A pilot-scale study on inverted AAO type MABR treatment process for high nitrogen wastewater in villages and towns

DUAN Zhongyan; DU Anke; SONG Nanchuan; NIU Jiawei; SHI Ge; SHUI Yonghong; HU Yiwei; WEI Zejun

doi:10.13205/j.hjgc.202512006

Volume 43 Issue 12

Dec. 2025

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Article Navigation > ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING > 2025 > 43(12): 48-55

DUAN Zhongyan, DU Anke, SONG Nanchuan, NIU Jiawei, SHI Ge, SHUI Yonghong, HU Yiwei, WEI Zejun. A pilot-scale study on inverted AAO type MABR treatment process for high nitrogen wastewater in villages and towns[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2025, 43(12): 48-55. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202512006

Citation:

DUAN Zhongyan, DU Anke, SONG Nanchuan, NIU Jiawei, SHI Ge, SHUI Yonghong, HU Yiwei, WEI Zejun. A pilot-scale study on inverted AAO type MABR treatment process for high nitrogen wastewater in villages and towns[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2025, 43(12): 48-55. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202512006

Citation:

DUAN Zhongyan, DU Anke, SONG Nanchuan, NIU Jiawei, SHI Ge, SHUI Yonghong, HU Yiwei, WEI Zejun. A pilot-scale study on inverted AAO type MABR treatment process for high nitrogen wastewater in villages and towns[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2025, 43(12): 48-55. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202512006

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A pilot-scale study on inverted AAO type MABR treatment process for high nitrogen wastewater in villages and towns

doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202512006

1. Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400074, China;
2. Chongqing Academy of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401121, China;
3. Chongqing Haoyang Water Service and Construction Management Co., Ltd., Chongqing 400020, China;
4. Chengdu Textile College, Chengdu 611731, China

Received Date: 2025-05-08
Accepted Date: 2025-07-08
Rev Recd Date: 2025-07-02

Available Online: 2026-01-09

Abstract

Abstract

In response to the common problem of high nitrogen in raw water and low carbon to nitrogen ratio， which leads to unstable effluent in village and town sewage， especially the poor removal effect of total nitrogen， a 2.0 m³/d inverted AAO type MABR treatment process pilot plant was built in a town-level sewage treatment plant in Chongqing to investigate its actual effect in treating high influent total nitrogen sewage. This study investigated the biofilm formation efficiency during the reactor startup period， as well as the effects of key operational parameters during the operational phase， such as internal reflux ratio， sludge concentration， and influent carbon-to-nitrogen ratio （C/N） on pollutant removal efficiency. The experimental results showed that the water temperature ranged from 13℃ to 20℃， COD concentration in the influent water was 255 to 324 mg/L， the TN influent concentration was 39.1 to 55.6 mg/L， the suspended sludge concentration was about 3000 mg/L， and the successful hanging time of the aeration membrane was about 40 days. The operating conditions without internal reflux had great adverse effect on the removal of COD， ammonia nitrogen， and total nitrogen. At this time， the removal rate of total nitrogen was about 40%. After the reflux ratio reached 200%， stable removal efficiencies for COD and NH₃-N were achieved， and further increase in reflux ratio showed no significant improvement on their removal. However， the removal rate of total nitrogen increased with the increase in reflux ratio. When the reflux ratio reached 500%， the maximum total nitrogen removal rate reached 90%. When the sludge concentration reached 2000 mg/L， the fluctuation of intake water quality had little impact and could meet the emission standard stably. When the influent C/N ratio was 2.8 and 3.6， respectively， the influent total nitrogen concentrations ranged from 40 to 100.1 mg/L， the average effluent total nitrogen was 13.8 mg/L， and the average total nitrogen removal rate was 83.1%. When the C/N ratio reached 4.2 or higher， the total nitrogen concentration was 42 to 58 mg/L， the effluent total nitrogen decreased to 6.3 to 8.3 mg/L， the average concentration was 7.3 mg/L， and the average removal rate was 83.9%. The inverted AAO type MABR process exhibited good stability and enhanced denitrification performance under high nitrogen inflow and low carbon-to-nitrogen （C/N） ratio conditions caused by high nitrogen. Membrane aeration is suitable for improving the quality and efficiency of village and town sewage due to convenient management without backwashing.
- rural and village sewage,
- enhanced nitrogen removal,
- MABR process,
- high nitrogen,
- low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio

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References(32)

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