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Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering

ISSN 2095-2201

ISSN 2095-221X(Online)

CN 10-1013/X

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Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.    2022, Vol. 16 Issue (7) : 86    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-021-1494-3
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Mechanistic insight into the biofilm formation and process performance of a passive aeration ditch (PAD) for decentralized wastewater treatment
Jibin Li1, Jinxing Ma1,2, Li Sun1, Xin Liu3, Huaiyu Liao1, Di He1,2()
1. Key Laboratory for City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
2. Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, China
3. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
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Abstract

• A Passive Aeration Ditch was developed to treat decentralized wastewater.

• A model was developed to describe the process performance.

• A high C/N ratio facilitates microbial growth but nitrification deteriorates.

• A high salinity decreases both organic and nitrogen contaminants removal.

Decentralized wastewater containing elevated salinity is an emerging threat to the local environment and sanitation in remote coastal communities. Regarding the cost and treatment efficiencies, we propose a passive aeration ditch (PAD) using non-woven polyester fabric as a feasible bubbleless aerator and biofilm carrier for wastewater treatment. Consideration has been first given to PAD’s efficacy in treating saline decentralized wastewater, and then to the impact of chemical oxygen demand-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio and salinity on biofilm formation. A multispecies model incorporating the salinity effect has been developed to depict the system performance and predict the microbial community. Results showed that the PAD system had great capacity for pollutants removal. The biofilm thickness increased at a higher C/N ratio because of the boost of aerobic heterotrophs and denitrifying bacteria, which consequently improved the COD and total nitrogen removal. However, this led to the deterioration of ammonia removal. Moreover, while a higher salinity benefited the biofilm growth, the contaminant removal efficiencies decreased because the salinity inhibited the activity of aerobic heterotrophs and reduced the abundance of nitrifying bacteria inside the biofilm. Based on the model simulation, feed water with salinity below 2% and C/N ratio in a range of 1 to 3 forms a biofilm that can reach relatively high organic matter and ammonia removal. These findings not only show the feasibility of PAD in treatment of saline decentralized wastewater, but also offer a systematic strategy to predict and optimize the process performance.
Keywords Decentralized wastewater      Passive aeration ditch      Biofilm formation      C/N ratio      Salinity      Model simulation     
Corresponding Author(s): Di He   
Issue Date: 08 November 2021
 Cite this article:   
Jibin Li,Jinxing Ma,Li Sun, et al. Mechanistic insight into the biofilm formation and process performance of a passive aeration ditch (PAD) for decentralized wastewater treatment[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2022, 16(7): 86.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-021-1494-3
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2022/V16/I7/86
Scenario Influent COD (mg/L) Influent NH4+-N (mg/L) Salinity (%)
T1 400 50 1
C1 100 50 0
C2 150 50 0
C3 200 50 0
C4 250 50 0
S1 200 50 0.2
S2 200 50 0.5
S3 200 50 1
S4 200 50 2
Tab.1  The designed scenarios with influents of different C/N ratios and salinities
Fig.1  A schematic representation of the PAD system.
Fig.2  The process performance of the PAD system removing COD and NH4+-N from the synthetic decentralized wastewater. Influent COD= 400 mg/L, NH4+-N= 50 mg/L and salinity= 1%.
Fig.3  The thickness of the biofilm formed under different conditions (a) C/N ratio: 2; (b) C/N ratio: 3; (c) C/N ratio: 4; (d) C/N ratio: 5; (e) salinity: 0.2%; (f) salinity: 0.5%; (g) salinity: 1%; (h) salinity: 2%. The annotation on the right of the image is the average biofilm thickness (µm).
Fig.4  The experimental and model results of contaminants removal in the PAD system under different C/N ratios: (a) COD; (b) NH4+-N; (c) TN.
Fig.5  The experimental and model results of contaminants removal in the PAD system under different salinities: (a) COD; (b) NH4+-N; (c) TN.
Fig.6  The bacterial community distribution of inoculation sludge on genus level.
Fig.7  Simulation results of the biomass fraction inside the biofilm under different conditions: (a) C/N ratio: 4; (b) C/N ratio: 5; (c) salinity: 0.2%; (d) salinity: 2%. The biofilm thickness corresponding to the end of each profile represents the final biofilm thickness, and 0 µm represents the biofilm base.
Fig.8  Model simulation results of (a) COD, (b) NH4+-N and (c) TN removal under varied C/N ratios and salinities. The white dot line in (a), (b) and (c) represents the COD removal of 80%, NH4+-N removal of 60% and TN removal of 60%, respectively.
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