Microbial Culture Dynamics and Performance of an Anammox Sequencing Batch Reactor System

Abstract

In this study, a 5L sequencing batch reactor was successfully operated for the treatment of simulated wastewater using anammox process. The reactor was inoculated with a pre enriched anammox biomass obtained from a wastewater treatment plant. The reactor was operated in two stages differentiated by different nitrogen loading rate (NLR) i.e. 5 g.N•L^-1•d^-1 and 6.3 gN•L^-1•d^-1. The suspension culture was highly active. The highest removal efficiency for total nitrogen achieved by the reactor was 93% at the highest nitrogen loading rate of 6.3 gN•L^-1•d^-1. Furthermore, a modified Stover Kincannon model was used to evaluate the performance of the reactor. A maximum substrate removal rate of 34 gN.L^-1.d^-1 was predicted. The modified Stover-Kincannon was more suitable for the description of nitrogen removal in the reactor, with the regression coefficient of R² =0.9739.