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Updated: Jul 6, 2026

A Novel Bioreactor for High Density Cultivation of Diverse Microbial Communities
Published on: December 25, 2015
Partial denitrification in rope-type biofilm reactors: Performance, kinetics, and microflora using internal vs.
Lin Sun1, Wudneh Ayele Shewa2, Kevin Bossy2
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Western University, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada.
Abstract:
Stable nitrite accumulation through partial denitrification (PDN) represents an efficient pathway to support the anammox process, but limited studies explored the internal wastewater carbon sources and biofilm processes. This study assessed the viability of the PDN process, biofilm community evolution, and functional enzyme formation in rope-type biofilm media reactors using primary effluent (PE) and anaerobically pretreated wastewater carbon sources for the first time. Comparison was made with external carbon (acetate) under varied pH and biofilm thicknesses, maintaining a favourable sCOD: NO3-N ratio of 3. The wastewater's internal carbon resulted in thinner biofilms; nevertheless, modest nitrite accumulation (0.24 g/m2/d) occurred only at elevated pH. The highest nitrite accumulation (0.79 g/m2/d) was exhibited in the biofilm thickness-controlled acetate-fed reactor, featuring porous biofilms dominated by denitrifier Thauera (10.24 %) and imbalance between Nar, Nap, and Nir reductases. Using internal wastewater carbon sources offers a sustainable avenue for adopting the PDN process in full-scale application.
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