Completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite (CANON) process was an innovative technology for nitrogen removal from wastewater. It is necessary to clear the impact of CuO nanoparticles (CuO NPs) on CANON process since the widespread utilize increased their opportunity for entering into wastewater. In this study, the short-term and long-term effects of CuO NPs on the ammonia removal and extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) secretion were analyzed in the presence of nitrite, with the CuO NPs of 0, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 mg L−1, respectively. Results suggested that low concentration of CuO NPs could enhance the ammonia removal. The inhibition threshold of CuO NPs on CANON sludge within short-term exposure was 20 mg L−1, while that of long-term exposure was 10 mg L−1. Both short-term and long-term exposure within CuO NPs significantly impacted the ammonia removal, and both the nitrite and CuO NPs influenced the EPS secretion.
A dynamic analysis approach for determining nitrite production and consumption rates was established to systematically investigate the characteristics of nitrogen transformation and N 2 O emission of the completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite (CANON) process coupled with denitrification using a sequencing batch biofilm reactor (SBBR). The results indicate that anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria was not inhibited significantly by low C/N ratios. There were no obvious differences in the nitrite production rate, nitrite consumption rate or nitrogen removal among reactors operated with C/N ratios of 0, 0.67 and 1.00, which suggested that the certain carbon source did not significantly affect the nitrite conversion and nitrogen removal in the process. More than 60% of total N 2 O emission is generated during the initial phase of each period in the SBBR. More than 94.5% of N 2 O was generated by NO 2 − -N consumption via denitrification in the process. Interestingly, total N 2 O production drops by 16.7%, when the C/N ratio increases from 0 to 1. This phenomenon may be caused by the inhibition of N 2 O production via AOB denitrification. Therefore, an appropriate carbon source (C/N = 1.00) has the beneficial effect of reducing N 2 O emission by CANON coupled with denitrification. The results of this study provide an important empirical foundation for the mitigation of N 2 O emission in the CANON process coupled with denitrification.