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Volume 13
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10.3390/environments13050264
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Article

Partial Nitritation Under Zero-Pressure Aeration in a Membrane-Aerated Biofilm Reactor: Nitrite Accumulation, EPS Molecular Structure, and Microbial Community

by
Peishan Yang
,
Yu Cao
,
Peng Zheng
*,
Ying Liu
,
Mingxin Zhu
,
Hua Zhou
and
Shunlong Pan
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Environments 2026, 13(5), 264; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13050264
Submission received: 7 April 2026 / Revised: 27 April 2026 / Accepted: 29 April 2026 / Published: 9 May 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainable Urban Wastewater Systems: Innovative Technologies from Sewer to Treatment Plants)
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Abstract

Achieving stable partial nitritation (PN) in mainstream municipal wastewater treatment is critical for energy-efficient anammox-based nitrogen removal. However, selectively suppressing nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) while retaining ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) remains challenging. This study investigated the performance and microbial mechanisms of PN in a membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) under zero-pressure aeration. The results showed that zero-pressure aeration achieved a nitrite accumulation ratio (NAR) of 82.14%, significantly higher than that under constant aeration (13.2%) and intermittent aeration (53.5%). Zero-pressure aeration led to a significant increase in the fluorescence intensities of tyrosine/tryptophan protein in extracellular polymeric substances. 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that zero-pressure aeration achieved a modest reduction in the relative abundance of NOB Nitrospira from 3.39% to 2.74% while increasing the relative abundance of AOB Nitrosomonas from 0.04% to 1.09%. Enzyme activity assays further showed that zero-pressure aeration significantly decreased nitrite oxidoreductase (NXR) activity while maintaining ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) and hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (HAO) activities, providing direct functional evidence for NOB suppression. Zero-pressure operation required no external air supply, representing a passive aeration strategy for PN. These results suggest that zero-pressure aeration may reshape the competition between AOB and NOB by enriching AOB and suppressing NOB, providing a new energy-efficient pathway for mainstream nitrogen removal.
Keywords: membrane aerated biofilm reactor; zero-pressure aeration; partial nitritation; extracellular polymeric substances; microbial community membrane aerated biofilm reactor; zero-pressure aeration; partial nitritation; extracellular polymeric substances; microbial community

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MDPI and ACS Style

Yang, P.; Cao, Y.; Zheng, P.; Liu, Y.; Zhu, M.; Zhou, H.; Pan, S. Partial Nitritation Under Zero-Pressure Aeration in a Membrane-Aerated Biofilm Reactor: Nitrite Accumulation, EPS Molecular Structure, and Microbial Community. Environments 2026, 13, 264. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13050264

AMA Style

Yang P, Cao Y, Zheng P, Liu Y, Zhu M, Zhou H, Pan S. Partial Nitritation Under Zero-Pressure Aeration in a Membrane-Aerated Biofilm Reactor: Nitrite Accumulation, EPS Molecular Structure, and Microbial Community. Environments. 2026; 13(5):264. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13050264

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yang, Peishan, Yu Cao, Peng Zheng, Ying Liu, Mingxin Zhu, Hua Zhou, and Shunlong Pan. 2026. "Partial Nitritation Under Zero-Pressure Aeration in a Membrane-Aerated Biofilm Reactor: Nitrite Accumulation, EPS Molecular Structure, and Microbial Community" Environments 13, no. 5: 264. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13050264

APA Style

Yang, P., Cao, Y., Zheng, P., Liu, Y., Zhu, M., Zhou, H., & Pan, S. (2026). Partial Nitritation Under Zero-Pressure Aeration in a Membrane-Aerated Biofilm Reactor: Nitrite Accumulation, EPS Molecular Structure, and Microbial Community. Environments, 13(5), 264. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13050264

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