Nitrogen removal performance and nitrifyingpopulation dynamics were investigated in a redox stratifiedmembrane biofilm reactor(RSMBR)under oxygen limitedcondition to treat ammonium-rich wastewater.When theNH_(4)^(+)-N loading rate increased from 11.1±1.0 to 37:2±3:2 gNH_(4)^(+)-N·m^(-2)·d^(-1),the nitrogen removal inthe RSMBR system increased from 18.0±9.6 mgN·d^(-1)to 128.9±61.7 mgN·d^(-1).Shortcut nitrogen removal wasachieved with nitrite accumulation of about22:3±5:3 mgNO_(2)^(-)-N·L-1.Confocal micrographsshowed the stratified distributions of nitrifiers anddenitrifiers in the membrane aerated biofilms(MABs)atday 120,i.e.,ammonia and nitrite oxidizing bacteria(AOBand NOB)were dominant in the region adjacent to themembrane,while heterotrophic bacteria propagated at thetop of the biofilm.Real-time qPCR results showed that theabundance of amoA gene was two orders of magnitudehigher than the abundance of nxrA gene in the MABs.However,the nxrA gene was always detected during theoperation time,which indicates the difficulty of completewashout of NOB in MABs.The growth of heterotrophicbacteria compromised the dominance of nitrifiers inbiofilm communities,but it enhanced the denitrificationperformance of the RSMBR system.Applying a highammonia loading together with oxygen limitation wasfound to be an effective way to start nitrite accumulation inMABs,but other approaches were needed to sustain orimprove the extent of nitritation in nitrogen conversion inMABs.
在设定的膜内压力下(2 k Pa)启动并运行膜曝气生物膜反应器(MABR),对生物膜生长过程中的硝化性能及生物膜组成变化进行了分析。实验结果表明,在生物膜厚度增长到(293.3±5.8)μm的过程中,生物膜内的总氧通量先增加后减少,最高可达21.3 g O2?m?2?d?1,证实了生物膜的存在可增强MABR的氧传质能力。在生物膜厚度增长的过程中,氨氮表面去除负荷也是先增加后减少,最高可达4.91 g N?m?2?d?1,表明在MABR硝化过程中存在最佳的生物膜厚度,根据所研究最佳生物膜厚度为(119.0±3.0)μm,此时MABR具有最高的氧通量和氨氮表面去除负荷,硝化性能最好。生物膜内胞外聚合物(EPS)成分分析结果表明,随着生物膜厚度的增加,生物膜内层紧密型EPS的含量增加,导致氧传质阻力增加,这是生物膜内氧通量及氨氮去除负荷随生物膜厚度先增加后下降的内在原因。
