Enhancing nitrogen removal in the partial denitrification/anammox processes for SO4− - Rich wastewater treatment: Insights into autotrophic and mixotrophic strategies

The investigation of partial denitrification/anammox (PD/anammox) processes was conducted under autotrophic (N–S cycle) and mixotrophic (N–S–C cycle) conditions over 180 days. Key findings revealed the remarkable capability of SO42--dependent systems to produce NO2− effectively, supporting anaerobic NH4+ oxidation. Additionally, SO42− served as an additional electron acceptor in sulfate reduction ammonium oxidation (SRAO). Increasing influent SO42− concentrations notably improved ammonia utilization rates (AUR) and NH4+ and total nitrogen (TN) utilization efficiencies, peaking at 57% for SBR1 and nearly 100% for SBR2. Stoichiometric analysis showed a 7.5-fold increase in AUR (SRAO and anammox) in SBR1 following SO42− supplementation. However, the analysis for SBR2 indicated a shift towards SRAO and mixotrophic denitrification, with anammox disappearing entirely by the end of the study. Comparative assessments between SBR1 and SBR2 emphasized the impact of organic compounds (CH3COONa) on transformations within the N–S–C cycle. SBR1 performance primarily involved anammox, SRAO and other SO42− utilization pathways, with minimal S-dependent autotrophic denitrification (SDAD) involvement. In contrast, SBR2 performance encompassed SRAO, mixotrophic denitrification, and other pathways for SO42− production. The SRAO process involved two dominant genera, such as Candidatus Brocadia and PHOS-HE36.