Organic matter and concentrated nitrogen removal by shortcut nitrification and denitrification from mature municipal landfill leachate

An UASB+Anoxic/Oxic (A/O) system was introduced to treat a mature landfill leachate with low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and high ammonia concentration. To make the best use of the biodegradable COD in the leachate, the denitrification of NOx−-N in the recirculation effluent from the clarifier was carried out in the UASB. The results showed that most biodegradable organic matters were removed by the denitrification in the UASB. The NH4+-N loading rate (ALR) of A/O reactor and operational temperature was 0.28–0.60 kg NH4+-N/(m3·d) and 17–29°C during experimental period, respectively. The short-cut nitrification with nitrite accumulation efficiency of 90%–99% was stabilized during the whole experiment. The NH4+-N removal efficiency varied between 90% and 100%. When ALR was less than 0.45 kg NH4+-N/(m3·d), the NH4+-N removal efficiency was more than 98%. With the influent NH4+-N of 1200–1800 mg/L, the effluent NH4+-N was less than 15 mg/L. The shortcut nitrification and denitrification can save 40% carbon source, with a highly efficient denitrification taking place in the UASB. When the ratio of the feed COD to feed NH4+-N was only 2–3, the total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) removal efficiency attained 67%–80%. Besides, the sludge samples from A/O reactor were analyzed using FISH. The FISH analysis revealed that ammonia oxidation bacteria (AOB) accounted for 4% of the total eubacterial population, whereas nitrite oxidation bacteria (NOB) accounted only for 0.2% of the total eubacterial population.