Model-Based Evaluation of N2O Production Pathways in the Anammox-Enriched Granular Sludge Cultivated in a Sequencing Batch Reactor

The roles of typical emerging pollutants on N2O emissions during biological nitrogen removal from wastewater

N2O as a potent greenhouse gas often generates in the biological nitrogen removal (BNR) processes during wastewater treatment, which makes BNR become an important greenhouse gas emission source. The emerging pollutants (EPs) are ubiquitous in wastewater and they have shown to influence the BNR processes. However, the deep discussion on potential impacts of EPs on N2O emissions during BNR is rare. Moreover, the experimental parameters for EPs investigation in most of literatures are generally not in line with real-world BNR processes, which calls for deep elucidating the roles of EPs on N2O production and emission. In this work, a critical review summarizes the existing literature about influences of typical EPs on N2O emissions and associated mechanisms during BNR, and it discusses the impacts of some easily overlooked factors, such as real EPs environmental concentrations, EPs bioaccumulation, and multiple EPs coexistence on N2O emissions. This review will provide an insight into exploring and mitigating threats posed by typical EPs on N2O emissions.

Study of bacterial population dynamics in seed culture developed for ammonia reduction from synthetic wastewater

The waterbodies have been polluted by various natural and anthropogenic activities. The aquatic waste includes ammonia as one of the most toxic pollutants. Several biological treatment systems involving anoxic and semi anoxic bacteria have been proposed for reducing nitrogen loads from wastewater and increasing the efficiency and cost effectiveness. These bacteria play a vital role in the processes involved in the nitrogen cycle in nature. However, the enrichment, sustainability and identification of bacterial communities for wastewater treatment is an important aspect. Most of the chemolithotrophs are unculturable hence their identification and measurement of abundance remains a challenging task. In this study the different bacteria involved in total nitrogen removal from the wastewater are enriched for 700 days under anoxic condition. The synthetic wastewater containing 0.382 g/L of ammonium chloride was used. Molecular identification of the bacteria involved in various steps of the nitrogen cycle was carried out based on amplification of functional genes and 16S rRNA gene Polymerase chain reaction followed by DNA sequencing. Change in the abundance of chemolithotrophs was studied using qPCR. The mutual growth of various nitrifiers along with anaerobic bacteria were identified by molecular characterisation of DNA at various time intervals with the different genes involved in the nitrogen cycle. Nitrosomonas species like Nitrosomonas europaea were identified throughout the batch scale studies possessing the genes associated with ammonia oxidizing bacteria and nitrite oxidizing bacteria which act as a complete ammonia oxidizer. The uncultured species of Nitrospira and anammox bacteria were also observed which predicts the coexistence of the anammox and comammox bacteria in a batch scale study. The coexistence of the semi anoxic and anoxic bacteria helped in the growth of these bacteria for a longer duration of time. The nitrite produced by the comammox during nitrification can be utilized by anammox as an electron carrier. The other species of denitrifiers like Pseudomonas denitrificans and Aminobacter aminovorans were also observed. It is concluded that the enrichment of semi anoxic and anoxic bacteria was faster with the increase in growth of the bacteria involved in nitrification, comammox, anammox and partial denitrification process. The bacterial growth is enhanced and the efficiency is increased which can be further used in the development of small pilot scale bioreactor for total nitrogen removal.

Polysaccharide nanocomposites in wastewater treatment: A review

In modern times, wastewater treatment is vital due to increased water contamination arising from pollutants such as nutrients, pathogens, heavy metals, and pharmaceutical residues. Polysaccharides (PSAs) are natural, renewable, and non-toxic biopolymers used in wastewater treatment in the field of gas separation, liquid filtration, adsorption processes, pervaporation, and proton exchange membranes. Since addition of nanoparticles to PSAs improves their sustainability and strength, nanocomposite PSAs has gained significant attention for wastewater treatment in the past decade. This review presents a comprehensive analysis of PSA-based nanocomposites used for efficient wastewater treatment, focusing on adsorption, photocatalysis, and membrane-based methods. It also discusses potential future applications, challenges, and opportunities in adsorption, filtration, and photocatalysis. Recently, PSAs have shown promise as adsorbents in biological-based systems, effectively removing heavy metals that could hinder microbial activity. Cellulose-mediated adsorbents have successfully removed various pollutants from wastewater, including heavy metals, dyes, oil, organic solvents, pesticides, and pharmaceutical residues. Thus, PSA nanocomposites would support biological processes in wastewater treatment plants. A major concern is the discharge of antibiotic wastes from pharmaceutical industries, posing significant environmental and health risks. PSA-mediated bio-adsorbents, like clay polymeric nanocomposite hydrogel beads, efficiently remove antibiotics from wastewater, ensuring water quality and ecosystem balance. The successful use of PSA-mediated bio-adsorbents in wastewater treatment depends on ongoing research to optimize their application and evaluate their potential environmental impacts. Implementing these eco-friendly adsorbents on a large scale holds great promise in significantly reducing water pollution, safeguarding ecosystems, and protecting human health.

Modelling greenhouse gas emissions from biological wastewater treatment by GPS-X: The full-scale case study of Corleone (Italy)

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can affect climate change and must be measured and reduced. Mathematical modelling is an attractive solution to get a tool for GHG mitigation. However, although many efforts have been made to create reliable tools that can simulate "sustainable" full-scale WWTP operation, these studies are not considered complete enough to include GHG emissions and energy consumption of biological processes under long-term dynamic conditions. In this study, activated sludge model no. 1 (ASM1) was modified to model nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions with a plant-wide modelling approach. The model is novel compared to the state of the art since it includes three steps denitrification, all N2O production pathways and its stripping in an ASM1. The model has been calibrated and validated through long-term water quality and short-term N2O emissions data collected from Corleone (Italy) WWTP. Different dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations and return sludge (RAS) ratios were tested with dynamic simulations to optimise the full-scale WWTP. The scenarios have been compared synergistically with effluent quality, direct GHG emissions, and energy footprint by the water-energy‑carbon coupling index (WECCI). This modelling study is novel as it fully covers long-term calibration/validation of the model with N2O measurements and tests the dynamic optimisation. Decision-makers and operators can use this new model to optimise GHG emissions and treatment costs.

