Effects of Al3+ on pollutant removal and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) under anaerobic,anoxic and oxic conditions

The highest removal efficiencies of COD and TN were achieved under 10 mg/L of Al³⁺. The highest TP removal efficiency occurred under 30 mg/L of Al³⁺. EPS, PS and PN concentrations increased with the addition of Al³⁺. Sludge properties significantly changed with the addition of Al³⁺. Aluminum ions produced by aluminum mining, electrolytic industry and aluminum-based coagulants can enter wastewater treatment plants and interact with activated sludge. They can subsequently contribute to the removal of suspended solids and affect activated sludge flocculation, as well as nitrogen and phosphorus removal. In this study, the effects of Al³⁺ on pollutant removal, sludge flocculation and the composition and structure of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were investigated under anaerobic, anoxic and oxic conditions. Results demonstrated that the highest chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiencies were detected for an Al³⁺ concentration of 10 mg/L. In addition, the maximal dehydrogenase activity and sludge flocculation were also observed at this level of Al³⁺. The highest removal efficiency of total phosphorus (TP) was achieved at an Al³⁺ concentration of 30 mg/L. The flocculability of sludge in the anoxic zone was consistently higher than that in the anaerobic and oxic zones. The addition of Al³⁺ promoted the secretion of EPS. Tryptophan-like fluorescence peaks were detected in each EPS layer in the absence of Al³⁺. At the Al³⁺ concentration of 10 mg/L, fulvic acid and tryptophan fluorescence peaks began to appear, while the majority of protein species and the highest microbial activity were also detected. Low Al³⁺ concentrations (<10 mg/L) could promote the removal efficiencies of COD and TN, yet excessive Al³⁺ levels (>10 mg/L) weakened microbial activity. Higher Al³⁺ concentrations (>30 mg/L) also inhibited the release of phosphorus in the anaerobic zone by reacting with PO₄^3-.     

不同进水有机物浓度下移动床生物膜反应器(SBMBBR)脱氮除磷特性

考察了不同进水有机物浓度下厌氧/好氧序批式移动床生物膜反应器（SBMBBR）污染物去除特性,实验结果表明,SBMBBR能够实现低碳源污水中氮和磷的同步去除,在进水TN和TP浓度分别为116.7 mg.L-1和11.5 mg.L-1、COD浓度为456 mg.L-1的条件下,TN和TP去除率分别达到94.3%和92.2%以上.反应器除磷是基于常规生物除磷和反硝化除磷过程实现的,脱氮主要是基于好氧段发生的同时硝化反硝化（SND）作用而完成.由于生物膜内部存在的DO扩散梯度,在好氧阶段混合液DO浓度不断提高的条件下反应器内具有良好SND反应的发生.进水COD浓度由149 mg.L-1提高至456 mg.L-1的过程中,反应器硝化效果不变,反硝化和除磷效果改善.反应器在好氧阶段pH值基本维持在7.0—7.1之间,为各类菌群的生长创造了条件.碱度变化较pH值更能反映硝化和反硝化反应发生的程度.反应器中微生物相丰富,生物膜以丝状菌为骨架,其上附着大量的球状菌和杆状菌,而悬浮活性污泥中丝状菌较少,形成了由细菌、真菌到原生动物和后生动物的复杂的生态体系,为系统取得稳定的污水处理效果提供了有效的保证.     

