Application of iron autotrophic denitrification filter for advanced treatment of biologically treated effluent from expressway service areas

MU Honglin; LIU Xuzhen; XIONG Xinzhu; GAO Sheng; DING Shaowei; CUI Youwei

doi:10.13205/j.hjgc.202609004

Volume 44 Issue 9

Sep. 2026

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MU Honglin, LIU Xuzhen, XIONG Xinzhu, GAO Sheng, DING Shaowei, CUI Youwei. Application of iron autotrophic denitrification filter for advanced treatment of biologically treated effluent from expressway service areas[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2026, 44(9): 30-38. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202609004

Citation:

MU Honglin, LIU Xuzhen, XIONG Xinzhu, GAO Sheng, DING Shaowei, CUI Youwei. Application of iron autotrophic denitrification filter for advanced treatment of biologically treated effluent from expressway service areas[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2026, 44(9): 30-38. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202609004

Citation:

MU Honglin, LIU Xuzhen, XIONG Xinzhu, GAO Sheng, DING Shaowei, CUI Youwei. Application of iron autotrophic denitrification filter for advanced treatment of biologically treated effluent from expressway service areas[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2026, 44(9): 30-38. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202609004

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Application of iron autotrophic denitrification filter for advanced treatment of biologically treated effluent from expressway service areas

doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202609004

1. Nanping Wusha Expressway Co., Ltd., Nanping 353000, China;
2. Fujian Provincial Expressway Science and Technology Innovation Research Institute Co., Ltd., Fuzhou 350000, China;
3. China Academy of Transportation Sciences, Beijing 100088, China;
4. National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China

Received Date: 2025-09-13
Available Online: 2026-11-05

Abstract

Abstract

At present， biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal processes are generally adopted for wastewater treatment in expressway service areas. However， due to the large variation in water quality and low C/N ratio， the effluent quality is often poor. In this study， an iron autotrophic denitrification filter was employed to enhance the treatment of biologically treated effluent from expressway service areas， achieving deep nitrogen and phosphorus removal. Three types of iron autotrophic denitrifying biological filters with different fillers were constructed to evaluate their applicability and effectiveness in enhancing the treatment of biologically treated effluent from expressway service areas. The influence of key operating parameters on the treatment performance of the biological filters was studied， and the changes in microbial community structure and the mechanisms of nitrogen and phosphorus removal were analyzed. The results showed that the denitrification rate of the reactor filled with siderite， magnetite， and limestone was higher than that of the single siderite or magnetite system. When the influent NO₃^--N concentration was （10.95±1.2） mg/L and the hydraulic retention time was shortened from 6 h to 2 h， the NO₃^--N removal rate decreased from （82.9±2.3）% to （76.7±1.4）%. The effluent concentration could still reach （1.48±0.2） mg/L， meeting the discharge requirements. With the shortening of HRT， the half-order kinetic model constant K_{1/2v， R} for the NO₃^--N removal process increased， which was not conducive to complete denitrification by iron autotrophs. PO₄^3--P， on the one hand， formed FePO₄ precipitate with Fe³⁺， and on the other hand， it might be adsorbed by FeOOH derived from Fe²⁺. The results of microbial sequencing showed that the addition of magnetite could achieve the enrichment of high-abundance Thiobacillus and Ferritrophicum. Ferritrophicum， as a genus of neutral microaerophilic ferrous-oxidizing bacteria， could utilize Fe²⁺ as an electron donor to complete the denitrification process. The mixed iron autotrophic filler could enhance the efficiency of nitrogen and phosphorus removal， providing a reference basis and theoretical value for the low-carbon wastewater treatment in expressway service areas.
- siderite,
- magnetite,
- autotrophic denitrification,
- wastewater treatment,
- nitrogen and phosphorus removal,
- wastewater from expressway service areas

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References(29)

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