Coupling ammonia nitrogen adsorption and regeneration unit with a high-load anoxic/aerobic process to achieve rapid and efficient pollutants removal for wastewater treatment

In this study, an ammonium nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) adsorption and regeneration (AAR) was constructed by a zeolite-packed column and NaClO–NaCl regeneration unit, and coupled with an anoxic/aerobic (AO) system to achieve efficient removal of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus under short hydraulic retention time (HRT) and sludge retention time (SRT). Compared to conventional anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic (AAO) process, the proposed AO-AAR process achieved more efficient and stable nitrogen removal with greatly shorter HRT (5.6 h) and SRT (8 d) at 10.4 °C, with NH₄⁺-N and total nitrogen in the effluent below 1.5 and 8.0 mg/L, respectively. The AO-AAR also obtained efficient phosphorus removal (<0.5 mg/L) by dosing aluminum in aerobic tank. High load and short SRT deteriorated sludge settleability and dewaterability, but enhanced methane production by improving sludge biodegradability. Dosing aluminum made the AO operating module more stable with improved settleability and dewaterability, and further enhanced methane production. Short HRT and SRT also resulted in the thriving of filamentous bacteria (Thiothrix) and heterotrophic nitrifiers (Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas and Rhodobacter) in the AO module, which helped in enhancing denitrification potential and nitrification efficiency under low temperature. Long-term operation showed that exchange capacity and physicochemical properties of zeolite were unchanged under NaClO–NaCl regeneration by introducing the tail gas from aerobic tank into the used regenerant to remove Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ exchanged from effluent of the AO module. Techno-economic analysis showed that the AO-AAR process is attractive and sustainable for municipal wastewater treatment by significantly improving nitrogen removal, greatly reducing land occupancy, enhancing methane production and achieving efficient reduction of carbon dioxide emission.