The combined effects of biomass and temperature on maximum specific ammonia oxidation rate in domestic wastewater treatment

Highlights

• Actual SAORs was determined using MLVSS and temperature.

• Measured SAOR decreased with increasing MLVSS 1.1‒8.7 g/L.

• Temperature coefficient (θ) decreased with increasing MLVSS.

• Nitrification process was dynamically simulated based on laboratory-scale SBR tests.

• A modified model was successfully validated in pilot-scale SBR systems.

Abstract

Measurement and predicted variations of ammonia oxidation rate (AOR) are critical for the optimization of biological nitrogen removal, however, it is difficult to predict accurate AOR based on current models. In this study, a modified model was developed to predict AOR based on laboratory-scale tests and verified through pilot-scale tests. In biological nitrogen removal reactors, the specific ammonia oxidation rate (SAOR) was affected by both mixed liquor volatile suspended solids (MLVSS) concentration and temperature. When MLVSS increased 1.6, 4.2, and 7.1-fold (1.3‒8.9 g/L, at 20°C), the measured SAOR decreased by 21%, 49%, and 56%, respectively. Thereby, the estimated SAOR was suggested to modify when MLVSS changed through a power equation fitting. In addition, temperature coefficient (θ) was modified based on MLVSS concentration. These results suggested that the prediction of variations ammonia oxidation rate in real wastewater treatment system could be more accurate when considering the effect of MLVSS variations on SAOR.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Specific ammonia oxidation rate / Sequencing batch reactor / Biomass / Temperature coefficient / Model simulation

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51978007), Research Project of Education Department of Liaoning Province (2020jy009 and 2020jy011).

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-021-1411-9and is accessible for authorized users.

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