Biofilm carrier type affects biogenic sulfur-driven denitrification performance and microbial community dynamics in moving-bed biofilm reactors

Anastasiia Kostrytsia; Stefano Papirio; Murod Khodzhaev; Liam Morrison; Gavin Collins; Piet N L Lens; Umer Zeeshan Ijaz; Giovanni Esposito

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131975

Biofilm carrier type affects biogenic sulfur-driven denitrification performance and microbial community dynamics in moving-bed biofilm reactors

Chemosphere. 2022 Jan;287(Pt 1):131975. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131975. Epub 2021 Aug 20.

Authors

Anastasiia Kostrytsia¹, Stefano Papirio², Murod Khodzhaev³, Liam Morrison⁴, Gavin Collins⁵, Piet N L Lens³, Umer Zeeshan Ijaz⁶, Giovanni Esposito⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, via Di Biasio 43, 03043, Cassino (FR), Italy. Electronic address: Anastasiia.Kostrytsia@glasgow.ac.uk.
² Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, via Claudio 21, 80125, Naples, Italy; Task Force on Microbiome Studies, University of Naples Federico II, 80138, Naples, Italy.
³ IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, PO Box 3015, 2601 DA, Delft, the Netherlands.
⁴ Earth and Ocean Sciences, School of Natural Sciences and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland Galway, University Road, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland.
⁵ Microbial Communities Laboratory, School of Natural Sciences and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland Galway, University Road, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland.
⁶ School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Oakfield Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8LT, United Kingdom. Electronic address: umer.ijaz@glasgow.ac.uk.
⁷ Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, via Claudio 21, 80125, Naples, Italy.

PMID: 34454228
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131975

Abstract

Autotrophic denitrification with biosulfur (ADBIOS) provides a sustainable technological solution for biological nitrogen removal from wastewater driven by biogenic S⁰, derived from biogas desulfurization. In this study, the effect of different biofilm carriers (conventional AnoxK™ 1 and Z-200 with a pre-defined maximum biofilm thickness) on ADBIOS performance and microbiomics was investigated in duplicate moving bed-biofilm reactors (MBBRs). The MBBRs were operated parallelly in continuous mode for 309 days, whilst gradually decreasing the hydraulic retention time (HRT) from 72 to 21 h, and biosulfur was either pumped in suspension (days 92-223) or supplied in powder form. Highest nitrate removal rates were approximately 225 (±11) mg/L·d and 180 (±7) mg NO₃^--N/L·d in the MBBRs operated with K1 and Z-200 carriers, respectively. Despite having the same protected surface area for biofilm development in each MBBR, the biomass attached onto the K1 carrier was 4.8-fold more than that on the Z-200 carrier, with part of the biogenic S⁰ kept in the biofilm. The microbial communities of K1 and Z-200 biofilms could also be considered similar at cDNA level in terms of abundance (R = 0.953 with p = 0.042). A relatively stable microbial community was formed on K1 carriers, while the active portion of the microbial community varied significantly over time in the MBBRs using Z-200 carriers.

Keywords: Autotrophic denitrification; Biogenic sulfur; Microbial profile; Moving-bed biofilm reactor; Nitrite; Z-200 carrier.

MeSH terms

Biofilms
Bioreactors
Denitrification*
Microbiota*
Nitrogen
Sulfur
Waste Disposal, Fluid
Wastewater / analysis

Substances

Waste Water
Sulfur
Nitrogen