Short-term effects of excessive anaerobic reaction time on anaerobic metabolism of denitrifying polyphosphate-accumulating organisms linked to phosphorus removal and N2O production

The short-term effect of anaerobic reaction time (AnRT) (i.e., 90, 120 and 150 min) on the denitrifying phosphorus (P) removal performance and N₂O production was examined using a denitrifying enhanced biologic phosphorus removal (EBPR) sludge acclimatized with mixed acetate (HAc) and propionate (Pro) (in the molar ratio 3:1) as carbon sources. The results showed that when the AnRT was prolonged from 90 to 150 min, the anaerobic polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthesis was decreased by 15.3%. Moreover, the ineffective PHA consumption occurred in anaerobic phases and contributed to an increased NO ₂ ^? -N accumulation and higher free nitrous acid (FNA) concentrations (?0.001–0.0011 mg HNO₂-N/L) in the subsequent anoxic phases, causing a severe inhibition on anoxic P-uptake and denitrification. Accordingly, the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) removal efficiencies dropped by approximately 6.3% and 85.5%, respectively; and the ratio of anoxic N₂O-N production to TN removal increased by approximately 3.8%. The fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis revealed that the sludge was mainly dominated by Accumulibacter (62.0% (SE_mean = 1.5%)). In conclusion, the short-term excessive anaerobic reaction time negatively impacted denitrifying P removal performance and stimulated more N₂O production, and its effect on P removal was more obvious than that on nitrogen removal.     

Advanced nitrogen and phosphorus removal in A2O-BAF system treating low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio domestic wastewater

A laboratory-scale anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic process (A²O) with a small aerobic zone and a bigger anoxic zone and biologic aerated filter (A²O-BAF) system was operated to treat low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio domestic wastewater. The A²O process was employed mainly for organic matter and phosphorus removal, and for denitrification. The BAF was only used for nitrification which coupled with a settling tank Compared with a conventional A²O process, the suspended activated sludge in this A²O-BAF process contained small quantities of nitrifier, but nitrification overwhelmingly conducted in BAF. So the system successfully avoided the contradiction in sludge retention time (SRT) between nitrifying bacteria and phosphorus accumulating organisms (PAOs). Denitrifying phosphorus accumulating organisms (DPAOs) played an important role in removing up to 91% of phosphorus along with nitrogen, which indicated that the suspended activated sludge process presented a good denitrifying phosphorus removal performance. The average removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and NH ₄ ⁺ -N were 85.56%, 92.07%, 81.24% and 98.7% respectively. The effluent quality consistently satisfied the national first level A effluent discharge standard of China. The average sludge volume index (SVI) was 85.4 mL·g^?1 additionally, the volume ratio of anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic zone in A²O process was also investigated, and the results demonstrated that the optimum value was 1:6:2.     

A/O-MBR处理某经济区市政污水的效能

采用A/O-MBR法处理某经济区市政污水,对其进、出水的水质进行连续监测,考察系统稳定性和处理效果。结果表明,在水力停留时间12小时,污泥龄30天,回流比75%,好氧段DO浓度1.3～8.5 mg/L的条件下,系统对COD、氨氮、总氮、总磷的平均去除率分别为92.04%、93.66%、78.04%、91.06%。反硝化...     

Research on polyhydroxyalkanoates and glycogen transformations: Key aspects to biologic nitrogen and phosphorus removal in low dissolved oxygen systems

In this paper, a study was conducted on the effect of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and glycogen transformations on biologic nitrogen and phosphorus removal in low dissolved oxygen (DO) systems. Two laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBR1 and SBR2) were operating with anaerobic/aerobic (low DO, 0.15–0.45 mg·L^-1) configurations, which cultured a propionic to acetic acid ratio (molar carbon ratio) of 1.0 and 2.0, respectively. Fewer poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), total PHA, and glycogen transformations were observed with the increase of propionic/acetic acid, along with more poly-3-hydroxyvalerate (PHV) and poly-3-hydroxy-2-methyvalerate (PH2MV) shifts. The total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency was 68% and 82% in SBR1 and SBR2, respectively. In the two SBRs, the soluble ortho-phosphate (SOP) removal efficiency was 94% and 99%, and the average sludge polyphosphate (poly-P) content (g·g-MLVSS^-1) was 8.3% and 10.2%, respectively. Thus, the propionic to acetic acid ratio of the influent greatly influenced the PHA form and quantity, glycogen transformation, and poly-P contained in activated sludge and further determined TN and SOP removal efficiency. Moreover, significant correlations between the SOP removal rate and the (PHV+ PH2MV)/PHA ratio were observed (R²>0.99). Accordingly, PHA and glycogen transformations should be taken into account as key components for optimizing anaerobic/aerobic (low DO) biologic nitrogen and phosphorus removal systems.     

