Thiosphaera pantotropha: a sulphur bacterium capable of simultaneous heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification

Optimization of degradation conditions and analysis of degradation mechanism for nitrite by Bacillus aryabhattai 47

Excessive nitrite levels cause significant damage to aquaculture, making it crucial to explore green and reliable nitrite removal technologies. In this study, A Bacillus aryabhattai (designated as the strain 47) isolated from aquaculture wastewater was used as the experimental strain. The nitrite degradation conditions of the strain 47 were optimized, and the optimal conditions are: glucose was 12.74 g/L, fermented special soybean meal was 21.27 g/L, MgCl2 369 mg/L, pH 7.0, incubated at 30 °C with the inoculum size of 2 % and the rotation speed of 170 rpm. Under the optimal conditions, the nitrite concentration of the culture solution was 200 mg/L, and the nitrite removal rate reached 91.4 %. Meanwhile, the mechanism by which Mg2+ enhanced the nitrite degradation ability of the strain 47 was investigated by transcriptomics. An operon structure directed cellular trafficking of Mg2+, and then, the Mg2+-mediated catalytic reaction of multiple enzymes enhanced and improved cellular metabolic processes (e.g. the transport and metabolism of nitrite, central carbohydrate metabolism oxidative phosphorylation). At the same time, with the progress of cell metabolism, cells secreted a series of enzymes related to nitrite transport and metabolism to promote the metabolism of nitrite. And the process of the assimilated nitrate reduction pathway of nitrite degradation in the strain 47 was elaborated at the transcriptome level. This study provided a new insight into nitrite treatment mediated by microbial organisms.

Simultaneous Heterotrophic Nitrification and Aerobic Denitrification of Water after Sludge Dewatering in Two Sequential Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors (MBBR)

Water after sludge dewatering, also known as reject water from anaerobic digestion, is recycled back to the main wastewater treatment inlet in the wastewater treatment plant Porsgrunn, Norway, causing periodic process disturbance due to high ammonium of 568 (±76.7) mg/L and total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD) of 2825 (±526) mg/L. The main aim of this study was the simultaneous treatment of reject water ammonium and COD using two pilot-scale sequential moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBR) implemented in the main wastewater treatment stream. The two pilot MBBRs each had a working volume of 67.4 L. The biofilm carriers used had a protected surface area of 650 m²/m³ with a 60% filling ratio. The results indicate that the combined ammonia removal efficiency (ARE) in both reactors was 65.9%, while the nitrite accumulation rate (NAR) and nitrate production rate (NPR) were 80.2 and 19.8%, respectively. Over 28% of the reject water’s tCOD was removed in both reactors. The heterotrophic nitrification and oxygen tolerant aerobic denitrification were the key biological mechanisms found for the ammonium removal in both reactors. The dominant bacterial family in both reactors was Alcaligenaceae, capable of simultaneous heterotrophic nitrification and denitrification. Moreover, microbial families that were found with equal potential for application of simultaneous heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification including Cloacamonaceae, Alcaligenaceae, Comamonadaceae, Microbacteriaceae, and Anaerolinaceae.

Isolation and Identification of an Efficient Aerobic Denitrifying Pseudomonas stutzeri Strain and Characterization of Its Nitrite Degradation

Nitrogen pollution in water bodies is becoming increasingly serious, and how to remove nitrogen from water bodies economically and effectively has become a research hotspot. Especially in recent years, with the gradual expansion of aquaculture in China, the content of nitrite and other nitrogen-containing substances in water bodies has been increasing, which inhibits the growth of farm animals and is one of the causes of eutrophication in water bodies. In this study, a strain of bacteria was isolated from the sludge of an aquaculture fishpond and identified as Pseudomonas stutzeri, which can efficiently degrade nitrite. After continuous domestication in nitrite mixed solution, the nitrite nitrogen reduction capacity of P. stutzeri was significantly improved. Univariate experiments aiming to optimize the degradation conditions indicate that the optimal culture conditions for strain F2 are: medium with a carbon source of sodium succinate; C/N of 18; pH of 8; culture temperature of 28 °C; and shaking speed of 210 rpm in the shaker. Under the optimal culture conditions, the NO2−-N concentration of the culture solution was 300 mg/L, and the nitrite removal rate reached 98.67%. Meanwhile, the results of the nitrogen balance test showed that the strain converted 6.1% of the initial nitrogen into cellular organic nitrogen and 62.3% into gaseous nitrogen.