Nanoparticles and nanofiltration for wastewater treatment: From polluted to fresh water

Water pollution poses significant threats to both ecosystems and human health. Mitigating this issue requires effective treatment of domestic wastewater to convert waste into bio-fertilizers and gas. Neglecting liquid waste treatment carries severe consequences for health and the environment. This review focuses on intelligent technologies for water and wastewater treatment, targeting waterborne diseases. It covers pollution prevention and purification methods, including hydrotherapy, membrane filtration, mechanical filters, reverse osmosis, ion exchange, and copper-zinc cleaning. The article also highlights domestic purification, field techniques, heavy metal removal, and emerging technologies like nanochips, graphene, nanofiltration, atmospheric water generation, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs)-based cleaning. Emphasizing water cleaning's significance for ecosystem protection and human health, the review discusses pollution challenges and explores the integration of wastewater treatment, coagulant processes, and nanoparticle utilization in management. It advocates collaborative efforts and innovative research for freshwater preservation and pollution mitigation. Innovative biological systems, combined with filtration, disinfection, and membranes, can elevate recovery rates by up to 90%, surpassing individual primary (<10%) or biological methods (≤50%). Advanced treatment methods can achieve up to 95% water recovery, exceeding UN goals for clean water and sanitation (Goal 6). This progress aligns with climate action objectives and safeguards vital water-rich habitats (Goal 13). The future holds promise with advanced purification techniques enhancing water quality and availability, underscoring the need for responsible water conservation and management for a sustainable future.

Hydrochar-nanoparticle integration for arsenic removal from wastewater: Challenges, possible solutions, and future horizon

Arsenic (As) contamination poses a significant threat to human health, ecosystems, and agriculture, with levels ranging from 12 to 75% attributed to mine waste and stream sediments. This naturally element is abundant in Earth's crust and gets released into the environment through mining and rock processing, causing ≈363 million people to depend on As-contaminated groundwater. To combat this issue, introducing a sustainable hydrochar system has achieved a remarkable removal efficiency of over 92% for arsenic through adsorption. This comprehensive review presents an overview of As contamination in the environment, with a specific focus on its impact on drinking water and wastewater. It delves into the far-reaching effects of As on human health, ecosystems, aquatic systems, and agriculture, while also exploring the effectiveness of existing As treatment systems. Additionally, the study examines the potential of hydrochar as an efficient adsorbent for As removal from water/wastewater, along with other relevant adsorbents and biomass-based preparations of hydrochar. Notably, the fusion of hydrochar with nanoparticle-centric approaches presents a highly promising and environmentally friendly solution for achieving the removal of As from wastewater, exceeding >99% efficiency. This innovative approach holds immense potential for advancing the realms of green chemistry and environmental restoration. Various challenges associated with As contamination and treatment are highlighted, and proposed solutions are discussed. The review emphasizes the urgent need to advance treatment technologies, improve monitoring methods, and enhance regulatory frameworks. Looking outlook, the article underscores the importance of fostering research efforts, raising public awareness, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration to address this critical environmental issue. Such efforts are vital for UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially clean water and sanitation (Goal 6) and climate action (Goal 13), crucial for global sustainability.

Wastewater reuse in agriculture: Prospects and challenges

Sustainable water recycling and wastewater reuse are urgent nowadays considering water scarcity and increased water consumption through human activities. In 2015, United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 (UN SDG6) highlighted the necessity of recycling wastewater to guarantee water availability for individuals. Currently, wastewater irrigation (WWI) of crops and agricultural land appears essential. The present work overviews the quality of treated wastewater in terms of soil microbial activities, and discusses challenges and benefits of WWI in line with wastewater reuse in agriculture and aquaculture irrigation. Combined conventional-advanced wastewater treatment processes are specifically deliberated, considering the harmful impacts on human health arising from WWI originating from reuse of contaminated water (salts, organic pollutants, toxic metals, and microbial pathogens i.e., viruses and bacteria). The comprehensive literature survey revealed that, in addition to the increased levels of pathogen and microbial threats to human wellbeing, poorly-treated wastewater results in plant and soil contamination with toxic organic/inorganic chemicals, and microbial pathogens. The impact of long-term emerging pollutants like plastic nanoparticles should also be established in further studies, with the development of standardized analytical techniques for such hazardous chemicals. Likewise, the reliable, long-term and extensive judgment on heavy metals threat to human beings's health should be explored in future investigations.

Biological processes modelling for MBR systems: A review of the state-of-the-art focusing on SMP and EPS

A mathematical correlation between biomass kinetic and membrane fouling can improve the understanding and spread of Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) technology, especially in solving the membrane fouling issues. On this behalf, this paper, produced by the International Water Association (IWA) Task Group on Membrane modelling and control, reviews the current state-of-the-art regarding the modelling of kinetic processes of biomass, focusing on modelling production and utilization of soluble microbial products (SMP) and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). The key findings of this work show that the new conceptual approaches focus on the role of different bacterial groups in the formation and degradation of SMP/EPS. Even though several studies have been published regarding SMP modelling, there still needs to be more information due to the highly complicated SMP nature to facilitate the accurate modelling of membrane fouling. The EPS group has seldom been addressed in the literature, probably due to the knowledge deficiency concerning the triggers for production and degradation pathways in MBR systems, which require further efforts. Finally, the successful model applications showed that proper estimation of SMP and EPS by modelling approaches could optimise membrane fouling, which can influence the MBR energy consumption, operating costs, and greenhouse gas emissions.

The ASM2d model with two-step nitrification can better simulate biological nutrient removal systems enriched with complete ammonia oxidizing bacteria (comammox Nitrospira)

The discovery of comammox Nitrospira, a complete ammonia-oxidizing microorganism belonging to the genus Nitrospira, has brought new insights into the nitrification process in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The applicability of Activated Sludge Model No. 2 d with one-step nitrification (ASM2d-OSN) or two-step nitrification (ASM2d-TSN) for the simulation of the biological nutrient removal (BNR) processes of a full-scale WWTP in the presence of comammox Nitrospira was studied. Microbial analysis and kinetic parameter measurements showed comammox Nitrospira was enriched in the BNR system operated under low dissolved oxygen (DO) and long sludge retention time (SRT). The relative abundance of Nitrospira under the conditions of stage I (DO = 0.5 mg/L, SRT = 60 d) was about twice of that under stage II conditions (DO = 4.0 mg/L, SRT = 26 d), and the copy number of the comammox amoA gene for stage I was 33 times higher than that for stage II. Compared to the ASM2d-OSN model, the ASM2d-TSN model simulated the performance of the WWTP under stage I conditions better, and the Theil inequality coefficient values of all the tested water quality parameters were lower than using ASM2d-OSN. These results indicate that an ASM2d model with two-step nitrification is a better choice for the simulation of WWTPs with the presence of comammox.

