Enhancing nitrogen removal in the partial denitrification/anammox processes for SO4- - Rich wastewater treatment: Insights into autotrophic and mixotrophic strategies

Dominika Derwis; Hussein E Al-Hazmi; Joanna Majtacz; Sławomir Ciesielski; Jacek Mąkinia

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120908

Enhancing nitrogen removal in the partial denitrification/anammox processes for SO₄^- - Rich wastewater treatment: Insights into autotrophic and mixotrophic strategies

J Environ Manage. 2024 May:358:120908. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120908. Epub 2024 Apr 16.

Authors

Dominika Derwis¹, Hussein E Al-Hazmi², Joanna Majtacz³, Sławomir Ciesielski⁴, Jacek Mąkinia⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sanitary Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdańsk University of Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza Street, 80-233, Gdańsk, Poland. Electronic address: dominika.derwis@pg.edu.pl.
² Department of Sanitary Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdańsk University of Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza Street, 80-233, Gdańsk, Poland. Electronic address: hussein.hazmi1@pg.edu.pl.
³ Department of Sanitary Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdańsk University of Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza Street, 80-233, Gdańsk, Poland. Electronic address: joamajta@pg.edu.pl.
⁴ Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Słoneczna 45G, Olsztyn, 10-719, Poland. Electronic address: slavcm@uwm.edu.pl.
⁵ Department of Sanitary Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdańsk University of Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza Street, 80-233, Gdańsk, Poland. Electronic address: jmakinia@pg.edu.pl.

PMID: 38631168
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120908

Abstract

The investigation of partial denitrification/anammox (PD/anammox) processes was conducted under autotrophic (N-S cycle) and mixotrophic (N-S-C cycle) conditions over 180 days. Key findings revealed the remarkable capability of SO₄^2--dependent systems to produce NO₂^- effectively, supporting anaerobic NH₄⁺ oxidation. Additionally, SO₄^2- served as an additional electron acceptor in sulfate reduction ammonium oxidation (SRAO). Increasing influent SO₄^2- concentrations notably improved ammonia utilization rates (AUR) and NH₄⁺ and total nitrogen (TN) utilization efficiencies, peaking at 57% for SBR1 and nearly 100% for SBR2. Stoichiometric analysis showed a 7.5-fold increase in AUR (SRAO and anammox) in SBR1 following SO₄^2- supplementation. However, the analysis for SBR2 indicated a shift towards SRAO and mixotrophic denitrification, with anammox disappearing entirely by the end of the study. Comparative assessments between SBR1 and SBR2 emphasized the impact of organic compounds (CH₃COONa) on transformations within the N-S-C cycle. SBR1 performance primarily involved anammox, SRAO and other SO₄^2- utilization pathways, with minimal S-dependent autotrophic denitrification (SDAD) involvement. In contrast, SBR2 performance encompassed SRAO, mixotrophic denitrification, and other pathways for SO₄^2- production. The SRAO process involved two dominant genera, such as Candidatus Brocadia and PHOS-HE36.

Keywords: Anammox; Microbial interaction; Mixotrophic denitrification; Nitrogen removal performance; Sulfur-dependent autotrophic denitrification.

MeSH terms

Ammonia / metabolism
Ammonium Compounds / metabolism
Autotrophic Processes
Bioreactors
Denitrification*
Nitrogen* / metabolism
Oxidation-Reduction
Waste Disposal, Fluid / methods
Wastewater* / chemistry

Substances

Nitrogen
Wastewater
Ammonia
Ammonium Compounds