Methanation and chemolitrophic nitrogen removal by an anaerobic membrane bioreactor coupled partial nitrification and Anammox

doi:10.1007/s11783-023-1668-2

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2023, Vol. 17

Issue (6) : 68 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1668-2

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Methanation and chemolitrophic nitrogen removal by an anaerobic membrane bioreactor coupled partial nitrification and Anammox

Qian Li^1,³, Zhaoyang Hou¹, Xingyuan Huang¹, Shuming Yang¹, Jinfan Zhang¹, Jingwei Fu¹, Yu-You Li², Rong Chen^1,³(

)

¹. Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering of Shaanxi Province, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China
². Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai Miyagi 980-8579, Japan
³. International S&T Cooperation Center for Urban Alternative Water Resources Development, Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology (Ministry of Education), Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China

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Abstract

● Efficient carbon methanation and nitrogen removal was achieved in AnMBR-PN/A system.

● AOB outcompeted NOB in PN section by limiting aeration and shortening SRT.

● The moderate residual organic matter of PN section triggered PD in anammox unit.

● AnAOB located at the bottom of UASB played an important role in nitrogen removal.

An AnMBR-PN/A system was developed for mainstream sewage treatment. To verify the efficient methanation and subsequent chemolitrophic nitrogen removal, a long-term experiment and analysis of microbial activity were carried out. AnMBR performance was less affected by the change of hydraulic retention time (HRT), which could provide a stable influent for subsequent PN/A units. The COD removal efficiency of AnMBR was > 93% during the experiment, 85.5% of COD could be recovered in form of CH₄. With the HRT of PN/A being shortened from 10 to 6 h, nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) of PN/A increased from 60.5% to 80.4%, but decreased to 68.8% when the HRT_PN/A further decreased to 4 h. Microbial analysis revealed that the highest specific ammonia oxidation activity (SAOA) and the ratio of SAOA to specific nitrate oxidation activity (SNOA) provide stable NO₂⁻-N/NH₄⁺-N for anammox, and anammox bacteria (mainly identified as Candidatus Brocadia) enriched at the bottom of Anammox-UASB might play an important role in nitrogen removal. In addition, the decrease of COD in Anammox-UASB indicated partial denitrification occurred, which jointly promoted nitrogen removal with anammox.

Keywords Anaerobic membrane bioreactor Partial nitrification/Anammox Carbon separation Chemolitrophic nitrogen removal

Corresponding Author(s): Rong Chen

Issue Date: 22 December 2022

Cite this article:

Qian Li,Zhaoyang Hou,Xingyuan Huang, et al. Methanation and chemolitrophic nitrogen removal by an anaerobic membrane bioreactor coupled partial nitrification and Anammox[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2023, 17(6): 68.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-023-1668-2
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2023/V17/I6/68

Tab.1 Operating conditions of the AnMBR-PN/A

Fig.1 (a) COD removal performance in the AnMBR-PN/A; (b) the proportion of CH₄ and CO₂ in the biogas; (c) total nitrogen removal performance in PN/A.

Tab.2 Conversion and removal effects of COD and nitrogen under different HRTs

Fig.2 (a) Nitrogen concentrations and the NO₂⁻-N/NH₄⁺-N value of the PN-SBR effluent at various HRTs; (b) nitrogen concentrations, ΔNO₂⁻-N/ΔNH₄⁺-N, and ΔNO₃⁻-N/ΔNH₄⁺-N of the Anammox-UASB at various HRTs.

Fig.3 (a) Specific microbial activity of AOB and NOB in the PN-SBR; (b) relative abundance of major microorganisms in the PN-SBR when HRT_PN/A was 6 h.

Fig.4 Microbial activity in the Anammox-UASB: (a) UASB upper (27 cm), (b) UASB middle (17 cm), (c) UASB bottom (0 cm).

Fig.5 Relative abundance of major microorganisms in the Anammox-UASB system when HRT_PN/A was 6 h. Numbers on the branches of the phylogenetic tree indicate the branch distance. On the horizontal axis, US, UZ, and UX, respectively, indicate that the samples are taken from the upper, middle, and bottom of the UASB.

Fig.6 Spatial distribution of functional microorganisms in the PN-SBR and Anammox-UASB.

Fig.7 COD and nitrogen conversion paths in the AnMBR-PN/A system.

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