Advanced nitrogen elimination from domestic sewage through two stage partial nitrification and denitrification (PND) coupled with simultaneous anaerobic ammonia oxidation and denitrification (SAD)

The start-up, efficient, and secure operation of Anammox treating low ammonia sewage, is an important research focus. In this study, a partial nitrification-denitrification coupled with simultaneous Anammox and denitrifi-cation (PND-SAD) process was achieved in sequencing batch reactor/up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (SBR-UASB). The key measures to maintain high efficiency PND were: (i) controlling dissolved oxygen in the SBR below 0.5 mg/L, which is not only conducive to PN, but also promotes the contribution of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification to nitrogen removal; (ii) monitoring the nitrate (NO3--N) of SBR effluent and discharging sludge to wash out nitrate oxidation bacteria when the NO3--N exceeds 1.0 mg/L. The nitrite accumulation rate reached 97.6%. SBR effluent and domestic sewage entered the UASB. Although Candidatus Brocadia only accounted for 0.8%, its contribution to nitrogen removal reached 76.8%. In PND-SAD system, the aerobic HRT was only 3.8 h, nitrogen removal efficiency up to 97.3%.

Automated summary

This study achieved efficient operation of Anammox treating low ammonia sewage through the PND-SAD process, with key measures including control of dissolved oxygen concentration and monitoring of nitrate concentration. In the system, the nitrite accumulation rate reached 97.6% and nitrogen removal efficiency was as high as 97.3%.