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Ran X, Wang T, Zhou M, Li Z, Wang H, Tsybekmitova GT, Guo J, Wang Y. A Novel Perspective on the Instability of Mainstream Partial Nitrification: The Niche Differentiation of Nitrifying Guilds. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2025; 59:8922-8938. [PMID: 40294427 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5c01214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/30/2025]
Abstract
Short-cut biological nitrogen removal (sBNR) favors the paradigm shift toward energy-positive and carbon-neutral wastewater treatment processes. Partial nitrification (PN) is a key approach to provide nitrite for anammox or denitritation during sBNR, and its stability is the precondition for achieving robust nitrogen removal performance. However, maintaining a stable mainstream PN process has been a long-standing challenge. This review analyzes the mainstream PN process from a microbial ecology perspective, focusing on the niche differentiation among nitrifiers. First, we propose that mainstream PN systems are ecologically unstable, and the failure of the mainstream PN process due to the reactivation of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) can be regarded as a behavior to restore system stabilization. Thus, maintaining mainstream PN systems primarily relies on enhancing the niche differentiation between ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and NOB. We then summarize the realized niches of indigenous nitrifiers within nitrification systems and discuss their ecophysiological characteristics (e.g., cell structure and substrate affinity) that define their specific ecological niches. By comparing the niche breadths of AOB and NOB on various niche axes, we further discuss their niche differentiation and identify the different responses of AOB (resistance) and NOB (resilience) to exogenous perturbations. Finally, we propose outlook for achieving a stable mainstream PN process through an ecological lens. This review provides ecological insights into the instability of the mainstream PN process, which is intended to guide the derivation of optimized strategies from a single-factor approach to integrated solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaochuan Ran
- State Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Green Resources Recycling, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China
| | - Tong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Green Resources Recycling, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China
| | - Mingda Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Green Resources Recycling, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China
| | - Zibin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Green Resources Recycling, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China
| | - Han Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Green Resources Recycling, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China
| | - Gazhit Ts Tsybekmitova
- Institute of Natural Resources, Ecology and Cryology, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy Science, Nedorezova, 16a, Chita 672014, Russian Federation
| | - Jianhua Guo
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Yayi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Green Resources Recycling, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China
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2
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Ran X, Zhou M, Wang T, Wang Y, Wang H, Wang Y. Exploring the ecological niche of comammox Nitrospira by in-situ enrichment within mainstream nitrification systems. WATER RESEARCH 2025; 283:123810. [PMID: 40378467 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2025.123810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2025] [Revised: 04/19/2025] [Accepted: 05/10/2025] [Indexed: 05/19/2025]
Abstract
Complete-ammonia-oxidization bacteria (Comammox Nitrospira) hold promising potential for reducing carbon footprint in mainstream wastewater treatment. However, the inadequate understanding of comammox Nitrospira within wastewater systems has greatly hindered the utilization of these novel microbial resources. This study explored the ecological niche of comammox Nitrospira within mainstream nitrification systems by enriching them under varied operational conditions. The joint analysis of multiple linear regression and random forest model have identified in-situ ammonium concentration and pH as the two most important parameters influencing the growth of comammox Nitrospira, followed by nitrogen loading rate, nitrogen source type, and dissolved oxygen (DO). Meanwhile, the ecological niche preference of comammox Nitrospira was revealed. The optimal ranges of in-situ ammonium concentration and pH for comammox Nitrospira was found below 0.5 mg NH4+-N/L and 6.5-7.5, respectively, indicating that low free ammonia conditions favor their growth. Furthermore, comammox Nitrospira exhibited a competitive advantage over Nitrosomonas under weakly acidic pH (6.0-6.5), and adapted to DO fluctuations by interspecies shifts, whereas Nitrosomonas preferred relatively high DO (1.5-2 mg O2/L). Comparative genomics further confirmed the above niche differentiation of two groups from reconstructed comammox Nitrospira and Nitrosomonas genomes. Overall, these findings provide guidance for the application of comammox process in wastewater treatment, thereby supporting the transition of mainstream nitrification process toward a more sustainable and energy-efficient pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaochuan Ran
- State Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Green Resources Recycling, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Mingda Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Green Resources Recycling, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Tong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Green Resources Recycling, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Yanren Wang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Center for nvironmental Engineering Research, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong, China
| | - Han Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Green Resources Recycling, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Yayi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Green Resources Recycling, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China.
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3
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Han YL, Shi LD, Zhao HP. Achieving efficient autotrophic nitrogen removal in anaerobic membrane bioreactor plus membrane aerated biofilm reactor by regulating nutrient ratios. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2025; 416:131832. [PMID: 39549959 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.131832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2024] [Revised: 11/13/2024] [Accepted: 11/13/2024] [Indexed: 11/18/2024]
Abstract
It is feasible to integrate an anaerobic membrane bioreactor with a membrane aerated biofilm reactor to efficiently implement the sulfate reduction, simultaneous nitrification and autotrophic denitrification process. However, the effect of parameters on nutrient removal and environmental impacts of the process are unclear. In this study, the reactor performance was mainly influenced by the chemical oxygen demand to sulfate (COD/S) ratio and the ammonium to sulfate (N/S) ratio in long-term operation. Significant models were developed to optimize the two factors using the response surface methodology. Under optimal conditions (COD/S ratio of 2.5 and N/S ratio of 0.3), the system could remove above 86 % COD, 99 % ammonium, and 92 % total inorganic nitrogen. Moreover, this process could reduce energy consumption by 30 % and global warming potential by 50 % compared with traditional anaerobic/oxic activated sludge process. These findings provide guidance for the application of this technology in sulfate-containing municipal sewage treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Lin Han
- MOE Key Lab of Environmental Remediation and Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Ling-Dong Shi
- MOE Key Lab of Environmental Remediation and Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - He-Ping Zhao
- MOE Key Lab of Environmental Remediation and Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
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4
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Watari T, Kirishima Y, Choeisai P, Thepubon T, Hirakata Y, Matsueda T, Nagano A, Yamaguchi T, Okubo T, Hatamoto M, Yamaguchi T. Distinct comammox Nitrospira in high-rate down-flow hanging sponge reactor treating municipal wastewater. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2024; 408:131160. [PMID: 39074766 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.131160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2024] [Revised: 07/22/2024] [Accepted: 07/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/31/2024]
Abstract
A down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) reactor is a trickling filter system used for wastewater treatment, which employs sponges to retain biomass. This study assessed the process performance of a compact DHS combined with a sedimentation tank with seven phases at varying hydraulic retention times (HRT) over 500 days. The BOD of the DHS effluent was maintained at 4.0 ± 0.5 mg·L-1 for the shortest HRT 0.3 ± 0.1 h. The nitrification efficiency was considerably impacted by the reduced HRT, with NH4+-N and NO3--N concentrations of 9.0 ± 1.2 mgN·L-1 and 2.2 ± 0.5 mgN·L-1, respectively. Nevertheless, the effluent complied with effluent discharge standards throughout the trial period. The number of comammox 16S rRNA gene copies ranged from 5.58 to 13.2 × 107 copies·mL-1, indicating that sponges biomass retained carrier can provide favorable conditions for comammox growth and could contribute to nitrification in the high-rate DHS reactor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takahiro Watari
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nagaoka University of Technology, Niigata 940-2188, Japan.
| | - Yoshihiro Kirishima
- Business Department, Global Business Division, NJS Co., LTD., Tokyo 105-0023, Japan
| | - Pairaya Choeisai
- Faculty of Engineering, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand
| | - Thanapat Thepubon
- Faculty of Engineering, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand
| | - Yuga Hirakata
- Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) Tsukuba, 305-8566, Japan
| | | | | | - Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National Institute of Technology (KOSEN), Matsue College, Shimane 690-8518, Japan
| | - Tsutomu Okubo
- Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Kisarazu College, Kisarazu, Chiba, 292-0041, Japan
| | - Masashi Hatamoto
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nagaoka University of Technology, Niigata 940-2188, Japan
| | - Takashi Yamaguchi
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nagaoka University of Technology, Niigata 940-2188, Japan; Department of Science of Technology Innovation, Nagaoka University of Technology, Niigata 940-2188, Japan
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5
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Shaw DR, Terada A, Saikaly PE. Future directions in microbial nitrogen cycling in wastewater treatment. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2024; 88:103163. [PMID: 38897092 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2024.103163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2024] [Revised: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dario R Shaw
- Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Akihiko Terada
- Department of Applied Physics and Chemical Engineering, Department of Industrial Technology and Innovation, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Building 4-320 Naka, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan.
| | - Pascal E Saikaly
- Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Environmental Science & Engineering Program, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
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6
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Jiang X, Wang M, Yang S, He D, Fang F, Yang L. The response of structure and nitrogen removal function of the biofilm on submerged macrophytes to high ammonium in constructed wetlands. J Environ Sci (China) 2024; 142:129-141. [PMID: 38527879 DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2023.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2023] [Revised: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 03/27/2024]
Abstract
The ammonium exceedance discharge from sewage treatment plants has a great risk to the stable operation of subsequent constructed wetlands (CWs). The effects of high ammonium shocks on submerged macrophytes and epiphytic biofilms on the leaves of submerged macrophytes in CWs were rarely mentioned in previous studies. In this paper, the 16S rRNA sequencing method was used to investigate the variation of the microbial communities in biofilms on the leaves of Vallisneria natans plants while the growth characteristics of V. natans plants were measured at different initial ammonium concentrations. The results demonstrated that the total chlorophyll and soluble sugar synthesis of V. natans plants decreased by 51.45% and 57.16%, respectively, and malondialdehyde content increased threefold after 8 days if the initial NH4+-N concentration was more than 5 mg/L. Algal density, bacterial quantity, dissolved oxygen, and pH increased with high ammonium shocks. The average removal efficiencies of total nitrogen and NH4+-N reached 73.26% and 83.94%, respectively. The heat map and relative abundance analysis represented that the relative abundances of phyla Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, and Bacteroidetes increased. The numbers of autotrophic nitrifiers and heterotrophic nitrification aerobic denitrification (HNAD) bacteria expanded in biofilms. In particular, HNAD bacteria of Flavobacterium, Hydrogenophaga, Acidovorax, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, and Azospira had higher abundances than autotrophic nitrifiers because there were organic matters secreted from declining leaves of V. natans plants. The analysis of the nitrogen metabolic pathway showed aerobic denitrification was the main nitrogen removal pathway. Thus, the nitrification and denitrification bacterial communities increased in epiphytic biofilms on submerged macrophytes in constructed wetlands while submerged macrophytes declined under ammonium shock loading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Mengmeng Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Shunqing Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Di He
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Fei Fang
- School of Resources and Environment, Anqing Normal University, Anqing 246133, China
| | - Liuyan Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
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7
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Johnston J, Vilardi K, Cotto I, Sudarshan A, Bian K, Klaus S, Bachmann M, Parsons M, Wilson C, Bott C, Pinto A. Metatranscriptomic Analysis Reveals Synergistic Activities of Comammox and Anammox Bacteria in Full-Scale Attached Growth Nitrogen Removal System. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:13023-13034. [PMID: 39001848 PMCID: PMC11271001 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c04375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2024] [Revised: 07/09/2024] [Accepted: 07/09/2024] [Indexed: 07/15/2024]
Abstract
Leveraging comammox Nitrospira and anammox bacteria for shortcut nitrogen removal can drastically lower the carbon footprint of wastewater treatment facilities by decreasing aeration energy, carbon, alkalinity, and tank volume requirements while also potentially reducing nitrous oxide emissions. However, their co-occurrence as dominant nitrifying bacteria is rarely reported in full-scale wastewater treatment. As a result, there is a poor understanding of how operational parameters, in particular, dissolved oxygen, impact their activity and synergistic behavior. Here, we report the impact of dissolved oxygen concentration (DO = 2, 4, 6 mg/L) on the microbial community's transcriptomic expression in a full-scale integrated fixed film activated sludge (IFAS) municipal wastewater treatment facility where nitrogen removal is predominantly performed by comammox Nitrospira and anammox bacterial populations. 16S rRNA transcript compositions revealed anammox bacteria and Nitrospira were significantly more active in IFAS biofilms compared to suspended sludge biomass. In IFAS biofilms, anammox bacteria significantly increased hzo expression at lower dissolved oxygen concentrations and this increase was highly correlated with the amoA expression levels of comammox bacteria. Interestingly, the genes involved in nitrite oxidation by comammox bacteria were significantly more upregulated, relative to the genes involved in ammonia oxidation with decreasing dissolved oxygen concentrations. Ultimately, our findings suggest that comammox Nitrospira supplies anammox bacteria with nitrite via ammonia oxidation and that this synergistic behavior is dependent on dissolved oxygen concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliet Johnston
