Plants boost pyrrhotite-driven nitrogen removal in constructed wetlands

Cheng Shen; Liti Su; Yaqian Zhao; Wenbo Liu; Ranbin Liu; Fuhao Zhang; Yun Shi; Jie Wang; Qiuqi Tang; Yan Yang; Yu Bon Man; Jin Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128240

Plants boost pyrrhotite-driven nitrogen removal in constructed wetlands

Bioresour Technol. 2023 Jan:367:128240. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128240. Epub 2022 Nov 1.

Authors

Cheng Shen¹, Liti Su², Yaqian Zhao³, Wenbo Liu², Ranbin Liu⁴, Fuhao Zhang⁵, Yun Shi², Jie Wang², Qiuqi Tang², Yan Yang⁶, Yu Bon Man⁷, Jin Zhang⁸

Affiliations

¹ Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Recycling and Ecological Treatment of Waste Biomass, School of Environment and Natural Resources, Zhejiang University of Science & Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310023, China; Dooge Centre for Water Resources Research, School of Civil Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland.
² Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Recycling and Ecological Treatment of Waste Biomass, School of Environment and Natural Resources, Zhejiang University of Science & Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310023, China.
³ Dooge Centre for Water Resources Research, School of Civil Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland; State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an 710048, China.
⁴ Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Beijing Advanced Innovation Center of Future Urban Design, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, China; Dooge Centre for Water Resources Research, School of Civil Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield Dublin 4, Ireland.
⁵ Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Beijing Advanced Innovation Center of Future Urban Design, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, China; State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an 710048, China.
⁶ Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies/Beijing Advanced Innovation Center of Future Urban Design, Beijing University of Civil Engineering & Architecture, Beijing 100044, China.
⁷ Consortium on Health, Environment, Education and Research (CHEER), Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, Hong Kong SAR, China.
⁸ Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Recycling and Ecological Treatment of Waste Biomass, School of Environment and Natural Resources, Zhejiang University of Science & Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310023, China. Electronic address: jinzhang@zust.edu.cn.

PMID: 36332867
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128240

Abstract

Pyrrhotite is a promising electron donor for autotrophic denitrification. Using pyrrhotite as the substrate in constructed wetlands (CWs) can enhance the nitrogen removal performance in carbon-limited wastewater treatment. However, the role of plants in pyrrhotite-integrated CW is under debate as the oxygen released from plant roots may destroy the anoxic condition for autotrophic denitrification. This study compared pyrrhotite-integrated CWs with and without plants and identified the effects of plants' presence in nitrogen removal, pyrrhotite oxidized dissolution, and microbial community. The results show that plants enhanced the TN removal significantly (from 41.6 ± 3.9 % to 97.1 ± 2.6 %). Plants can accelerate the PAD in CW through the strengthening of pyrrhotite dissolution. Enriched functional (Thiobacillus and Acidiferrobacter) and a more complex bacterial co-occurrence network has been found in CW with plants. This study identified the role of plants in PAD acceleration, providing an in-depth understanding of pyrrhotite in CW systems.

Keywords: Constructed wetland; Denitrification; Plants; Pyrrhotite; Pyrrhotite dissolution.

MeSH terms

Autotrophic Processes
Denitrification
Nitrogen*
Plants
Waste Disposal, Fluid
Wastewater
Wetlands*

Substances

Nitrogen
Waste Water