Performance and Microbial Community Analysis of an Electrobiofilm Reactor Enhanced by Ferrous-EDTA

The biological reduction of ferrous ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA-Fe^II-NO and EDTA-Fe^III) is an important process in the integrated electrobiofilm reduction method, and it has been regarded as a promising alternative method for removing NO _x from industrial boiler flue gas. EDTA-Fe^II-NO and EDTA-Fe^III are crucial substrates that should be biologically reduced at a high rate. However, they inhibit the reduction processes of one another when these two substrates are presented together, which might limit further promotion of the integrated method. In this study, an integrated electrobiofilm reduction system with high reduction rates of EDTA-Fe^II-NO and EDTA-Fe^III was developed. The dynamic changes of microbial communities in the electrobiofilms were mainly investigated to analyze the changes during the reduction of these two substrates under different conditions. The results showed that compared to the conventional chemical absorption-biological reduction system, the reduction system exhibited better performance in terms of resistance to substrate shock loading and high microbial diversities. High-throughput sequencing analysis showed that Alicycliphilus, Enterobacteriaceae, and Raoultella were the dominant genera (>25% each) during the process of EDTA-Fe^II-NO reduction. Chryseobacterium had the ability to endure the shock loading of EDTA-Fe^III, and the relative abundance of Chryseobacterium under abnormal operation conditions was up to 30.82%. Ochrobactrum was the main bacteria for reducing nitrate by electrons and the relative abundance still exhibited 16.11% under shock loading. Furthermore, higher microbial diversity and stable reactor operation were achieved when the concentrations of EDTA-Fe^II-NO and EDTA-Fe^III approached the same value (9 mmol·L^-1).

Extracellular synthesis of silver nanoparticles by Thiosphaera pantotropha and evaluation of their antibacterial and cytotoxic effects

Extracellular biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was explored using Thiosphaera pantotropha since this strain exhibits both nitrate- and nitrite-reductase enzyme activity (NaR and NiR, respectively). Optimal AgNP synthesis was achieved using 2 mM AgNO₃, culture supernatant of nutrient broth grown T. pantotropha, and incubation at 37 °C and 180 rpm. Under these conditions, the localized surface plasmon resonance peak of silver at 404 nm matched well with the average size of the spherical AgNPs based on FEG-TEM micrographs, i.e., 14.6 nm (range: 5-51 nm). The zeta potential of -33.6 mV indicated good stability of the biosynthesized nanoparticles. The XRD spectra demonstrated the simultaneous presence of face-centered cubic crystal structure of AgNPs and AgCl NPs. Ag⁺ ions were possibly reduced by the NaR and NiR enzymes released into the culture media. The FTIR spectra confirmed the stabilization of the AgNPs by biomolecules present in the culture supernatant of T. pantotropha. The synthesized Ag/AgCl NPs exhibited good antibacterial efficacy against both Gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was 2.5 µg/ml for all the bacteria except B. subtilis (MIC of 10 µg/ml). The minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) was 2.5, 10, 20, and 5 µg/ml for E. coli, P. aeruginosa, B. subtilis, and S. aureus, respectively. At MBC and higher AgNP concentration, both plating and CLSM imaging confirmed the absence of viable bacteria in treated water. The biogenic AgNPs depicted IC₅₀ of 34.8 µg/ml for MCF-7 cells.

