Effects of Stepwise Adjustment of C/N during the Start-Up of Submerged Membrane Bioreactors (SMBRs) on the Aerobic Denitrification of Wastewater

Based on the improved high-efficiency sewage treatment performance of submerged membrane bioreactors (SMBRs), we focused on how to adjust the C/N ratio of the influent water during reactor start-up to prevent an excessive C/N ratio from causing membrane fouling. In this study, an experimental method...

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Autores principales: Yinan Zhang, Yuxin Fang, Banglong Wang, Hangjun Zhang, Jiafeng Ding
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: MDPI AG 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/a3c902042d55457f918cf26475d0098c
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Sumario:Based on the improved high-efficiency sewage treatment performance of submerged membrane bioreactors (SMBRs), we focused on how to adjust the C/N ratio of the influent water during reactor start-up to prevent an excessive C/N ratio from causing membrane fouling. In this study, an experimental method of gradually adjusting the influent C/N ratio to quickly start the reactor was proposed, and the results showed that biofilm formation in R1 (SMBR, three influent C/N ratios of 5, 10, and 20) was approximately completed in 32 days, shorter than that (40 days) required in R2 (SMBR, influent C/N ratio of 20). Higher removal efficiencies of 76.4% for TN, 70.1% for COD, and 79.2% for NH<sub>3</sub>-N were obtained in R1 than in R2. The high-throughput sequencing results indicated that after 150 days of operation, the Shannon index of bacteria in R1 increased from 2.97 to 4.41 and the growth of <i>Nakamurella</i>, <i>Ferruginibacter</i>, and <i>Rhodanobacter</i> was promoted in the reactor, which indicated substantial microbial diversity in the biofilm. Therefore, gradually adjusting the influent C/N ratio could effectively enhance the nitrogen removal performance of denitrification microbial communities in SMBRs. This study offers a reliable approach for starting the SMBR-enhanced biological nutrient removal process in wastewater treatment plants by gradually adjusting the influent C/N ratio.