An Advanced Synergy of Partial Denitrification-Anammox for Optimizing Nitrogen Removal from Wastewater: A Review

Anammox is a widely adopted process for energy-efficient removal of nitrogen from wastewater, but challenges with NOB suppression and NO₃^- accumulation have led to a deeper investigation of this process. To address these issues, the synergy of partial denitrification and anammox (PD-anammox) has emerged as a promising solution for sustainable nitrogen removal in wastewater. This paper presents a comprehensive review of recent developments in the PD-anammox system, including stable performance outcomes, operational parameters, and mathematical models. The review categorizes start-up and recovery strategies for PD-anammox and examines its contributions to sustainable development goals, such as reducing N₂O emissions and saving energy. Furthermore, it suggests future trends and perspectives for improving the efficiency and integration of PD-anammox into full-scale wastewater treatment system. Overall, this review provides valuable insights into optimizing PD-anammox in wastewater treatment, highlighting the potential of simultaneous processes and the importance of improving efficiency and integration into full-scale systems.

Sustainable nitrogen removal in anammox-mediated systems: Microbial metabolic pathways, operational conditions and mathematical modelling

Anammox-mediated systems have attracted considerable attention as alternative cost-effective technologies for sustainable nitrogen (N) removal from wastewater. This review comprehensively highlights the importance of understanding microbial metabolism in anammox-mediated systems under crucial operation parameters, indicating the potentially wide applications for the sustainable treatment of N-containing wastewater. The partial nitrification-anammox (PN-A), simultaneous PN-A and denitrification (SNAD) processes have demonstrated sustainable N removal from sidestream wastewater. The partial denitrification-anammox (PD-A) and denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation-anammox (DAMO-A) processes have advanced sustainable N removal efficiency in mainstream wastewater treatment. Moreover, N2O production/emission hotspots are extensively discussed in anammox-based processes and are related to the dominant ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and denitrifying heterotrophs. In contrast, N2O is not produced in the metabolism pathways of AnAOB and DAMO-archaea; Moreover, the actual contribution of N2O production by dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) and DAMO-bacteria in their species remains uncertain. Thus, PD-A and DAMO-A processes would achieve reduction in greenhouse gas production, as well as energy consumption for the reliability of N removal efficiencies. In addition to reaction mechanisms, this review covers the mathematical models for simultaneous anammox, partial nitrification and/or denitrification (i.e., PN-A, PD-A, and SNAD). Promising NO3- reduction technologies by endogenous PD, sulfur-driven autotrophic denitrification, and DNRA by anammox are also discussed. In summary, this review provides a better understanding of sustainable N removal in anammox-mediated systems, thereby encouraging future investigation and exploration of the sustainable N bio-treatment from wastewater.

The coexistence and competition of canonical and comammox nitrite oxidizing bacteria in a nitrifying activated sludge system - Experimental observations and simulation studies

The second step of nitrification can be mediated by nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB), i.e. Nitrospira and Nitrobacter, with different characteristics in terms of the r/K theory. In this study, an activated sludge model was developed to account for competition between two groups of canonical NOB and comammox bacteria. Heterotrophic denitrification on soluble microbial products was also incorporated into the model. Four 5-week washout trials were carried out at dissolved oxygen-limited conditions for different temperatures (12 °C vs. 20 °C) and main substrates (NH₄⁺-N vs. NO₂^--N). Due to the aggressive reduction of solids retention time (from 4 to 1 d), the biomass concentrations were continuously decreased and stabilized after two weeks at a level below 400 mg/L. The collected experimental data (N species, biomass concentrations, and microbiological analyses) were used for model calibration and validation. In addition to the standard predictions (N species and biomass), the newly developed model also accurately predicted two microbiological indicators, including the relative abundance of comammox bacteria as well as nitrifiers to heterotrophs ratio. Sankey diagrams revealed that the relative contributions of specific microbial groups to N conversion pathways were significantly shifted during the trial. The contribution of comammox did not exceed 5 % in the experiments with both NH₄⁺-N and NO₂^--N substrates. This study contributes to a better understanding of the novel autotrophic N removal processes (e.g. deammonification) with nitrite as a central intermediate product.

Towards efficient heterotrophic recovery of N2O via Fe(II)EDTA-NO: A modeling study

Efficient recovery of nitrous oxide (N₂O) through heterotrophic denitrification with the help of Fe(II)EDTA-NO as a chelating agent has been regarded as an ideal technology to treat nitric oxide (NO)-rich flue gas. In this study, an integrated NO-based biological denitrification model was developed to describe the sequential reduction of the NO fixed in Fe(II)EDTA-NO with organic carbon as the electron donor. With the inclusion of only the key pathways contributing to nitrogen transformation, the model was firstly developed and then calibrated/validated and evaluated using the data of batch tests mediated by the identified functional heterotrophic bacteria at various substrates concentrations and then used to explore the possibility of enhancing N₂O recovery by altering the substrates condition and reactor setup. The results demonstrated that the optimal COD/N ratio decreased consistently from 1.5 g-COD/g-N at the initial NO concentration of 40 g-N/m³ to 1.0 g-COD/g-N at the initial NO concentration of 420 g-N/m³. Furthermore, sufficiently increasing the headspace volume of the reactor was considered an ideal strategy to obtain ideal N₂O production of 86.6 % under the studied conditions. The production of high-purity N₂O (98 %) confirmed the practical application potential of this integrated treatment technology to recover a valuable energy resource from NO-rich flue gas.

Impact of soluble organic matter and particulate organic matter on anammox system: Performance, microbial community and N2O production

In this study, the effects of soluble readily biodegradable COD (sCOD) and particulate slowly biodegradable COD (pCOD) on anammox process were investigated. The results of the long-term experiment indicated that a low sCOD/N ratio of 0.5 could accelerate the anammox and denitrification activity, to reach as high as 84.9%±2.8% TN removal efficiency. Partial denitrification-anammox (PDN/anammox) and denitrification were proposed as the major pathways for nitrogen removal, accounting for 91.3% and 8.7% of the TN removal, respectively. Anammox bacteria could remain active with high abundance of anammox genes to maintain its dominance. Candidatus Kuenenia and Thauera were the predominant genera in the presence of organic matter. Compared with sCOD, batch experiments showed that the introduction of pCOD had a negative effect on nitrogen removal. The contribution of denitrification to nitrogen removal decreased from approximately 14% to 3% with increasing percentage of pCOD. In addition, the analysis result of the process data using an optimized ASM1 model indicated that high percentage of pCOD resulted in serious N₂O emission (the peak value up to 0.25 mg N/L), which was likely due to limited mass diffusion and insufficient available carbon sources for denitrification. However, a high sCOD/N ratio was beneficial for alleviating N₂O accumulation.