Quorum sensing systems regulate heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification by changing the activity of nitrogen-cycling enzymes

Heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HNAD) is essential in diverse nitrogen-transforming processes. How HNAD is modulated by quorum sensing (QS) systems is still ambiguous. The QS system in Pseudomonas aeruginosa manipulates colony behavior. Here, we described the influence of the Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) and N-acyl-l-homoserine lactone (AHL) on HNAD. The HNAD of P. aeruginosa was inhibited by the oversecretion of PQS. AHL- or PQS-deficient P. aeruginosa mutants had a higher ability for nitrogen removal. QS inhibited heterotrophic nitrification mainly via controlling the activity of nitrite oxidoreductase (NXR) and the depressed aerobic denitrification by regulating the catalytic abilities of nitric oxide reductase (NOR), nitrite reductase (NIR), and nitrate reductase (NAR). The addition of citrate as the sole carbon source increased the nitrogen removal efficiency compared with other carbon sources. Nitrite, as the sole nitrogen source, could be used entirely with only the moderate concentration of PQS contained. AHL and PQS controlled both nitrification and denitrification, suggesting that QS plays an important role in nitrogen cycle under aerobic conditions.

Formulation and Characterization of a Heterotrophic Nitrification-Aerobic Denitrification Synthetic Microbial Community and its Application to Livestock Wastewater Treatment

There have been many studies on single strains in wastewater treatment and a new synthetic microbial community was prepared in this study, which provides a reference for the application of heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification in actual wastewater treatment. The growth period distribution of the composite bacteria was determined by plotting growth curves with different sole nitrogen sources, and the influence of the carbon source, carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) ratio, pH, and temperature on ammonia removal by the composite heterotrophic nitrifying-aerobic denitrifying strain was investigated. The optimal conditions for the heterotrophic nitrification process were sodium citrate as the carbon source, a C/N ratio of 10, a pH of 7, and a temperature of 30 °C, and only trace amounts of nitrate and nitrite were observed during the process. When the sequencing batch reactor (SBR) of a pig farm wastewater treatment plant was inoculated with the synthetic microbial community, the average removals of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia nitrogen in the effluent were 92.61% and 20.56%, respectively. From the results, the synthetic microbial community was able to simultaneously perform heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification indicating great potential for full-scale applications.

Effects of ZnO nanoparticles on aerobic denitrification by strain Pseudomonas stutzeri PCN-1

Anaerobic denitrification has been proved to be negatively affected by ZnO nanomaterials (NPs), but little is known about how ZnO NPs affects aerobic denitrification. In this study, inhibition of ZnO NPs to an aerobic denitrifier, Pseudomonas stutzeri PCN-1, was firstly reported. The results showed total nitrogen removal efficiency was decreased from 100% to 1.70% with the increase of ZnO NPs from 1 to 128mg/L. The presence of ZnO NPs caused significant inhibition of gene expressions and catalytic activities of nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase, which finally led to delayed nitrate reduction and high nitrite accumulation. Further studies revealed that the deposition of nanoparticles on the bacterial surface caused by electrostatic forces and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were responsible for the cytotoxicity of ZnO NPs, where ROS played a more important role. These results were of significance to evaluating the potential ecological toxicity and risks of nanomaterials.

Municipal wastewater treatment by the bioaugmentation of Bacillus sp. K5 within a sequencing batch reactor

Artificial municipal wastewater was treated successfully by the bioaugmentation of Bacillus sp. K5 capable of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) within a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). During the long-term operation, the bioaugmentation system exhibited an excellent and steady COD and NH₄⁺-N removal without nitrite and nitrate accumulation. The average removal efficiency for COD and NH₄⁺-N achieved to 98% and 95%, respectively. PCR-DGGE, SEM and FISH revealed that the introduced Bacillus sp. K5 should be an important functional strain and exerted a critical influence on the structure of microbial community. qPCR analysis indicated that the strain K5 facilitated aerobic nutrients removal capabilities and SND might be the primary pathway for the nitrogen removal in the SBR. Overall, the SBR system used in our study should be very promising for the future wastewater treatment.

