A Continuous Plug-Flow Anaerobic-Multistage Anoxic/Aerobic Process Treating Low-C/N Domestic Sewage: Nutrient Removal, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Microbial Community Analysis

Yuting Xie, Wenlong Zhang (), Jie Jiang, Yi Li, Linlin Tong and Guangyu Yang
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Yuting Xie: Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation, Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Wenlong Zhang: Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation, Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Jie Jiang: Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation, Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Yi Li: Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation, Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Linlin Tong: Yancheng Gaoxin Water Service Co., Ltd., Yancheng 224021, China
Guangyu Yang: Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation, Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 10, 1-20

Abstract: The anaerobic-multistage anoxic/aerobic (A-MAO) process has shown good potential for advanced nitrogen removal in recent years, but its greenhouse gas emissions still need to be fully explored. The effects of the influent distribution and external carbon source sodium acetate on nutrient removal, greenhouse gas emissions, and the microbial community structure in a continuous plug-flow A-MAO reactor fed with real low C/N ratio domestic sewage were investigated. The results showed that altering the allocation of carbon source resulted in average chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total nitrogen (TN) concentration in effluent reduced to 26.10 ± 4.86 and 6.65 ± 1.73 mg/L, respectively. Both operations reduced the emission rate of greenhouse gas. While the addition of external car-bon sources leaded to lower N 2 O emission rates and higher CO 2 and CH 4 emission rates. The addition of sodium acetate facilitated nitrification and denitrification processes, thereby leading to a reduction in N 2 O production. Meanwhile, it spurred the growth of methanogenic bacteria and heterotrophic microorganisms, thus boosting the production of CO 2 and CH 4 . Influent distribution promoted the increase of Bacteroidota, Chloroflexi and Acidobacteriota of the reactor. The enrichment of typical hydrolytic bacteria and glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs) increased the utilization efficiency of carbon sources in the system after the addition of sodium acetate. The significant increase of typical denitrifying bacteria (DNBs) Azospira reduced the N 2 O emission during heterotrophic denitrification process, which was considered to be an important functional genus for increasing nitrogen loss in this system. The rational utilization of carbon source makes the difference in metabolism function. The study provides a valuable strategy for comprehensively evaluating the pollutant removal and greenhouse gas emission reduction from the A-MAO process.

Keywords: low C/N municipal wastewater; biological nutrient removal; GHG emission; microbial community (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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