- School
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Katherine Vilardi
- Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Irmarie Cotto
- Department
of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Ashwin Sudarshan
- School
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Kaiqin Bian
- School
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Stephanie Klaus
- Hampton
Roads Sanitation District, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23455, United States
| | - Megan Bachmann
- Hampton
Roads Sanitation District, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23455, United States
- Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
| | - Mike Parsons
- Hampton
Roads Sanitation District, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23455, United States
| | - Christopher Wilson
- Hampton
Roads Sanitation District, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23455, United States
| | - Charles Bott
- Hampton
Roads Sanitation District, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23455, United States
| | - Ameet Pinto
- School
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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8
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Jin D, Zhang X, Zhang X, Zhou L, Zhu Z, Deogratias UK, Wu Z, Zhang K, Ji X, Ju T, Zhu X, Gao B, Ji L, Zhao R, Ruth G, Wu P. A critical review of comammox and synergistic nitrogen removal coupling anammox: Mechanisms and regulatory strategies. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 948:174855. [PMID: 39034010 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2024] [Revised: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 07/16/2024] [Indexed: 07/23/2024]
Abstract
Nitrification is highly crucial for both anammox systems and the global nitrogen cycle. The discovery of complete ammonia oxidation (comammox) challenges the inherent concept of nitrification as a two-step process. Its wide distribution, adaptability to low substrate environments, low sludge production, and low greenhouse gas emissions may make it a promising new nitrogen removal treatment process. Meanwhile, anammox technology is considered the most suitable process for future wastewater treatment. The diverse metabolic capabilities and similar ecological niches of comammox bacteria and anammox bacteria are expected to achieve synergistic nitrogen removal within a single system. However, previous studies have overlooked the existence of comammox, and it is necessary to re-evaluate the conclusions drawn. This paper outlined the ecophysiological characteristics of comammox bacteria and summarized the environmental factors affecting their growth. Furthermore, it focused on the enrichment, regulatory strategies, and nitrogen removal mechanisms of comammox and anammox, with a comparative analysis of hydroxylamine, a particular intermediate product. Overall, this is the first critical overview of the conclusions drawn from the last few years of research on comammox-anammox, highlighting possible next steps for research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Da Jin
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No. 1 Kerui Road, Suzhou 215009, PR China
| | - Xiaonong Zhang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No. 1 Kerui Road, Suzhou 215009, PR China
| | - Xingxing Zhang
- School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, PR China
| | - Li Zhou
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No. 1 Kerui Road, Suzhou 215009, PR China
| | - Zixuan Zhu
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No. 1 Kerui Road, Suzhou 215009, PR China
| | - Ufoymungu Kisa Deogratias
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No. 1 Kerui Road, Suzhou 215009, PR China
| | - Zhiqiang Wu
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No. 1 Kerui Road, Suzhou 215009, PR China
| | - Kangyu Zhang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No. 1 Kerui Road, Suzhou 215009, PR China
| | - Xu Ji
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No. 1 Kerui Road, Suzhou 215009, PR China
| | - Ting Ju
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No. 1 Kerui Road, Suzhou 215009, PR China
| | - Xurui Zhu
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No. 1 Kerui Road, Suzhou 215009, PR China
| | - Bo Gao
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No. 1 Kerui Road, Suzhou 215009, PR China
| | - Luomiao Ji
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No. 1 Kerui Road, Suzhou 215009, PR China
| | - Rui Zhao
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No. 1 Kerui Road, Suzhou 215009, PR China
| | - Guerra Ruth
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No. 1 Kerui Road, Suzhou 215009, PR China
| | - Peng Wu
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No. 1 Kerui Road, Suzhou 215009, PR China; National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Municipal Sewage Resource Utilization Technology, No. 1 Kerui Road, Suzhou 215009, PR China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Technology and Material of Water Treatment, No. 1 Kerui Road, Suzhou 215009, PR China.
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9
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Shao YH, Wu JH, Chen HW. Comammox Nitrospira cooperate with anammox bacteria in a partial nitritation-anammox membrane bioreactor treating low-strength ammonium wastewater at high loadings. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 257:121698. [PMID: 38705066 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
Research has revealed that comammox Nitrospira and anammox bacteria engage in dynamic interactions in partial nitritation-anammox reactors, where they compete for ammonium and nitrite or comammox Nitrospria supply nitrite to anammox bacteria. However, two gaps in the literature are present: the know-how to manipulate the interactions to foster a stable and symbiotic relationship and the assessment of how effective this partnership is for treating low-strength ammonium wastewater at high hydraulic loads. In this study, we employed a membrane bioreactor designed to treat synthetic ammonium wastewater at a concentration of 60 mg N/L, reaching a peak loading of 0.36 g N/L/day by gradually reducing the hydraulic retention time to 4 hr. Throughout the experiment, the reactor achieved an approximately 80 % nitrogen removal rate through strategically adjusting intermittent aeration at every stage. Notably, the genera Ca. Kuenena, Nitrosomonas, and Nitrospira collectively constituted approximately 40 % of the microbial community. Under superior intermittent aeration conditions, the expression of comammox amoA was consistently higher than that of Nitrospira nxrB and AOB amoA in the biofilm, despite the higher abundance of Nitrosomonas than comammox Nitrospira, implying that the biofilm environment is favorable for fostering cooperation between comammox and anammox bacteria. We then assessed the in situ activity of comammox Nitrospira in the reactor by selectively suppressing Nitrosomonas using 1-octyne, thereby confirming that comammox Nitrospira played the primary role in facilitating the nitritation (33.1 % of input ammonium) rather than complete nitrification (7.3 % of input ammonium). Kinetic analysis revealed a specific ammonia-oxidizing rate 5.3 times higher than the nitrite-oxidizing rate in the genus Nitrospira, underscoring their critical role in supplying nitrite. These findings provide novel insights into the cooperative interplay between comammox Nitrospira and anammox bacteria, potentially reshaping the management of nitrogen cycling in engineered environments, and aiding the development of microbial ecology-driven wastewater treatment technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yung-Hsien Shao
- Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No.1, University Road, East District, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
| | - Jer-Horng Wu
- Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No.1, University Road, East District, Tainan 70101, Taiwan.
| | - Huei-Wen Chen
- Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No.1, University Road, East District, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
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10
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Guo Z, Ma XS, Ni SQ. Journey of the swift nitrogen transformation: Unveiling comammox from discovery to deep understanding. CHEMOSPHERE 2024; 358:142093. [PMID: 38679176 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2024] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
COMplete AMMonia OXidizer (comammox) refers to microorganisms that have the function of oxidizing NH4+ to NO3- alone. The discovery of comammox overturned the two-step theory of nitrification in the past century and triggered many important scientific questions about the nitrogen cycle in nature. This comprehensive review delves into the origin and discovery of comammox, providing a detailed account of its detection primers, clades metabolic variations, and environmental factors. An in-depth analysis of the ecological niche differentiation among ammonia oxidizers was also discussed. The intricate role of comammox in anammox systems and the relationship between comammox and nitrogen compound emissions are also discussed. Finally, the relationship between comammox and anammox is displayed, and the future research direction of comammox is prospected. This review reveals the metabolic characteristics and distribution patterns of comammox in ecosystems, providing new perspectives for understanding nitrogen cycling and microbial ecology. Additionally, it offers insights into the potential application value and prospects of comammox.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Guo
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Shandong, 266237, China
| | - Xue Song Ma
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Shandong, 266237, China
| | - Shou-Qing Ni
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Shandong, 266237, China.
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11
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Yang X, Shi Y, Ying G, Li M, He Z, Shu L. Cooperation among nitrifying microorganisms promotes the irreversible biotransformation of sulfamonomethoxine. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 923:171395. [PMID: 38447730 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms, including AOA (ammonia-oxidizing archaea), AOB (ammonia-oxidizing bacteria), and Comammox (complete ammonia oxidization) Nitrospira, have been reported to possess the capability for the biotransformation of sulfonamide antibiotics. However, given that nitrifying microorganisms coexist and operate as communities in the nitrification process, it is surprising that there is a scarcity of studies investigating how their interactions would affect the biotransformation of sulfonamide antibiotics. This study aims to investigate the sulfamonomethoxine (SMM) removal efficiency and mechanisms among pure cultures of phylogenetically distinct nitrifiers and their combinations. Our findings revealed that AOA demonstrated the highest SMM removal efficiency and rate among the pure cultures, followed by Comammox Nitrospira, NOB, and AOB. However, the biotransformation of SMM by AOA N. gargensis is reversible, and the removal efficiency significantly decreased from 63.84 % at 167 h to 26.41 % at 807 h. On the contrary, the co-culture of AOA and NOB demonstrated enhanced and irreversible SMM removal efficiency compared to AOA alone. Furthermore, the presence of NOB altered the SMM biotransformation of AOA by metabolizing TP202 differently, possibly resulting from reduced nitrite accumulation. This study offers novel insights into the potential application of nitrifying communities for the removal of sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs) in engineered ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueqin Yang
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Yijing Shi
- SCNU Environmental Research Institute, School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
| | - Guangguo Ying
- SCNU Environmental Research Institute, School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Mengyuan Li
- SCNU Environmental Research Institute, School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Zhili He
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Longfei Shu
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
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12
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Yoshino H, Van Phan H, Mori N, Ohkuma N, Kawakami M, Nihei M, Hashimoto S, Wakabayashi K, Hori T, Terada A. Anti-biofouling performance and microbial communities of an integrated fixed-film activated sludge membrane bioreactor with a fibrous carrier material: Pilot-scale demonstration. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 918:170291. [PMID: 38272073 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Widespread use of membrane bioreactors for high-performance wastewater treatment depends on the prevention of biofouling during membrane filtration, which can reduce operating costs. Biofouling is usually prevented using mechanical and chemical membrane treatment methods, which can be time-consuming and expensive. In this study, we developed bio-capsules as a fluidizing carrier material in an integrated fixed-film activated sludge membrane bioreactor (IFAS-MBR). The bio-capsules were prepared from moniliform polyvinylidene chloride fibrous balls enclosed in a spherical plastic basket, and could harbor protozoa and metazoa. A pilot-scale anoxic-oxic IFAS-MBR system with a total volume of 132 m3 was operated to remove organic carbon and nitrogen from municipal wastewater at a high permeate flux (0.84 m3/m2/day). The efficacy of the bio-capsules and the prokaryotic/eukaryotic community structures in the system were investigated. After operation for 1 year, the system demonstrated stable removal of organic carbon (76.0 % ± 15.5 % as total organic carbon, 93.1 ± 5.3 % as BOD, and 88.5 ± 5.2 % as CODMn) and nitrogen (71.3 % ± 9.3 %) despite fluctuations in the influent concentrations. Increases in transmembrane pressure (TMP) were retarded from its increase rates from 0.56 kPa/day to 0.149-0.224 kPa/day by the bio-capsules, and the TMP was kept constant at around 20 kPa throughout the operational period. High-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons showed that the prokaryotic family Pirellulaceae was metabolically active and correlated with the TMP. According to the 18S rRNA gene sequencing, the eukaryotic metazoan Bdelloidea was more abundant in the bio-capsules than in activated sludge, which was supported by microscopic observations. These results suggest that the application of bio-capsules prevents increases in the TMP by harboring the procaryotes and eukaryotes responsible for biofouling mitigation in the IFAS-MBR system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroyuki Yoshino
- Department of Applied Physics and Chemical Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-Cho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan
| | - Hop Van Phan
- Department of Applied Physics and Chemical Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-Cho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan
| | - Naomichi Mori
- Water Reuse Promotion Center, 4-5 Nihonbashi Yokoyamacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0003, Japan.
| | - Naoki Ohkuma
- Water Reuse Promotion Center, 4-5 Nihonbashi Yokoyamacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0003, Japan.
| | - Masaki Kawakami
- Asahi Kasei Home Products Co., Hibiya Mitsui Tower, 1-1-2 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-0006, Japan.
| | - Masahiko Nihei
- Asahi Kasei Home Products Co., Hibiya Mitsui Tower, 1-1-2 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-0006, Japan
| | - Satoshi Hashimoto
- Asahi Kasei Home Products Co., Hibiya Mitsui Tower, 1-1-2 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-0006, Japan.
| | - Ken Wakabayashi
- Asahi Kasei Home Products Co., Hibiya Mitsui Tower, 1-1-2 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-0006, Japan.
| | - Tomoyuki Hori
- Environmental Management Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8569, Japan.
| | - Akihiko Terada
- Department of Applied Physics and Chemical Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-Cho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan.
