A novel vertical dual-loop reactor for rapid start-up of simultaneous partial nitrification and anammox process in treating landfill leachate: Performances and mechanisms

A novel vertical dual-loop reactor (VDLR) was developed to start and conduct a single-stage partial nitritation (PN) and anammox (PN/A) process for treating landfill leachate. Results showed that the total nitrogen (TN) removal reached 1.54 kg N/m3 center dot d in the VDLR. It exhibited excellent mixing uniformity and buffer performance, which can increase the nitrogen removal performance up to 42.1 % via the improvement of anammox granular sludge activity (a particle size of 0.5-1 mm). Mass balance and microbial analysis indicated that the VDLR achieved efficient TN removal via anammox (99.24 %) and AOB (Nitrosomonas and Ellin6067) and anAOB (Candidatus kuenenia) played a vital role in this process.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel reactor was developed for treating landfill leachate. The reactor achieved efficient removal of total nitrogen through a process of partial nitritation and anammox. The results showed that the reactor exhibited excellent mixing and buffering performance, and the nitrogen removal efficiency was improved by enhancing the activity of anammox granular sludge.