Achieving complete nitrogen removal by coupling nitritation-anammox and methane-dependent denitrification: A model-based study

Xueming Chen; Jianhua Guo; Guo-Jun Xie; Zhiguo Yuan; Bing-Jie Ni

doi:10.1002/bit.25866

Achieving complete nitrogen removal by coupling nitritation-anammox and methane-dependent denitrification: A model-based study

Xueming Chen
, Jianhua Guo
, Guo-Jun Xie
, Zhiguo Yuan
, Bing-Jie Ni^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

33 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The discovery of denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) processes enables the complete nitrogen removal from wastewater by utilizing the methane produced on site from anaerobic digesters. This model-based study investigated the mechanisms and operational window for efficient nitrogen removal by coupling nitritation-anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) and methane-dependent denitrification in membrane biofilm reactors (MBfRs). A mathematical model was applied to describe the microbial interactions among Anammox bacteria, DAMO archaea, and DAMO bacteria. The model sufficiently described the batch experimental data from an MBfR containing an Anammox-DAMO biofilm with different feeding nitrogen compositions, which confirmed the validity of the model. The effects of process parameters on the system performance and microbial community structure could therefore be reliably evaluated. The impacts of nitritation produced NO₂^-/NH₄⁺ ratio, methane supply, biofilm thickness and total nitrogen (TN) surface loading were comprehensively investigated with the model. Results showed that the optimum NO₂^-/NH₄⁺ ratio produced from nitritation for the Anammox-DAMO biofilm system was around 1.0 in order to achieve the maximum TN removal (over 99.0%), independent on TN surface loading. The corresponding optimal methane supply increased while the associated methane utilization efficiency decreased with the increase of TN surface loading. The cooperation between DAMO organisms and Anammox bacteria played the key role in the TN removal. Based on these results, the proof-of-concept feasibility of a single-stage MBfR coupling nitritation-Anammox-DAMO for complete nitrogen removal was also tested through integrating the model with ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) processes whilst controlling the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in the simulated system. The maximum TN removal was found to be achieved at the bulk DO concentration of around 0.17gm^-3 under the simulation conditions, with the AOB, Anammox bacteria and DAMO organisms coexisting in the biofilm. Biotechnol. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1035-1045
Journal	Biotechnology and Bioengineering
Volume	113
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.25866
Publication status	Published - 1 May 2016
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publication details (e.g. title, author(s), publication statuses and dates) are captured on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis at the time of record harvesting from the data source. Suggestions for further amendments or supplementary information can be sent to [email protected].

Funding

This study was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) through Project DP130103147. Xueming Chen acknowledges the scholarship support from China Scholarship Council (CSC). Dr. Jianhua Guo acknowledges the support of ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE130101401) and Natural Science Foundation of China (51208009) and Natural Science Foundation of Beijing (8132008). Dr. Bing-Jie Ni acknowledges the support of ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE130100451) and Natural Science Foundation of China (51578391).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation

Research Keywords

Anammox
Biofilm
Complete nitrogen removal
Denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation
Modeling
Nitritation

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abstract = "The discovery of denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) processes enables the complete nitrogen removal from wastewater by utilizing the methane produced on site from anaerobic digesters. This model-based study investigated the mechanisms and operational window for efficient nitrogen removal by coupling nitritation-anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) and methane-dependent denitrification in membrane biofilm reactors (MBfRs). A mathematical model was applied to describe the microbial interactions among Anammox bacteria, DAMO archaea, and DAMO bacteria. The model sufficiently described the batch experimental data from an MBfR containing an Anammox-DAMO biofilm with different feeding nitrogen compositions, which confirmed the validity of the model. The effects of process parameters on the system performance and microbial community structure could therefore be reliably evaluated. The impacts of nitritation produced NO2-/NH4+ ratio, methane supply, biofilm thickness and total nitrogen (TN) surface loading were comprehensively investigated with the model. Results showed that the optimum NO2-/NH4+ ratio produced from nitritation for the Anammox-DAMO biofilm system was around 1.0 in order to achieve the maximum TN removal (over 99.0\%), independent on TN surface loading. The corresponding optimal methane supply increased while the associated methane utilization efficiency decreased with the increase of TN surface loading. The cooperation between DAMO organisms and Anammox bacteria played the key role in the TN removal. Based on these results, the proof-of-concept feasibility of a single-stage MBfR coupling nitritation-Anammox-DAMO for complete nitrogen removal was also tested through integrating the model with ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) processes whilst controlling the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in the simulated system. The maximum TN removal was found to be achieved at the bulk DO concentration of around 0.17gm-3 under the simulation conditions, with the AOB, Anammox bacteria and DAMO organisms coexisting in the biofilm. Biotechnol. {\textcopyright} 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.",

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AB - The discovery of denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) processes enables the complete nitrogen removal from wastewater by utilizing the methane produced on site from anaerobic digesters. This model-based study investigated the mechanisms and operational window for efficient nitrogen removal by coupling nitritation-anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) and methane-dependent denitrification in membrane biofilm reactors (MBfRs). A mathematical model was applied to describe the microbial interactions among Anammox bacteria, DAMO archaea, and DAMO bacteria. The model sufficiently described the batch experimental data from an MBfR containing an Anammox-DAMO biofilm with different feeding nitrogen compositions, which confirmed the validity of the model. The effects of process parameters on the system performance and microbial community structure could therefore be reliably evaluated. The impacts of nitritation produced NO2-/NH4+ ratio, methane supply, biofilm thickness and total nitrogen (TN) surface loading were comprehensively investigated with the model. Results showed that the optimum NO2-/NH4+ ratio produced from nitritation for the Anammox-DAMO biofilm system was around 1.0 in order to achieve the maximum TN removal (over 99.0%), independent on TN surface loading. The corresponding optimal methane supply increased while the associated methane utilization efficiency decreased with the increase of TN surface loading. The cooperation between DAMO organisms and Anammox bacteria played the key role in the TN removal. Based on these results, the proof-of-concept feasibility of a single-stage MBfR coupling nitritation-Anammox-DAMO for complete nitrogen removal was also tested through integrating the model with ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) processes whilst controlling the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in the simulated system. The maximum TN removal was found to be achieved at the bulk DO concentration of around 0.17gm-3 under the simulation conditions, with the AOB, Anammox bacteria and DAMO organisms coexisting in the biofilm. Biotechnol. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Achieving complete nitrogen removal by coupling nitritation-anammox and methane-dependent denitrification: A model-based study

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Research Keywords

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