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Deb S, Lewicka-Szczebak D, Rohe L. Microbial nitrogen transformations tracked by natural abundance isotope studies and microbiological methods: A review. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 926:172073. [PMID: 38554959 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172073] [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: 01/03/2024] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
Nitrogen is an essential nutrient in the environment that exists in multiple oxidation states in nature. Numerous microbial processes are involved in its transformation. Knowledge about very complex N cycling has been growing rapidly in recent years, with new information about associated isotope effects and about the microbes involved in particular processes. Furthermore, molecular methods that are able to detect and quantify particular processes are being developed, applied and combined with other analytical approaches, which opens up new opportunities to enhance understanding of nitrogen transformation pathways. This review presents a summary of the microbial nitrogen transformation, including the respective isotope effects of nitrogen and oxygen on different nitrogen-bearing compounds (including nitrates, nitrites, ammonia and nitrous oxide), and the microbiological characteristics of these processes. It is supplemented by an overview of molecular methods applied for detecting and quantifying the activity of particular enzymes involved in N transformation pathways. This summary should help in the planning and interpretation of complex research studies applying isotope analyses of different N compounds and combining microbiological and isotopic methods in tracking complex N cycling, and in the integration of these results in modelling approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sushmita Deb
- Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Wrocław, pl. M. Borna 9, 50-204 Wrocław, Poland
| | | | - Lena Rohe
- Thünen Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture, Bundesallee 65, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
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Wang S, Lyu T, Li S, Jiang Z, Dang Z, Zhu X, Hu W, Yue FJ, Ji G. Unignorable enzyme-specific isotope fractionation for nitrate source identification in aquatic ecosystem. CHEMOSPHERE 2024; 348:140771. [PMID: 38000558 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140771] [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: 10/07/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
Nitrate contamination in aquatic systems is a widespread problem across the world. The isotopic composition (δ15N, δ18O) of nitrate and their isotope effect (15ε, 18ε) can facilitate the identification of the source and transformation of nitrate. Although previous researches claimed the isotope fractionations may change the original δ15N/δ18O values and further bias identification of nitrate sources, isotope effect was often ignored due to its complexity. To fill the gap between the understanding and application, it is crucial to develop a deep understanding of isotopic fractionation based on available evidence. In this regard, this study summarized the available methods to determine isotope effects, thereby systematically comparing the magnitude of isotope effects (15ε and 18ε) in nitrification, denitrification and anammox. We found that the enzymatic reaction plays the key role in isotope fractionations, which is significantly affected by the difference in the affinity, substrate channel properties and redox potential of active site. Due to the overlapping of microbial processes and accumulation of uncertainties, the significant isotope effects at small scales inevitably decrease in large-scale ecosystems. However, the proportionality of N and O isotope fractionation (δ18O/δ15N; 18ε/15ε) associated with nitrate reduction generally follows enzyme-specific proportionalities (i.e., Nar, 0.95; Nap, 0.57; eukNR, 0.98) in aquatic ecosystems, providing enzyme-specific constant factors for the identification of nitrate transformation. With these results, this study finally discussed feasible source portioning methods when considering the isotope effect and aimed to improve the accuracy in nitrate source identification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuo Wang
- Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Department of Environmental Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Tao Lyu
- School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, College Road, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, UK
| | - Shengjie Li
- Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, 28359, Bremen, Germany
| | - Zhuo Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Department of Environmental Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Zhengzhu Dang
- Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Department of Environmental Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Xianfang Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Department of Environmental Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Wei Hu
- Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, School of Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Fu-Jun Yue
- Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, School of Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Guodong Ji
- Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Department of Environmental Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
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Nishina K, Melling L, Toyoda S, Itoh M, Terajima K, Waili JWB, Wong GX, Kiew F, Aeries EB, Hirata R, Takahashi Y, Onodera T. Dissolved N 2O concentrations in oil palm plantation drainage in a peat swamp of Malaysia. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 872:162062. [PMID: 36804973 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Oil palm plantations in Southeast Asia are the largest supplier of palm oil products and have been rapidly expanding in the last three decades even in peat-swamp areas. Oil palm plantations on peat ecosystems have a unique water management system that lowers the water table and, thus, may yield indirect N2O emissions from the peat drainage system. We conducted two seasons of spatial monitoring for the dissolved N2O concentrations in the drainage and adjacent rivers of palm oil plantations on peat swamps in Sarawak, Malaysia, to evaluate the magnitude of indirect N2O emissions from this ecosystem. In both the dry and wet seasons, the mean and median dissolved N2O concentrations exhibited over-saturation in the drainage water, i.e., the oil palm plantation drainage may be a source of N2O to the atmosphere. In the wet season, the spatial distribution of dissolved N2O showed bimodal peaks in both the unsaturated and over-saturated concentrations. The bulk δ15N of dissolved N2O was higher than the source of inorganic N in the oil palm plantation (i.e., N fertilizer and soil organic nitrogen) during both seasons. An isotopocule analysis of the dissolved N2O suggested that denitrification was a major source of N2O, followed by N2O reduction processes that occurred in the drainage water. The δ15N and site preference mapping analysis in dissolved N2O revealed that a significant proportion of the N2O produced in peat and drainage is reduced to N2 before being released into the atmosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuya Nishina
- Earth System Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2, Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan.