An integrated biological approach for treatment of cyanidation wastewater

The cyanidation process has been, and still remains, a profitable and highly efficient process for the recovery of precious metals from ores. However, this process has contributed to environmental deterioration and potable water reserve contamination due to the discharge of poorly treated, or untreated, cyanide containing wastewater. The process produces numerous cyanide complexes in addition to the gold cyanocomplex. Additionally, the discharge constituents also include hydrogen cyanide (HCN) - metallic complexes with iron, nickel, copper, zinc, cobalt and other metals; thiocyanate (SCN); and cyanate (CNO). The fate of these complexes in the environment dictates the degree to which these species pose a threat to living organisms. This paper reviews the impact that the cyanidation process has on the environment, the ecotoxicology of the cyanidation wastewater and the treatment methods that are currently utilised to treat cyanidation wastewater. Furthermore, this review proposes an integrated biological approach for the treatment of the cyanidation process wastewater using microbial consortia that is insensitive and able to degrade cyanide species, in all stages of the proposed process.

Bioaugmentation treatment of municipal wastewater with heterotrophic-aerobic nitrogen removal bacteria in a pilot-scale SBR

PCN bacteria capable of heterotrophic-aerobic nitrogen removal was successfully applied for bioaugmented treatment of municipal wastewater in a pilot-scale SBR. At an appropriate COD/N ratio of 8, the bioaugmentation system exhibited stable and excellent carbon and nutrients removal, the averaged effluent concentrations of COD, NH4(+)-N, TN and TP were 20.6, 0.69, 14.1 and 0.40 mg/L, respectively, which could meet the first class requirement of the National Municipal Wastewater Discharge Standards of China (COD<50 mg/L, TN<15 mg/L, TP<0.5 mg/L). Clone library and real-time PCR analysis revealed that the introduced bacteria greatly improved the structure of original microbial community and facilitated their aerobic nutrients removal capacities. The proposed emerging technology was shown to be an alternative technology to establish new wastewater treatment systems and upgrade or retrofit conventional systems from secondary-level to tertiary-level.

Heterotrophic nitrogen removal by Acinetobacter sp. Y1 isolated from coke plant wastewater

A strain of Acinetobacter sp. Y1, which exhibited an amazing ability to remove ammonium, nitrite and nitrate, was isolated from the activated sludge of a coking wastewater treatment plant. The aim of this work was to study the ability, influence factors and possible pathway of nitrogen removal by Acinetobacter sp. Y1. Results showed that maximum removal rate of NH4(+)-N by the strain was 10.28 mg-N/L/h. Carbon source had significant influence on the growth and ammonium removal efficiencies of strain Y1. Pyruvate, citrate and acetate were favourable carbon sources for the strain. Temperature, pH value and shaking speed could affect the growth and nitrogen removal ability. Nitrate or nitrite could be used as a sole nitrogen source for the growth and removed efficiently by the strain. N2 levels increased to 53.74%, 50.21% and 55.13% within 36 h when 100 mg/L NH4(+)-N, NO2(-)-N or NO3(-) -N was used as sole nitrogen source in the gas detection experiment. The activities of hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (HAO), nitrate reductase (NR) and nitrite reductase (NiR), which are key enzymes in heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification, were all detectable in the strain. Consequently, a possible pathway for ammonium removal by the strain was also suggested.

Coupled carbon, sulfur and nitrogen cycles of mixotrophic growth of Pseudomonas sp. C27 under denitrifying sulfide removal conditions

Pseudomonas sp. C27 is a facultative autotrophic bacterium (FAB) that can effectively conduct mixotrophic denitrifying sulfide removal (DSR) reactions using organic matters and sulfide as electron donors. Quantitative proteomics analysis of C27 using isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) and bioinformatics techniques identified 1916 unique proteins, based on which a novel pathway utilizing couple carbon, sulfide and nitrogen cycles for mixotrophic growth of C27. DSR experiments at different C/N ratios confirmed the presence of the new pathway. This novel pathway may be of great significance for C27-alike strains to conduct sulfide and nitrate removals in biological treatments.