Effect of short-term atrazine addition on the performance of an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic process

In this study, an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A²O) wastewater treatment process was implemented to treat domestic wastewater with short-term atrazine addition. The results provided an evaluation on the effects of an accidental pollution on the operation of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in relation to Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and biological nutrient removal. Domestic wastewater with atrazine addition in 3 continuous days was treated when steady biological nutrient removal was achieved in the A²O process. The concentrations of atrazine were 15, 10, and 5 mg·L^?1 on days 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The results showed that atrazine addition did not affect the removal of COD. The specific NH₄ ⁺ oxidation rate and NO₃ ^? reduction rate decreased slightly due to the short-term atrazine addition. However, it did not affect the nitrogen removal due to the high nitrification and denitrification capacity of the system. Total nitrogen (TN) removal was steady, and more than 70% was removed during the period studied. The phosphorus removal rate was not affected by the short-term addition of atrazine under the applied experimental conditions. However, more poly-hydroxy-alkanoate (PHA) was generated and utilized during atrazine addition. The results of the oxygen uptake rate (OUR) showed that the respiration of nitrifiers decreased significantly, while the activity of carbon utilizers had no obvious change with the atrazine addition. Atrazine was not removed with the A²O process, even via absorption by the activated sludge in the process of the short-term addition of atrazine.     

Effect of iron addition on the performance of anoxic-oxic membrane process and biological phosphorus removal北大核心CSCD

In order to solve the problem of poor treatment of phosphorus in membrane bioreactor (MBR) with long sludge retention time (SRT), a ferric salt was added to enhance phosphorus removal; FeCl36H2O (Fe/P = 2.0) was added to the reactor. The removal efficiency of nitrogen, organic matters, and phosphorus in the MBR was investigated systematically. Moreover, this study focused on the membrane performance, the change of active sludge flora, and the effect of adding a ferric salt on membrane fouling before and after the addition. It was seen that adding the ferric salt could not affect the removal of COD and NH4 +-N and the removal rate of COD and NH4 +-N reached over 90%. However, the average removal rate of phosphorus was 52%, while the removal rate increased by nearly 40% after adding the ferric salt. The effects of adding ferric salts on the dominant bacteria and biological phosphorus removal of activated sludge were further studied. The results showed that the addition of ferric salt (Fe/P = 2.0) decreased the diversity of active sludge flora and relative abundance of some phosphorusaccumulating organisms and had a negative effect on biological phosphorus removal. The analysis of transmembrane pressure difference (TMP) recording revealed that the concentration of iron salts did not exacerbate membrane fouling. The results showed that the concentration of iron salts entering the membrane bioreactor would reduce the relative abundance and phosphorus removal efficiency of the activated sludge in the system to a certain extent, but it had no obvious effect on membrane fouling. It allowed the effluent to attain acceptable standards, especially with respect to phosphorus removal efficiency. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.     

Acidogenic sludge fermentation to recover soluble organics as the carbon source for denitrification in wastewater treatment: Comparison of sludge types