| | - Lulie Melling
- Sarawak Tropical Peat Research Institute, Lot 6035, Kota Samarahan Expressway, Kuching, Sarawak 94300, Malaysia
| | - Sakae Toyoda
- Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 226-8502, Japan
| | - Masayuki Itoh
- School of Human Science and Environment, University of Hyogo, 1-1-12, Shinzaike-honcho, Himeji, Hyogo 670-0092, Japan
| | - Kotaro Terajima
- Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 226-8502, Japan
| | - Joseph W B Waili
- Sarawak Tropical Peat Research Institute, Lot 6035, Kota Samarahan Expressway, Kuching, Sarawak 94300, Malaysia
| | - Guan X Wong
- Sarawak Tropical Peat Research Institute, Lot 6035, Kota Samarahan Expressway, Kuching, Sarawak 94300, Malaysia
| | - Frankie Kiew
- Sarawak Tropical Peat Research Institute, Lot 6035, Kota Samarahan Expressway, Kuching, Sarawak 94300, Malaysia
| | - Edward B Aeries
- Sarawak Tropical Peat Research Institute, Lot 6035, Kota Samarahan Expressway, Kuching, Sarawak 94300, Malaysia
| | - Ryuichi Hirata
- Earth System Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2, Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan
| | - Yoshiyuki Takahashi
- Earth System Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2, Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan
| | - Takashi Onodera
- Earth System Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2, Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan
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Ruiz-Muñoz A, Siles JA, Márquez P, Toledo M, Gutiérrez MC, Martín MA. Odor emission assessment of different WWTPs with Extended Aeration Activated Sludge and Rotating Biological Contactor technologies in the province of Cordoba (Spain). JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 326:116741. [PMID: 36399884 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116741] [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: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In this study, five urban WWTPs (Wastewater Treatment Plant) with different biological treatment (Extended Aeration Activated Sludge - EAAS; Rotating Biological Contactor - RBC), wastewater type (Urban; Industrial) and size, were jointly evaluated. The aim was twofold: (1) to analyze and compare their odor emissions, and (2) to identify the main causes of its generation from the relationships between physico-chemical, respirometric and olfactometric variables. The results showed that facilities with EAAS technology were more efficient than RBC, with elimination yields of organic matter higher than 90%. In olfactometric terms, sludge managements facilities (SMFs) were found to be the critical odor source in all WWTPs compared to the Inlet point (I) or Post primary treatment (PP), and for seasonal periods with ambient temperature higher than 25 °C. Moreover, the global odor emissions quantified in all SMFs revealed that facilities with EAAS (C-WWTP, V-WWTP and Z-WWTP) had a lower odor contribution (19,345, 14,800 and 11,029 ouE/s·m2, respectively) than for those with RBC technology (P-WWTP and NC-WWTP) which accounted for 19,747 ouE/s·m2 and 80,061 ouE/s·m2, respectively. In addition, chemometric analysis helped to find groupings and differences between the WWTPs considering the wastewater (71.27% of total variance explained) and sludge management (64.52% of total variance explained) lines independently. Finally, odor emissions were adequately predicted from the physico-chemical and respirometric variables in the wastewater (r2 = 0.8738) and sludge (r2 = 0.9373) lines, being pH, volatile acidity and temperature (wastewater line), and pH, moisture, temperature, SOUR (Specific Oxygen Uptake Rate) and OD20 (Cumulative Oxygen Demand at 20 h) (sludge line) the most influential variables.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Ruiz-Muñoz
- Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Area of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Córdoba, Instituto Químico para La Energía y El Medioambiente (IQUEMA), Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario ceiA3, Edificio Marie Curie, 14071, Córdoba, Spain
| | - J A Siles
- Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Area of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Córdoba, Instituto Químico para La Energía y El Medioambiente (IQUEMA), Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario ceiA3, Edificio Marie Curie, 14071, Córdoba, Spain
| | - P Márquez
- Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Area of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Córdoba, Instituto Químico para La Energía y El Medioambiente (IQUEMA), Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario ceiA3, Edificio Marie Curie, 14071, Córdoba, Spain
| | - M Toledo
- Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Area of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Córdoba, Instituto Químico para La Energía y El Medioambiente (IQUEMA), Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario ceiA3, Edificio Marie Curie, 14071, Córdoba, Spain
| | - M C Gutiérrez
- Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Area of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Córdoba, Instituto Químico para La Energía y El Medioambiente (IQUEMA), Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario ceiA3, Edificio Marie Curie, 14071, Córdoba, Spain
| | - M A Martín
- Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Area of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Córdoba, Instituto Químico para La Energía y El Medioambiente (IQUEMA), Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario ceiA3, Edificio Marie Curie, 14071, Córdoba, Spain.
