on ANAMMOX in the integrated system was investigated in this paper. The experimental results showed that higher COD concentration caused an increase in denitrification and methanogenesis but a decrease in ANAMMOX; however, when an influent with the low concentration of COD was used, the opposite changes could be observed. Higher influent NH4+-N concentration favored ANAMMOX when the COD concentration of influent was fixed. Therefore, low COD/NH4+-N ratio would decrease competition for nitrite between ANAMMOX and denitrification, which was favorable for reducing the negative effect of organic COD on ANAMMOX. The good performance of the integrated system indicated that the bacterial community of denitrification, ANAMMOX, and methanogenesis could be dynamically maintained in the sludge of EGSB reactor for a certain range of influent.     

Low-temperature CO oxidation over Au-doped 13X-type zeolite catalysts: preparation and catalytic activity

Au-supported 13X-type zeolite (Au/13X) was synthesized using a common deposition–precipitation (DP) method with a solution of sodium carbonate as a precipitate agent. Further testing was conducted to test for catalytic oxidation of CO. A study was conducted on the effects of different preparation conditions (i.e., chloroauric acid concentration, solution temperature, pH of solution, and calcinations temperature) on Au/13X for CO oxidation. In respect to the catalytic activity, the relationship between different the preparation conditions and gold particles in 13X zeolite was analyzed using X-ray diffraction, TEM and XPS. The activity of Au/13X catalysts in CO oxidation was dependent on the chloroauric acid concentration. From XRD results, a higher chloroauric acid concentration induced larger gold nanoparticles, which resulted in lower catalytic activity. Results revealed that higher temperatures induced higher Au loading, homogeneous deposit, and smaller gold clusters on the support of 13X, resulting in higher CO activity. Furthermore, a pH of 5 or 6 generated greater amounts of Au loading and smaller Au particles on 13X than at a pH of 8 or 9. This may be a result of an effective exchange between Au(OH)2Cl2- and Au(OH)₃Cl^- on specific surface sites of zeolite under the pH’s 5 and 6. The sample calcined at 300°C showed the highest activity, which may be due to the sample’s calcined at 200°C inability to decompose completely to metallic gold while the sample calcined at 400°C had larger particles of gold deposited on the support. It can be concluded from this study that Au/13X prepared from a gold solution with an initial chloroauric acid solution concentration of 1.5 × 10^-3 mol·L^-1 gold solution pH of 6, solution temperature of around 90°C, and a calcination temperature of 300°C provides optimum catalytic activity for CO oxidation.     

Scaling up a novel denitrifying microbial fuel cell with an oxic-anoxic two stage biocathode

A scaled up microbial fuel cell （MFC） of a 50 L volume was set up with an oxic-anoxic two-stage biocathode and activated semicoke packed electrodes to achieve simultaneous power generation and nitrogen and organic matter removals. An average maximum power density of 43.1 W·m^-3 was obtained in batch operating mode. By adjusting the two extemal resistances, the denitrification in the A-MFC and power production in the O-MFC could be enhanced. In continuous mode, when the hydraulic retention times were set at 6 h, 8 h and 12 h, the removal efficiencies of COD, NHf-N and total nitrogen （TN） were higher than 95%, 97%, and 84%, respectively. Meanwhile the removal loads for COD, NH4^＋-N and TN were10, 0.37 and 0.4 kg·（m^3·d）^-1, respectively.