For biological nitrogen (N) removal from wastewater, a sufficient organic carbon source is requested for denitrification. However, the organic carbon/nitrogen ratio in municipal wastewater is becoming lower in recent years, which increases the demand for the addition of external organic carbon, e.g. methanol, in wastewater treatment. The volatile fatty acids (VFAs) produced by acidogenic fermentation of sewage sludge can be an attractive alternative for methanol. Chemically enhanced primary sedimentation (CEPS) is an effective process that applies chemical coagulants to enhance the removal of organic pollutants and phosphorus from wastewater by sedimentation. In terms of the chemical and biological characteristics, the CEPS sludge is considerably different from the conventional primary and secondary sludge. In the present study, FeCl₃ and PACl (polyaluminum chloride) were used as the coagulants for CEPS treatment of raw sewage. The derived CEPS sludge (Fe-sludge and Al-sludge) was then processed with mesophilic acidogenic fermentation to hydrolyse the solid organics and produce VFAs for organic carbon recovery, and the sludge acidogenesis efficiency was compared with that of the conventional primary sludge and secondary sludge. The results showed that the Fe-sludge exhibited the highest hydrolysis and acidogenesis efficiency, while the Al-sludge and secondary sludge had lower hydrolysis efficiency than that of primary sludge. Utilizing the Fe-sludge fermentation liquid as the carbon source for denitrification, more than 99% of nitrate removal was achieved in the main-stream wastewater treatment without any external carbon addition, instead of 35% obtained from the conventional process of primary sedimentation followed by the oxic/anoxic (O/A) treatment.

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序批式生物膜法同步除磷脱氮特性研究

对淹没序批式生物膜法去除有机物和磷及同步部分脱氮的特性进行了研究。其适合的载体装填密度为30％，水力停留时间为9h，其中厌氧3h，好氧6h，进水COD负荷从0．27kg/(m^3.d)到1．32kg/(m^3.d)均可使除磷率达90％以上，脱氮率达50％－60％。淹没式生物膜法除磷脱氮工艺中的优势菌属为假单胞菌属，其次依顺序为气单胞菌属，芽孢杆菌属，微球菌属，硝化矸菌属，生物膜具有生物量大（MLVSS达5531．7mg/L)，脱落污泥含磷量高（达5．67％），沉降性好（SVI为101．7）的特点，污泥产率为0．1996kg干泥／kgCOD。     

COD对颗粒污泥厌氧氨氧化反应性能的影响

研究了COD对颗粒污泥厌氧氨氧化反应的影响,并对颗粒污泥的厌氧氨氧化脱氮性能进行了分析.厌氧颗粒污泥取自实验室长期运行的EGSB生物脱氮反应器,实验用水为人工配水,以葡萄糖为有机碳源;主要考察了COD对NH4 -N、NO2--N、NO3--N和TN去除的影响.结果表明:当进水不含COD时,反应器对NH4 -N、NO2--N和NO3--N和TN的去除率分别为12.5%、29.1%、16.1%和16.3%;当COD浓度分别为200mg/L、350mg/L和550mg/L时,反应器对NH4 -N的去除率分别为14.2%、14.2%和23.7%,对NO2--N的去除率均接近100%,对NO3--N的去除率分别为94.5%、86.6%和84.2%,对TN的去除率分别为50.7%、46.9%和50.4%,COD去除率分别为85%、66%和60%.分析发现,在反应初期,氨氮的去除主要通过厌氧氨氧化过程实现,随着反应的进行,反硝化菌活性逐渐提高,传统的反硝化过程占优势.同时还观察到,在反应初期COD对氨氮去除的抑制作用非常明显.图2参21     

Occurrence and behavior of pharmaceuticals in sewage treatment plants in eastern China

The occurrence and removal efficiency of seven pharmaceuticals (norfloxacin, trimethoprim, roxithromycin, sulfamethoxazole, ibuprofen, diclofenac and carbamazepine) were determined in three sewage treatment plants (STPs) with anaerobic/anoxic/oxic, anoxic/oxic and oxidation ditches processes in Xuzhou City, Eastern China. The results showed that seven pharmaceuticals were detected in the influent samples with concentrations ranging from 93 to 2540 ng·L⁻¹. The removal of these substances among the three different STPs varied from 36 to 84%, with the highest performance obtained by the wastewater treatment works with tertiary treatment (sand filtration). Most of the compounds were removed effectively during biologic treatment while sand filtration treatment also made a contribution to the total elimination of most pharmaceuticals. The efficiency comparison of the three sewage treatment processes showed that the STP which employed anaerobic/anoxic/oxic was more effective to remove pharmaceuticals than the oxidation ditches and anoxic/oxic.     

