A biological aerated filter (BAF) pilot plant consisting of two reactors (aerobic and anoxic one) was used to determine a strategy to remove nitrogen via nitrite. RNA/DNA analysis was performed to assess microbial activity and support chemical results. In less than 13 days the pilot plant was able to remove COD and suspended solids. Nitrogen removal via nitrite pathway could not be observed until day 130 when the empty bed contact time (EBCT) was set at 0.71 h. Nitrite was detected in the aerated BAF effluent but never nitrate. qPCR of amoA gene from RNA and DNA extracts of the aerobic biofilm confirmed that ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) were present from the beginning of the operation but not active. AOB activity increased with time, reaching stability from operational day 124. The combination of both, low EBCT together with high OLR, has been demonstrated to be a feasible strategy to startup a BAF to achieve nitrogen removal via nitrite.
Keywords: Ammonia oxidizing bacteria; NGS; Nitrite; Partial nitrification; RNA.