LiangRenli,HuYongyou,LiangDonghui,et al.Evaluation of Performance of Plant-Integrated Fixed?film Activated Sludge Process for Wastewater Treatment[J].China Water & Wastewater,2026,42(15):82-89.
Evaluation of Performance of Plant-Integrated Fixed?film Activated Sludge Process for Wastewater Treatment
China Water & Wastewater[ISSN:1000-4062/CN:12-1073/TU]
volume:
第42卷
Number:
第15期
Page:
82-89
Column:
Date of publication:
2026-08-01
- Keywords:
- plant-integrated fixed-film activated sludge (P-IFAS) process; nitrogen and phosphorus removal; microbial community structure; functional gene; economic evaluation
- Abstract:
- This study evaluated the treatment performance of the plant-integrated fixed-film activated sludge (P-IFAS) process by comparing it with a conventional AAO process at two municipal wastewater treatment plants. Long-term operational data showed that the P-IFAS process achieved average removal rates of 91.30% for COD, 60.88% for TN, 95.31% for NH3-N, and 91.66% for TP, with the TN removal rate being 9.10 percentage points higher than that of the AAO process. Profile analysis along the treatment process revealed that both the AAO and P-IFAS processes followed the main nitrogen removal pathway of aerobic nitrification-anoxic denitrification; however, the aerobic zone of the P-IFAS process exhibited pronounced simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND), achieving a TN removal rate of 15.01%, which was significantly superior to that of the AAO process (5.07%). Microbial community analysis indicated that the introduction of carriers and plant roots did not alter the taxonomic composition of dominant microbial species in the system, but their relative abundances changed considerably, specifically with the enrichment of key functional bacterial groups such as Betaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and Planctomycetia. Further functional gene analysis revealed that the P-IFAS process had higher abundances of denitrification-related genes, suggesting enhanced capacity for nitrate reduction and nitrite transformation. Additionally, the enrichment of norB and nosZ genes indicated that the P-IFAS process was more inclined to convert nitrogen into N2, thereby reducing the generation and accumulation of greenhouse gas (N2O).
Last Update:
2026-08-01