Simultaneous removal of organic matter and nitrogen by heterotrophic nitrification–aerobic denitrification bacteria in an air-lift multi-stage circulating integrated bioreactor

This study aimed to propose a novel air-lift multi-stage circulating integrated bioreactor (AMCIB) to treat urban sewage. The AMCIB combined the reaction zone and sedimentation zone, the alternating circulation of activated sludge in separate aerobic and anaerobic environments facilitates the enrichment of HN-AD bacteria. The preliminary study showed that AMCIB had high removal efficiencies for COD, NH4+-N, TN and TP under high dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration conditions, with average removal rates of 93.21 %, 96.04 %, 75.06 % and 94.30 %, respectively. IlluminaMiSeq sequencing results showed that the system successfully cultured heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HN-AD) functional bacteria (Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Aeromonas) that played a crucial role in sewage treatment, and Tetrasphaera was the central phosphorus removing bacteria in the system. Functional gene predictions showed that the HN-AD played a dominant role in the system.