Isolation and Characteristics of Heterotrophic Nitrification-Aerobic Denitrification Bacterium, Bacillus cereus X7 at High Salinity

Biological nitrogen removal has been focused on in wastewater treatment field recently. A strain X7 was isolated from the sediment of pickle foodstuff wastewater. Based on its 16S rDNA sequence analysis, X7 was identified as Bacillus cereus. At NaCl concentration of 20 g/L, NH4+-N removal rate achieved 99.18%, when NO2--N and NO3--N removal rates were 77.24% and 68.6%, respectively. When NaCl concentration ranged from 0 to 40 g/L, the removal rate of NH4+-N was more than 97.59%. Therefore, due to the high nitrogen removal rate and excellent salt tolerance, Bacillus cereus X7 had a broad application prospect in the biodenitrification of brine wastewater.

Autotrophic and heterotrophic denitrification by a newly isolated strain Pseudomonas sp. C27

The denitrifying sulfide removal (DSR) process applied autotrophic and heterotrophic denitrification pathways to achieve simultaneous conversion of nitrate to N2, sulfide to elementary sulfur, and organic substances to CO2. The current bottlenecks impeding the development of DSR process include the need of balanced growth of both autotrophic denitrifiers and heterotrophic denitrifers in the same reactor and the capability of treating wastewaters at fix compositions. This work isolated a strain, identified as Pseudomonas sp. C27 (GenBank accession number GQ241351), which can grow on heterotrophic and mixotrophic media and can perform both autotrophic and heterotrophic denitrification in mixotrophic medium. The C27 strain can grow well on succinate, acetate, malate, priopionate and ethanol and has the optimal growth temperature at 25-30°C and pH at 9.0. Pathways of DSR reactions by C27 were proposed. Discussion on the potential use of the isolated C27 in novel DSR process was available.

Sequential nitrification-denitrification process for nitrogenous, sulfurous and phenolic compounds removal in the same bioreactor

The kinetic and metabolic behavior of an aerobic granular sludge to nitrify, denitrify and nitrify-denitrify was evaluated in batch cultures. In nitrification control, ammonium, 4-methylphenol and sulfide were consumed efficiently (∼100%) and recovered as NO3(-), CO2, S(0) and SO4(2-), respectively. In denitrification control, S(0) and nitrate were efficiently consumed and recovered as SO4(2-) and N2, respectively. Sequential nitrification-denitrification process was evaluated by applying oxic/anoxic conditions. Ammonium, 4-methylphenol and sulfide were oxidized to nitrate, CO2 and mainly S(0), respectively, under aerobic conditions. After that, anoxic conditions were established where S(0) reduced all nitrate to N2, with molecular nitrogen yield (YN2) of 1.03 ± 0.06 mg/mg NH4(+)-N consumed. This is the first study to show the capability of an aerobic granular sludge in simultaneous removal of ammonium, 4-methylphenol and sulfide by sequential nitrification-denitrification process in the same bioreactor.

Facultative autotrophic denitrifiers in denitrifying sulfide removal granules

The denitrifying sulfide removal (DSR) process applied autotrophic and heterotrophic denitrification pathways to achieve simultaneous conversion of nitrate to N, sulfide to elementary sulfur, and organic substances to CO. However, autotrophic denitrifiers and heterotrophic denitrifiers have to grow at comparable rates so the long-term DSR stability can be maintained. This work assessed the autotrophic and heterotrophic denitrification activities by 16 isolates from anaerobic granules collected from a DSR-expanded granular sludge bed reactor. A group of strains with closest relatives as Pseudomonas sp. (89.9-98.3% similarity), Agrobacterium sp. (94.6% similarity) and Acinetobacter sp. (96.6% similarity) were identified with both autotrophic and heterotrophic denitrification capabilities. These facultative autotrophic denitrifiers can be applied as potential strains for lifting the limitation by balanced growth of two distinct bacterial groups in the DSR reactor.

