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Evaluating the effects of micro-zones of granular sludge on one-stage partial nitritation–anammox nitrogen removal

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Abstract

The one-stage partial nitritation–anammox (PN–A) process is considered an efficient process for low-cost nitrogen removal. In this study, the nitrogen removal performance of different-sized granules in a one-stage PN–A reactor was studied. The total autotrophic nitrogen removal rate (TANRR) of the granular sludge increased as the granule size increased, and the TANRR of granular sludge with a radius larger than 500 μm reached 0.14 kgN kgVSS−1 d−1. High-throughput sequencing revealed that the abundance of ammonium-oxidizing bacteria and anaerobic ammonium‐oxidizing (anammox) bacteria in granular sludge of different sizes differed, indicating that the bacterial community structure was affected by the granule size. The TANRR of different-sized granules was affected by the volumes of aerobic micro-zone and anaerobic micro-zone inside the granule. Appropriate micro-zone volumes inside the granules could be regulated by the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration of the reactor, which are favourable for achieving a balance between partial nitritation and anammox and then satisfactory nitrogen removal. Small-volume variations in the range of micro-zones have a significant influence on the balance between partial nitritation and anammox. The proper DO concentration required for different-sized granules to achieve better nitrogen removal differed. This study provides a novel perspective for understanding the effect of micro-zones of granular sludge on one-stage PN–A nitrogen removal.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51878091 and 21876016), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2019YFD1100501) and the Chongqing Science and Technology Commission (cstc2018jcyjAX0610).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environment and Ecology, Chongqing University, No. 174 Shazhengjie, Shapingba District, Chongqing, 400045, China

    Hanxiang Li, Shuai Wang, Fan Zhao, Fang Fang, Youpeng Chen, Peng Yan, Jixiang Yang, Shujun Gu & Jinsong Guo

  2. Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 266 Fangzheng Avenue, Shuitu Hi‑tech Industrial Park, Shuitu Town, Beibei District, Chongqing, 400714, China

    Jixiang Yang

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  1. Hanxiang Li
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  2. Shuai Wang
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  4. Fang Fang
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Hanxiang Li. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Hanxiang Li and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Fang Fang.

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Li, H., Wang, S., Zhao, F. et al. Evaluating the effects of micro-zones of granular sludge on one-stage partial nitritation–anammox nitrogen removal. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 43, 1037–1049 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-020-02302-y

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