Immobilization of Azospira sp. strain I13 by gel entrapment for mitigation of N2O from biological wastewater treatment plants: Biokinetic characterization and modeling

Future directions in microbial nitrogen cycling in wastewater treatment

Discoveries in the past decade of novel reactions, processes, and micro-organisms have altered our understanding of microbial nitrogen cycling in wastewater treatment systems. These advancements pave the way for a transition toward more sustainable and energy-efficient wastewater treatment systems that also minimize greenhouse gas emissions. This review highlights these innovative directions in microbial nitrogen cycling within the context of wastewater treatment. Processes such as comammox, Feammox, electro-anammox, and nitrous oxide mitigation offer innovative approaches for sustainable, energy-efficient nitrogen removal. However, while these emerging processes show promise, advancing from laboratory research to practical applications, particularly in decentralized systems, remains a critical next step toward a sustainable and efficient wastewater management.

Respiration and growth of Paracoccus denitrificans R-1 with nitrous oxide as an electron acceptor

In the nitrogen biogeochemical cycle, the reduction of nitrous oxide (N2O) to N2 by N2O reductase, which is encoded by nosZ gene, is the only biological pathway for N2O consumption. In this study, we successfully isolated a strain of denitrifying Paracoccus denitrificans R-1 from sewage treatment plant sludge. This strain has strong N2O reduction capability, and the average N2O reduction rate was 5.10 ± 0.11 × 10-9 µmol·h-1·cell-1 under anaerobic condition in a defined medium. This reduction was accompanied by the stoichiometric consumption of acetate over time when N2O served as the sole electron acceptor and the reduction can yield energy to support microbial growth, suggesting that microbial N2O reduction is related to the energy generation process. Genomic analysis showed that the gene cluster encoding N2O reductase of P. denitrificans R-1 was composed of nosR, nosZ, nosD, nosF, nosY, nosL, and nosZ, which was identified as that in other strains in clade I. Respiratory inhibitors test indicated that the pathway of electron transport for N2O reduction was different from that of the traditional electron transport chain for aerobic respiration. Cu2+, silver nanoparticles, O2, and acidic conditions can strongly inhibit the reduction, whereas NO3- or NH4+ can promote it. These findings suggest that modular N2O reduction of P. denitrificans R-1 is linked to the electron transport and energy conservation, and dissimilatory N2O reduction is a form of microbial anaerobic respiration.

IMPORTANCE

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas and contributor to ozone layer destruction, and atmospheric N2O has increased steadily over the past century due to human activities. The release of N2O from fixed N is almost entirely controlled by microbial N2O reductase activities. Here, we investigated the ability to obtain energy for the growth of Paracoccus denitrificans R-1 by coupling the oxidation of various electron donors to N2O reduction. The modular N2O reduction process of denitrifying microorganism not only can consume N2O produced by itself but also can consume the external N2O generated from biological or abiotic pathways under suitable condition, which should be critical for controlling the release of N2O from ecosystems into the atmosphere.

Biochar and hematite amendments suppress emission of CH4 and NO2 in constructed wetlands

Constructed wetlands (CWs) are considered a widely used cost-effective technology for pollutant removal. However, greenhouse gas emissions are a non-negligible problem in CWs. In this study, four laboratory-scale CWs were established to evaluate the effects of gravel (CW_B), hematite (CW_Fe), biochar (CW_C), and hematite + biochar (CW_Fe-C) as substrates on pollutants removal, greenhouse gas emissions, and associated microbial characteristics. The results showed that the biochar-amended CWs (CW_C and CW_Fe-C) enhanced the removal efficiency of pollutants, with 92.53 % and 93.66 % of COD and 65.73 % and 64.41 % of TN removal, respectively. Both single and combined inputs of biochar and hematite significantly reduced CH₄ and N₂O fluxes, with the lowest average of CH₄ flux obtained in CW_C (5.99 ± 0.78 mg CH₄ m^-2 h^-1) and the least N₂O flux in CW_Fe-C (287.57 ± 44.84 μg N₂O m^-2 h^-1). The substantial reduction of global warming potentials (GWP) was obtained in the applications of CW_C (80.25 %) and CW_Fe-C (79.5 %) in biochar-amended CWs. The presence of biochar and hematite mitigated CH₄ and N₂O emissions by modifying microbial communities with higher ratios of pmoA/mcrA and nosZ genes abundances, as well as increasing the abundance of denitrifying bacteria (Dechloromona, Thauera and Azospira). This study demonstrated that biochar and the combined use of biochar and hematite could be the potential candidates as functional substrates for the efficient removal of pollutants and simultaneously reducing GWP emissions in the constructed wetlands.