Integrating conventional nitrogen removal with anammox in wastewater treatment systems: Microbial metabolism, sustainability and challenges

The various forms of nitrogen (N), including ammonium (NH₄⁺), nitrite (NO₂^-), and nitrate (NO₃^-), present in wastewaters can create critical biotic stress and can lead to hazardous phenomena that cause imbalances in biological diversity. Thus, biological nitrogen removal (BNR) from wastewaters is considered to be imperatively urgent. Therefore, anammox-based systems, i.e. partial nitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (PN/anammox) and partial denitrification and anammox (PD/anammox) have been universally acknowledged to consider as alternatives, promising and cost-effective technologies for sustainable N removal from wastewaters compared to nitrification-denitrification processes. This review comprehensively presents and discusses the latest advances in BNR technologies, including traditional nitrification-denitrification and anammox-based systems. To a deep understanding of a better-controlled combining anammox with traditional processes, the microbial community diversity and metabolism, as well as, biomass morphological characteristics were clearly reviewed in the anammox-based systems. Explaining simultaneous microbial competition and control of crucial operation parameters in single-stage anammox-based processes in terms of optimization and economic benefits makes this contribution a different vision from available review papers. The most important sustainability indicators, including global warming potential (GWP), carbon footprint (CF) and energy behaviours were explored to evaluate the sustainability of BNR processes in wastewater treatment. Additionally, the challenges and solutions for BNR processes are extensively discussed. In summary, this review helps facilitate a critical understanding of N removal technologies. It is confirmed that sustainability and saving energy would be achieved by anammox-based systems, thereby could be encouraged future outcomes for a sustainable N removal economy.

New insights into modeling two-step nitrification in activated sludge systems - The effects of initial biomass concentrations, comammox and heterotrophic activities

In this study, the conventional two-step nitrification model was extended with complete ammonia oxidation (comammox) and heterotrophic denitrification on soluble microbial products. The data for model calibration/validation were collected at four long-term washout experiments when the solid retention time (SRT) and hydraulic retention time (HRT) were progressively reduced from 4 d to 1 d, with mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) of approximately 2000 mg/L at the start of each trial. A new calibration protocol was proposed by including a systematic calculation of the initial biomass concentrations and microbial relationships as the calibration targets. Moreover, the impact assessment of initial biomass concentrations (X) and maximum growth rates (μ) for ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), comammox Nitrospira, and heterotrophs on the calibration accuracy were investigated using the response surface methodology (RSM). The RSM results revealed the strongest interaction of X_AOB and μ_AOB on the model calibration accuracy. All the examined model efficiency measures confirmed that the extended model was accurately calibrated and validated. The estimated μ values were as follows: μ_AOB = 0.38 ± 0.005 d^-1, μ_NOB = 0.20 ± 0.01 d^-1, μ_CMX = 0.20 ± 0.01 d^-1, μ_HET = 1.0 ± 0.03 d^-1. For comparison, when using the conventional model, μ_AOB and μ_NOB increased respectively by 26 and 15 % (μ_AOB = 0.48 ± 0.02 d^-1 and μ_NOB = 0.23 ± 0.005 d^-1). This study provides better understanding of the effects of the initial biomass composition and the accompanying processes (comammox and heterotrophic denitrification) on modeling two-step nitrification.

The mixed/mixotrophic nitrogen removal for the effective and sustainable treatment of wastewater: From treatment process to microbial mechanism

Biological nitrogen removal (BNR) is one of the most important environmental concerns in the field of wastewater treatment. The conventional BNR process based on heterotrophic nitrogen removal (HeNR) is suffering from several limitations, including external carbon source dependence, excessive sludge production, and greenhouse gas emissions. Through the mediation of autotrophic nitrogen removal (AuNR), mixed/mixotrophic nitrogen removal (MixNR) offers a viable solution to the optimization of the BNR process. Here, the recent advance and characteristics of MixNR process guided by sulfur-driven autotrophic denitrification (SDAD) and anammox are summarized in this review. Additionally, we discuss the functional microorganisms in different MixNR systems, shedding light on metabolic mechanisms and microbial interactions. The significance of MixNR for carbon reduction in the BNR process has also been noted. The knowledge gaps and the future research directions that may facilitate the practical application of the MixNR process are highlighted. Overall, the prospect of the MixNR process is attractive, and this review will provide guidance for the future implementation of MixNR process as well as deciphering the microbially metabolic mechanisms.

Dynamic calibration of process-wide partial-nitritation modeling with airlift granular for nitrogen removal in a full-scale wastewater treatment plant

A main challenge in rapid nitrogen removal from rejected water in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is growth of biomass by nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). In this study, partial nitritation (PN) coupled with air-lift granular unit (AGU) technology was applied to enhance nitrogen-removal efficiency in WWTPs. For successful PN process at high-nitrogen-influent conditions, a pH of 7.5-8 for high free-ammonia concentrations and AOB for growth of total bacterial populations are required. The PN process in a sequential batch reactor (SBR) with AGU was modeled as an activated sludge model (ASM), and dynamic calibration using full-scale plant data was performed to enhance aeration in the reactor and improve the nitrite-to-ammonia ratio in the PN effluent. In steady-state and dynamic calibrations, the measured and modeled values of the output were in close agreement. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the kinetic and stoichiometric parameters are associated with growth and decay of heterotrophs, AOB, and NOB microorganisms. Overall, 80% of the calibrated data fit the measured data. Stage 1 of the dynamic calibration showed NO₂ and NO₃ values close to 240 mg/L and 100 mg/L, respectively. Stage 2 showed NH₄ values of 200 mg/L at day 30 with the calibrated effluent NO₂ and NO₃ value of 250 mg/L. In stage 3, effluent NH₄ concentration was 200 mg/L at day 60.

Influences of granule properties on the performance of autotrophic nitrogen removal granular reactor: A model-based evaluation

This work studied the impacts of key granule properties on the granular reactor performing partial nitritation/anammox from the modeling perspective. The results could guide not only future reliable modeling but also practical startup/operation of the reactor. To achieve high total nitrogen (TN) removal whilst avoiding significant N₂O production, inoculated granules should be big and anammox-enriched. The optimum boundary layer thickness for maximum TN removal increased with the decreasing diffusivity of soluble components in the granule structure. Even though a thick boundary layer could protect anammox bacteria from elevated dissolved oxygen (DO) (e.g., 0.5 g-O₂/m³) and obtain high TN removal (>90.0%) and low N₂O production (<1.8%), even complete removal of the boundary layer would fail to provide sufficient substrate for anammox and therefore couldn't increase TN removal to 90.0% and decrease N₂O production to <2.4% at insufficient DO (e.g., 0.3 g-O₂/m³ in the presence of lifted influent NH₄⁺ concentration).