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13
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Xia Z, Ng HY, Xu D, Bae S. Lumen air pressure regulated multifunctional microbiotas in membrane-aerated biofilm reactors for simultaneous nitrogen removal and antibiotic elimination from aquaculture wastewater. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 251:121102. [PMID: 38198973 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
In this study, two membrane-aerated biofilm reactors (MABRs) were constructed: one solely utilizing biofilm and another hybrid MABR (HMABR) incorporating both suspended-sludge and biofilm to treat low C/N aquaculture wastewater under varying lumen air pressure (LAP). Both HMABR and MABR demonstrated superior nitrogen removal than conventional aeration reactors. Reducing LAP from 10 kPa to 2 kPa could enhance denitrification processes without severely compromising nitrification, resulting in an increase in total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) removal from 50.2±3.1 % to 71.6±1.0 %. The HMABR exhibited better denitrification efficacy than MABR, underscoring its potential for advanced nitrogen removal applications. A decline in LAP led to decreased extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) production, which could potentially augment reactor performance by minimizing mass transfer resistance while maintaining microbial matrix stability and function. Gene-centric metagenomics analysis revealed decreasing LAP impacted nitrogen metabolic potentials and electron flow pathways. The enrichment of napAB at higher LAP and the presence of complete ammonia oxidation (Comammox) Nitrospira at lower LAP indicated aerobic denitrification and Comammox processes in nitrogen removal. Multifunctional microbial communities developed under LAP regulation, diversifying the mechanisms for simultaneous nitrification-denitrification. Increased denitrifying gene pool (narGHI, nirK, norB) and enzymatic activity at a low LAP can amplify denitrification by promoting denitrifying genes and electron flow towards denitrifying enzymes. Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) was simultaneously removed with efficiency up to 80.2 ± 3.7 %, mainly via biodegradation, while antibiotic resistome and mobilome were propagated. Collectively, these findings could improve our understanding of nitrogen and antibiotic removal mechanisms under LAP regulation, offering valuable insights for the effective design and operation of MABR systems in aquaculture wastewater treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengang Xia
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, 1 Engineering Drive 2, 117576, Singapore; National University of Singapore (Suzhou) Research Institute, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - How Yong Ng
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, 1 Engineering Drive 2, 117576, Singapore; Center for Water Research, Advanced Institute of Natural Sciences, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, Zhuhai 519087, China.
| | - Dong Xu
- National University of Singapore (Suzhou) Research Institute, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Sungwoo Bae
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, 1 Engineering Drive 2, 117576, Singapore.
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14
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Hou J, Zhu Y, Liu J, Lin L, Zheng M, Yang L, Wei W, Ni BJ, Chen X. Competitive enrichment of comammox Nitrospira in floccular sludge. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 251:121151. [PMID: 38246075 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2023] [Revised: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
The discovery of complete ammonium oxidation (comammox) has subverted the traditional perception of two-step nitrification, which plays a key role in achieving biological nitrogen removal from wastewater. Floccular sludge-based treatment technologies are being applied at the majority of wastewater treatment plants in service where detection of various abundances and activities of comammox bacteria have been reported. However, limited efforts have been made to enrich and subsequently characterize comammox bacteria in floccular sludge. To this end, a lab-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) in the step-feeding mode was applied in this work to enrich comammox bacteria through controlling appropriate operational conditions (dissolved oxygen of 0.5 ± 0.1 g-O2/m3, influent ammonium of 40 g-N/m3 and uncontrolled longer sludge retention time). After 215-d operation, comammox bacteria gradually gained competitive advantages over counterparts in the SBR with a stable nitrification efficiency of 92.2 ± 2.2 %: the relative abundance of Nitrospira reached 42.9 ± 1.3 %, which was 13 times higher than that of Nitrosomonas, and the amoA gene level of comammox bacteria increased to 7.7 ± 2.1 × 106 copies/g-biomass, nearly 50 times higher than that of conventional ammonium-oxidizing bacteria. The enrichment of comammox bacteria, especially Clade A Candidatus Nitrospira nitrosa, in the floccular sludge led to (i) apparent affinity constants for ammonium and oxygen of 3.296 ± 0.989 g-N/m3 and 0.110 ± 0.004 g-O2/m3, respectively, and (ii) significantly low N2O and NO production, with emission factors being 0.136 ± 0.026 % and 0.023 ± 0.013 %, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaying Hou
- College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China
| | - Ying Zhu
- College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China
| | - Jinzhong Liu
- College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China
| | - Limin Lin
- School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310030, China
| | - Min Zheng
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Linyan Yang
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Wei Wei
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - Bing-Jie Ni
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - Xueming Chen
- College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China.
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15
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Jiang M, Khunjar W, Li A, Chandran K. Divergent microbial structure still results in convergent microbial function during arrested anaerobic digestion of food waste at different hydraulic retention times. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2024; 393:130069. [PMID: 38000643 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.130069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
In this study, two arrested anaerobic digestion bioreactors, fed with food waste, operated under different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) exhibited similar total volatile fatty acid (VFA) yields (p = 0.09). 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed distinct microbial structure (p = 0.02) at the two HRTs. However, between the two HRTs, there were no differences in potential (DNA) and extant (mRNA) functionality for the production of acetic (AA)-, propionic (PA)-, butyric (BA)- and valeric-acid (VA), as indicated by the metagenome and metatranscriptome data, respectively. The highest potential and extant functionality for PA production in the reactor microbiomes mirrored the highest abundance of PA in the reactor effluents. Meta-omics analysis of BA production indicated possible metabolite exchange across different community members. Notably, the basis for similar VFA production performance observed under the HRTs tested lies in the community-level redundancy in convergent acidification functions and pathways, rather than trends in community-level structure alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minxi Jiang
- Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | | | - Anjie Li
- Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Kartik Chandran
- Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
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16
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An Z, Zhang Q, Gao X, Ding J, Shao B, Peng Y. Nitrous oxide emissions in novel wastewater treatment processes: A comprehensive review. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2024; 391:129950. [PMID: 37926354 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2023] [Revised: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
The proliferation of novel wastewater treatment processes has marked recent years, becoming particularly pertinent in light of the strive for carbon neutrality. One area of growing attention within this context is nitrous oxide (N2O) production and emission. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent research progress on N2O emissions associated with novel wastewater treatment processes, including Anammox, Partial Nitrification, Partial Denitrification, Comammox, Denitrifying Phosphorus Removal, Sulfur-driven Autotrophic Denitrification and n-DAMO. The advantages and challenges of these processes are thoroughly examined, and various mitigation strategies are proposed. An interesting angle that delve into is the potential of endogenous denitrification to act as an N2O sink. Furthermore, the review discusses the potential applications and rationale for novel Anammox-based processes to reduce N2O emissions. The aim is to inform future technology research in this area. Overall, this review aims to shed light on these emerging technologies while encouraging further research and development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeming An
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Key Laboratory of Beijing for Water Quality Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Qiong Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Key Laboratory of Beijing for Water Quality Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China.
| | - Xinjie Gao
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Key Laboratory of Beijing for Water Quality Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Jing Ding
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Key Laboratory of Beijing for Water Quality Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Baishuo Shao
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Key Laboratory of Beijing for Water Quality Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Yongzhen Peng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Key Laboratory of Beijing for Water Quality Science and Water Environment Recovery Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
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17
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Wang K, Li J, Gu X, Wang H, Li X, Peng Y, Wang Y. How to Provide Nitrite Robustly for Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation in Mainstream Nitrogen Removal. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:21503-21526. [PMID: 38096379 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c05600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2023]
Abstract
Innovation in decarbonizing wastewater treatment is urgent in response to global climate change. The practical implementation of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) treating domestic wastewater is the key to reconciling carbon-neutral management of wastewater treatment with sustainable development. Nitrite availability is the prerequisite of the anammox reaction, but how to achieve robust nitrite supply and accumulation for mainstream systems remains elusive. This work presents a state-of-the-art review on the recent advances in nitrite supply for mainstream anammox, paying special attention to available pathways (forward-going (from ammonium to nitrite) and backward-going (from nitrate to nitrite)), key controlling strategies, and physiological and ecological characteristics of functional microorganisms involved in nitrite supply. First, we comprehensively assessed the mainstream nitrite-oxidizing bacteria control methods, outlining that these technologies are transitioning to technologies possessing multiple selective pressures (such as intermittent aeration and membrane-aerated biological reactor), integrating side stream treatment (such as free ammonia/free nitrous acid suppression in recirculated sludge treatment), and maintaining high activity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and anammox bacteria for competing oxygen and nitrite with nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. We then highlight emerging strategies of nitrite supply, including the nitrite production driven by novel ammonia-oxidizing microbes (ammonia-oxidizing archaea and complete ammonia oxidation bacteria) and nitrate reduction pathways (partial denitrification and nitrate-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation). The resources requirement of different mainstream nitrite supply pathways is analyzed, and a hybrid nitrite supply pathway by combining partial nitrification and nitrate reduction is encouraged. Moreover, data-driven modeling of a mainstream nitrite supply process as well as proactive microbiome management is proposed in the hope of achieving mainstream nitrite supply in practical application. Finally, the existing challenges and further perspectives are highlighted, i.e., investigation of nitrite-supplying bacteria, the scaling-up of hybrid nitrite supply technologies from laboratory to practical implementation under real conditions, and the data-driven management for the stable performance of mainstream nitrite supply. The fundamental insights in this review aim to inspire and advance our understanding about how to provide nitrite robustly for mainstream anammox and shed light on important obstacles warranting further settlement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaichong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
| | - Jia Li
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
| | - Xin Gu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
| | - Han Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
| | - Xiang Li
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, P. R. China
| | - Yongzhen Peng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, P. R. China
| | - Yayi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China
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18
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Zhao X, Xie Y, Sun B, Liu Y, Zhu S, Li W, Zhao M, Liu D. Unraveling microbial characteristics of simultaneous nitrification, denitrification and phosphorus removal in a membrane-aerated biofilm reactor. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 239:117402. [PMID: 37838199 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/16/2023]
Abstract
This study describes the simultaneous removal of carbon, ammonium, and phosphate from domestic wastewater by a membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) which was operated for 360 days. During the operation, the maximum removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) reached 93.1%, 83.98%, and 96.41%, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that the MABR could potentially treat wastewater with a high ammonium concentration and a relatively low C/N ratio. Dissolved oxygen and multiple pollutants, including ammonium, carbon, phosphate, and sulfate, shaped the structure of the microbial community in the MABR. High throughput sequencing uncovered the crucial microbiome in ammonium transformation in MABR. Phylogenetic analysis of the ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) genes revealed an important role for comammox Nitrospira in the nitrification process. Diverse novel phosphate-accumulating organisms (Thauera, Bacillus, and Pseudomonas) and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (Thiobacillus, Thiothrix and Sulfurimonas) were potentially involved in denitrification in MABR. The results from this study suggested that MABR could be a feasible system for the simultaneous removal of nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus, and sulfur from sewage water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Equipment and Informatization in Environment Controlled Agriculture from Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Equipment and Robotics for Agriculture of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Agri-biological Environment Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China; National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Ecological Treatment Technology for Urban Water Pollution, College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325035, China
| | - Yinglong Xie
- Key Laboratory of Equipment and Informatization in Environment Controlled Agriculture from Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Equipment and Robotics for Agriculture of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Agri-biological Environment Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China; College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, 310014 Hangzhou, China
| | - Bo Sun
- National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Ecological Treatment Technology for Urban Water Pollution, College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325035, China
| | - Ying Liu
- Key Laboratory of Equipment and Informatization in Environment Controlled Agriculture from Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Equipment and Robotics for Agriculture of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Agri-biological Environment Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Songming Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Equipment and Informatization in Environment Controlled Agriculture from Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Equipment and Robotics for Agriculture of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Agri-biological Environment Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Wei Li
- Research Center for Eco-environmental Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan, 523808, China
| | - Min Zhao
- National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Ecological Treatment Technology for Urban Water Pollution, College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325035, China.
| | - Dezhao Liu
- Key Laboratory of Equipment and Informatization in Environment Controlled Agriculture from Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Equipment and Robotics for Agriculture of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Agri-biological Environment Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
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19
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Tang X, Li Y, Liu M, Hou L, Han P. Abundance, diversity and physiological preferences of comammox Nitrospira in urban groundwater. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 904:167333. [PMID: 37748616 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2023] [Revised: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
Complete ammonia oxidizer (comammox Nitrospira), catalyze complete nitrification process in a single organism, are frequently detected in groundwater ecosystem. However, the ecological niches and environmental driving factors of comammox Nitrospira in urban groundwater are largely unknown. Here we investigated the communities of ammonia oxidizers in urban groundwater located in Shanghai city, China. Quantitative analysis demonstrated the dominance of comammox Nitrospira over classical ammonia oxidizers (ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria, AOA and AOB). Phylogenetic analysis showed clades B and A2 comprise the majority of comammox Nitrospira groups. Temperature was one of the most vital factors affecting comammox Nitrospira community. Furthermore, clade A comammox Nitrospira can be enriched by urea substrate, which was in line with the ability of utilizing urea by the pure clade A comammox culture Nitrospira inopinata. In addition, we observed that relatively low temperature (<20 °C) and high copper levels (>0.04 mg L-1) can stimulate the growth of comammox Nitrospira. Overall, this study revealed the presence, diversity and physiological preferences of comammox Nitrospira in urban groundwater nitrification, shedding insights on the ecological roles of comammox Nitrospira in subsurface environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiufeng Tang
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Ye Li
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Min Liu
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Lijun Hou
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Ping Han
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China; State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China; Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China.