Nitrophenol removal by simultaneous nitrification denitrification (SND) using T. pantotropha in sequencing batch reactors (SBR)

Nitrophenol removal was assessed using four identical lab scale sequencing batch reactors R (background control), R1 (4-nitrophenol i.e. 4-NP), R2 (2,4-dinitrophenol i.e. 2,4-DNP), and R3 (2,4,6-trinitrophenol i.e. 2,4,6-TNP). In the present study, the SND based SBR system was used to carry out total nitrogen removal at reduced aeration (DO=2mg/L) using a specifically designed single sludge biomass containing Thiosphaera pantotropha. The concentration of each of the nitrophenols was gradually increased from 2.5 to 200mg/L during acclimation. The nitrophenols were used as the sole source of nitrogen during study. A synthetic feed was designed to direct SND in the bioreactors. It was observed that overall removal for 4-NP was 98% and for 2,4-DNP and 2,4,6 TNP, removals varied between 83% and 84%. The COD removal for 4-NP was 99% and for 2,4-DNP and 2,4,6-TNP was 97-98% during acclimation. Total nitrogen and nitrophenol removals were achieved via SND.

Effect of shock and mixed loading on the performance of SND based sequencing batch reactors (SBR) degrading nitrophenols

The effect of nitrophenolic shock loads on the performance of three lab scale SBRs was studied using a synthetic feed. Nitrophenols were biotransformed by Simultaneous heterotrophic Nitrification and aerobic Denitrification (SND) using a specially designed single sludge biomass containing Thiosphaera pantotropha. Reactors R1, R2 and R3 were fed with 200mg/L concentration of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP), and 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (2,4,6-TNP) whereas reactor R was used as a background control. Three nitrophenolic shock loadings of 400, 600 and 800 mg/Ld were administrated by increasing the influent nitrophenolic concentration while keeping the hydraulic retention time as 48 h. The shocks were given continuously for a period of 4 days before switching back to normal nitrophenolic loading (200mg/Ld). The reactors were allowed to recover to normal performance level before administrating the next nitrophenolic shock load. The study showed that a nitrophenolic shock load, as high as 600 mg/Ld was completely degraded by the 4-NP & 2,4-DNP bioreactors while almost half degraded by the 2,4,6-TNP bioreactor without affecting the reactor's performance irreversibly. After resuming the normal nitrophenolic loading, it took almost 8-10 days for the reactors to recover from the shock effect. The study was further extended to evaluate the maximum possible mixed nitrophenolic loading (4-NP:2,4-DNP:2,4,6-TNP 1:1:1) to which a reactor (R3) containing 2,4,6-TNP acclimated single sludge biomass can be exposed without hampering the reactor performance irreversibly. The reactor was able to achieve pseudo-steady-state at a mixed nitrophenolic loading of 300 mg/Ld with more than 90% removal of all the three nitrophenols, but could remove half of the mixed nitrophenolic loading of 600 mg/Ld.

Heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification by novel isolated bacteria

Three novel strains capable of heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification were isolated from the landfill leachate treatment system. Based on their phenotypic and phylogenetic characteristics, the isolates were identified as Agrobacterium sp. LAD9, Achromobacter sp. GAD3 and Comamonas sp. GAD4, respectively. Batch tests were carried out to evaluate the growth and the ammonia removal patterns. The maximum growth rates as determined from the growth curve were 0.286, 0.228, and 0.433 h(-1) for LAD9, GAD3 and GAD4, respectively. The maximum aerobic nitrification-denitrification rate was achieved by the strain GAD4 of 0.381 mmol/l h, followed by LAD9 of 0.374 mmol/l h and GAD3 of 0.346 mmol/l h. Moreover, hydroxylamine oxidase and periplasmic nitrate reductase were successfully expressed in all the isolates. The relationship between the enzyme activities and the aerobic nitrification-denitrification rates revealed that hydroxylamine oxidation may be the rate-limiting step in the heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification process. The study results are of great significance to the wastewater treatment systems where simultaneous removal of carbon and nitrogen is desired.

