Academic Journal
A multi-pronged strategy towards one-stage partial nitritation/anammox in a lab-scale MABR.
| Title: | A multi-pronged strategy towards one-stage partial nitritation/anammox in a lab-scale MABR. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Li Y; Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia., Xu D; Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia. Electronic address: dongdong.xu@uq.edu.au., Lu Y; Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia., Niu C; Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia., Shao Y; Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia., Guo J; Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia. Electronic address: jianhua.guo@uq.edu.au. |
| Source: | Water research [Water Res] 2026 Aug 15; Vol. 301, pp. 126021. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Apr 27. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Pergamon Press Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 0105072 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1879-2448 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00431354 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Water Res Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Oxford, Pergamon Press. |
| MeSH Terms: | Bioreactors*/microbiology, Nitrogen/metabolism ; Bacteria/metabolism ; Nitrites/metabolism ; Ammonia/metabolism ; Biofilms ; Waste Disposal, Fluid ; Wastewater ; Oxidation-Reduction |
| Abstract: | Membrane-aerated biofilm reactors (MABRs) incorporating partial nitritation and anammox (PN/A) can potentially intensify treatment capacity and achieve sustainable nitrogen removal in mainstream wastewater treatment. However, the undesired proliferation of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) within biofilms remains a critical challenge for maintaining stable PN/A performance. Herein, a lab-scale MABR was operated for 280 days to achieve stable PN/A through a multi-pronged strategy combining preliminary inoculum selection, membrane aeration mode optimization and effective oxygen control safeguards. This strategy enabled stable and efficient PN/A performance, achieving an average total nitrogen removal efficiency of 91% and a high nitrogen removal rate of 180 mg N L-1 d-1. In-situ batch tests together with microbial community characterization revealed that ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (Nitrosomonas) and anammox bacteria ('Candidatus Brocadia') were enriched within the mature biofilm and cooperatively achieved efficient nitrogen removal, while the activity and abundance of NOB were effectively suppressed at low levels. Collectively, the findings provide insights into the application of PN/A in MABRs for intensifying mainstream wastewater treatment. (Copyright © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Anammox; Mainstream wastewater; Membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR); NOB suppression; Partial nitritation |
| Substance Nomenclature: | N762921K75 (Nitrogen) 0 (Wastewater) 0 (Nitrites) 7664-41-7 (Ammonia) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260502 Date Completed: 20260716 Latest Revision: 20260716 |
| Update Code: | 20260716 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.watres.2026.126021 |
| PMID: | 42068833 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1879-2448 |
|---|---|
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.watres.2026.126021 |