Genetic associations as indices of nitrogen cycling rates in an aerobic denitrification biofilter used for groundwater remediation

Application of low-intensity ultrasound to enhance simultaneous nitrification/iron-based autotrophic denitrification

Intermittent ultrasound with an intensity of 0.2 W/ml was applied during simultaneous nitrification/iron-based autotrophic denitrification to evaluate its impacts on total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency and microbial characteristics during low carbon/nitrogen ratio (C/N) wastewater treatment. At an optimal dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration of 1.2 mg/L, the TN removal rate was 91 ± 4%, and the TN concentration in the effluent decreased by 31% owing to the ultrasound treatment. In addition, the number of iron-compounds that formed in the sludge and wastewater increased by 55% and 37%, respectively. Low-intensity ultrasound caused a substantial increase in ammonia monooxygenase activity. Moreover, when the DO concentration increased to 1.2 mg/L, the activities of nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase, both of which are associated with denitrification, were effectively maintained. High-throughput sequencing indicated that low-intensity ultrasound enriched ammonium oxidising bacteria (Nitrosomonas) and suppressed the growth of heterotrophic denitrifying bacteria (Zoogloea and Simplicispira). These changes benefited simultaneous nitrification and autotrophic denitrification. Thus, low-intensity ultrasound promoted the simultaneous nitrification/iron-based autotrophic denitrification process during low C/N wastewater treatment.

A critical review of aerobic denitrification: Insights into the intracellular electron transfer

Aerobic denitrification is a novel biological nitrogen removal technology, which has been widely investigated as an alternative to the conventional denitrification and for its unique advantages. To fully comprehend aerobic denitrification, it is essential to clarify the regulatory mechanisms of intracellular electron transfer during aerobic denitrification. However, reports on intracellular electron transfer during aerobic denitrification are rather limited. Thus, the purpose of this review is to discuss the molecular mechanism of aerobic denitrification from the perspective of electron transfer, by summarizing the advancements in current research on electron transfer based on conventional denitrification. Firstly, the implication of aerobic denitrification is briefly discussed, and the status of current research on aerobic denitrification is summarized. Then, the occurring foundation and significance of aerobic denitrification are discussed based on a brief review of the key components involved in the electron transfer of denitrifying enzymes. Moreover, a strategy for enhancing the efficiency of aerobic denitrification is proposed on the basis of the regulatory mechanisms of denitrification enzymes. Finally, scientific outlooks are given for further investigation on aerobic denitrification in the future. This review could help clarify the mechanism of aerobic denitrification from the perspective of electron transfer.

Spatiotemporal distribution and interaction of denitrifying functional genes in a novel DAS-NUA biofilter used for groundwater nitrate treatment

A newly combined dewatered alum sludge (DAS) and neutralized used acid (NUA) biofilter has been constructed and investigated recently, aiming for improving nitrate (NO₃^--N) removal in simulated groundwater and exploring the spatiotemporal distribution of nirS and nosZ. The biofilter achieved 81.54% and 13.6 g N/ (m³ d) removal efficiency of NO₃^--N during the stabilization period. Spatiotemporal distributions of diversity and composition of nirS and nosZ varied approximately in two media with depths and time. Both DAS and NUA played important roles in attenuating nitrate because of predominant denitrifying genera functions, and the core differences were Rhodanobacter and Rhodobacter in DAS while Halomonas, Pseudogulbenkiania, and Cupriavidus in NUA. Acting as the strongly correlated genera, Magnetospirillum and Halomonas had a significantly positive or negative correlation with other dominant genera. Positive correlations existed among COD, TN, NO₃^--N, NO₂^--N, and both nirS and nosZ in the DAS filter, whereas the correlations were negative in the NUA filter. Particularly, the effluent concentration of NO₃^--N had a significantly negative correlation with the relative abundance of Rubrivivax and Pseudomonas. These results could be useful in adjusting the denitrification of nitrogen contaminants at the genetic level, especially in mitigating the influence of discharge of NO₃^--N on the process of groundwater restoration.

Genetic associations as indices for assessing nitrogen transformation processes in co-composting of cattle manure and rice straw

In this study, mechanism of nitrogen transformation was investigated in terms of genetic associations (nitrogen-related gene groups) in co-composting of cattle manure and rice straw. Mutual validation among KEGG, Pearson correlation, stepwise regression, and Path analyses indicated that the functional genes synergistically affected on nitrogen transformation in composting process. NxrA/qnorB (0.9419 ± 0.0334) and (amoA + anammox)/Bacteria (0.7187 ± 0.0334) were the key functional gene groups mediating NH₄⁺-N transformation. AmoA/(narG + napA) (-0.8400 ± 0.0129), amoA/bacteria (0.8692 ± 0.0273), and (nirK + nirS)/nosZ (1.1652 ± 0.0089) determined NO₃^--N, NO₂^--N and N₂O transformation, respectively. AmoA/(napA + narG) mediated both NO₃^--N and NO₂^--N transformation. AmoA/anammox (-0.7172 ± 0.0591) and (nirK + nirS)/nosZ (-0.6626 ± 0.0825) served as predominant factors for total nitrogen removal. These results provided a molecular-level insight that nitrification, anaerobic ammonia oxidation and denitrification (SNAD) might simultaneously contribute to nitrogen transformation during composting, rather than sequentially.

