Enhanced nitrogen removal upon the addition of volatile fatty acids from activated sludge by combining calcium peroxide and low-thermal pretreatments

This study investigated a combined low-thermal and CaO₂ pretreatment to enhance the volatile fatty acid (VFA) production from waste activated sludge (WAS). The fermentative product was added to a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) as an external carbon source to enhance nitrogen removal. The results showed that the combined pretreatment improved WAS solubilization, releasing more biodegradable substrates, such as proteins and polysaccharides, from TB-EPS to LB-EPS and S-EPS. The maximum VFA production of 3529 ± 188 mg COD/L was obtained in the combined pretreatment (0.2 g CaO₂/g VS + 70 °C for 60 min), which was 2.1 and 1.4-fold of that obtained from the sole low-thermal pretreatment and the control test, respectively. Consequently, when the fermentative liquid was added as an external denitrification carbon source, the effluent total nitrogen decreased to Class A of the discharge standard for pollutants in rural wastewater treatment plants in most areas of China.