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Updated: Jan 18, 2026

A Novel Bioreactor for High Density Cultivation of Diverse Microbial Communities
Published on: December 25, 2015
Advanced total nitrogen removal in low C/N wastewater through simultaneous nitrification-heterotrophic
Zi-Shang Ma1, Han-Min Zhang1, Wen-Jie Ma1
1Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (Ministry of Education, MOE), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, No.2 Linggong Road, Dalian, 116024, PR China.
Abstract:
Traditional heterotrophic denitrification encounters challenges in the treatment of wastewater with a low carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N). This study successfully achieved complete nitrogen removal with energy efficiency through the anaerobic-anoxic-anoxic sulfur autotrophic (A3) process in the treatment of low C/N wastewater. Notably, this process enabled simultaneous nitrification-heterotrophic denitrification (SND) coupled with sulfur-driven autotrophic denitrification (SAD) with a nitrogen removal rate of 0.15 kg N/m3/d (100 % of NH4+-N and 92 % of total nitrogen (TN) removal). More than 85 % of TN removal and 50 % of SND contribution were obtained under low-temperature conditions (about 10-14 °C). After cultivation in the A3 system, the dominant bacterial genus changed from norank_f__Saprospiraceae (11.22 %-5.21 %) to Ferruginibacter (0.89 %-19.31 %). Additionally, Nitrospira (1.34 %) and Thiobacillus (2.14 %) exhibited a synergistic effect in the anoxic tank, collectively promoting the simultaneous nitrification and denitrification process. This study proposes a novel and energy-efficient approach for the treatment of low C/N wastewater.
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