Enhanced nitrogen removal via partial nitrification/denitrification coupled anammox using three stage anoxic/oxic biofilm process with intermittent aeration

Pre-capturing organics in municipal wastewater for biogas production, combined with Anammox-based nitrogen removal process, improves the sustainability of sewage treatment. Thus, enhancing nitrogen removal via Anammox in mainstream wastewater treatment becomes very crucial. In present study, a three-stage anoxic/oxic (AO) biofilm process with intermittent aeration was designed to strengthen partial nitrification/denitrification coupling Anammox (PNA/PDA) in treatment of low C/N wastewater, which contained chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 79.8 mg/L and total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) of 58.9 mg/L. With a hydraulic retention time of 8.0 h, the process successfully reduced TIN to 10.6 mg/L, achieving a nitrogen removal efficiency of 83.3%. The 1st anoxic zone accounted for 32.0% TIN removal, with 10.3% by denitrification and 21.7% by PDA, meanwhile, the 2nd and 3rd anoxic zones contributed 19.4% and 4.5% of TIN removal, primarily achieved through PDA (including endogenous PD coupling Anammox). The 1st and 2nd intermittent zones accounted for 27.2% and 17.0% of TIN removal, respectively, with 13.7%-21.3% by PNA and 3.2%-5.3% by PDA. Although this process did not pursue nitrite accumulation in any zone (< 1.5 mg-N/L), PNA and PDA accounted for 35.1% and 52.1% of TIN removal, respectively. Only 0.21% of removed TIN was released as nitrous oxide. The AnAOB of Candidatus Brocadia was enriched in each zone, with a relative abundance of 0.66%-2.29%. In intermittent zones, NOB had been partially suppressed (AOB/NOB = 0.73-0.88), mainly due to intermittent aeration and effective nitrite utilization by AnAOB since its population size was much greater than NOB. Present study indicated that the three-stage AO biofilm process with intermittent aeration could enhance nitrogen removal via PNA and PDA with a low N2O emission factor.