A novel integrated step-feed biofilm process for the treatment of decentralized domestic wastewater in rural areas of China

For wastewater treatment in rural areas, a novel three-stage step-feed wastewater treatment system, combined with a drop-aeration biofilm process, was tested in the laboratory to investigate its performance in removing suspended solids （SS）, chemical oxygen demand （COD）, NH4＋-N, total nitrogen （TN）, and total phosphorus （TP）. The removal rates of SS, COD and NH4＋-N were 90%, 80%, and 90% in efluent concentrations less than 10 mg/L, 50 mg/L and 8 mg/L, respectively. The TP removal rate was less satisfactory. The C/N ratio in the raw wastewater was often less than 3.5, and the removal efficiency of TN was therefore limited. A carbon-release batch experiment was carried out to measure the feasibility of enhancing denitrification at low influent C/N ratios. The result showed that the C/N could be over 9.0 in the supernatant. Polymerase chain reaction denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis technology was used to reveal the changes in the bacterial community during different stages of the integrated step-feed biofilm process. The results showed that banding patterns and the distribution of dominant bands for the same experimental period in different aerobic zones were similar. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that lanes 10, 11 and 12, which presented three aerobic zones at the same operation period, had the closest phylogenetic relationship among the lanes.