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20
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Aqeel H, Asefa B, Liss SN. Nitrospira dominant pin-point flocs with granule-like settleability in stirred tank reactors with oxic/hypoxic/oxic zones. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1307727. [PMID: 38111639 PMCID: PMC10726125 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1307727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The characteristics of biomass and microbial community dynamics, in relation to autotrophic nitrification, were studied in two 20 L stirred tank reactors (STR) with oxic/hypoxic/oxic zones. The bioreactors were fed with synthetic wastewater with stepwise increasing ammonia concentrations (50-200 N mg/L) without organic substrate in the first phase (autotrophic phase) for 35 days (R1) and 15 days (R2), followed by a heterotrophic phase (with supplementation of organic substrate). The settling properties of the biomass, represented by pin-point flocs, gradually improved in both reactors during the autotrophic phase. The pin-point flocs of R1 exhibited granule-like settling properties. The SVI30 in RI gradually improved to 29 mL/g MLSS, and the corresponding SVI30/ SVI10 gradually improved to 0.88 during the autotrophic phase. The settling properties of the biomass deteriorated in both bioreactors during the heterotrophic phase. The protein to polysaccharide ratio (PN:PS ratio) gradually increased in the extracted EPS (in both, loosely bound (LB) and tightly bound (TB) EPS) during the autotrophic phase, in both bioreactors. The TB:LB EPS ratio was higher when the pin-point flocs of R1 showed granule-like settling properties, followed by a decline in TB:LB EPS ratio during the heterotrophic phase. A combination of molecular approaches (droplet digital-PCR (dd-PCR) and 16S rRNA gene sequencing) revealed that Nitrospira were the predominant nitrifying bacteria in the pin-point flocs that show granular sludge-like settling properties during autotrophic phase in R1. Comammox Nitrospira was the dominant ammonia oxidizer in seed biomass and at low ammonia concentrations in both bioreactors. The relative abundance of canonical ammonia-oxidizing bacteria increased with an increase in influent-ammonia concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hussain Aqeel
- Chemistry and Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Bruke Asefa
- Chemistry and Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Steven N. Liss
- Chemistry and Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada
- School of Environmental Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada
- Department of Microbiology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa
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21
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Bertagnolli AD, Maritan AJ, Tumolo BB, Fritz SF, Oakland HC, Mohr EJ, Poole GC, Albertson LK, Stewart FJ. Net-spinning caddisflies create denitrifier-enriched niches in the stream microbiome. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2023; 3:111. [PMID: 37848489 PMCID: PMC10582121 DOI: 10.1038/s43705-023-00315-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023]
Abstract
Larval net-spinning caddisflies (Hydropsychidae) function as ecosystem engineers in streams where they construct protective retreats composed of organic and inorganic material affixed with silk filtration nets that alter streambed hydrology. We hypothesized that hydropsychid bio-structures (retreats, nets) are microhabitats for microbes with oxygen-sensitive metabolisms, and therefore increase the metabolic heterogeneity of streambed microbial assemblages. Metagenomic and 16 S rRNA gene amplicon analysis of samples from a montane stream (Cherry Creek, Montana, USA) revealed that microbiomes of caddisfly bio-structures are taxonomically and functionally distinct from those of the immediately adjacent rock biofilm (~2 cm distant) and enriched in microbial taxa with established roles in denitrification, nitrification, and methane production. Genes for denitrification, high oxygen affinity terminal oxidases, hydrogenases, oxidative dissimilatory sulfite reductases, and complete ammonia oxidation are significantly enriched in caddisfly bio-structures. The results suggest a novel ecosystem engineering effect of caddisflies through the creation of low-oxygen, denitrifier-enriched niches in the stream microbiome. Facilitation of metabolic diversity in streambeds may be a largely unrecognized mechanism by which caddisflies alter whole-stream biogeochemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony D Bertagnolli
- Department of Microbiology & Cell Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA.
| | - Andrew J Maritan
- Department of Microbiology & Cell Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
| | - Benjamin B Tumolo
- Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
| | - Samuel F Fritz
- Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
| | - Hayley C Oakland
- Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
| | - Elizabeth J Mohr
- Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
| | - Geoffrey C Poole
- Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
- Montana Institute on Ecosystems, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
| | | | - Frank J Stewart
- Department of Microbiology & Cell Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
- Center for Microbial Dynamics and Infection, School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
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22
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Zhu Y, Hou J, Liu J, Huo P, Yang L, Zheng M, Wei W, Ni BJ, Chen X. Model-based development of strategies enabling effective enrichment and application of comammox bacteria in floccular sludge under mainstream conditions. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 895:165051. [PMID: 37391158 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 06/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/02/2023]
Abstract
The discovery of complete ammonium oxidation (comammox) has redefined the perception of the nitrification process which plays a vital part in biological nitrogen removal (BNR) from wastewater. Despite the reported detection or cultivation of comammox bacteria in biofilm or granular sludge reactors, limited attempts have been made to enrich or assess comammox bacteria in floccular sludge reactors with suspended growth of microbes, which are most extensively applied at wastewater treatment plants. Therefore, through making use of a comammox-inclusive bioprocess model reliably evaluated using batch experimental data with joint contributions of different nitrifying guilds, this work probed into the proliferation and functioning of comammox bacteria in two commonly-used floccular sludge reactor configurations, i.e., continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) and sequencing batch reactor (SBR), under mainstream conditions. The results indicated that compared with the studied SBR, the CSTR was observed to favor the enrichment of comammox bacteria through maintaining a sufficient sludge retention time (40-100 d) while avoiding an extremely low DO level (e.g., 0.05 g-O2/m3), irrespective of the varied influent NH4+-N of 10-100 g-N/m3. Meanwhile, the inoculum sludge was found to greatly influence the start-up process of the studied CSTR. By inoculating the CSTR with a sufficient amount of sludge, finally enriched floccular sludge with a high abundance of comammox bacteria (up to 70.5 %) could be rapidly obtained. These results not only benefitted further investigation and application of comammox-inclusive sustainable BNR technologies but also explained, to some extent, the discrepancy in the reported presence and abundance of comammox bacteria at wastewater treatment plants adopting floccular sludge-based BNR technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Zhu
- Fujian Provincial Engineering Research Center of Rural Waste Recycling Technology, College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China
| | - Jiaying Hou
- Fujian Provincial Engineering Research Center of Rural Waste Recycling Technology, College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China
| | - Jinzhong Liu
- Fujian Provincial Engineering Research Center of Rural Waste Recycling Technology, College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China
| | - Pengfei Huo
- Fujian Provincial Engineering Research Center of Rural Waste Recycling Technology, College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China
| | - Linyan Yang
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Min Zheng
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Wei Wei
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - Bing-Jie Ni
- Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - Xueming Chen
- Fujian Provincial Engineering Research Center of Rural Waste Recycling Technology, College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China.
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23
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Su Z, Liu T, Guo J, Zheng M. Nitrite Oxidation in Wastewater Treatment: Microbial Adaptation and Suppression Challenges. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:12557-12570. [PMID: 37589598 PMCID: PMC10470456 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c00636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
Microbial nitrite oxidation is the primary pathway that generates nitrate in wastewater treatment systems and can be performed by a variety of microbes: namely, nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Since NOB were first isolated 130 years ago, the understanding of the phylogenetical and physiological diversities of NOB has been gradually deepened. In recent endeavors of advanced biological nitrogen removal, NOB have been more considered as a troublesome disruptor, and strategies on NOB suppression often fail in practice after long-term operation due to the growth of specific NOB that are able to adapt to even harsh conditions. In line with a review of the history of currently known NOB genera, a phylogenetic tree is constructed to exhibit a wide range of NOB in different phyla. In addition, the growth behavior and metabolic performance of different NOB strains are summarized. These specific features of various NOB (e.g., high oxygen affinity of Nitrospira, tolerance to chemical inhibitors of Nitrobacter and Candidatus Nitrotoga, and preference to high temperature of Nitrolancea) highlight the differentiation of the NOB ecological niche in biological nitrogen processes and potentially support their adaptation to different suppression strategies (e.g., low dissolved oxygen, chemical treatment, and high temperature). This review implicates the acquired physiological characteristics of NOB to their emergence from a genomic and ecological perspective and emphasizes the importance of understanding physiological characterization and genomic information in future wastewater treatment studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zicheng Su
- Australian Centre for Water
and Environmental Biotechnology, The University
of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Tao Liu
- Australian Centre for Water
and Environmental Biotechnology, The University
of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Jianhua Guo
- Australian Centre for Water
and Environmental Biotechnology, The University
of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Min Zheng
- Australian Centre for Water
and Environmental Biotechnology, The University
of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
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24
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Li B, Godfrey BJ, RedCorn R, Candry P, Abrahamson B, Wang Z, Goel R, Winkler MKH. Mainstream nitrogen removal from low temperature and low ammonium strength municipal wastewater using hydrogel-encapsulated comammox and anammox. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 242:120303. [PMID: 37419028 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 07/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
Application of partial nitritation (PN)-anammox to mainstream wastewater treatment faces challenges in low water temperature and low ammonium strength. In this study, a continuous flow PN-anammox reactor with hydrogel-encapsulated comammox and anammox was designed and operated for nitrogen removal from mainstream wastewater with low temperature. Long-term operation with synthetic and real wastewater as the feed demonstrated nearly complete ammonium and total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) removal by the reactor at temperatures as low as 10 °C. A significantly decreased nitrogen removal performance and biomass activity was observed in the reactor at 4 °C before a selective heating strategy was employed. A novel heating technology using radiation to heat carbon black co-encapsulated in the hydrogel matrix with biomass was used to selectively heat biomass but not water in the treatment system. This selective heating technology enabled nearly complete ammonium removal and 89.4 ± 4.3 % TIN removal at influent temperature of 4 °C and reactor temperature 5 °C. Activity tests suggested selective heating brought the biomass activity at influent temperatures of 4 °C and reactor temperature 5 °C to a level comparable to that at 10 °C. Comammox and anammox were consistently present in the system and spatially organized in the hydrogel beads as revealed by qPCR and fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH). The abundance of comammox largely decreased by 3 orders of magnitude during the operation at 4 °C, and rapidly recovered after the application of selective heating. The anammox-comammox technology tested in this study essentially enabled mainstream shortcut nitrogen removal, and the selective heating ensured good performance of the technology at temperature as low as 5 °C.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Li
- University of Washington, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
| | - Bruce J Godfrey
- University of Washington, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Raymond RedCorn
- University of Washington, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Pieter Candry
- University of Washington, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Britt Abrahamson
- University of Washington, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Zhiwu Wang
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Department of Biological Systems Engineering, 1230 Washington St. SW, Blacksburg VA 24061, VA 20147, USA
| | - Ramesh Goel
- The University of Utah, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, 110 S. Central Campus Drive, 2000MCE, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Mari-K H Winkler
- University of Washington, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
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25
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Jin Y, Zhan W, Wu R, Han Y, Yang S, Ding J, Ren N. Insight into the roles of microalgae on simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in microalgal-bacterial sequencing batch reactors: Nitrogen removal, extracellular polymeric substances, and microbial communities. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2023; 379:129038. [PMID: 37037336 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2023] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
This study explored the influence and mechanism of microalgae on simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) in microalgal-bacterial sequencing batch reactors (MB-SBR). It particularly focused on nitrogen transformation in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and functional groups associated with nitrogen removal. The results showed that MB-SBR achieved more optimal performance than control, with an SND efficiency of 68.01% and total nitrogen removal efficiency of 66.74%. Further analyses revealed that microalgae changed compositions and properties of EPS by increasing EPS contents and improving transfer, conversion, and storage capacity of nitrogen in EPS. Microbial community analysis demonstrated that microalgae promoted the enrichment of functional groups and genes related to SND and introduced diverse nitrogen removal pathways. Moreover, co-occurrence network analysis elucidated the interactions between communities of bacteria and microalgae and the promotion of SND by microalgae as keystone connectors in the MB-SBR. This study provides insights into the roles of microalgae for enhanced SND.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaruo Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China
| | - Wei Zhan
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China.
