Adaptation of pilot-scale one-stage partial nitritation and anammox process to kitchen waste digestion liquid and mature landfill leachate

Rui Du; Guanbin Li; Runyu Zhao; Dong Lin; Dandan Lu; Zhiqiang Zuo; Jing Zhao; Xi Lu; Zhetai Hu; Sven-Uwe Geissen

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2025.132820

Adaptation of pilot-scale one-stage partial nitritation and anammox process to kitchen waste digestion liquid and mature landfill leachate

Bioresour Technol. 2025 Jun 17:132820. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2025.132820. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Rui Du¹, Guanbin Li², Runyu Zhao², Dong Lin², Dandan Lu³, Zhiqiang Zuo⁴, Jing Zhao⁵, Xi Lu², Zhetai Hu⁶, Sven-Uwe Geissen⁷

Affiliations

¹ Hangzhou Spore Bio-Technology Co., Ltd., Hangzhou 311103, China; WELLE Environmental Group Co., Ltd., Changzhou 213002, China; Department of Environmental Process Engineering, Technische Universität Berlin, Sekr. KF2, Strasse des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany; Technische Universität Berlin, Sekr. KF2, Strasse des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany.
² Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072 Australia.
³ Hangzhou Spore Bio-Technology Co., Ltd., Hangzhou 311103, China; WELLE Environmental Group Co., Ltd., Changzhou 213002, China.
⁴ School of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia.
⁵ Water Research Centre, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia.
⁶ Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072 Australia. Electronic address: zhetai.hu@uq.edu.au.
⁷ Department of Environmental Process Engineering, Technische Universität Berlin, Sekr. KF2, Strasse des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany; Technische Universität Berlin, Sekr. KF2, Strasse des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: sven.geissen@tu-berlin.de.

PMID: 40554020
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2025.132820

Abstract

This study, for the first time at pilot scale, demonstrated efficient nitrogen removal from kitchen waste digestion liquid (KWDL), mature landfill leachate (MLL), and their mixtures using a one-stage partial nitrification/anammox (PN/A) process. Nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) were effectively suppressed under low dissolved oxygen (DO) and in-situ generated high free ammonia. During KWDL treatment, the PN/A system achieved ∼ 90 % total nitrogen (TN) and 70 % chemical oxygen demand removal. However, MLL toxicity and elevated DO (due to equipment issues) inhibited anammox activity, enabling NOB resurgence and lowering TN removal. By reducing DO and MLL flow, anammox activity was restored, with TN removal recovering to ∼ 85 %. Over 80 % TN was consistently removed from KWDL-MLL mixtures at 1:1 and 3:1 ratios. Microbial analysis revealed major community shifts under long-term KWDL and MLL exposure. Overall, the study highlights the flexibility and promise of anammox-based nitrogen removal for diverse wastewaters.

Keywords: Anammox process; High-strength wastewater; Nitrogen removal; Pilot scale demonstration.