Microbial mechanisms of enhancing carbon and nitrogen conversion by segmented sodium acetate dosing in a modified A2/O process
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Updated: Nov 7, 2026

Continuously-stirred Anaerobic Digester to Convert Organic Wastes into Biogas: System Setup and Basic Operation
Published on: July 13, 2012
Shuncai Wang1, Weiguang Li2, Guanglin Zhang1
1School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China.
Abstract:
Low C/N ratios in municipal wastewater often limit nitrogen removal efficiency, necessitating carbon source supplementation to enhance denitrification and reduce effluent total nitrogen (TN) concentrations. This study addresses this challenge by establishing a feast-famine alternating nutritional environment in a modified anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (MAAO) reactor through segmented sodium acetate dosing. This approach was associated with enhanced carbon and nitrogen metabolic pathway conversions. Our results showed that segmented sodium acetate dosing was associated with improved microbial substrate uptake, leading to increased carbon and nitrogen conversion rates of 2.3 percentage points and 11.8 percentage points, respectively. Enhanced interactions between hydrolyzing/fermenting bacteria and denitrifying bacteria fostered synergistic carbon and nitrogen conversion. Furthermore, metagenomic analysis indicated enhanced genetic potential for nitrate transport and denitrification, consistent with the increased denitrification contribution observed in the nitrogen balance. This research illuminates the efficiency of carbon and nitrogen metabolism and microbial community function in MAAO in response to dynamic nutrient environments. It contributes significantly to understanding the potential mechanisms underlying nitrogen transformation in such systems.
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