Multidisciplinary characterization of nitrogen-removal granular sludge: A review of advances and technologies

Nitrogen-removal granular sludge (NRGS) is a promising technology in wastewater treatment, with advantages of efficient nitrogen removal, less footprint, lower sludge production and energy consumption, and is a way for wastewater treatment plants to achieve carbon-neutrality. Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) and anammox granular sludge (AnGS) are two typical NRGS technologies that have attracted extensive attention. Mounting evidence has shown strong associations between NRGS properties and the status of NRGS systems; however, a holistic view is still missing. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of NRGS with an emphasis on characterization. Specifically, the integrated nitrogen transformation pathways inside NRGS and the performance of NRGS treating various wastewaters are discussed. NRGS properties are categorized as physical-, chemical-, biological- and systematical ones, presenting current advances and corresponding characterization technologies. Finally, the future prospects for furthering the mechanistic understanding and engineering application of NRGS are proposed. Overall, the technological advancements in characterization have greatly contributed to understanding NRGS properties, which are potential factors for optimizing the performance and evaluating the working status of NRGS. This review will provide guidance in characterizing NRGS properties and boost the introduction of novel characterization technologies.

Optimization of the Anaerobic-Anoxic-Oxic Process by Integrating ASM2d with Pareto Analysis of Variance and Response Surface Methodology

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are high-energy-consuming units. Reasonable operation strategies can enable WWTPs to meet discharge standards while reducing the operating cost. In this study, the activated sludge model 2d (ASM2d), Pareto analysis of variance (ANOVA), and response surface methodology (RSM) were jointly used to simulate and optimize the operation of a lab-scale anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (AAO) reactor. The optimization objective was to determine the optimal design and operational parameters (DOPs) that could enhance both pollutant removal and energy saving. The DOPs that had significant influence on the optimization objective, such as sludge retention time (SRT), dissolved oxygen (DO), and the ratio of biodegradable chemical oxygen demand to total nitrogen (BCOD/TN), were identified by Pareto ANOVA. The optimal DOPs with SRT of 15 days, DO concentration of 0.5 mg/L, and BCOD/TN of 5.21 were determined by RSM. Under the optimal conditions, the removal efficiencies of NH4+-N, total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) were 96.2%, 76.8%, and 92.8%, respectively, and the annual operating cost was $26.4. Furthermore, this combination of DOPs was validated using a pilot-scale AAO system. The TN and TP removal efficiencies were improved by 11.0% and 5.0%, respectively, and the annual operating cost could be reduced by 15.0%. Overall, this study confirmed that the method integrating ASM2d with Pareto ANOVA and RSM was effective in optimizing wastewater treatment processes.

Dynamic modelling of N2 O emissions from a full-scale granular sludge partial nitritation-anammox reactor

Partial nitration-anammox is a resource-efficient pathway for nitrogen removal from wastewater. However, the advantages of this nitrogen removal technology may be counter-acted by the emission of N₂ O, a potent greenhouse gas. In this study, mathematical modelling was applied to analyse N₂ O formation and emission dynamics and to develop N₂ O mitigation strategies for a one-stage partial nitritation-anammox granular sludge reactor. Dynamic model calibration for such a full-scale reactor was performed, applying a 1-dimensional biofilm model and including several N₂ O formation pathways. Simultaneous calibration of liquid phase concentrations and N₂ O emissions leads to improved model fit compared to their consecutive calibration. The model could quantitatively predict the average N₂ O emissions and qualitatively characterize the N₂ O dynamics, adjusting only seven parameter values. The model was validated with N₂ O data from an independent data set at different aeration conditions. Nitrifier nitrification was identified as the dominating N₂ O formation pathway. Off-gas recirculation as a potential N₂ O emission reduction strategy was tested by simulation and showed indeed some improvement, be it at the cost of higher aeration energy consumption. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Comparison of the Efficiency of Deammonification under Different DO Concentrations in a Laboratory-Scale Sequencing Batch Reactor

The efficiency of deammonification depends on the cooperation of ammonium oxidizing bacteria and archaea (AOB/AOA), anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AnAOB) and the effective suppression of nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) that compete with AnAOB for nitrite (NO2-N). One of the effective NOB suppression strategies is intermittent aeration. However, it is important to have a good understanding of the optimum dissolved oxygen (DO) value in the aeration period and optimize the non-aeration time used during the reaction phase. This study comprised the investigation of the effect of different DO set points (0.4, 0.7, 1.0 and 1.5 mg O2/L) under the same aeration length off/on (12/3 min). Moreover, three different intermittent aeration modes (9/3, 6/3, 3/3) under the same DO set point (0.7 mg O2/L) were more investigated. The experiment was conducted for 6 months (180 days) in a laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with a working volume of 10 L. The results indicated that a high N removal efficiency was achieved 74% at the DO set point = 0.7 mg O2/L during aeration strategy off/on (6/3 min) due to the low nitrate production rate (NPR) 0.9 mg N/g VSS/h and high ammonium utilization rate (AUR) 13 mg N/g VSS/h (NPR/AUR = 0.06). Mathematical modeling results confirmed that the feasible DO set point 0.7 and intermittent aeration mode off/on (6/3 min) were especially suitable for the optimal balance between the NOB suppression and keeping high activities of AOB and anammox in the system.

Incorporation of the complete ammonia oxidation (comammox) process for modeling nitrification in suspended growth wastewater treatment systems

The newly discovered process complete ammonia oxidation (comammox) has changed the traditional understanding of nitrification. In this study, three possible concepts of comammox were developed and incorporated as part of an extended two-step nitrification model. For model calibration and validation, two series of long-term biomass washout experiments were carried out at 12 °C and 20 °C in a laboratory sequencing batch reactor. The inoculum biomass was withdrawn from a large biological nutrient removal wastewater treatment plant. The efficiency of the examined models was compared based on the behaviors of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in the studied reactor. Predictions of the conventional approach to comammox, assuming the direct oxidation of ammonia to nitrate, were slightly better than the two other approaches. Simulation results revealed that comammox could be responsible for the conversion of >20% of the influent ammonia load. Therefore, the role of commamox in the nitrogen mass balance in activated sludge systems should not be neglected and requires further investigation. Furthermore, sensitivity and correlation analysis revealed that the maximum growth rates (μ), oxygen half-saturation (K_O), and decay rates (b) of the canonical nitrifiers and comammox were the most sensitive factors, and the highest correlation was found between μ and b among all considered kinetic parameters. The estimated μ values by the best model were 0.57, 0.11, and 0.15 d^-1 for AOB, NOB, and comammox bacteria, respectively.

A predictive model for N2O production in anammox-granular sludge reactors: Combined effects of nitrite/ammonium ratio and organic matter concentration

Once the use of anammox reactors has been increasing on a global scale, it is important to understand the mechanisms of N₂O emissions and how to minimise the emissions by optimising the operating conditions. In this study, the influence of chemical oxygen demand (COD) (from 0 mgO₂ L^-1 to 100 mgO₂ L^-1) and nitrite/ammonium ratio from 0.79 to 2.21 (maintaining ammonium at 100 mgN L^-1 and varying nitrite from 79 mgN L^-1 to 221 mgN L^-1) in the N₂O emissions from anammox-granular sludge reactor was investigated in two steps. Step 1 consisted of batch tests, using central composite design, and Step 2, long-term operation of a 6.5 L continuous up-flow reactor. The results showed that the N₂O emissions were minimized by controlling, in the influent, the NO₂^--N/NH₄⁺-N ratio from 1.1 to 1.3 and maintaining the COD concentration below 100 mgO₂ L^-1. TN removal efficiencies were higher than 70% in all conditions tested".