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Lee YJ, Lin BL, Lei Z. Nitrous oxide emission mitigation from biological wastewater treatment - A review. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2022; 362:127747. [PMID: 35964917 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127747] [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: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emitted from wastewater treatment processes has emerged as a focal point for academic and practical research amidst pressing environmental issues. This review presents an updated view on the biological pathways for N2O production and consumption in addition to the critical process factors affecting N2O emission. The current research trends including the strain and reactor aspects were then outlined with discussions. Last but not least, the research needs were proposed. The holistic life cycle assessment needs to be performed to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of the proposed mitigation strategies or recovery options. This review also provides the background information for the proposed future research prospects on N2O mitigation and recovery technologies. As pointed out, dilution effects of the produced N2O gas product would hinder its use as renewable energy; instead, its use as an effective oxidizing agent is proposed as a promising recovery option.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Jen Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10649, Taiwan
| | - Bin-le Lin
- Research Institute of Science for Safety and Sustainability, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8569, Japan
| | - Zhongfang Lei
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan.
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Multiple Facets of Nitrogen: From Atmospheric Gas to Indispensable Agricultural Input. LIFE (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 12:life12081272. [PMID: 36013451 PMCID: PMC9410007 DOI: 10.3390/life12081272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) is a gas and the fifth most abundant element naturally found in the atmosphere. N's role in agriculture and plant metabolism has been widely investigated for decades, and extensive information regarding this subject is available. However, the advent of sequencing technology and the advances in plant biotechnology, coupled with the growing interest in functional genomics-related studies and the various environmental challenges, have paved novel paths to rediscovering the fundamentals of N and its dynamics in physiological and biological processes, as well as biochemical reactions under both normal and stress conditions. This work provides a comprehensive review on multiple facets of N and N-containing compounds in plants disseminated in the literature to better appreciate N in its multiple dimensions. Here, some of the ancient but fundamental aspects of N are revived and the advances in our understanding of N in the metabolism of plants is portrayed. It is established that N is indispensable for achieving high plant productivity and fitness. However, the use of N-rich fertilizers in relatively higher amounts negatively affects the environment. Therefore, a paradigm shift is important to shape to the future use of N-rich fertilizers in crop production and their contribution to the current global greenhouse gases (GHGs) budget would help tackle current global environmental challenges toward a sustainable agriculture.
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Nitrogen isotope effects can be used to diagnose N transformations in wastewater anammox systems. Sci Rep 2021; 11:7850. [PMID: 33846510 PMCID: PMC8041819 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-87184-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) plays an important role in aquatic systems as a sink of bioavailable nitrogen (N), and in engineered processes by removing ammonium from wastewater. The isotope effects anammox imparts in the N isotope signatures (15N/14N) of ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate can be used to estimate its role in environmental settings, to describe physiological and ecological variations in the anammox process, and possibly to optimize anammox-based wastewater treatment. We measured the stable N-isotope composition of ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate in wastewater cultivations of anammox bacteria. We find that the N isotope enrichment factor 15ε for the reduction of nitrite to N2 is consistent across all experimental conditions (13.5‰ ± 3.7‰), suggesting it reflects the composition of the anammox bacteria community. Values of 15ε for the oxidation of nitrite to nitrate (inverse isotope effect, - 16 to - 43‰) and for the reduction of ammonium to N2 (normal isotope effect, 19-32‰) are more variable, and likely controlled by experimental conditions. We argue that the variations in the isotope effects can be tied to the metabolism and physiology of anammox bacteria, and that the broad range of isotope effects observed for anammox introduces complications for analyzing N-isotope mass balances in natural systems.
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