Work

Dynamic Response Mechanisms of Anammox Reactors Under Nitrogen-Loading Fluctuations: Nitrogen Removal Performance, Microbial Community Succession, and Metabolic Functions

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The leachate from ion-adsorbed rare earth tailings poses challenges to the application of the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process in this field due to its large fluctuations in ammonia nitrogen concentration (50–300 mg/L) and high flow rate (4000–10,000 m3/d). This study investigated the effects of nitrogen-loading rate (NLR) regulation on denitrification performance through reactor operation and elucidated the mechanisms of NLR impacts on anammox processes via microbial community analysis and metabolic profiling. The results revealed a nonlinear relationship between nitrogen loading and system performance. As NLR increased, both denitrification efficiency and anammox bacterial abundance (rising from 5.85% in phase P1 to 11.43% in P3) showed synchronous enhancement. However, excessive nitrogen loading (>3.68 kg/m3·d) or nitrogen starvation led to performance deterioration and reduced anammox bacterial abundance. Microbial communities adopted modular collaboration to counteract loading stress, with modularity indices of 0.563 and 0.545 observed in the inhibition phase (P2) and starvation phase (P4), respectively. Zi-Pi plot analysis demonstrated a significant increase in inter-module connectivity, indicating reinforced interspecies interactions among microorganisms to resist nitrogen-loading fluctuations.

Source: Microorganisms

DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms13040899

Authors: Xuemei Liu, Kai Wan, Chunqiao Xiao, Jingang Hu, Xiangyi Deng, Ruan Chi

Institutions: College of Post and Telecommunication of Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan Institute of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Wastewater Treatment and Nitrogen Removal

Subfield: Pollution

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Clean water and sanitation

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,258