Model predicted N2O production from membrane-aerated biofilm reactor is greatly affected by biofilm property settings

Even though modeling has been frequently used to understand the autotrophic deammonification-based membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR), the relationships between system-specific biofilm property settings and model predicted N₂O production have yet to be clarified. To this end, this study investigated the impacts of 4 key biofilm property settings (i.e., biofilm thickness/compactness, boundary layer thickness, diffusivity of soluble components in the biofilm structure, and biofilm discretization) on one-dimensional modeling of the MABR, with the focus on its N₂O production. The results showed that biofilm thickness/compactness (200-1000 μm), diffusivity of soluble components in the biofilm structure (reduction factor of diffusivity: 0.2-0.9), and biofilm discretization (12-28 grid points) significantly influenced the simulated N₂O production, while boundary layer thickness (0-300 μm) only played a marginal role. In the studied ranges of biofilm property settings, distinct upper and lower bounds of N₂O production factor (i.e., the percentage ratio of N₂O formed to NH₄⁺ removed, 5.5% versus 2.3%) could be predicted. In addition to the microbial community structure, the N₂O production pathway contribution differentiation was also subject to changes in biofilm property settings. Therefore, biofilm properties need to be quantified experimentally or set properly to model N₂O production from the MABR correctly. As a good practice for one-dimensional modeling of N₂O production from biofilm-based reactors, especially the MABR performing autotrophic deammonification, the essential information about those influential biofilm property settings identified in this study should be disclosed and clearly documented, thus ensuring both the reproducibility of modeling results and the reliable applications of N₂O models.

Achieving Efficient and Stable Deammonification at Low Temperatures—Experimental and Modeling Studies

The short-term effects of temperature on deammonification sludge were evaluated in a laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR). Mathematical modeling was used for further evaluations of different intermittent aeration strategies for achieving high and stable deammonification performance at decreasing temperatures. As for the biomass cultivated at high temperatures (e.g., 30 °C), a higher temperature dependency (the adjusted Arrhenius coefficient θ for 11–17 °C = 1.71 vs. θ for 17–30 °C = 1.12) on the specific anammox growth rates was found at lower temperatures (11–17 °C) in comparison with higher temperatures (17–30 °C). Further evaluations of recovering the nitrogen removal efficiency at decreasing temperatures with the mathematical model by modifying the intermittent aeration strategies (aeration frequency (F) and the ratio (R) between non-aerated (non-aer) phase and aerated (aer) phase durations) indicated that intermittent aeration with a prolonged non-aerated phase (e.g., R ≥ 4 regardless of F value) would help to maintain high and stable deammonification performance (~80%) at decreasing temperatures (14–22 °C). Extending the non-aerated phases (increasing R) and reducing the frequency (F) of off/on phase changes have a positive effect on increasing energy savings, leading to increasing interest in this method.

Optimization of the Aeration Strategies in a Deammonification Sequencing Batch Reactor for Efficient Nitrogen Removal and Mitigation of N2O Production

In deammonification systems, nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) suppression and nitrous oxide (N₂O) mitigation are two important operational objectives. To carry out this multivariable analysis of response, a comprehensive model for the N cycle was developed and evaluated against experimental data from a laboratory-scale deammonification granular sludge sequencing batch reactor. Different aeration strategies were tested, and the manipulated variables comprised the dissolved oxygen (DO) set point in the aerated phase, aeration on/off frequency (F), and the ratio (R) between the non-aerated and aerated phase durations. Experimental results showed that a high ammonium utilization rate (AUR) in relation to the low nitrate production rate (NPR) (NPR/AUR = 0.07-0.08) and limited N₂O emissions (E_N2O < 2%) could be achieved at the DO set point = 0.7 mg O₂/L, R ratio = 2, and F frequency = 6-7 h^-1. Under specific operational conditions (biomass concentration, NH₄⁺-N loading rate, and temperature), simulation results confirmed the feasible aeration strategies for the trade-offs between the NOB suppression and N₂O emission. The intermittent aeration regimes led to frequent shifts in the predominating N₂O production pathways, that is, hydroxylamine (NH₂OH) oxidation (aerated phase) versus autotrophic denitrification (non-aerated phase). The inclusion of the extracellular polymeric substance mechanism in the model explained the observed activity of heterotrophs, especially Anaerolineae, and granule formation.

Effect of magnetic powder on nitrous oxide emissions from a sequencing batch reactor for treating domestic wastewater at low temperatures

Low temperatures can lead to an increase of N₂O generation and emission from the nitrogen removal process in wastewater treatment plants. This study investigated the effect of the addition of magnetic powder on N₂O generation and emission from a sequencing batch reactor treating domestic sewage at low temperatures. The results showed that the magnetic powder simultaneously inhibited N₂O generation and emission and improved the removal of NH₄⁺, total nitrogen (TN), and chemical oxygen demand at low temperatures. Furthermore, the conversion rate of N₂O (N₂O generation to TN removal) was reduced. The efficacy of the magnetic powder depended on its concentration, which could be ordered as 1 mg/L > 2 mg/L > 4 mg/L. With the addition of magnetic powder, especially at the 1 mg/L level, the activities of nitrification and denitrification enzymes in activated sludge were significantly improved and the growth of ammonium and nitrite oxidizing bacteria was also promoted.

Recent advances in nitrous oxide production and mitigation in wastewater treatment

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) emitted from wastewater treatment plants has caused widespread concern. Over the past decade, people have made tremendous efforts to discover the microorganisms responsible for N₂O production, elucidate metabolic pathways, establish production models and formulate mitigation strategies. The ultimate goal of all these efforts is to shed new light on how N₂O is produced and how to reduce it, and one of the best ways is to find key opportunities by integrating the information obtained. This review article critically evaluates the knowledge gained in the field within a decade, especially in N₂O production microbiology, biochemistry, models and mitigation strategies, with a focus on denitrification. Previous research has greatly deepened the understanding of the N₂O generation mechanism, but further efforts are still needed due to the lack of standardized methodology for establishing N₂O mitigation strategies in full-scale systems. One of the challenges seems to be to convert the denitrification process from a net N₂O source into an effective sink, which is recommended as a key opportunity to reduce N₂O production in this review.

