title: The impact of influent total ammonium nitrogen concentration on nitrite-oxidizing bacteria inhibition in moving bed biofilm reactor.
abstract: The application of nitrification-denitrification over nitrite (nitritation-denitritation) with municipal (i.e. diluted and cold (or low-temperature)) wastewater can substantially improve the energy balance of municipal wastewater treatment plants. For the accumulation of nitrite, it is crucial to inhibit nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) with simultaneous proliferation of ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). The present study describes the effect of the influent total ammonium nitrogen (TAN) concentration on AOB and NOB activity in two moving bed biofilm reactors operated as sequencing batch reactors (SBR) at 15 °C (SBR I) and 21 °C (SBR II). The reactors were fed with diluted reject water containing 600, 300, 150 and 75 mg TAN L(-1). The only factor limiting NOB activity in these reactors was the high concentrations of free ammonia and/or free nitrous acid (FNA) during the SBR cycles. Nitrite accumulation was observed with influents containing 600, 300 and 150 mg TAN L(-1) in SBR I and 600 and 300 in SBR II. Once nitrate production established in the reactors, the increase of influent TAN concentration up to the original 600 mg TAN L(-1) did not limit NOB activity. This was due to the massive development of NOB clusters throughout the biofilm that were able to cope with faster formation of FNA. The results of the fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis preliminarily showed the stratification of bacteria in the biofilm.
authors.affiliation: Department of Water Technology and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Chemical Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic E-mail: jan.bartacek@vscht.cz.
authors.forename: Vojtech
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kouba
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Catrysse
authors.affiliation: Department of Water Technology and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Chemical Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic E-mail: jan.bartacek@vscht.cz.
authors.forename: Hana
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stryjova
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Institute of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Slovak University of Technology, Radlinského 9, 812 37 Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jonatova
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Eveline I P
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Volcke
authors.affiliation: Department of Agro-Environmental Chemistry and Plant Nutrition, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamycka 129, 165 21 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Pavel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Svehla
authors.affiliation: Department of Water Technology and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Chemical Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic E-mail: jan.bartacek@vscht.cz.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bartacek
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000633:toxicity; D064751:Ammonium Compounds / Q000633:toxicity*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects*; D018533:Biomass; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D009608:Nitrous Acid / Q000633:toxicity; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D018508:Water Purification
chemical_list: D064751:Ammonium Compounds; D000641:Ammonia; D009608:Nitrous Acid