The rapid start-up of CANON process through adding partial nitration sludge to ANAMMOX system

Siyuan Gong; Yujie Qin; Shaohong Zheng; Tiansheng Lu; Xiangjing Yang; Ming Zeng; Hongen Zhou; Jiannv Chen; Weichan Huang

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117821

The rapid start-up of CANON process through adding partial nitration sludge to ANAMMOX system

J Environ Manage. 2023 Jul 15:338:117821. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117821. Epub 2023 Mar 29.

Authors

Siyuan Gong¹, Yujie Qin², Shaohong Zheng¹, Tiansheng Lu¹, Xiangjing Yang¹, Ming Zeng¹, Hongen Zhou¹, Jiannv Chen¹, Weichan Huang¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Centre, Guangzhou, 510006, PR China.
² School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Centre, Guangzhou, 510006, PR China; The Key Lab of Pollution Control and Ecosystem Restoration in Industry Clusters, Ministry of Education, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Centre, Guangzhou, 510006, PR China. Electronic address: qinyujie@scut.edu.cn.

PMID: 37001425
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117821

Abstract

This study aimed to start up the completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite (CANON) process after adding partial nitration (PN) sludge to the ANAMMOX reactor, so as to help the rapid start-up and stable operation of the CANON process in practical engineering applications. There were three steps in the research: cultivating the PN sludge, building a reliable ANAMMMOX system, and finally starting and running the CANON process. The PN sludge was successfully cultivated in less than 45 days with around 90% nitrite accumulation rate. The ANAMMOX reactor enriched a significant quantity of red granular sludge within 70 days, achieving the maximum nitrogen removal rate of 1.74 kg/(m³·d). Eventually, the CANON reactor was started up successfully, which achieved 95.08% of average ammonium removal efficiency and 84.51% of average total nitrogen removal efficiency in 60 days. The residual recalcitrant nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in the CANON process was successfully inhibited by intermittent aeration and 12 mg/L free ammonia in UASB reactor. Besides, Candidatus Kuenenia, Candidatus Brocadia and Nitrosomonas were the main functional microorganisms involved in the CANON process.

Keywords: ANAMMOX; CANON; Microbial communities; Nitrogen removal; Partial nitration.

MeSH terms

Anaerobic Ammonia Oxidation
Bioreactors / microbiology
Denitrification
Nitrites*
Nitrogen
Oxidation-Reduction
Sewage*

Substances

Sewage
Nitrites
Nitrogen