Evaluating the roles of coexistence of sludge flocs on nitrogen removal and nitrous oxide production in a granule-based autotrophic nitrogen removal system

Certain levels of sludge flocs would always coexist in granule-based reactors due to the biomass detachment from granules. Such inevitable coexistence could affect both total nitrogen (TN) removal and nitrous oxide (N₂O) production in autotrophic nitrogen removal systems. This work utilized a mathematical approach to systematically study the influence of the coexisting sludge flocs on TN removal and N₂O production in a granular nitritation-anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) process for the first time, based on a 2-pathway N₂O production model concept. The modelling results reveal that the highest TN removal efficiency decreases from ca. 87-88% to ca. 41-49% as the fraction of sludge flocs in the system increases from 10% to 40%, while the N₂O production rate gradually increases with such increase. Meanwhile, both bulk dissolved oxygen (DO, 0.05-0.3 mg/L) and the size of granule (200-400 μm) could also influence the TN removal efficiency and N₂O production. As the fraction of sludge flocs increases from 10% to 40%, the contribution of granular biomass to total N₂O production is reduced due to increase of N₂O-producing ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in the sludge flocs, and the increase of granule size could intensify such decrease. In addition, the hydroxylamine oxidation pathway dominates the nitrifier denitrification pathway in both granules and sludge flocs under various testing conditions, whereas the increasing contribution of the latter would occur at a certain DO range, higher fraction of sludge flocs and smaller granule size. These results disclose an important influence of the coexisting sludge flocs on the performance of granular nitritation-Anammox systems.

Significant N2O emission from a high rate granular reactor for completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite

Expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactors were rarely applied for complete ammonium removal over nitrite. In this study, a high ammonium loading rate of 3677 mg N/L/d was achieved in an EGSB reactor. Approximately 5.5-8.5% of influent ammonium was converted to nitrous oxide (N₂O) that is a potent greenhouse gas. Moreover, the percentage increased linearly with the increase in ammonium load. A model well matched the reactor dynamics. The model indicated that hydroxylamine (NH₂OH) oxidation contributed to over 40% of produced N₂O, and denitrification by ammonium oxidizing bacteria contributed to N₂O emission significantly. Furthermore, the model suggests that a low oxygen concentration can result in a low N₂O emission at the cost of a slightly low ammonium removal rate while influent organic matter play a minor role in reducing N₂O emission. This study shows that EGSB reactors are effective in ammonium removal. In addition, the emission of N₂O is significant.

Modeling the formation of microorganism-derived dissolved organic nitrogen (mDON) in the activated sludge system

Microorganism-derived dissolved organic nitrogen (mDON) represents a significant and inevitable portion of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in the wastewater biotreatment processes. In the existing method, mDON concentrations are indirectly measured by the values of DON concentrations from the reactors with DON-free influent. However, this becomes problematic when influent contains DON. Especially when the real wastewater is involved, the paucity of the direct methods to quantitatively measure mDON is a major barrier to further research. This limitation is due to the difficulty of segregating mDON from the other nitrogenous organics, e.g., influent DON. In this study, we propose the ASM-mDON model based on ASM #1, which incorporates the production and consumption of mDON in the activated sludge processes to predict the mDON concentrations. In four independent lab-scale tests, our model was established and calibrated to obtain the accurate values of mDON (R² = 0.929, p < 0.05), and the validity and applicability of the model were successfully examined by comparing the simulated and measured data. Moreover, the universality of the ASM-mDON model was further confirmed by simulating mDON production in a full-scale wastewater treatment plant. A reasonable prediction of mDON formation was shown in a full-scale test (1.98 ± 0.71 mg/L in June and 1.51 ± 0.54 mg/L in July) and is indirectly supported by an algal bioassay (p < 0.05, t-test). This study provides a useful approach to the efficient and accurate evaluation of mDON formation, which will improve current strategies designed to minimize the effluent mDON in wastewater bioprocesses.

Impact of coexistence of sludge flocs on nitrous oxide production in a granule-based nitrification system: A model-based evaluation

A common operational status of granule-based reactor is the inevitable coexistence of sludge flocs. Such hybrid system could have a profound impact on nitrous oxide (N₂O) production in nitrifying process. In this work, a mathematical model is employed to evaluate the key role of the coexistence of sludge flocs on N₂O production in a granule-based nitrifying system for the first time, by considering both nitrifier denitrification and hydroxylamine oxidation pathways. The modelling results show that the N₂O production gradually decreases with the increase of the percentage of sludge flocs in the total biomass (10-60%). More N₂O is tended to be generated in sludge flocs which has lower N₂O production capacity compared to granular biomass, thus lowering the total N₂O production. The relative contributions of two N₂O production pathways are only affected by bulk dissolved oxygen (DO) for the sludge flocs in the hybrid system, whereas those are affected by both bulk DO and the fractions of sludge flocs for the granular biomass. The results reveal a substantial effect of the coexistence of sludge flocs on N₂O production in granule-based nitrifying process, which should not be ignored in future design and operation.

Inhibition effect of magnetic field on nitrous oxide emission from sequencing batch reactor treating domestic wastewater at low temperature

This study aims to investigate the effect of a magnetic field on nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission from a sequencing batch reactor treating low-strength domestic wastewater at low temperature (10°C). After running for 124 days in parallel, results indicated that the conversion rate of N₂O for a magnetic field-sequencing batch reactor (MF-SBR) decreased by 34.3% compared to that of a conventional SBR (C-SBR). Meanwhile, the removal efficiencies for total nitrogen (TN) and ammonia nitrogen (NH₄-N) of the MF-SBR were 22.4% and 39.5% higher than those of the C-SBR. High-throughput sequencing revealed that the abundances of AOB (Nitrosomonas), NOB (Nitrospira) and denitrifiers (Zoogloea), which could reduce N₂O to N₂, were promoted significantly in the MF-SBR. Enzyme activities (Nir) and gene abundances (nosZ nirS and nirK) for denitrification in the MF-SBR were also notably higher compared to C-SBR. Our study shows that application of a magnetic field is a useful approach for inhibiting the generation of N₂O and promoting the nitrogen removal efficiency by affecting the microbial characteristics of sludge in an SBR treating domestic wastewater at low temperature.

Studying growth kinetics of microbial populations using information technology. Solving the Cauchy problem

The possibilities of information technologies in the study of growth dynamics and development of microbial populations have been shown. In the R programming language in the Jupyter Notebooks environment, a direct kinetic problem has been solved. Kinetic regularities of growth of microbial populations under periodic cultivation have been considered within the framework of an approximation based on numerical integration of velocity equations. The one-step Runge-Kutta method of the fourth order of accuracy has been used as a method for solving a differential equation with initial conditions (Cauchy problem). Initial conditions of the problem were: the number of time steps n=10,000; initial substrate concentration S0=1; the initial concentration of microorganisms has been considered in four variants: M0=0.01, M0=0.05, M0=0.1, M0=0.2, which correspond to 1%, 5%, 10%, 20% of the inoculum density accordingly; affinity ration of the substrate to microorganisms Ks=0.5. The use of modern information technologies in the analysis of microbial growth patterns is mainly determined by the capabilities of personal computers, software environments and shells. The potential of modern software in the implementation of applied engineering and research problems in solving ordinary differential equations describing the development and course of the microbial process over time has been presented.

