Integrating anaerobic acidification with two-stage forward osmosis concentration for simultaneously recovering organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus from municipal wastewater

Siyi Chen; Zunaira Habib; Zhiwei Wang; Pin Zhao; Weilong Song; Xinhua Wang

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2023.120595

Integrating anaerobic acidification with two-stage forward osmosis concentration for simultaneously recovering organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus from municipal wastewater

Water Res. 2023 Oct 15:245:120595. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120595. Epub 2023 Sep 7.

Authors

Siyi Chen¹, Zunaira Habib², Zhiwei Wang³, Pin Zhao¹, Weilong Song¹, Xinhua Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Anaerobic Biotechnology, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.
² Institute of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan; Department of Chemistry, Rawalpindi Women University, 6th Road Satellite Town, Rawalpindi 46300, Pakistan.
³ School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
⁴ Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Anaerobic Biotechnology, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Technology and Material of Water Treatment, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China. Electronic address: xhwang@jiangnan.edu.cn.

PMID: 37708772
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120595

Abstract

In order to meet the demand of municipal wastewater for low-carbon treatment and resource recovery, a novel process of anaerobic acidification membrane bioreactor (AAMBR) assisted with a two-stage forward osmosis (FO) (FO-AAMBR-FO) was developed for simultaneously recovering organic matter and nutrients from municipal wastewater. The results indicated that the first FO process concentrated the municipal wastewater to one tenth of the initial volume. The corresponding chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) and total phosphorus (TP) concentration reached up to 2800, 200 and 33 mg/L, respectively. Subsequently, the AAMBR was operated at pH value of 10 for treating the concentration of municipal wastewater, in which the organic matter was successfully converted to acetic acid and propionic acid with a total volatile fatty acids (VFAs) concentration of 1787 mg COD/L and a VFAs production efficiency of 62.36 % during 47 days of stable operation. After that, the NH₄⁺-N and TP concentration in the effluent of the AAMBR were further concentrated to 175 and 36.7 mg/L, respectively, by the second FO process. The struvite was successfully recovered with NH₄⁺-N and TP recovery rate of 94.53 % and 98.59 %, respectively. Correspondingly, the VFAs, NH₄⁺-N and TP concentrations in the residual solution were 2905 mg COD/L, 11.8 and 7.92 mg/L, respectively, which could be used as the raw material for the synthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). Results reported here demonstrated that the FO-AAMBR-FO is a promising wastewater treatment technology for simultaneous recovery of organic matter (in form of VFAs) and nutrients (in form of struvite).

Keywords: Anaerobic acidification; Forward osmosis; Municipal wastewater; Struvite recovery; Volatile fatty acids.

MeSH terms

Anaerobiosis
Bioreactors
Fatty Acids, Volatile
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Membranes, Artificial
Nitrogen
Osmosis
Phosphorus
Struvite
Wastewater*
Water Purification* / methods

Substances

Wastewater
Phosphorus
Nitrogen
Struvite
Fatty Acids, Volatile
Membranes, Artificial