Quantifying, predicting, and mitigating nitrous oxide emissions in a full-scale partial nitritation/anammox reactor treating reject water.

In this paper, a set of mathematical tools are developed and assembled to quantify, predict and virtually assess NO emission mitigation strategies in partial nitritation (PN) / anammox (ANX) granular based reactors. The proposed approach is constructed upon a set of data pre-treatment methods, process simulation models, control tools (and algorithms) and key performance indicators to analyze, reproduce, and forecast the behavior of multiple operational variables within aerobic granular sludge systems. All these elements are tested on two full-scale data sets (#D1, #D2) collected over a period of four months (Sept-Dec 2023).

pH variation and influence in an autotrophic nitrogen removing biofilm system using an efficient numerical solution strategy.

A pH simulator consisting of an efficient numerical solver of a system of nine nonlinear equations was constructed and implemented in the modeling software MATLAB. The pH simulator was integrated in a granular biofilm model and used to simulate the pH profiles within granules performing the nitritation-anammox process for a range of operating points. The simulation results showed that pH profiles were consistently increasing with increasing depth into the granule, since the proton-producing aerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) were located close to the granule surface.

Sensitivity analysis of autotrophic N removal by a granule based bioreactor: Influence of mass transfer versus microbial kinetics.

A comprehensive and global sensitivity analysis was conducted under a range of operating conditions. The relative importance of mass transfer resistance versus kinetic parameters was studied and found to depend on the operating regime as follows: Operating under the optimal loading ratio of 1.90(gO(2)/m(3)/d)/(gN/m(3)/d), the system was influenced by mass transfer (10% impact on nitrogen removal) and performance was limited by AOB activity (75% impact on nitrogen removal), while operating above, AnAOB activity was limiting (68% impact on nitrogen removal).