Biochar enhances partial denitrification/anammox by sustaining high rates of nitrate to nitrite reduction

Qian Li; Ziwen Jia; Jingwei Fu; Xiaohuan Yang; Xiaolin Shi; Rong Chen

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2022.126869

Biochar enhances partial denitrification/anammox by sustaining high rates of nitrate to nitrite reduction

Bioresour Technol. 2022 Apr:349:126869. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.126869. Epub 2022 Feb 17.

Authors

Qian Li¹, Ziwen Jia², Jingwei Fu², Xiaohuan Yang², Xiaolin Shi³, Rong Chen⁴

Affiliations

¹ Key Lab of Environmental Engineering, Shaanxi Province, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, No.13 Yanta Road, Xi'an 710055, PR China; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-06 Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8579, Japan; International S & T Cooperation Center for Urban Alternative Water Resources Development, Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, No.13 Yanta Road, Xi'an 710055, PR China.
² Key Lab of Environmental Engineering, Shaanxi Province, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, No.13 Yanta Road, Xi'an 710055, PR China.
³ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-06 Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8579, Japan.
⁴ Key Lab of Environmental Engineering, Shaanxi Province, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, No.13 Yanta Road, Xi'an 710055, PR China; International S & T Cooperation Center for Urban Alternative Water Resources Development, Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, No.13 Yanta Road, Xi'an 710055, PR China. Electronic address: chenrong@xauat.edu.cn.

PMID: 35183720
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.126869

Abstract

To examine the short-term effects of biochar on the partial-denitrification anammox (PD/A) process, the adsorption kinetics, nitrogen degradation, electron transfer properties, and microbial community succession of wastewater treatment systems with and without biochar added were monitored and characterized. The results showed that biochar increased nitrate reduction rates, which enhanced total nitrogen (TN) removal of the system by about 10%. The findings attributed improved TN removal to biochar's influence in accelerating electron transfer rather than its adsorption properties. Analysis of the nitrogen transfer pathway showed that when sufficient substrate was available, the anammox and denitrification reactions simultaneously removed nitrogen. When the nitrite supply was insufficient, the anammox reaction outcompeted the denitrification reaction for regenerated nitrite. Integrated microbial community and functional protein analyses indicated that biochar addition increased the abundance of Ca. Kuenenia and Pseudomonas. Meanwhile, biochar modulates denitrifying cellular metabolism by inducing protein changes.

Keywords: Anammox; Biochar; Electron donor; Nitrate; Partial-denitrification.

MeSH terms

Anaerobic Ammonia Oxidation
Bioreactors
Charcoal
Denitrification*
Nitrates*
Nitrites
Nitrogen
Oxidation-Reduction
Sewage
Wastewater / chemistry

Substances

Nitrates
Nitrites
Sewage
Waste Water
biochar
Charcoal
Nitrogen