Dynamic changes of nitrogen and dissolved organic matter during the transport of mine water in a coal mine underground reservoir: Column experiments

Although the technology of coal mine underground reservoirs has been widely applied in the Western China, little is known about the variation of water quality induced by the removal transformation of nitrogen and dissolved organic matter (DOM) rich in mine water during its storage and transport in a coal mine underground reservoir. Column experiments were carried out at 30 °C and at Darcy fluxes ranging from 0.32 cm/h to 0.64 cm/h to investigate the transport parameters and dynamic changes of nitrogen and DOM in a simulated underground reservoir filled with coal gangue, which was composed of sandstone and mudstone. Results showed that chloride transport could be described by the convection-dispersion equation (CDE) well at a Darcy flux of 0.32 cm/h, wherein the dispersion role was obvious. Despite the high level of nitrite in the influent, the effluent concentrations of nitrite and nitrate fluctuated around the background values through complete denitrification. And the removal of total nitrogen (TN) with efficiencies between 55.1% and 76% were highly correlated with nitrite denitrification. Ammonification of organic nitrogen got weakened over time and the content of ammonium ion tended to be stable at the level of that in the input mine water. The delayed breakthrough curves of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) at a Darcy flux of 0.32 cm/h could be attributed to their adsorption onto the coal gangue during their transport through the simulated underground reservoir. Due to the variations of microbial and compositions of the input mine water, the removal efficiencies of COD and DOC increased slightly from 62% to 68%, 56% to 63%, respectively, when the Darcy flux increased from 0.32 cm/h to 0.62 cm/h. The findings would be helpful in evaluating the effectiveness of post-treatment of mine water during its storage in an underground reservoir in coal mine areas of Western China.

Importance of denitrification driven by the relative abundances of microbial communities in coastal wetlands

Excessive nitrogen (N) loadings from human activities have led to increased eutrophication and associated water quality impacts in China's coastal wetlands. Denitrification accounts for significant reduction of inorganic N to nitrous oxide (N₂O) or dinitrogen gas (N₂), and thereby curtails harmful effects of N pollution in coastal and marine ecosystems. However, the molecular drivers and limiting steps of denitrification in coastal wetlands are not well understood. Here, we quantified the abundances of functional genes involved in N cycling and determined denitrification rates using ¹⁵N paring technique in the coastal wetland sediments of Bohai Economic Rim in eastern China. Denitrification accounting for 80.7 ± 12.6% of N removal was the dominant pathway for N removal in the coastal wetlands. In comparison, anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) removed up to 36.9 ± 7.3% of inorganic N. Structural equation modeling analysis indicated that the effects of ammonium on denitrification potential were mainly mediated by the relative abundances of nosZ/nirS, nirS/(narG + napA) and amoA/nirK. Denitrification was limited by the relative strength of two steps, namely N₂O reduction to N₂ and nitrite (NO₂^-) reduction to nitric oxide (NO). Our results suggest that the relative abundances of functional genes which are more stable than sediment chemical compounds in the context of environmental changes are indictive of denitrification potential in coastal wetlands.

Effects of pipe material on nitrogen transformation, microbial communities and functional genes in raw water transportation

Raw water transportation pipelines are vital in an urban water supply system for transporting raw water to drinking water treatment plants. This study investigated the effects of pipe material on nitrogen transformation, microbial communities and characteristics of related function genes in paint-lined steel pipe (PLSP) and cement-lined steel pipe (CLSP) raw water model systems. We established quantitative relationships between specific functional genes and change rates of nitrogen pollutants, which were verified by field investigation on nitrogen pollutant transformations in real raw water transportation systems. The results showed that the CLSP produced higher ammonia nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) transformation rates and higher effluent concentrations of nitrate nitrogen (NO₃^--N) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) than the PLSP. Both pipes achieved high and stable nitrite nitrogen (NO₂^--N) and low total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency. Nitrification was found to be the dominant process in both model systems, especially in the CLSP. Characteristics of microbial communities and nitrogen functional genes, which were analysed by high-throughput pyrosequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), respectively, varied between the two pipe systems. Nitrogen transformation pathways, identified by path analysis, were also different between the PLSP and CLSP due to different microbial community characteristics and synergistic effects of nitrogen functional genes. In the CLSP, (NH₄⁺-N→NO₂^--N) with part denitrification, was the primary transformation pathway of ammonia nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N), while only ammonia oxidization contributed to NH₄⁺-N transformation in the PLSP. (NO₂^--N→NO₃^--N) was the main pathway involved in NO₂^--N transformation and NO₃^--N accumulation. The TN removal showed complex relationships with nitrification, denitrification and nitrogen fixation processes. These findings provided molecular-level insights into nitrogen pollutant transformations during the transportation of raw water through different types of pipes and technical support for the selection of raw water pipe materials. In our study area, the Taihu basin, China, PLSP was better than CLSP for distributing raw water in a short transportation distance, due to the lower effluent concentrations of DON and NO₃^--N and less abundance of microorganisms.