Sustainable Treatment of High-Ammonia-Nitrogen Organic Wastewater via Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation (Anammox) Combined with Effluent Recirculation/Micro-Aeration

Zichun Yan (), Rong Zeng and Hao Yang
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Zichun Yan: School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Lanzhou Jiao Tong University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Rong Zeng: School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Lanzhou Jiao Tong University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Hao Yang: School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Lanzhou Jiao Tong University, Lanzhou 730070, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-16

Abstract: High-ammonia-nitrogen organic wastewater poses significant challenges to traditional nitrogen removal processes due to their high energy consumption and carbon dependency, conflicting with global sustainability goals. Anammox presents a sustainable alternative with lower energy demands, yet its application is constrained by organic matter inhibition. This study aimed to optimize nitrogen and organic matter removal in Anammox systems by comparing two strategies: effluent recirculation and micro-aeration. Anammox reactors were operated under three conditions: (1) no recirculation (control group), (2) 100–300% effluent recirculation, (3) micro-aeration at 50–150 mL/min. The effects on total nitrogen (TN) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal were evaluated, alongside microbial community analysis via high-throughput sequencing. The results show that micro-aeration at 100 mL/min achieved 78.9% COD and 88.3% TN removal by creating micro-anaerobic conditions for metabolic synergy. Excessive aeration (150 mL/min) inhibited Anammox, dropping TN removal to 49.7%. Recirculation enriched Planctomycetota, while micro-aeration slightly increased Planctomycetota abundance at 45 cm and enhanced Proteobacteria and Chloroflexi for denitrification. Optimal conditions—200% recirculation and 100 mL/min aeration—improve efficiency via dilution and synergistic metabolism, providing a novel comparative framework for treating high-ammonia-nitrogen organic wastewater and filling a research gap in the parallel evaluation of Anammox enhancement strategies.

Keywords: anammox; sustainable wastewater treatment; micro-aeration; effluent recirculation; nitrogen removal; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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