Seasonal-related effects on ammonium removal in activated carbon filter biologically enhanced by heterotrophic nitrifying bacteria for drinking water treatment

Abstract

To determine the potential effects of seasonal changes on water temperature and water quality upon removal of ammonium and organic carbon pollutants and to characterize the variations in microbial characteristics, a pilot-scale activated carbon filter biologically enhanced with heterotrophic nitrifying bacteria was investigated for 528 days. The results show that 69.2 ± 28.6% of ammonium and 23.1 ± 11.6% of the dissolved organic carbon were removed by the biologically enhanced activated carbon (BEAC) reactor. It is shown that higher biodegradable dissolved organic carbon enhances ammonium removal, even at low temperatures. The C/N ratio consumed by the BEAC reactor reached a steady value (i.e., 3.3) after 2 months of operation. Despite seasonal fluctuations and competition of the indigenous community, the heterotrophic nitrifying bacteria (Acinetobacter sp. HRBLi 16 and Acinetobacter harbinensis strain HITLi 7) remained relatively stable. The amount of carbon source was the most significant environmental parameter and dramatically affected the microbial community compositions in the BEAC reactor. The present study provides new insights into the application of a BEAC reactor for ammonium removal from drinking water, resisting strong seasonal changes.

Ammonia-oxidizing microbes and biological ammonia removal in drinking water treatment

“…HRBLi 16 and Acinetobacter harbinensis strain HITLi had an average ammonia removal efficiency of 57% with an influent concentration of 0.78 ± 0.46 mg L −1 . 136 However, the need for organic carbon and a low ammonia removal rate in summer hinder the adoption of this technology.…”

Assessing the Performance and the Microbial Dynamics of Co-composting System Using Recycled Cow Manure and Bedding Material Waste 

“…Solibacillus has a high capacity to degrade lignocelluloses and lignin (Huang et al, 2019). Acinetobacter harbinensis, a heterotrophic nitrifying bacterium, has the ability to remove ammonium (Qin et al, 2017). The bacterial community structure of other composting groups in genera level was showed in Fig.…”

Data_Sheet_1.pdf

“…We pre-loaded new GAC with different carbon sources and followed initial microbial community colonization and selection, as well as the long-term stability of the selected communities. Substrate loading is known to enhance biological activity in biofilters (Li, 2016;Qin et al, 2017;Zhao et al, 2019). However, to our knowledge, the approach to pre-load new GAC with substrates in order to facilitate initial selection and growth of biofilm communities remains largely untested.…”