| | - Rui Wu
- Guangdong Yuehai Water Investment Co., Ltd., Shenzhen 518021, China; Harbin Institute of Technology National Engineering Research Center of Urban Water Resources Co., Ltd., Harbin 150090, China
| | - Yahong Han
- Harbin Institute of Technology National Engineering Research Center of Urban Water Resources Co., Ltd., Harbin 150090, China
| | - Shanshan Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China
| | - Jie Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China
| | - Nanqi Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China
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26
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Kang D, Zhao X, Wang N, Suo Y, Yuan J, Peng Y. Redirecting carbon to recover VFA to facilitate biological short-cut nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment: A critical review. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 238:120015. [PMID: 37146394 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2022] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are facing a great challenge to transition from energy-intensive to carbon-neutral and energy-efficient systems. Biological nutrient removal (BNR) can be severely impacted by carbon limitation, particularly for wastewater with a low carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio, which can significantly increase the operational costs. Waste activated sludge (WAS) is a valuable byproduct of WWTPs, as it contains high levels of organic matter that can be utilized to improve BNR management by recovering and reusing the fermentative volatile fatty acids (VFAs). This review provides a comprehensive examination of the recovery and reuse of VFAs in wastewater management, with a particular focus on advancing the preferable biological short-cut nitrogen removal process for carbon-insufficient municipal wastewaters. First, the method of carbon redirection for recovering VFAs was reviewed. Carbon could be captured through the two-stage A/B process or via sludge fermentation with different sludge pretreatment and process control strategies to accelerate sludge hydrolysis and inhibit methanogens to enhance VFA production. Second, VFAs can support the metabolism of autotrophic N-cycling microorganisms involved in wastewater treatment, such as AOB, NOB, anammox, and comammox bacteria. However, VFAs can also cause inhibition at high concentrations, leading to the partition of AOB and NOB; and can promote partial denitrification as an efficient carbon source for heterotrophic denitrifiers. Third, the lab- and pilot-scale engineering practices with different configurations (i.e., A2O, SBR, UASB) were summarized that have shown the feasibility of utilizing the fermentate to achieve superior nitrogen removal performance without the need for external carbon addition. Lastly, the future perspectives on leveraging the relationships between mainstream and sidestream, nitrogen and phosphorus, autotrophs and heterotrophs were given for sustainable and efficient BNR management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Da Kang
- Department of Environmental Engineering, National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, China
| | - Xuwei Zhao
- Department of Environmental Engineering, National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, China
| | - Nan Wang
- Department of Environmental Engineering, National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, China
| | - Yirui Suo
- Department of Environmental Engineering, National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, China
| | - Jiawei Yuan
- Department of Environmental Engineering, National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, China
| | - Yongzhen Peng
- Department of Environmental Engineering, National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, China.
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27
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Johnston J, Du Z, Behrens S. Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria Maintain Abundance but Lower amoA-Gene Expression during Cold Temperature Nitrification Failure in a Full-Scale Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0257122. [PMID: 36786623 PMCID: PMC10100873 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02571-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study, we explore the relationship between community structure and transcriptional activity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria during cold temperature nitrification failure in three parallel full-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) treating municipal wastewater. In the three reactors, ammonia concentrations increased with declines in wastewater temperature below 15°C. We quantified and sequenced 16S rRNA and ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) gene fragments in DNA and RNA extracts from activated sludge samples collected from the SBRs during the warmer seasons (summer and fall) and when water temperatures were below 15°C (winter and spring). Taxonomic community composition of amoA genes and transcripts did not vary much between the warmer and colder seasons. However, we observed significant differences in amoA transcript copy numbers between fall (highest) and spring (lowest). Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria of the genus Nitrosomonas sp. could maintain their population abundance despite lowering their amoA gene expression during winter and spring. In spite of relatively low population abundance, an amoA amplicon sequence variant (ASV) cluster identified as most similar to the amoA gene of Nitrosospira briensis showed the highest amoA transcript-to-gene ratio throughout all four seasons, indicating that some nitrifiers remain active at wastewater temperatures below 15°C. Our results show that 16S rRNA and amoA gene copy numbers are limited predictors of cell activity. To optimize function and performance of mixed community bioprocesses, we need to collect high-resolution quantitative transcriptomic and potentially proteomic data to resolve the response of individual species to changes in environmental parameters in engineered systems. IMPORTANCE The diverse microbial community of activated sludge used in biological treatment systems exhibits dynamic seasonal shifts in community composition and activity. Many wastewater treatment plants in temperate/continental climates experience seasonal cold temperature nitrification failure. "Seasonal nitrification failure" is the discharge of elevated concentrations of ammonia (greater than 4 mg/liter) with treated wastewater during the winter (influent wastewater temperatures below 13°C). This study aims at expanding our understanding of how ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in activated sludge change in activity and growth across seasons. We quantified the ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) gene and transcript copy numbers using real-time PCR and sequenced the amoA amplicons to reveal community structure and activity changes of nitrifying microbial populations during seasonal nitrification failure in three full-scale sequencing batch reactors (SRBs) treating municipal wastewater. Relevant findings presented in this study contribute to explain seasonal nitrification performance variability in SRBs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliet Johnston
- University of Minnesota, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Livermore, California, USA
| | - Zhe Du
- University of Minnesota, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- Center for Environmental Health Risk Assessment and Research, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Sebastian Behrens
- University of Minnesota, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- University of Minnesota, BioTechnology Institute, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
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28
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Cotto I, Vilardi KJ, Huo L, Fogarty EC, Khunjar W, Wilson C, De Clippeleir H, Gilmore K, Bailey E, Lücker S, Pinto AJ. Low diversity and microdiversity of comammox bacteria in wastewater systems suggest specific adaptations within the Ca. Nitrospira nitrosa cluster. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 229:119497. [PMID: 36563511 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.119497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Studies have found Ca. Nitrospira nitrosa-like bacteria to be the principal or sole comammox bacteria in nitrogen removal systems for wastewater treatment. In contrast, multiple populations of strict ammonia and nitrite oxidizers co-exist in similar systems. This apparent lack of diversity is surprising and could impact the feasibility of leveraging comammox bacteria for nitrogen removal. We used full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing and genome-resolved metagenomics to compare the species-level diversity of comammox bacteria with that of strict nitrifiers in full-scale wastewater treatment systems and assess whether this comparison is consistent or diverged at the strain-level. Full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing indicated that Nitrosomonas-like bacteria exhibited higher species-level diversity in comparison with other nitrifying bacteria, while the strain-level diversity (also called microdiversity) of most Nitrospira-like bacteria were higher than Nitrosomonas-like bacteria with few exceptions (one Nitrospira lineage II population). Comammox bacterial metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) were associated with Ca. Nitrospira nitrosa. The average amino acid identity between principal comammox bacterial MAGs (93% ± 3) across systems was significantly higher than that of the Nitrosomonas-like ammonia oxidizers (73% ± 8), the Nitrospira_A-like nitrite oxidizer (85% ± 4), and the Nitrospira_D-like nitrite oxidizer (83% ± 1). This demonstrated the low species-level diversity of comammox bacteria compared with strict nitrifiers and further suggests that the same comammox population was detected in all systems. Comammox bacteria (Nitrospira lineage II), Nitrosomonas and, Nitrospira_D (Nitrospira lineage II) MAGs were significantly less microdiverse than the Nitrospira_A (lineage I) MAGs. Interestingly, strain-resolved analysis also indicates that different nitrogen removal systems harbor different comammox bacterial strains within the Ca. Nitrospira nitrosa cluster. These results suggest that comammox bacteria associated with Ca. Nitrospira nitrosa have low species- and strain-level diversity in nitrogen removal systems and may thus harbor specific adaptations to the wastewater ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irmarie Cotto
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Katherine J Vilardi
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Linxuan Huo
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Emily C Fogarty
- Committee on Microbiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | | | | | | | - Kevin Gilmore
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, United States
| | - Erika Bailey
- City of Raleigh Public Utilities, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - Sebastian Lücker
- Department of Microbiology, RIBES, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Ameet J Pinto
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States.
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29
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Chen H, Liu K, Yang E, Chen J, Gu Y, Wu S, Yang M, Wang H, Wang D, Li H. A critical review on microbial ecology in the novel biological nitrogen removal process: Dynamic balance of complex functional microbes for nitrogen removal. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 857:159462. [PMID: 36257429 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The novel biological nitrogen removal process has been extensively studied for its high nitrogen removal efficiency, energy efficiency, and greenness. A successful novel biological nitrogen removal process has a stable microecological equilibrium and benign interactions between the various functional bacteria. However, changes in the external environment can easily disrupt the dynamic balance of the microecology and affect the activity of functional bacteria in the novel biological nitrogen removal process. Therefore, this review focuses on the microecology in existing the novel biological nitrogen removal process, including the growth characteristics of functional microorganisms and their interactions, together with the effects of different influencing factors on the evolution of microbial communities. This provides ideas for achieving a stable dynamic balance of the microecology in a novel biological nitrogen removal process. Furthermore, to investigate deeply the mechanisms of microbial interactions in novel biological nitrogen removal process, this review also focuses on the influence of quorum sensing (QS) systems on nitrogen removal microbes, regulated by which bacteria secrete acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) as signaling molecules to regulate microbial ecology in the novel biological nitrogen removal process. However, the mechanisms of action of AHLs on the regulation of functional bacteria have not been fully determined and the composition of QS system circuits requires further investigation. Meanwhile, it is necessary to further apply molecular analysis techniques and the theory of systems ecology in the future to enhance the exploration of microbial species and ecological niches, providing a deeper scientific basis for the development of a novel biological nitrogen removal process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Chen
- Key Laboratory of Dongting Lake Aquatic Eco-Environmental Control and Restoration of Hunan Province, School of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Changsha University of Science & Technology, Changsha 410004, China; Laboratory of Environmental Protection Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-06 Aza-Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba Ward, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8579, Japan
| | - Ke Liu
- China Machinery International Engineering Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd, Changsha 410007, China
| | - Enzhe Yang
- Key Laboratory of Dongting Lake Aquatic Eco-Environmental Control and Restoration of Hunan Province, School of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Changsha University of Science & Technology, Changsha 410004, China
| | - Jing Chen
- Key Laboratory of Dongting Lake Aquatic Eco-Environmental Control and Restoration of Hunan Province, School of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Changsha University of Science & Technology, Changsha 410004, China
| | - Yanling Gu
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Changsha University of Science & Technology, Changsha 410004, China
| | - Sha Wu
- Key Laboratory of Dongting Lake Aquatic Eco-Environmental Control and Restoration of Hunan Province, School of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Changsha University of Science & Technology, Changsha 410004, China.
| | - Min Yang
- Key Laboratory of Dongting Lake Aquatic Eco-Environmental Control and Restoration of Hunan Province, School of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Changsha University of Science & Technology, Changsha 410004, China
| | - Hong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Dongting Lake Aquatic Eco-Environmental Control and Restoration of Hunan Province, School of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Changsha University of Science & Technology, Changsha 410004, China
| | - Dongbo Wang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
| | - Hailong Li
- School of Energy Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China.
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Díaz-Torres O, Lugo-Melchor OY, de Anda J, Orozco-Nunnelly DA, Gradilla-Hernández MS, Senés-Guerrero C. Characterizing a subtropical hypereutrophic lake: From physicochemical variables to shotgun metagenomic data. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1037626. [DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1037626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Lake Cajititlán is a subtropical and endorheic lake, which is heavily impacted by nutrient pollution. Agricultural runoff and poorly treated wastewater have entered this reservoir at alarming rates during past rainy seasons, causing the cultural eutrophication of this body of water and resulting in several massive fish kill events. In this study, shotgun metagenomic sequencing was used to examine the taxonomic and functional structure of microbial communities in Lake Cajititlán during the rainy season. Several water quality features and their interactions with microbial communities were also assessed to identify the major factors affecting the water quality and biota, specifically fish species. According to current water quality regulations, most of the physicochemical variables analyzed (dissolved oxygen, pH, Secchi disk, NH4+, NO3−, blue-green algae, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a) were outside of the permissible limits. Planktothrix agardhii and Microcystis aeruginosa were the most abundant phytoplankton species, and the dominant bacterial genera were Pseudomonas, Streptomyces, and Flavobacterium, with Pseudomonas fluorescens, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Aeromonas veronii representing the most abundant bacterial species. All of these microorganisms have been reported to be potentially harmful to fish, and the latter three (P. fluorescens, S. maltophilia, A. veronii) also contain genes associated with pathogenicity in fish mortality (fur, luxS, aer, act, aha, exu, lip, ser). Genetic evidence from the microbial communities analyzed herein reveals that anthropogenic sources of nutrients in the lake altered genes involved in nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and carbon metabolism, mainly at the beginning of the rainy season. These findings suggest that abiotic factors influence the structure of the microbial communities, along with the major biogeochemical cycles of Lake Cajititlán, resulting in temporal variations and an excess of microorganisms that can thrive in high-nutrient and low-oxygen environments. After reviewing the literature, this appears to be the first study that focuses on characterizing the water quality of a subtropical hypereutrophic lake through associations between physicochemical variables and shotgun metagenomic data. In addition, there are few studies that have coupled the metabolism of aquatic ecosystems with nutrient cycles.