Contribution of nitrous oxide to the carbon footprint of full-scale wastewater treatment plants and mitigation strategies- a critical review

Nitrous oxide (N₂O), a potent greenhouse gas, significantly contributes to the carbon footprint of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and contributes significantly to global climate change and to the deterioration of the natural environment. Our understanding of N₂O generation mechanisms has significantly improved in the last decade, but the development of effective N₂O emission mitigation strategies has lagged owing to the complexity of parameter regulation, substandard monitoring activities, and inadequate policy criteria. Based on critically screened published studies on N₂O control in full-scale WWTPs, this review elucidates N₂O generation pathway identifications and emission mechanisms and summarizes the impact of N₂O on the total carbon footprint of WWTPs. In particular, a linear relationship was established between N₂O emission factors and total nitrogen removal efficiencies in WWTPs located in China. Promising N₂O mitigation options were proposed, which focus on optimizing operating conditions and implementation of innovative treatment processes. Furthermore, the sustainable operation of WWTPs has been anticipated to convert WWTPs into absolute greenhouse gas reducers as a result of the refinement and improvement of on-site monitoring activities, mitigation mechanisms, regulation of operational parameters, modeling, and policies.

Temperature and oxygen level determine N2 O respiration activities of heterotrophic N2 O-reducing bacteria: Biokinetic study

Nitrous oxide (N₂ O), a potent greenhouse gas, is reduced to N₂ gas by N₂ O-reducing bacteria (N₂ ORB), a process which represents an N₂ O sink in natural and engineered ecosystems. The N₂ O sink activity by N₂ ORB depends on temperature and O₂ exposure, yet the specifics are not yet understood. This study explores the effects of temperature and oxygen exposure on biokinetics of pure culture N₂ ORB. Four N₂ ORB, representing either clade I type nosZ (Pseudomonas stutzeri JCM5965 and Paracoccus denitrificans NBRC102528) or clade II type nosZ (Azospira sp. strains I09 and I13), were individually tested. The higher activation energy for N₂ O by Azospira sp. strain I13 (114.0 ± 22.6 kJ mol^-1 ) compared with the other tested N₂ ORB (38.3-60.1 kJ mol^-1 ) indicates that N₂ ORB can adapt to different temperatures. The O₂ inhibition constants (K_I ) of Azospira sp. strain I09 and Ps. stutzeri JCM5965 increased from 0.06 ± 0.05 and 0.05 ± 0.02 μmol L^-1 to 0.92 ± 0.24 and 0.84 ± 0.31 μmol L^-1 , respectively, as the temperature increased from 15°C to 35°C, while that of Azospira sp. strain I13 was temperature-independent (p = 0.106). Within the range of temperatures examined, Azospira sp. strain I13 had a faster recovery after O₂ exposure compared with Azospira sp. strain I09 and Ps. stutzeri JCM5965 (p < 0.05). These results suggest that temperature and O₂ exposure result in the growth of ecophysiologically distinct N₂ ORB as N₂ O sinks. This knowledge can help develop a suitable N₂ O mitigation strategy according to the physiologies of the predominant N₂ ORB.

Enhanced nitrogen removal of the simultaneous partial nitrification, anammox and denitrification (SNAD) biofilm reactor for treating mainstream wastewater under low dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration

The simultaneous partial nitrification, anammox and denitrification (SNAD) process for treating mainstream wastewater was investigated under different intermittent aeration modes. By controlling the aeration time of 20, 60 and 180 min during the intermittent modes, the oxygen concentration remained 3.50, 1.45 and 0.70 mg·L^-1. Correspondingly, the reactor achieved the nitrogen removal rate of 0.17, 0.29 and 0.30 kg N·m^-3·d^-1. Meanwhile, the average total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) removal efficiency reached 93.4%, 87.5% and 92.7%. The effluent NO₃^--N concentration was very low. High-throughput sequencing analysis indicated that the proportion of nitrite oxidization bacteria (NOB), anammox bacteria and denitrification bacteria was 0.15%, 0.33% and 8.78%. Candidatus Anammoxoglobus was the abundant anammox bacteria genus. Further study on the unclassified sequences revealed the possibility of the high relative abundance of Nitrosomonas-related genus and Candidatus Kuenenia-related genus on the SNAD biofilm.

Immobilization of permeabilized cells of baker’s yeast for decomposition of H2O2 by catalase

Permeabilization is one of the effective tools, used to increase the accessibility of intracellular enzymes. Immobilization is one of the best approaches to reuse the enzyme. Present investigation use both techniques to obtain a biocatalyst with high catalase activity. At the beginning the isopropyl alcohol was used to permeabilize cells of baker’s yeast in order to maximize the catalase activity within the treated cells. Afterwards the permeabilized cells were immobilized in calcium alginate beads and this biocatalyst was used for the degradation of hydrogen peroxide to oxygen and water. The optimal sodium alginate concentration and cell mass concentration for immobilization process were determined. The temperature and pH for maximum decomposition of hydrogen peroxide were assigned and are 20°C and 7 respectively. Prepared biocatalyst allowed 3.35-times faster decomposition as compared to alginate beads with non permeabilized cells. The immobilized biocatalyst lost ca. 30% activity after ten cycles of repeated use in batch operations. Each cycles duration was 10 minutes. Permeabilization and subsequent immobilization of the yeast cells allowed them to be transformed into biocatalysts with an enhanced catalase activity, which can be successfully used to decompose hydrogen peroxide.