Biological Nitrogen Removal Database
A manually curated data resource for microbial nitrogen removal
Biological Nitrogen Removal Database
A manually curated data resource for microbial nitrogen removal
Influent:Wastewater
Denitrification system:Closed-system methane-based hollow fiber MBfR
Denitrifying reactor:Membrane biofilm reactor (MBfr)
Medium:CH4-based membrane biofilm
Culture taken from:Sludge
Organism (s) cultured:nan
Respiration:Anaerobic
Electron donor:Methane
Electron acceptor:Nitrate
Input NO3-N (mg/l):nan
Nitrate removal rate (mg NO3-N/l/h):250
Denitrification rate (gNO3-N removed/m3/day):nan
Microorganisms identified:nan
Molecular tools:FISH
Major findings:A novel methane based membrane biofilm reactor model was developed for removal of nitrogen. The model relies on denitrifying methane oxidizing microorganisms that use methane as an electron donor.
Authors:Shi et al., 2013
Title:Nitrogen Removal from Wastewater by Coupling Anammox and Methane-Dependent Denitrification in a Membrane Biofilm Reactor
Pubmed link:None
Full research link:Link
Abstract:This work demonstrates, for the first time, the feasibility of nitrogen removal by using the synergy of anammox and denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) microorganisms in a membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR). The reactor was fed with synthetic wastewater containing nitrate and ammonium. Methane was delivered from the interior of hollow fibres in the MBfR to the biofilm that grew on the fiber’s outer wall. After 24 months of operation, the system achieved a nitrate and an ammonium removal rate of about 190 mgN L–1 d–1 (or 86 mgN m–2 d–1, with m2 referring to biofilm surface area) and 60 mgN L–1 d–1 (27 mgN m–2 d–1), respectively. No nitrite accumulation was observed. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis indicated that DAMO bacteria (20–30%), DAMO archaea (20–30%) and anammox bacteria (20–30%) jointly dominated the microbial community. Based on the known metabolism of these microorganisms, mass balance, and isotope studies, we hypothesize that DAMO archaea converted nitrate, both externally fed and produced by anammox, to nitrite, with methane as the electron donor. Anammox and DAMO bacteria jointly removed the nitrite produced, with ammonium and methane as the electron donor, respectively. The process could potentially be used for anaerobic nitrogen removal from wastewater streams containing ammonium and nitrate/nitrite.