title: Performance and microbial diversity of an expanded granular sludge bed reactor for high sulfate and nitrate waste brine treatment.
abstract: The disposal of waste brines has become a major challenge that hinders the wide application of ion-exchange resins in the water industry in recent decades. In this study, high sulfate removal efficiency (80%-90%) was achieved at the influent sulfate concentration of 3600 mg/L and 3% NaCl after 145 days in an expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor. Furthermore, the feasibility of treating synthetic waste brine containing high levels of sulfate and nitrate was investigated in a single EGSB reactor during an operation period of 261 days. The highest nitrate and sulfate loading rate reached 6.38 and 5.78 kg/(m(3)·day) at SO(2-)4-S/NO(-)3-N mass ratio of 4/3, and the corresponding removal efficiency was 99.97% and 82.26% at 3% NaCl, respectively. Meanwhile, 454-pyrosequencing technology was used to analyze the bacterial diversity of the sludge on the 240th day for stable operation of phase X. Results showed that a total of 9194 sequences were obtained, which could be affiliated to 14 phyla, including Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Chlorobi, Bacteroidetes, Synergistetes and so on. Proteobacteria (77.66%) was the dominant microbial population, followed by Firmicutes (12.23%) and Chlorobi (2.71%).
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China; School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Jingdezhen 333403, China. Electronic address: maxlrh@126.com.
authors: Runhua
authors: R
authors: Liao
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors: Yan
authors: Y
authors: Li
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors: Xuemin
authors: X
authors: Yu
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors: Peng
authors: P
authors: Shi
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors: Zhu
authors: Z
authors: Wang
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors: Ke
authors: K
authors: Shen
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors: Qianqian
authors: Q
authors: Shi
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors: Yu
authors: Y
authors: Miao
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors: Wentao
authors: W
authors: Li
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China. Electronic address: liaimin@nju.edu.cn.
authors: Aimin
authors: A
authors: Li
mesh_terms: D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D059013:Microbial Consortia; D009566:Nitrates / Q000378:metabolism*; D013431:Sulfates / Q000378:metabolism*; D018505:Waste Management
chemical_list: D009566:Nitrates; D013431:Sulfates
keywords: 454-pyrosequencing; denitrification; expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor; waste brine