Nitrate removal efficiency of bacterial consortium (Pseudomonas sp. KW1 and Bacillus sp. YW4) in synthetic nitrate-rich water

The efficiency of bacterial isolates to reduce nitrate from synthetic nitrate-rich water was tested using a batch scale process. Two efficient nitrate reducing bacterial species were isolated from water samples collected from Kodaikanal and Yercaud lakes. Bacterial analysis of the samples revealed the presence of nitrate reducing bacteria belonging to the genera Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Micrococcus and Alcaligenes. Among the isolates, the consortium of Pseudomonas sp. KW1 and Bacillus sp. YW4 was found to be efficient in nitrate reduction. Influences of various carbon sources, incubation temperature and pH on nitrate reduction from synthetic wastewater were also studied. The results showed a rapid and efficient process of nitrate removal (99.4%) from synthetic wastewater supplemented with starch (1%), inoculated by bacterial consortium (Pseudomonas sp. KW1 and Bacillus sp. YW4) at incubation temperature of 30 degrees C at pH 7. This observation has led to the conclusion that the bacterial consortium was responsible for nitrate removal from synthetic nitrate-rich wastewater.

The effect of different nitrogen sources on denitrification with PHB under aerobic condition

This study investigated the effectiveness of denitrification under aerobic conditions depending on nitrogen forms in synthetic wastewater (ammonium, or ammonium and nitrite). Activated sludge was cultivated in a sequencing batch reactor with municipal wastewater enriched by acetate. Poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) was accumulated in activated sludge to 0.35 g PHB g(-1) VSS. Activated sludge, cultivated in such conditions, was used in further experimental series. The duration of each series was 24 h. Two types of synthetic wastewater, with acetate as the carbon source, were used in this study. One type of wastewater contained only ammonium; the second one was enriched also by nitrite. The amount of nitrogen reduced by the microorganisms in the activated sludge was 22.5 mg N(red) l(-1) when ammonium was the only nitrogen source in wastewater, and a 3-fold increase was observed in the presence of two nitrogen sources: ammonium and nitrite. Simultaneous consumption of organic substances in wastewater (external source of electron donors) and intracellularly stored poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate in activated sludge (endogenous carbon source) was revealed. COD consumption to reduce 1 mg N-oxides, in series with wastewater containing ammonium, was 8.4 mg COD. However, in series using wastewater with ammonium and nitrite, a 3-fold decrease in COD/N(red) ratio was observed.