On-line controlling system for nitrogen and phosphorus removal of municipal wastewater in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR)

The objectives of this study were to establish an on-line controlling system for nitrogen and phosphorus removal synchronously of municipal wastewater in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). The SBR for municipal wastewater treatment was operated in sequences: filling, anaerobic, oxic, anoxic, oxic, settling and discharge. The reactor was equipped with on-line monitoring sensors for dissolved oxygen (DO), oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) and pH. The variation of DO, ORP and pH is relevant to each phase of biological process for nitrogen and phosphorus removal in this SBR. The characteristic points of DO, ORP and pH can be used to judge and control the stages of process that include: phosphate release by the turning points of ORP and pH; nitrification by the ammonia valley of pH and ammonia elbows of DO and ORP; denitrification by the nitrate knee of ORP and nitrate apex of pH; phosphate uptake by the turning point of pH; and residual organic carbon oxidation by the carbon elbows of DO and ORP. The controlling system can operate automatically for nitrogen and phosphorus efficiently removal.     

三种生物除磷工艺的比较

比较了Ａ／Ｏ法、Ａ＾２／Ｏ法和ＳＢＲ法生物除磷工艺。结果表明，它们的除磷效果好；污染含磷量达６％以上、除磷系数达０．０４左右，是常规好氧生物处理的３倍。在系统除磷系数相同的条件下，Ａ＾２／Ｏ法取好，是常规好氧法的３倍；ＳＢＲ法次之，高速率Ａ／Ｏ法因不能经反硝化作用脱氮，去氮效果与常规好氧法相同。     

Simultaneous denitrifying phosphorus accumulation in a sequencing batch reactor

In order to achieve simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal in the biological treatment process, denitrifying phosphorus accumulation (DNPA) and its affecting factors were studied in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with synthetic wastewater. The results showed that when acetate was used as the sole carbon resource in the influent, the sludge acclimatized under anaerobic/aerobic operation had good phosphorus removal ability. Denitrifying phosphorus accumulation was observed soon when fed with nitrate instead of aeration following the anaerobic stage, which is a vital premise to DNPA. If DNPA sludge is fed with nitrate prior to the anaerobic stage, the DNPA would weaken or even disappear. At the high concentration of nitrate fed in the anoxic stage, the longer anoxic time needed, the better the DNPA was. Induced DNPA did not disappear even though an aerobic stage followed the anoxic stage, but the shorter the aerobic stage lasted, the higher the proportions of phosphorus removal via DNPA to total removal.     

Simulation of long-term nutrient removal in a full-scale closed-loop bioreactor for sewage treatment: an example of Bayesian inference

In this study, the performance of nitrogen and phosphorus removal in a full-scale closed-loop bioreactor (oxidation ditch) system was simulated using the ASM2d model. Routine data describing the process for two years were compiled for calibration and validation. To overcome the identifiability problem, the classic Bayesian inference approach was utilized for parameter estimation. The calibrated model could describe the long-term trend of nutrient removal and short-term variations of the process performance, showing that the Bayesian method was a reliable and useful tool for the parameter estimation of the activated sludge models. The anoxic phosphate uptake by polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAO) contributed 71.2% of the total Poly-P storage, which reveals the dominance of denitrifying phosphorus removal process under the oxygen limiting conditions. It was found that 58.7% of the anoxic Poly-P storage and denitrification by PAO in the reactor was achieved in the aerated compartment, implying that the PAO’s anoxic activity was significantly stimulated by the low dissolved oxygen (DO) level in this compartment due to the oxygen gradient caused by brush aerator.     

