Effect of Carbon Source on Biological Nutrient Removal in an Anaerobic, Hypoxic, Anoxic, or Aerobic Sequencing Batch Reactor
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 12
Abstract
A sequencing batch reactor was constructed to realize simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) and denitrifying phosphorus removal (DPR). The influence of different carbon sources (acetate, acetate and propionate, and propionate) was explored. The total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency reached the highest value of 66.4% with acetate. The total phosphorus (TP) removal efficiency was nearly the same (97.9%–96.1%) with different carbon sources. Propionate facilitates TP removal during the hypoxic stage to weaken glycogen metabolism in phosphorus-accumulating organisms (PAOs) and promote dehydrogenase and phosphorus removal–related enzyme activities. Propionate also facilitates the competitiveness of PAOs against glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs). TN removal during the SND process in the hypoxic stage was maintained at 38.2%–40.2%, which is explained by the relative amount of change in nitrifying and denitrifying microorganisms. However, acetate promoted TN (from 9.2% to 17.3%) and TP (from 18.1% to 22.7%) removal during the DPR stage, thus enhancing final TN removal and maintaining TP removal. Consequently, acetate may be a better choice for a SND-DPR–coupled system.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from Jiangsu Social Development Project (BE2018630), Wuxi Technology Development Fund (WX18IVJN609), Key Research and Development Program of Xizang (XZ202001ZY0052G), and Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20180409).
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 147 • Issue 12 • December 2021
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 26, 2021
Accepted: Aug 18, 2021
Published online: Oct 8, 2021
Published in print: Dec 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Mar 8, 2022
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