Impact of granule size distribution on nitrous oxide production in autotrophic nitrogen removal granular reactor

This work applied an approach with reactor compartmentation and artificial diffusion to study the impact of granule size distribution on the autotrophic granular reactor performing partial nitritation and anaerobic ammonium oxidation with focus on the nitrous oxide (N₂O) production. The results show that the microbial community and the associated N₂O production rates in the granular structure are significantly influenced by the granule size distribution. Heterotrophic bacteria growing on microbial decay products tend to be retained and contribute to N₂O consumption in relatively small granules. Ammonium-oxidizing bacteria are mainly responsible for N₂O production via two pathways in granules of different sizes. Under the conditions studied, such heterogeneity in the granular structure disappears when the number of granule size classes considered reaches >4, where heterotrophic bacteria are completely outcompeted in the granules. In general, larger granules account for a higher portion of the net N₂O production, while the trend regarding the volumetric contribution of each granule size class changes with a varied number of granule size classes, due to the different contributions of relevant N₂O production pathways (with the heterotrophic denitrification pathway being the most decisive). Overall, with the increasing extent of granule size distribution, the nitrogen removal efficiency decreases slightly but consistently, whereas the N₂O production factor increases until the number of granule size classes reaches 4 or above. Practical implications of this work include: i) granules should be controlled as well-distributed as possible in order to obtain high nitrogen removal while minimizing N₂O production; ii) granule size distribution should be considered carefully and specifically when modelling N₂O production/emission from the autotrophic nitrogen removal granular reactor.

Modelling of simultaneous nitrogen and thiocyanate removal through coupling thiocyanate-based denitrification with anaerobic ammonium oxidation

Thiocyanate (SCN^-)-based autotrophic denitrification (AD) has recently been demonstrated as a promising technology that could be integrated with anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) to achieve simultaneous removal of nitrogen and SCN^-. However, there is still a lack of a complete SCN^--based AD model, and the potential microbial competition/synergy between AD bacteria and Anammox bacteria under different operating conditions remains unknown, which significantly hinders the possible application of coupling SCN^--based AD with Anammox. To this end, a complete SCN^--based AD model was firstly developed and reliably calibrated/validated using experimental datasets. The obtained SCN^--based AD model was then integrated with the well-established Anammox model and satisfactorily verified with experimental data from a system coupling AD with Anammox. The integrated model was lastly applied to investigate the impacts of influent NH₄⁺-N/NO₂^--N ratio and SCN^- concentration on the steady-state microbial composition as well as the removal of nitrogen and SCN^-. The results showed that the NH₄⁺-N/NO₂^--N ratio in the presence of a certain SCN^- level should be controlled at a proper value so that the maximum synergy between AD bacteria and Anammox bacteria could be achieved while their competition for NO₂^- would be minimized. For the simultaneous maximum removal (>95%) of nitrogen and SCN^-, there existed a negative relationship between the influent SCN^- concentration and the optimal NH₄⁺-N/NO₂^--N ratio needed.

Strategies for mitigating nitrous oxide production and decreasing the carbon footprint of a full-scale combined nitrogen and phosphorus removal activated sludge system

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) emitted from biological nutrient removal activated sludge systems contributes significantly to the total carbon footprint of modern wastewater treatment plants. In the present study, N₂O production and emissions were experimentally determined in a large-scale plant (220,000 PE) employing combined nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) removal. As a modelling tool, the Activated Sludge Model 2d (ASM2d) was extended with modules describing multiple N₂O production pathways and N₂O liquid-gas transfers. The new model was calibrated and validated using the results of laboratory experiments and full-scale measurements. Different operational strategies were evaluated following the proposed model-based procedure. Heterotrophic denitrification was found to be the predominant pathway of N₂O production under both anoxic and aerobic conditions. This behaviour could primarily be attributed to the predominant abundance of heterotrophic denitrifiers over nitrifiers. Simulations revealed that the optimal solution for minimizing liquid N₂O production is to set the dissolved oxygen concentration in the aerobic zone from 1 to 2 mg O₂/L and to enhance the mixed liquor recirculation rate (MLR) (>500% of the influent flowrate) while not compromising effluent standards. Regarding the actual conditions, the potential reduction in the carbon footprint was estimated to be 10% by applying the proposed operational strategy. The results suggest that considerable improvements can be achieved without substantial upgrades and increased costs.

Effect of operating conditions on N2O production in an anammox sequencing batch reactor containing granular sludge

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is one of the gases with the greatest impact in the atmosphere due to its persistence and significant contribution to the greenhouse effect. This study provides an insight into the dynamics of N₂O production in wastewater nitrogen removal systems. A 10 L sequencing batch reactor containing enriched anammox biomass was subjected to different operational conditions, i.e., temperature, feed time, NO₂ ^-/NH₄ ⁺ ratio and the initial concentrations of NH₄ ⁺ and NO₂ ^-. Tests showed no significant differences in maximum N₂O production when the system was operated with a shorter feed time and no increase in the operating temperature. A higher N₂O production was observed when the initial NO₂ ^-/NH₄ ⁺ ratio increased from 1.3 to 1.7 and 1.9. The highest initial concentration of NO₂ ^- was linked to an increase in residual N₂O at the end of the batch cycle, probably due to heterotrophic denitrifying metabolism.

Nitritation, nitrous oxide emission pathways and in situ microbial community in a modified University of Cape Town process

Achieving nitritation is a prerequisite to promote nutrients removal and save energy, but emission of nitrous oxide as a greenhouse gas cannot be ignored. This study established the nitritation in a continuous-flow MUCT process and investigated the mechanism of N₂O generation. The nitrite accumulation ratio (NAR) reached 95% by controlling the low DO of 0.3-0.5 mg/L and short HRT of 8 h. The ¹⁵N-isotope tracer experiment indicated that the percentage of nitrifier-denitrification (ND) pathway increased by 12.7% under the limited-aeration mode, improving the stable operating of nitritation. Meanwhile, the autotrophic anammox pathway increased with the contribution ratio of 14.7% to N₂ emission under the nitritation mode. The ¹⁵N-DNA-SIP revealed that the Nitrosomonas executed the ND pathway and the Planctomycetes conducted the anammox process, respectively. The integration of autotrophic and heterotrophic process based on nitritation technique has potential to solve the carbon-limited issue for total nitrogen removal in mainstream WWTPs.