Coupled aerobic and anoxic biodegradation for quinoline and nitrogen removals

Quinoline (C₉H₇N) commonly occurs in wastewaters from the chemical, pharmaceutical, and dyeing industries. As quinoline is biodegraded, nitrogen is released as ammonium. Total-N removal requires that the ammonium-N be nitrified and then denitrified. The objective of this study was to couple quinoline biodegradation with total-N removal. In a proof-of-concept step, activated sludge was sequenced from aerobic to anoxic stages. The ammonium nitrogen released from quinoline biodegradation in the aerobic stage was nitrified to nitrate in parallel. Anoxic biodegradation of the aerobic effluent then brought about nitrogen and COD removals through denitrification. Then, simultaneous quinoline biodegradation and total-N removal were demonstrated in a novel airlift internal loop biofilm reactor (AILBR) having aerobic and anoxic zones. Experimental results showed that the AILBR could achieve complete removal of quinoline, 91% COD removal, and 85% total-N removal when glucose added as a supplemental electron donor once nitrate was formed.     

利用下水管网系统净化城市污水的模拟试验

用固定化细胞技术进行了下水管网系统污水净化的模拟试验,比较研究了厌氧、好氧、厌氧缺氧好氧、缺氧好氧４ 种工艺净化污水的效果．结果表明,在管网系统中设置固定化细胞,采用缺氧好氧工艺流程,可使污水中的污染物去除６０％ 以上,出水水质可达国家污水综合排放二级标准．     

Feedforward control for nitrogen removal in a pilot-scale anaerobic-anoxic-oxic plant for municipal wastewater treatment

To improve the efficiency of nitrogen removal with lower energy consumption, the study of feedforward control was carried out on a pilot-scale anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (AAO) plant for the treatment of municipal wastewater. The effluent qualities of the pilot plant under different control strategies were investigated. The results indicated that the change of external recycle was not a suitable approach to regulate the sludge concentration of plug-flow reactors; adjusting the aeration valve and dissolved oxygen set-point according to ammonia load could overcome the impact of influent fluctuation; and the denitrification potential could be estimated based on the transit time of anoxic zone and the relative content of carbon resource entering the anoxic zone. Simple feedforward control strategies for aeration and internal recycle were subsequently proposed and validated. The nitrogen removal was successfully improved in the pilot plant. The effluent total nitrogen had decreased by 29.9% and was steadily controlled below 15 mg·L^-1. Furthermore, approximately 38% of the energy for aeration had been saved.     

Optimization of phosphorus removal in uniFed SBR system for domestic wastewater treatment

The characteristic of phosphorus removal and appropriate change of the traditional operation modes were investigated in UniFed sequencing batch reactor (SBR) laboratory-scale apparatus (40 L), treating actual domestic wastewater with low ratios of C/N (2.57) and C/P (30.18), providing theoretical basis for actual application of wastewater treatment plant. UniFed SBR system with its unique operation mode had the distinct superiority of phosphorus removal. On this occasion, the effect of volumetric exchange ratio (VER) and the method of influent introduction for phosphorus removal were studied. When the carbon source became the limiting factor to phosphorus release, the higher the VER, the lower the phosphorus concentration in the effluent. Three different influent patterns, including one-time filling, four-time filling, and continuous filling with the same quantity of wastewater could increase the release rate of anaerobic phosphorus from 0.082 to 0.143 mg·P·(L·min)^-1. Appropriate change of the traditional operation modes could optimize the efficiency of phosphorus removal. When the feed/ decant time was extended from 2 h to 4 h, the phosphorous removal efficiency increased from 59.93% to 88.45% without any external carbon source. In the mode of alternation of anoxic-aerobic (A/O) condition, phosphorous removal efficiency increased from 55.07% to 72.27% clearly. The carbon source in the influent can be used adequately, and denitrifying phosphorus removal was carried out in anoxic stage 2 (A2). This mode was optimal for the treatment of actual domestic wastewater with low C/N and C/P ratios.