Insights on nitrogen and phosphorus removal mechanism in a single-stage Membrane Aeration Biofilm Reactor (MABR) dominated by denitrifying phosphorus removal coupled with anaerobic/aerobic denitrification

In the study, the denitrifying phosphorus removal process coupled with anaerobic/aerobic denitrification was started in a single-stage Membrane Aeration Biofilm Reactor (MABR). When the influent NO3−-N was 50.2 mg/L and the total phosphorus (TP) was 30.5 mg/L, the maximum Total Inorganic Nitrogen Removal Efficiency (TINRE) can reach 99.79 % and the Total Phosphorus Removal Efficiency (TPRE) can reach 82.62 % without the addition of any flocculant or precipitant. The phosphorus content in the substrate sludge was 4.10 %–6.15 %, which was higher than that in the initial biofilm or activated sludge (1.27 %–1.83 %). Based on 16S rRNA sequencing technology, it was found that Phosphorus-Accumulating Organisms (PAOs, Acinetobacter, relative abundance 0.02 % to 1.92 %) and Denitrifying Phosphorus-Accumulating Organisms (DPAOs, Flavobacterium (0.26 % to 5.39 %), Bdellovibrio (0.12 % to 1.48 %), and Pseudomonas (2.29 % to 1.28 %)) played pivotal roles in phosphorus removal. The enzyme gene reads of Complex I and Complex V processes were much more than that of Complex II- Complex IV, which indicated that Complex I and Complex V can be the main process for oxidative phosphorylation in the MABR. Moreover, four inorganic nitrogen metabolic processes, Dissimilatory Nitrate Reduction to Ammonium (DNRA), Assimilatory Nitrate Reduction Ammonium (ANRA), nitrification, and denitrification were found. Nitrifiers (Nitrosomonas (0.09 % to 0.19 %), Nitrospira (2.48 % to 0.06 %)), denitrifiers (Dokdonella (6.95 % to 2.11 %), Denitratisoma (0.42 % to1.48 %)), and aerobic denitrifiers (Pseudomonas (2.29 % to 1.28 %) and Thauera (4.75 % to 1.78 %)) contributed to nitrogen removal in the MABR. This study provided insights into the removal mechanism of nitrogen and phosphorus in a single-stage MABR.