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Al-Hazmi HE, Hassan GK, Maktabifard M, Grubba D, Majtacz J, Mąkinia J. Integrating conventional nitrogen removal with anammox in wastewater treatment systems: Microbial metabolism, sustainability and challenges. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 215:114432. [PMID: 36167115 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Revised: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The various forms of nitrogen (N), including ammonium (NH4+), nitrite (NO2-), and nitrate (NO3-), present in wastewaters can create critical biotic stress and can lead to hazardous phenomena that cause imbalances in biological diversity. Thus, biological nitrogen removal (BNR) from wastewaters is considered to be imperatively urgent. Therefore, anammox-based systems, i.e. partial nitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (PN/anammox) and partial denitrification and anammox (PD/anammox) have been universally acknowledged to consider as alternatives, promising and cost-effective technologies for sustainable N removal from wastewaters compared to nitrification-denitrification processes. This review comprehensively presents and discusses the latest advances in BNR technologies, including traditional nitrification-denitrification and anammox-based systems. To a deep understanding of a better-controlled combining anammox with traditional processes, the microbial community diversity and metabolism, as well as, biomass morphological characteristics were clearly reviewed in the anammox-based systems. Explaining simultaneous microbial competition and control of crucial operation parameters in single-stage anammox-based processes in terms of optimization and economic benefits makes this contribution a different vision from available review papers. The most important sustainability indicators, including global warming potential (GWP), carbon footprint (CF) and energy behaviours were explored to evaluate the sustainability of BNR processes in wastewater treatment. Additionally, the challenges and solutions for BNR processes are extensively discussed. In summary, this review helps facilitate a critical understanding of N removal technologies. It is confirmed that sustainability and saving energy would be achieved by anammox-based systems, thereby could be encouraged future outcomes for a sustainable N removal economy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hussein E Al-Hazmi
- Department of Sanitary Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdańsk University of Technology, Ul. Narutowicza 11/12, Gdańsk, 80-233, Poland.
| | - Gamal K Hassan
- Water Pollution Research Department, National Research Centre, 33 Bohouth St, Giza, Dokki, P.O. Box 12622, Egypt
| | - Mojtaba Maktabifard
- Department of Sanitary Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdańsk University of Technology, Ul. Narutowicza 11/12, Gdańsk, 80-233, Poland
| | - Dominika Grubba
- Department of Sanitary Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdańsk University of Technology, Ul. Narutowicza 11/12, Gdańsk, 80-233, Poland
| | - Joanna Majtacz
- Department of Sanitary Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdańsk University of Technology, Ul. Narutowicza 11/12, Gdańsk, 80-233, Poland
| | - Jacek Mąkinia
- Department of Sanitary Engineering, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdańsk University of Technology, Ul. Narutowicza 11/12, Gdańsk, 80-233, Poland
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Mehrani MJ, Sobotka D, Kowal P, Guo J, Mąkinia J. New insights into modeling two-step nitrification in activated sludge systems - The effects of initial biomass concentrations, comammox and heterotrophic activities. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 848:157628. [PMID: 35905967 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In this study, the conventional two-step nitrification model was extended with complete ammonia oxidation (comammox) and heterotrophic denitrification on soluble microbial products. The data for model calibration/validation were collected at four long-term washout experiments when the solid retention time (SRT) and hydraulic retention time (HRT) were progressively reduced from 4 d to 1 d, with mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) of approximately 2000 mg/L at the start of each trial. A new calibration protocol was proposed by including a systematic calculation of the initial biomass concentrations and microbial relationships as the calibration targets. Moreover, the impact assessment of initial biomass concentrations (X) and maximum growth rates (μ) for ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), comammox Nitrospira, and heterotrophs on the calibration accuracy were investigated using the response surface methodology (RSM). The RSM results revealed the strongest interaction of XAOB and μAOB on the model calibration accuracy. All the examined model efficiency measures confirmed that the extended model was accurately calibrated and validated. The estimated μ values were as follows: μAOB = 0.38 ± 0.005 d-1, μNOB = 0.20 ± 0.01 d-1, μCMX = 0.20 ± 0.01 d-1, μHET = 1.0 ± 0.03 d-1. For comparison, when using the conventional model, μAOB and μNOB increased respectively by 26 and 15 % (μAOB = 0.48 ± 0.02 d-1 and μNOB = 0.23 ± 0.005 d-1). This study provides better understanding of the effects of the initial biomass composition and the accompanying processes (comammox and heterotrophic denitrification) on modeling two-step nitrification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamad-Javad Mehrani
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Street 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Dominika Sobotka
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Street 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Przemyslaw Kowal
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Street 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Jianhua Guo
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology (ACWEB, formerly AWMC), The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Jacek Mąkinia
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Street 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland.
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Kowal P, Mehrani MJ, Sobotka D, Ciesielski S, Mąkinia J. Rearrangements of the nitrifiers population in an activated sludge system under decreasing solids retention times. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 214:113753. [PMID: 35772505 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Due to the key role of nitrite in novel nitrogen removal systems, nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) have been receiving increasing attention. In this study, the coexistence and interactions of nitrifying bacteria were explored at decreasing solids retention times (SRTs). Four 5-week washout experiments were carried out in laboratory-scale (V = 10 L) sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) with mixed liquor from two full-scale activated sludge systems (continuous flow vs SBR). During the experiments, the SRT was gradually reduced from the initial value of 4.0 d to approximately 1.0 d. The reactors were operated under limited dissolved oxygen conditions (set point of 0.6 mg O2/L) and two process temperatures: 12 °C (winter) and 20 °C (summer). At both temperatures, the progressive SRT reduction was inefficient for the out-selection of both canonical NOB and comammox Nitrospira. However, the dominant NOB switched from Nitrospira to Ca. Nitrotoga, whereas the dominant AOB was always Nitrosomonas. The results of this study are important for optimizing NOB suppression strategies in the novel N removal processes, which are based on nitrite accumulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Przemyslaw Kowal
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Street 11/12, 80-233, Gdansk, Poland.
| | - Mohamad-Javad Mehrani
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Street 11/12, 80-233, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Dominika Sobotka
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Street 11/12, 80-233, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Sławomir Ciesielski
- Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Ul. Sloneczna 45G, 10-709, Olsztyn, Poland
| | - Jacek Mąkinia
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Street 11/12, 80-233, Gdansk, Poland
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Wang D, Wang Y, Liu L, Chen Y, Wang C, Xu X, Yang Y, Wang Y, Zhang T. Niche differentiation and symbiotic association among ammonia/nitrite oxidizers in a full-scale rotating biological contactor. WATER RESEARCH 2022; 225:119137. [PMID: 36198208 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.119137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Revised: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Although the distribution of ammonia/nitrite oxidizers had been profiled in different habitats, current understanding is still limited regarding their niche differentiation in the integrated biofilm reactors, the symbiotic associations of ammonia/nitrite oxidizers, as well as the parasitic interaction between viruses and those functional organisms involved in the nitrogen cycle. Here, the integrated metagenomics and metatranscriptomics are applied to profile the ammonia/nitrite oxidizers communities and transcriptional activities changes along the flowpath of a concatenated full-scale rotating biological contactor (RBC) (frontend Stage-A and backend Stage-B). 19 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) of ammonia/nitrite oxidizers were recovered by using a hybrid assembly approach, including four ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), two ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), two complete ammonia oxidation bacteria (comammox), eight nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), and three anaerobic ammonium oxidation bacteria (anammox). Diverse AOB and anammox dominated Stage-A and collectively contributed to nitrogen conversion. With the decline of ammonia concentration along the flowpath, comammox and AOA appeared and increased in relative abundance in Stage-B, accounting for 8.8% of the entire community at the end of this reactor, and their dominating role in nitrogen turnover was indicated by the high transcription activity of their corresponding function genes. Moreover, the variation in the abundance of viruses infecting ammonia and nitrite oxidizers suggests that viruses likely act as a biotic factor mediating ammonia/nitrite oxidizer populations. This study demonstrates that complex factors shaped niche differentiation and symbiotic associations of ammonia/nitrite oxidizers in the RBC and highlights the importance of RBCs as model systems for the investigation of biotic and abiotic factors affecting the composition of microbiomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dou Wang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Yulin Wang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Lei Liu
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Yiqiang Chen
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Chunxiao Wang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Xiaoqing Xu
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Yu Yang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Yubo Wang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Tong Zhang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; School of Environment and Energy, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China; Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen, China.
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35
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Li X, Wang G, Chen J, Zhou X, Liu Y. Deciphering the concurrence of comammox, partial denitrification and anammox in a single low-oxygen mainstream nitrogen removal reactor. CHEMOSPHERE 2022; 305:135409. [PMID: 35728663 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2022] [Revised: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
One-stage anammox-based autotrophic nitrogen removal technology has attracted increasing interest to sustainable biological nitrogen removal for future wastewater treatment. However, its application in mainstream municipal wastewater treatment is still challenging due to low nitrogen and high organics of raw wastewater. Herein, a novel Simultaneous Carbon Oxidation, partial Comammox, Denitratation and Anammox (SCOCDA) was firstly developed in a single sequencing batch biofilm reactor operated at a dissolved oxygen concentration of ∼0.5 mg/L for treating synthetic municipal wastewater (50 mg/L NH4+-N and 100-250 mg/L COD). The long-term operation showed that almost complete COD and nitrogen removal performance could be achieved at a carbon/nitrogen ratio (COD/NH4+-N) of 3-5 with the corresponding effluent total nitrogen (TN)<5 mg/L. Microbial community and amoA-targeting amplicon sequencing analysis further verified that comammox Nitrospira spp., denitrifier Thauera and other aerobic/facultative heterotrophs could work synergistically with anammox bacteria, Candidatus Kuenenia. Moreover, nitrogen metabolic and inorganic carbon fixation pathways through the interaction between comammox and anammox were also revealed with the aid of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Lastly, potential application of proposed SCOCDA process was illustrated. This research sheds new light on advanced nitrogen removal towards limit of technology via the synergy of comammox and anammox.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xu Li
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China; Innovation Center for Postgraduate Education in Municipal Engineering of Shanxi Province, Taiyuan, 030024, China
| | - Gonglei Wang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China; Innovation Center for Postgraduate Education in Municipal Engineering of Shanxi Province, Taiyuan, 030024, China
| | - Jiabo Chen
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China; Innovation Center for Postgraduate Education in Municipal Engineering of Shanxi Province, Taiyuan, 030024, China
| | - Xin Zhou
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China; Innovation Center for Postgraduate Education in Municipal Engineering of Shanxi Province, Taiyuan, 030024, China.