Biological removal of nitrogen from wastewater

This comprehensive review discusses diverse conventional and novel technologies for nitrogen removal from wastewater. Novel technologies have distinct advantages in terms of saving configuration, aeration, and carbon sources. Each novel technology possesses promising features and potential problems. For instance, SND and OLAND processes can achieve 100% total nitrogen removal, but the low oxygen concentration required by these two processes substantially reduces the nitrification rate, which limits their application. On the other hand, denitrification can still be carried out by aerobic denitrifiers at high DO levels in activated sludge process, but it is difficult to cultivate this type of bacteria. The SHARON process is most commonly used for shortcut nitrification and denitrification because of its low requirements for retention time, oxygen concentration, and carbon source. However, its high operational temperature (about 35 degrees C) limits the application. Several real-time control strategies (DO, pH, and ORP) have been developed to achieve a stable nitrite accumulation in SHARON. The ANAMMOX process can sustain at high total-N loadings and has been employed in full-scale treatment plants, but the problem of nitrite supply has not been solved, and the treated wastewater still contains nitrate. In addition, the inoculation and enrichment of ANAMMOX bacteria (i.e., anaerobic AOB) is difficult. The problem of nitrite supply has been solved by combining partial nitrification with ANAMMOX, which provides abundant nitrite for anaerobic AOB. ANAMMOX is currently used for treating sludge digestion supernatant. Aerobic dammonitrification is a process combining partial nitrification and ANAMMOX at different layers of biofilm. Although the technology has been tested in pilot- and full-scale experiments, the mechanism is still unclear. CANON and OLAND are one-step ammonium removal processes that possess distinct advantages of saving carbon sources and aeration costs. The major challenge is the enrichment of anaerobic microorganisms capable of oxidizing ammonia with nitrite as the electron acceptor. Molecular biology and environmental biotechnology can help identify functional microorganisms, characterize microbial communities, and develop new nitrogen removal processes. Extensive research should be conducted to apply and optimize these novel processes in wastewater treatment plants. More effort should be invested to combine these novel processes (e.g., partial nitrification, ANAMMOX) to enhance nitrogen removal efficiency.

A Strain of Pseudomonas sp. Isolated from Piggery Wastewater Treatment Systems with Heterotrophic Nitrification Capability in Taiwan

A high concentration of NH(4) (+) in piggery wastewater is major problem in Taiwan. Therefore, in our study, we isolated native heterotrophic nitrifiers for piggery wastewater treatment. Heterotrophic nitrifier AS-1 was isolated and characterized from the activated sludge of a piggery wastewater system. Sets of triplicate crimp-sealed serum bottles were used to demonstrate the heterotrophic nitrifying capability of strain AS-1 in an incubator at 30 degrees C. All serum bottles contained 80 mL medium, and the remainder of the bottle headspace was filled with pure oxygen. The experimental results showed that 2.5 +/- 0.2 mmol L(-1) NH(4) (+) was removed by 58 hours, and, eventually, 1.5 +/- 0.5 mmol L(-1) N(2) and 0.2 +/- 0.0 mmol L(-1) N(2)O were produced. The removal rate of NH(4) (+) by the strain AS-1 was 1.75 mmol NH(4) (+) g cell(-1) h(-1). This strain was then identified as Pseudomonas alcaligenes (97% identity) by sequencing its 16S rDNA and comparing it with other microorganisms. Thus, strain AS-1 displays high promise for future application for in situ NH(4) (+) removal from piggery wastewater.

Gene expression analysis of the mechanism of inhibition of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough by nitrate-reducing, sulfide-oxidizing bacteria

Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) are inhibited by nitrate-reducing, sulfide-oxidizing bacteria (NR-SOB) in the presence of nitrate. This inhibition has been attributed either to an increase in redox potential or to production of nitrite by the NR-SOB. Nitrite specifically inhibits the final step in the sulfate reduction pathway. When the NR-SOB Thiomicrospira sp. strain CVO was added to mid-log phase cultures of the SRB Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough in the presence of nitrate, sulfate reduction was inhibited. Strain CVO reduced nitrate and oxidized sulfide, with transient production of nitrite. Sulfate reduction by D. vulgaris resumed once nitrite was depleted. A DNA macroarray with open reading frames encoding enzymes involved in energy metabolism of D. vulgaris was used to study the effects of NR-SOB on gene expression. Shortly following addition of strain CVO, D. vulgaris genes for cytochrome c nitrite reductase and hybrid cluster proteins Hcp1 and Hcp2 were upregulated. Genes for sulfate reduction enzymes, except those for dissimilatory sulfite reductase, were downregulated. Genes for the membrane-bound electron transferring complexes QmoABC and DsrMKJOP were downregulated and unaffected, respectively, whereas direct addition of nitrite downregulated both operons. Overall the gene expression response of D. vulgaris upon exposure to strain CVO and nitrate resembled that observed upon direct addition of nitrite, indicating that inhibition of SRB is primarily due to nitrite production by NR-SOB.