The efficient utilization of thiocyanate on simultaneous removal of ammonium and nitrate through thiosulfate-driven autotrophic denitrifiers and anammox

Liangliang Liu; Yangjin Xu; Cunxue Yu; Hanping Pan; Chaohai Wei; XiuFang Zhao; Meirong Su; Jianxin Pan

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129069

The efficient utilization of thiocyanate on simultaneous removal of ammonium and nitrate through thiosulfate-driven autotrophic denitrifiers and anammox

Bioresour Technol. 2023 Jul:380:129069. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129069. Epub 2023 Apr 21.

Authors

Liangliang Liu¹, Yangjin Xu¹, Cunxue Yu¹, Hanping Pan², Chaohai Wei³, XiuFang Zhao⁴, Meirong Su⁵, Jianxin Pan⁶

Affiliations

¹ Research Center for Eco-Environmental Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan 523808, PR China.
² Key Laboratory for City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development of the Ministry of Education, School of Ecology, Environment and Resources, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China.
³ School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China.
⁴ Ecological Science Institute, LingNan Eco & Culture-Tourism Co., Ltd., Dongguan 523125, PR China.
⁵ Research Center for Eco-Environmental Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan 523808, PR China; Key Laboratory for City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development of the Ministry of Education, School of Ecology, Environment and Resources, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China.
⁶ Research Center for Eco-Environmental Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan 523808, PR China. Electronic address: panjx@dgut.edu.cn.

PMID: 37086926
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129069

Abstract

The efficient utilization of thiocyanate remain be an important bottleneck in the low-cost nitrogen removal for wastewaters containing thiocyanate. The study aimed to investigate the feasibility of thiocyanate in removal of nitrate and ammonium through anammox (AN) and thiosulfate-driven autotrophic denitrifiers (TSAD). The results showed that removal of nitrate and ammonium were achieved rapidly utilizing thiocyanate, which was attributed to degradation of thiocyanate by TSAD and cooperation with AN. The utilization efficiency of thiocyanate in nitrogen removal was increased by 250% due to the microbial cooperation. Excess thiocyanate and ammonium did not influence the nitrogen removal amount. However, the nitrogen removal were affected obviously by the biomass ratio (X_AN/X_TSAD) between AN and TSAD Moreover, the dynamics related to removal of pollutants was described successfully by a modified Monod model with time constraints. These findings offer an insight for efficient utilization of thiocyanate in nitrogen removal via microbial cooperation.

Keywords: Anammox; Mathematical modeling; Microbial cooperation; Nitrogen removal; Thiocyanate; Thiosulfate-driven autotrophic denitrifiers.

MeSH terms

Ammonium Compounds*
Anaerobic Ammonia Oxidation
Bioreactors
Denitrification
Nitrates*
Nitrogen
Oxidation-Reduction
Thiocyanates
Thiosulfates

Substances

Nitrates
Ammonium Compounds
Thiosulfates
thiocyanate
Thiocyanates
Nitrogen