| | - Yu Liu
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 637819, Singapore; Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre, NEWRI, Nanyang Technological University, 637141, Singapore
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Zhao J, Zheng M, Su Z, Liu T, Li J, Guo J, Yuan Z, Hu S. Selective Enrichment of Comammox Nitrospira in a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor with Sufficient Oxygen Supply. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:13338-13346. [PMID: 36047990 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c03299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The recent discovery of comammox (complete ammonia oxidation) Nitrospira has upended the long-held nitrification paradigm. Although comammox Nitrospira have been identified in wastewater treatment systems, the conditions for their dominance over canonical ammonia oxidizers remain unclear. Here, we report the dominance of comammox Nitrospira in a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) fed with synthetic mainstream wastewater. Integrated 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and metagenomic sequencing methods demonstrated the selective enrichment of comammox bacteria when the MBBR was operated at a dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration above 6 mg O2/L. The dominance of comammox Nitrospira over canonical ammonia oxidizers (i.e., Nitrosomonas) was attributed to the low residual ammonium concentration (0.02-0.52 mg N/L) formed in the high-DO MBBR. Two clade A comammox Nitrospira were identified, which are phylogenetically close to Candidatus Nitrospira nitrosa. Interestingly, cryosectioning-FISH showed these two comammox species spatially distributed on the surface of the biofilm. Moreover, the ammonia-oxidizing activity of comammox Nitrospira-dominated biofilms was susceptible to the oxygen supply, which dropped by half with the DO concentration decrease from 6 to 2 mg O2/L. These features collectively suggest a low apparent oxygen affinity for the comammox Nitrospira-dominated biofilms in the high-DO nitrifying MBBR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Zhao
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Min Zheng
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Zicheng Su
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Tao Liu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Jie Li
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Jianhua Guo
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Shihu Hu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
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Yang X, Yu X, He Q, Deng T, Guan X, Lian Y, Xu K, Shu L, Wang C, Yan Q, Yang Y, Wu B, He Z. Niche differentiation among comammox ( Nitrospira inopinata) and other metabolically distinct nitrifiers. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:956860. [PMID: 36187961 PMCID: PMC9515657 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.956860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to global change, increasing nutrient input to ecosystems dramatically affects the nitrogen cycle, especially the nitrification process. Nitrifiers including ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOAs), ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOBs), nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOBs), and recently discovered complete ammonia oxidizers (comammoxs) perform nitrification individually or in a community. However, much remains to be learned about their niche differentiation, coexistence, and interactions among those metabolically distinct nitrifiers. Here, we used synthetic microbial ecology approaches to construct synthetic nitrifying communities (SNCs) with different combinations of Nitrospira inopinata as comammox, Nitrososphaera gargensis as AOA, Nitrosomonas communis as AOB, and Nitrospira moscoviensis as NOB. Our results showed that niche differentiation and potential interactions among those metabolically distinct nitrifiers were determined by their kinetic characteristics. The dominant species shifted from N. inopinata to N. communis in the N4 community (with all four types of nitrifiers) as ammonium concentrations increased, which could be well explained by the kinetic difference in ammonia affinity, specific growth rate, and substrate tolerance of nitrifiers in the SNCs. In addition, a conceptual model was developed to infer niche differentiation and possible interactions among the four types of nitrifiers. This study advances our understanding of niche differentiation and provides new strategies to further study their interactions among the four types of nitrifiers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueqin Yang
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoli Yu
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qiang He
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Ting Deng
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaotong Guan
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yingli Lian
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Kui Xu
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Longfei Shu
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Cheng Wang
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qingyun Yan
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuchun Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Bo Wu
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhili He
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China
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Huang T, Xia J, Liu T, Su Z, Guan Y, Guo J, Wang C, Zheng M. Comammox Nitrospira Bacteria Are Dominant Ammonia Oxidizers in Mainstream Nitrification Bioreactors Emended with Sponge Carriers. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:12584-12591. [PMID: 35973026 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c03641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Complete ammonia oxidation (i.e., comammox) is a newly discovered microbial process performed by a subset of the Nitrospira genus, and this unique microbial process has been ubiquitously detected in various wastewater treatment units. However, the operational conditions favoring comammox prevalence remain unclear. In this study, the dominance of comammox Nitrospira in four sponge biofilm reactors fed with low-strength ammonium (NH4+ = 23 ± 3 mg N/L) wastewater was proved by coupling 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and metagenomic sequencing. The results showed that comammox Nitrospira dominated in the nitrifying guild over canonical ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) constantly, despite the significant variation in the residual ammonium concentration (0.01-15 mg N/L) under different sets of operating conditions. This result indicates that sponge biofilms greatly favor retaining comammox Nitrospira in wastewater treatment and highlights an essential role of biomass retention in the comammox prevalence. Moreover, analyses of the assembled metagenomic sequences revealed that the retrieved amoA gene sequences affiliated with comammox Nitrospira (53.9-66.0% read counts of total amoA gene reads) were always higher than those (28.4-43.4%) related to β-proteobacterial AOB taxa. The comammox Nitrospira bacteria detected in the present biofilm systems were close to clade A Candidatus Nitrospira nitrosa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tuo Huang
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
- Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Jun Xia
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Tao Liu
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Zicheng Su
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Yuntao Guan
- Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Jianhua Guo
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Chengwen Wang
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Min Zheng
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
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He S, Zhao Z, Tian Z, Xu C, Liu Y, He D, Zhang Y, Zheng M. Comammox bacteria predominate among ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in municipal but not in refinery wastewater treatment plants. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 316:115271. [PMID: 35594823 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Comammox bacteria have proved to be one dominant and significant ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms (AOMs) in municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), however, it still remains unknown about their abundance and diversity in industrial WWTPs. In this study, activated sludge samples from 8 municipal WWTPs and 6 industrial WWTPs treating refinery wastewater were taken and analyzed using qPCR and amoA gene sequencing. Intriguingly, quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) results suggested that comammox bacteria had a higher numerical abundance compared with ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) in municipal WWTPs but did not in refinery WWTPs. Moreover, comammox amoA sequences obtained from high-throughput sequencing were retrieved from all the 8 municipal samples but only 1 industrial sample. Further phylogenetic analysis revealed that N. nitrosa cluster accounted for as high as 79.56% of the total comammox affiliated sequences, which was the most numerically abundant comammox species in municipal WWTPs. This study provided new insights into the abundance and diversity of comammox bacteria in the biological nitrification process in municipal and refinery wastewater treatment systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shishi He
- The Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Main Building G619, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, 102206, China
| | - Zhirong Zhao
- The Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Main Building G619, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, 102206, China
| | - Zhichao Tian
- The Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Main Building G619, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, 102206, China
| | - Chi Xu
- The Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Main Building G619, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, 102206, China
| | - Yuan Liu
- The Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Main Building G619, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, 102206, China
| | - Da He
- Key Laboratory of Ecological Impacts of Hydraulic Projects and Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystem of Ministry of Water Resources, Institute of Hydroecology, Ministry of Water Resources & Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Yinghui Zhang
- Guangxi Huantou Water Group Co. LTD, Nanning, 530015, China
| | - Maosheng Zheng
- The Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Main Building G619, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, 102206, China.
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Zhu G, Wang X, Wang S, Yu L, Armanbek G, Yu J, Jiang L, Yuan D, Guo Z, Zhang H, Zheng L, Schwark L, Jetten MSM, Yadav AK, Zhu YG. Towards a more labor-saving way in microbial ammonium oxidation: A review on complete ammonia oxidization (comammox). THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 829:154590. [PMID: 35306060 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2021] [Revised: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In the Anthropocene, nitrogen pollution is becoming an increasing challenge for both mankind and the Earth system. Microbial nitrogen cycling begins with aerobic nitrification, which is also the key rate-limiting step. For over a century, it has been accepted that nitrification occurs sequentially involving ammonia oxidation, which produces nitrite followed by nitrite oxidation, generating nitrate. This perception was changed by the discovery of comammox Nitrospira bacteria and their metabolic pathway. In addition, this also provided us with new knowledge concerning the complex nitrogen cycle network. In the comammox process, ammonia can be completely oxidized to nitrate in one cell via the subsequent activity of the enzyme complexes, ammonia monooxygenase, hydroxylamine dehydrogenase, and nitrite oxidodreductase. Over the past five years, research on comammox made great progress. However, there still exist a lot of questions, including how much does comammox contribute to nitrification? How large is the diversity and are there new strains to be discovered? Do comammox bacteria produce the greenhouse gas N2O, and how or to which extent may they contribute to global climate change? The above four aspects are of great significance on the farmland nitrogen management, aquatic environment restoration, and mitigation of global climate change. As large number of comammox bacteria and pathways have been detected in various terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, indicating that the comammox process may exert an important role in the global nitrogen cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guibing Zhu
- Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Xiaomin Wang
- Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shanyun Wang
- Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Longbin Yu
- Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Gawhar Armanbek
- Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Jie Yu
- Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Liping Jiang
- Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Dongdan Yuan
- College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Zhongrui Guo
- Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Hanrui Zhang
- Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Lei Zheng
- College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Lorenz Schwark
- Institute for Geosciences, University of Kiel, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Mike S M Jetten
- Department of Microbiology, Radboud University Nijmegen, 36525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Asheesh Kumar Yadav
- Department of Environment and Sustainability, CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar 751013, India
| | - Yong-Guan Zhu
- Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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41
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Effect of Operating Parameters and Energy Expenditure on the Biological Performance of Rotating Biological Contactor for Wastewater Treatment. ENERGIES 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/en15103523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The rotating biological contactor (RBC) is resistant to toxic chemical and shock loadings, and this results in significant organic and nutrient removal efficiencies. The RBC system offers a low-energy footprint and saves up to 90% in energy costs. Due to the system’s low-energy demand, it is easily operable with renewable energy sources, either solar or wind power. An RBC was employed to degrade pollutants in domestic wastewater through biodegradation mechanisms in this study. The high microbial population in the RBC bioreactor produced excellent biological treatment capacity and higher effluent quality. The results showed that the RBC bioreactor achieved an average removal efficiency of 73.9% of chemical oxygen demand (COD), 38.3% of total nitrogen (TN), 95.6% of ammonium, and 78.9% of turbidity. Investigation of operational parameters, disk rotational speed, HRT, and SRT, showed the biological performance impact. Disk rotational speed showed uniform effluent quality at 30–40 rpm, while higher values of disk rotational speed (>40 rpm) resulted in lower effluent quality in COD, TN, and turbidity. The longer hydraulic retention time and sludge retention time (SRT) facilitated higher biological performance efficiency. The longer SRTs enabled the higher TN removal efficiency because of the higher quantity of microbial biomass retention. The longer SRT also resulted in efficient sludge-settling properties and reduced volume of sludge production. The energy evaluation of the RBC bioreactor showed that it consumed only 0.14 kWh/m3, which is significantly lower than the conventional treatment methods; therefore, it is easily operable with renewable energy sources. The RBC is promising substitute for traditional suspended growth processes as higher microbial activity, lower operational and maintenance costs, and lower carbon foot print enhanced the biological performance, which aligns with the stipulations of ecological evolution and environment-friendly treatment.
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Al-Ajeel S, Spasov E, Sauder LA, McKnight MM, Neufeld JD. Ammonia-oxidizing archaea and complete ammonia-oxidizing Nitrospira in water treatment systems. WATER RESEARCH X 2022; 15:100131. [PMID: 35402889 PMCID: PMC8990171 DOI: 10.1016/j.wroa.2022.100131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Nitrification, the oxidation of ammonia to nitrate via nitrite, is important for many engineered water treatment systems. The sequential steps of this respiratory process are carried out by distinct microbial guilds, including ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA), nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), and newly discovered members of the genus Nitrospira that conduct complete ammonia oxidation (comammox). Even though all of these nitrifiers have been identified within water treatment systems, their relative contributions to nitrogen cycling are poorly understood. Although AOA contribute to nitrification in many wastewater treatment plants, they are generally outnumbered by AOB. In contrast, AOA and comammox Nitrospira typically dominate relatively low ammonia environments such as drinking water treatment, tertiary wastewater treatment systems, and aquaculture/aquarium filtration. Studies that focus on the abundance of ammonia oxidizers may misconstrue the actual role that distinct nitrifying guilds play in a system. Understanding which ammonia oxidizers are active is useful for further optimization of engineered systems that rely on nitrifiers for ammonia removal. This review highlights known distributions of AOA and comammox Nitrospira in engineered water treatment systems and suggests future research directions that will help assess their contributions to nitrification and identify factors that influence their distributions and activity.
