Effect of Atmospheric Pressure on the Simultaneous Nitrification, Denitrification, and Phosphorous Removal from Anaerobic/Aerobic Sequencing Batch Reactor System
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 6
Abstract
The anaerobic/aerobic sequencing batch reactor (SBR) (A/O-SBR) system has been a major focus of recent research because of its high nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) removal efficiencies in wastewater treatment plants. The feasibility of using the A/O-SBR system in plateau regions (altitude 3,000 m) remains unclear. In this study, two A/O-SBR systems were established, and the effect of atmospheric pressure on nutrient removal performance was studied. High N and P removal efficiencies of and , respectively, were achieved in the A/O-SBR system under low atmospheric pressure (72 kPa, called R2). The A/O-SBR system under low atmospheric pressure had higher P-uptake activity (), indicating that P removal was higher in R2 than in the A/O-SBR system under normal atmospheric pressure (97 kPa, called R1). The 16S rDNA sequencing analysis showed that the abundance of denitrifying glycogen accumulating organisms was higher in R2 than in R1, which was opposite to the pattern of P-accumulating organisms (PAOs), denitrifying PAOs, and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. Batch tests were consistent with the microbial community analysis. Therefore, efficient N and P removal performance was achieved under low atmospheric pressure, and the functional microbial abundance and microbial activities related to N and P removal were significantly affected. The results of this study have implications for removing pollutants during wastewater treatment in plateau regions.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published paper.
Acknowledgments
Funding for this study was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52160004) and the Major Science and Technology Project of Tibet Science and Technology Department (XZ201801-GA-05).
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Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 6 • June 2022
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© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Aug 20, 2021
Accepted: Jan 22, 2022
Published online: Mar 26, 2022
Published in print: Jun 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Aug 26, 2022
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