Biofilm carrier type affects biogenic sulfur-driven denitrification performance and microbial community dynamics in moving-bed biofilm reactors

Kostrytsia, A., Papirio, S., Khodzhaev, M., Morrison, L., Collins, G., Lens, P. N.L., Ijaz, U. Z. and Esposito, G. (2022) Biofilm carrier type affects biogenic sulfur-driven denitrification performance and microbial community dynamics in moving-bed biofilm reactors. Chemosphere, 287(Part 1), 131975. (doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131975)

Abstract

Autotrophic denitrification with biosulfur (ADBIOS) provides a sustainable technological solution for biological nitrogen removal from wastewater driven by biogenic S0, derived from biogas desulfurization. In this study, the effect of different biofilm carriers (conventional AnoxK™ 1 and Z-200 with a pre-defined maximum biofilm thickness) on ADBIOS performance and microbiomics was investigated in duplicate moving bed-biofilm reactors (MBBRs). The MBBRs were operated parallelly in continuous mode for 309 days, whilst gradually decreasing the hydraulic retention time (HRT) from 72 to 21 h, and biosulfur was either pumped in suspension (days 92–223) or supplied in powder form. Highest nitrate removal rates were approximately 225 (±11) mg/L·d and 180 (±7) mg NO3−-N/L·d in the MBBRs operated with K1 and Z-200 carriers, respectively. Despite having the same protected surface area for biofilm development in each MBBR, the biomass attached onto the K1 carrier was 4.8-fold more than that on the Z-200 carrier, with part of the biogenic S0 kept in the biofilm. The microbial communities of K1 and Z-200 biofilms could also be considered similar at cDNA level in terms of abundance (R = 0.953 with p = 0.042). A relatively stable microbial community was formed on K1 carriers, while the active portion of the microbial community varied significantly over time in the MBBRs using Z-200 carriers.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: We thank Gelsomino Monteverde and Manuel Di Ruscio for assisting in reactor operation and Anna Trego for performing the synthesis of the first-strand cDNA. This work was supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Joint Doctorate (EJD) in Advanced Biological Waste-To Energy Technologies (ABWET) funded by the Horizon 2020 program under the grant agreement no. 643071. The authors acknowledge Fertipaq B.V. (The Netherlands) for providing the biogenic sulfur, and Veolia Water Technologies AnoxKaldnes (Sweden), for supplying the AnoxK™ Z-200 biofilm carriers. G.C. was supported by a Science Foundation Ireland Career Development Award (17/CDA/4658). U.Z.I. was supported by a NERC Independent Research Fellowship (NE/L011956/1) and EPSRC (EP/P029329/1 and EP/V030515/1).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Ijaz, Dr Umer

Creator Roles

Ijaz, U. Z.: Formal analysis, Visualization, Writing – review and editing

• Authors: Kostrytsia, A., Papirio, S., Khodzhaev, M., Morrison, L., Collins, G., Lens, P. N.L., Ijaz, U. Z., and Esposito, G.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering
• Journal Name: Chemosphere
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0045-6535
• ISSN (Online): 1879-1298
• Published Online: 20 August 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd.
• First Published: First published in Chemosphere 287(Part 1): 131975
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
170256		Understanding microbial community through in situ environmental 'omic data synthesis	Umer Zeeshan Ijaz	Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)	NE/L011956/1	ENG - Infrastructure & Environment