On February 14th, 2024, the prestigious international journal Nature Sustainability published a research paper entitled "A loading rate switch strategy for stable nitritation in mainstream municipal wastewater". The research was completed by the research team led by Prof. Peng Yongzhen in BJUT. The publication of this paper is the first time BJUT has been the sole contributing institution in Nature Sustainability, signifying a significant breakthrough in the University's basic research on sustainable urban wastewater treatment. Wang Zihao, a doctoral candidate at BJUT, is the first author of the study, with Prof. Zhang Liang serving as the sole corresponding author.
Link to the paper: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01276-z
Partial nitrification technology is essential for the application of ANAMMOX (anaerobic ammonium oxidation), the latest technology in wastewater treatment, and for sustainable urban wastewater management. However, achieving stable nitritation, especially in low-temperature mainstream municipal wastewater, remains a global challenge. To address this, this study developed a novel technical method and control strategy to enable ultrastable partial nitrification in a pilot-scale (6.5m3) reactor treating actual municipal wastewater. Overall, this work presents a viable and environmentally friendly strategy for nitrogen removal using the ANAMMOX process, paving the way for sustainable sewage management.
A diagram of the Mechanism of the Loading Rate Switch Strategy, based on the "New Starting Point" Concept. Alongside is a photo of the Pilot Plant situated in BJUT
The journal's editorial board invited internationally renowned experts in the field to comment on the significance of this work in the "News & Views" section of this issue of the journal. Titled "A fresh start to sustainable sewage nitrogen removal" these comments confirm the research's importance and its implications for the field.
The link to these comments: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01286-x
Prof. Peng Yongzhen's team is advancing the application of cutting-edge technologies through nine pilot-scale experiments (50-100m3) in Beijing, Guangdong, Hainan, and Guizhou. The team's innovations, including "High-rate nitrogen removal by partial nitritation / anammox with a single-stage membrane-aerated biofilm reactor" and "Sequential batch activated sludge denitrification and optimization control technology for urban wastewater", were listed, in 2019, in the "National Advanced Pollution Prevention Technologies Catalogue" as two of China's 26 advanced technologies in water pollution prevention. Additionally, their "Key technology and process control for low-carbon denitrification-ANAMMOX in municipal wastewater" was featured in the 2022 "Innovation China" Pioneer Technology List in the Green and Low-Carbon Sector, one of the 25 projects honored that year. In 2023, the team published over 200 academic papers in SCI journals, with Prof. Peng Yongzhen authoring 46 as the sole corresponding author, all within top-tier SCI journals as classified by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
