Making waves: Harnessing anammox bacteria coupled with dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium for sustainable wastewater management

Anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) which converts nitrite and ammonium to dinitrogen gas is an energy-efficient nitrogen removal process. One of the bottlenecks for anammox application in wastewater treatment is the stable supply of nitrite for anammox bacteria. Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to...

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Main Authors: Yiyi Zhao, Min Zheng, Bing-Jie Ni, Shou-Qing Ni
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Water Research X
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589914724000847
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author Yiyi Zhao
Min Zheng
Bing-Jie Ni
Shou-Qing Ni
author_facet Yiyi Zhao
Min Zheng
Bing-Jie Ni
Shou-Qing Ni
author_sort Yiyi Zhao
collection DOAJ
description Anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) which converts nitrite and ammonium to dinitrogen gas is an energy-efficient nitrogen removal process. One of the bottlenecks for anammox application in wastewater treatment is the stable supply of nitrite for anammox bacteria. Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) is a process that converts nitrate to nitrite and then to ammonium. Significantly, it has been reported that some anammox bacteria can perform DNRA by reducing nitrate to nitrite and ammonium nitrogen with little low-molecular-weight organic acids such as volatile fatty acids. Here, we propose an innovative nitrogen removal process, i.e., nitrification and anammox coupled with partial DNRA (i.e., NPDA), and make a theoretical comparison with previously accepted partial nitrification and anammox (PNA) and partial denitrification and anammox (PdNA) for nitrogen removal. Under similar conditions of oxygen consumption, removal efficiency, external carbon source addition, and greenhouse gas emission, the novel NPDA process can better facilitate resource-effective and environment-friendly wastewater treatment. Thermodynamic analysis indicates that partial DNRA-anammox appears to be preferred, oxidizing per mole of NH4+produces higher energy gain than that of conventional anammox alone. The carbon source limitation rather than nitrate limitation is the key to the realization of NPDA process. This perspective highlights the positive role of DNRA for sustainable wastewater management.
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spelling doaj-art-afefd38e976744c2b669c39594eefa662025-08-20T02:33:42ZengElsevierWater Research X2589-91472025-05-012710029510.1016/j.wroa.2024.100295Making waves: Harnessing anammox bacteria coupled with dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium for sustainable wastewater managementYiyi Zhao0Min Zheng1Bing-Jie Ni2Shou-Qing Ni3School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong 266237, China; School of Public Health, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, Shandong 250117, ChinaWater Research Centre, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, AustraliaWater Research Centre, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, AustraliaSchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong 266237, China; Corresponding author.Anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) which converts nitrite and ammonium to dinitrogen gas is an energy-efficient nitrogen removal process. One of the bottlenecks for anammox application in wastewater treatment is the stable supply of nitrite for anammox bacteria. Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) is a process that converts nitrate to nitrite and then to ammonium. Significantly, it has been reported that some anammox bacteria can perform DNRA by reducing nitrate to nitrite and ammonium nitrogen with little low-molecular-weight organic acids such as volatile fatty acids. Here, we propose an innovative nitrogen removal process, i.e., nitrification and anammox coupled with partial DNRA (i.e., NPDA), and make a theoretical comparison with previously accepted partial nitrification and anammox (PNA) and partial denitrification and anammox (PdNA) for nitrogen removal. Under similar conditions of oxygen consumption, removal efficiency, external carbon source addition, and greenhouse gas emission, the novel NPDA process can better facilitate resource-effective and environment-friendly wastewater treatment. Thermodynamic analysis indicates that partial DNRA-anammox appears to be preferred, oxidizing per mole of NH4+produces higher energy gain than that of conventional anammox alone. The carbon source limitation rather than nitrate limitation is the key to the realization of NPDA process. This perspective highlights the positive role of DNRA for sustainable wastewater management.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589914724000847Mainstream wastewaterNitrogen removalAnammoxPartial DNRATheoretical comparison
spellingShingle Yiyi Zhao
Min Zheng
Bing-Jie Ni
Shou-Qing Ni
Making waves: Harnessing anammox bacteria coupled with dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium for sustainable wastewater management
Water Research X
Mainstream wastewater
Nitrogen removal
Anammox
Partial DNRA
Theoretical comparison
title Making waves: Harnessing anammox bacteria coupled with dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium for sustainable wastewater management
title_full Making waves: Harnessing anammox bacteria coupled with dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium for sustainable wastewater management
title_fullStr Making waves: Harnessing anammox bacteria coupled with dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium for sustainable wastewater management
title_full_unstemmed Making waves: Harnessing anammox bacteria coupled with dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium for sustainable wastewater management
title_short Making waves: Harnessing anammox bacteria coupled with dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium for sustainable wastewater management
title_sort making waves harnessing anammox bacteria coupled with dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium for sustainable wastewater management
topic Mainstream wastewater
Nitrogen removal
Anammox
Partial DNRA
Theoretical comparison
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589914724000847
work_keys_str_mv AT yiyizhao makingwavesharnessinganammoxbacteriacoupledwithdissimilatorynitratereductiontoammoniumforsustainablewastewatermanagement
AT minzheng makingwavesharnessinganammoxbacteriacoupledwithdissimilatorynitratereductiontoammoniumforsustainablewastewatermanagement
AT bingjieni makingwavesharnessinganammoxbacteriacoupledwithdissimilatorynitratereductiontoammoniumforsustainablewastewatermanagement
AT shouqingni makingwavesharnessinganammoxbacteriacoupledwithdissimilatorynitratereductiontoammoniumforsustainablewastewatermanagement