Mechanisms of Quinone-Functionalized FeOOH for Enhanced Nitrogen Removal in a Micro-aerobic Activated Sludge Process Treating Low C/N Wastewater

Micro-aerobic biological nitrogen treatment technology for low carbon-to nitrogen (C/N) ratio wastewater often faces issues such as high effluent nitrate concentration and unstable treatment performance. This is because the inoculated sludge is typically dominated by heterotrophic denitrification and lacks the specialecological niche of multiple functional microorganisms coexisting under microaerobic conditions. In this study, quinone-functionalized FeOOH was synthesized via a green method and added to a microaerobic bioreactor to investigate its effects on activated sludge and the underlying promotion mechanisms.