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Zhang J, Hu M, Wang Y, Zhao J, Li S, Bao Y, Wen J, Hu J, Zhou M. Niche differentiation of comammox Nitrospira in sediments of the Three Gorges Reservoir typical tributaries, China. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6820. [PMID: 35474096 PMCID: PMC9042867 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10948-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Complete ammonia oxidizer (Comammox) can complete the whole nitrification process independently, whose niche differentiation is important guarantee for its survival and ecological function. This study investigated the niche differentiation of comammox Nitrospira in the sediments of three typical tributaries of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR). Clade A and clade B of comammox Nitrospira coexisted in all sampling sites simultaneously. The amoA gene abundance of clade A and B was gradually increased or decreased along the flow path of the three tributaries with obvious spatial differentiation. The amoA gene abundance of comammox Nitrospira clade A (6.36 × 103 - 5.06 × 104 copies g-1 dry sediment) was higher than that of clade B (6.26 × 102 - 6.27 × 103 copies g-1 dry sediment), and the clade A amoA gene abundance was one order of magnitude higher than that of AOA (7.24 × 102 - 6.89 × 103 copies g-1 dry sediment) and AOB (1.44 × 102 - 1.46 × 103 copies g-1 dry sediment). A significant positive correlation was observed between comammox Nitrospira clade A amoA gene abundance and flow distance (P < 0.05). The number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in two sub-clades of clade A accounted for the majority in different tributaries, indicating that clade A also had population differentiation among different tributaries. This study revealed that comammox Nitrospira in the sediments of TGR tributaries have niche differentiation and clade A.2 played a more crucial role in comammox Nitrospira community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiahui Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing, 10038, People's Republic of China.,Department of Water Ecology and Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, People's Republic of China.,Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Soil Health and Green Remediation, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Mingming Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing, 10038, People's Republic of China. .,Department of Water Ecology and Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yuchun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing, 10038, People's Republic of China.,Department of Water Ecology and Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianwei Zhao
- Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Soil Health and Green Remediation, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
| | - Shanze Li
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing, 10038, People's Republic of China.,Department of Water Ecology and Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, People's Republic of China
| | - Yufei Bao
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing, 10038, People's Republic of China.,Department of Water Ecology and Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, People's Republic of China
| | - Jie Wen
- State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing, 10038, People's Republic of China.,Department of Water Ecology and Environment, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, People's Republic of China
| | - Jinlong Hu
- Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Soil Health and Green Remediation, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Mingzhi Zhou
- Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Engineering Research, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Soil Health and Green Remediation, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, People's Republic of China
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44
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Vilardi KJ, Cotto I, Rivera MS, Dai Z, Anderson CL, Pinto A. Comammox Nitrospira bacteria outnumber canonical nitrifiers irrespective of electron donor mode and availability in biofiltration systems. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2022; 98:6553816. [PMID: 35325104 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiac032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2021] [Revised: 02/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Complete ammonia oxidizing bacteria coexist with canonical ammonia and nitrite oxidizing bacteria in a wide range of environments. Whether this is due to competitive or cooperative interactions, or a result of niche separation is not yet clear. Understanding the factors driving coexistence of nitrifiers is critical to manage nitrification processes occurring in engineered and natural ecosystems. In this study, microcosm-based experiments were used to investigate the impact of nitrogen source and loading on the population dynamics of nitrifiers in drinking water biofilter media. Shotgun sequencing of DNA followed by co-assembly and reconstruction of metagenome assembled genomes revealed clade A2 comammox bacteria were likely the primary nitrifiers within microcosms and increased in abundance over Nitrsomonas-like ammonia and Nitrospira-like nitrite oxidizing bacteria irrespective of nitrogen source type or loading. Changes in comammox bacterial abundance did not correlate with either ammonia or nitrite oxidizing bacterial abundance in urea amended systems where metabolic reconstruction indicated potential for cross feeding between ammonia and nitrite oxidizing bacteria. In contrast, comammox bacterial abundance demonstrated a negative correlation with nitrite oxidizers in ammonia amended systems. This suggests potentially weaker synergistic relationships between ammonia and nitrite oxidizers might enable comammox bacteria to displace nitrite oxidizers from complex nitrifying communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine J Vilardi
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University, MA, MA, USA
| | - Irmarie Cotto
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University, MA, MA, USA
| | | | - Zihan Dai
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | | | - Ameet Pinto
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
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45
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Li S, Peng L, Yang C, Song S, Xu Y. Cometabolic biodegradation of antibiotics by ammonia oxidizing microorganisms during wastewater treatment processes. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 305:114336. [PMID: 34953231 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Revised: 11/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Studies on antibiotic removal during wastewater treatment processes are crucial since their release into the environment could bring potential threats to human health and ecosystem. Cometabolic biodegradation of antibiotics by ammonia oxidizing microorganisms (AOMs) has received special attentions due to the enhanced removal of antibiotics during nitrification processes. However, the interactions between antibiotics and AOMs are less well-elucidated. In this review, the recent research proceedings on cometabolic biodegradation of antibiotics by AOMs were summarized. Ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB), ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA) and complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox) played significant roles in both nitrification and cometabolic biodegradation of antibiotics. Antibiotics at varying concentrations might pose inhibiting or stimulating effect on AOMs, influencing the microbial activity, community abundance and ammonia monooxygenase subunit A gene expression level. AOMs-induced cometabolic biodegradation products were analyzed as well as the corresponding pathways for each type of antibiotics. The effects of ammonium availability, initial antibiotic concentration, sludge retention time and temperature were assessed on the cometabolic biodegradation efficiencies of antibiotics. This work might provide further insights into the fate and removal of antibiotics during nitrification processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengjun Li
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China
| | - Lai Peng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China.
| | - Chenguang Yang
- Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya Hainan, 572000, China
| | - Shaoxian Song
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China
| | - Yifeng Xu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China; School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China.
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46
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RedCorn R, Lamb JR, Gottshall E, Stahl DA, Winkler MK. Light-weight oxygen supply for portable biological nitrogen removal from urine and sweat. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL ADVANCES 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ceja.2021.100235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
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47
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Xu S, Chai W, Xiao R, Smets BF, Palomo A, Lu H. Survival strategy of comammox bacteria in a wastewater nutrient removal system with sludge fermentation liquid as additional carbon source. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 802:149862. [PMID: 34461473 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Revised: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Complete ammonia oxidizing (comammox) bacteria are frequently detected in wastewater biological nutrient removal (BNR) systems. This study identified "Candidatus Nitrospira nitrosa"-like comammox bacteria as the predominant ammonia oxidizers (97.5-99.4%) in a lab-scale BNR system with acetate and sludge fermentation liquid as external carbon sources. The total nitrogen and phosphorus removals of the system were 75.9% and 86.9% with minimal N2O emission (0.27%). Low ammonia concentration, mixotrophic growth potentials and metabolic interactions with diverse heterotrophs collectively contributed to the survival of comammox bacteria in the system. The recovered draft genomes of comammox bacteria indicated their potentials in using acetate and propionate but not butyrate. Acetate and propionate indeed stimulated the transcription of comammox amoA genes (up-regulated by 4.1 folds compared with no organic addition), which was positively correlated with the ammonia oxidation rate of the community (r = 0.75, p < 0.05). Comammox bacteria could provide vitamins/cofactors (e.g., cobalamin and biotin) to heterotrophs (e.g., Burkholderiaceae), and in return receive amino acids (e.g., phenylalanine and tyrosine) from heterotrophs, which they cannot synthesize. Compared with comammox bacteria, ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) exhibited lower metabolic versatility, and lacked more pathways for the synthesis of amino acids and vitamin/cofactors, leading to their washout in the studied system. BNRs with comammox bacteria as the major nitrifiers hold great potentials in achieving superior performance at low aeration cost and low N2O emission and at full-scale plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaoyi Xu
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wenbo Chai
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Rui Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Barth F Smets
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Alejandro Palomo
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Integrated Surface Water-Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Huijie Lu
- Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
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48
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Zhao M, Tang X, Sun D, Hou L, Liu M, Zhao Q, Klümper U, Quan Z, Gu JD, Han P. Salinity gradients shape the nitrifier community composition in Nanliu River Estuary sediments and the ecophysiology of comammox Nitrospira inopinata. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 795:148768. [PMID: 34247082 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The recent discovery of complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox), which convert ammonia to nitrate in a single organism, revolutionized the conventional understanding that two types of nitrifying microorganisms have to be involved in the nitrification process for more than 100 years. However, how different types of nitrifiers in response to salinity change remains largely unclear. This study not only investigated nitrifier community (including ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), comammox and nitrite-oxidizing Nitrospira) in the Nanliu estuary to find the ecological relationship between salinity and functional communities and also studied the physiology of a typical comammox Nitrospira inopinata in response to a salinity gradient. Based on sequences retrieved with four sets of functional gene primes, comammox Nitrospira was in general, mainly composed of clade A, with a clear separation of clade A1 subgroup in all samples and clade A2 subgroup in low salinity ones. As expected, group I.1b and group I.1a AOA dominated the AOA community in low- and high-salinity samples, respectively. Nitrosomonas-AOB were detected in all samples while Nitrosospira-AOB were mainly found in relatively high-salinity samples. Regarding general Nitrospira, lineages II and IV were the major groups in most of the samples, while lineage I Nitrospira was only detected in low-salinity samples. Furthermore, the comammox pure culture of N. inopinata showed an optimal salinity at 0.5‰ and ceased to grow at 12.8‰ for ammonia oxidation, but remained active for nitrite oxidation. These results show new evidence regarding niche specificity of different nitrifying microorganisms modulated mainly by salinity, and also a clear response by comammox N. inopinata to a wide range of simulated salinity levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengyue Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Xiufeng Tang
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Dongyao Sun
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Lijun Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Min Liu
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China; Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Qiang Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Uli Klümper
- Institute for Hydrobiology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
| | - Zhexue Quan
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Biodiversity Science, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Ji-Dong Gu
- Environmental Engineering, Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 241 Daxue Road, Shantou, Guangdong 515063, China
| | - Ping Han
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China; State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China; Institute of Eco-Chongming, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China.
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49
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Mehrani MJ, Lu X, Kowal P, Sobotka D, Mąkinia J. Incorporation of the complete ammonia oxidation (comammox) process for modeling nitrification in suspended growth wastewater treatment systems. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2021; 297:113223. [PMID: 34274771 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2021] [Revised: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The newly discovered process complete ammonia oxidation (comammox) has changed the traditional understanding of nitrification. In this study, three possible concepts of comammox were developed and incorporated as part of an extended two-step nitrification model. For model calibration and validation, two series of long-term biomass washout experiments were carried out at 12 °C and 20 °C in a laboratory sequencing batch reactor. The inoculum biomass was withdrawn from a large biological nutrient removal wastewater treatment plant. The efficiency of the examined models was compared based on the behaviors of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in the studied reactor. Predictions of the conventional approach to comammox, assuming the direct oxidation of ammonia to nitrate, were slightly better than the two other approaches. Simulation results revealed that comammox could be responsible for the conversion of >20% of the influent ammonia load. Therefore, the role of commamox in the nitrogen mass balance in activated sludge systems should not be neglected and requires further investigation. Furthermore, sensitivity and correlation analysis revealed that the maximum growth rates (μ), oxygen half-saturation (KO), and decay rates (b) of the canonical nitrifiers and comammox were the most sensitive factors, and the highest correlation was found between μ and b among all considered kinetic parameters. The estimated μ values by the best model were 0.57, 0.11, and 0.15 d-1 for AOB, NOB, and comammox bacteria, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamad-Javad Mehrani
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Ul. Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Xi Lu
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Ul. Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Przemyslaw Kowal
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Ul. Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Dominika Sobotka
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Ul. Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Jacek Mąkinia
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Ul. Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233, Gdansk, Poland.
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Zhou X, Li B, Wei J, Ye Y, Xu J, Chen L, Lu C. Temperature Influenced the Comammox Community Composition in Drinking Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants. MICROBIAL ECOLOGY 2021; 82:870-884. [PMID: 33665721 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-021-01724-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Nitrification is a pivotal step applied in water engineered systems for nitrogen removal. Temperature variation due to seasonal changes is a great challenge for maintaining nitrogen removal efficiency in water engineered ecosystems by affecting nitrifier activities. Research on the abundance, activity, and metabolic characteristics of nitrifiers can provide information for selecting suitable design parameters to ensure efficient nitrogen removal in different seasons. To date, the temperature-related niche separation of comammox, a newly discovered nitrifier with potential high-growth yield, has been rarely investigated. This study addressed the distribution of comammox and canonical nitrifying guilds in drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in different seasons. qPCR-based surveys showed that comammox ubiquitously distributed and greatly outnumbered other ammonia-oxidizing prokaryotes in both DWTPs and WWTPs, except in Aug samples from DWTPs, suggesting the potential competitive advantage of AOA in summer. The nitrificans-like comammox and nitrosa-like comammox comprised the majority of the comammox community in DWTPs and WWTPs, respectively, and COD and NH4+ concentrations significantly contributed to the distinct comammox phylotype distribution between DWTPs and WWTPs. The temperature-related distribution pattern of the comammox community was observed at each site. Moreover, the network complex of comammox communities was highest in Dec at all the sites, possibly contributing to the survival of comammox community in low temperature conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Zhou
- College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, Jiangsu Province, China
- Yangtze Institute for Conservation and Development, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, Jiangsu Province, China
- State key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Bolun Li
- School of Geographic Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210044, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Jun Wei
- Power China Huadong Engineering Corporation Limited, Hangzhou, 311122, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Yu Ye
- Yangtze Institute for Conservation and Development, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, Jiangsu Province, China
- State key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Junzeng Xu
- College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, Jiangsu Province, China
- State key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Lina Chen
- College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, Jiangsu Province, China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Chunhui Lu
- Yangtze Institute for Conservation and Development, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, Jiangsu Province, China.
- State key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, Jiangsu Province, China.
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