ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbiotechnology
This article is part of the Research TopicWater Resource Management Using Microbial SolutionsView all 3 articles
Short-cut nitrogen removal from high-strength ammonia wastewater in a sequencing batch biofilm reactor: roles of NO and its production mechanism
Provisionally accepted
- 1Xi'an Shiyou University, Xi'an, China
- 2Chang'an University, Xi'an, China
- 3Shaanxi Anliansheng Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., Xi'an, China
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Nitric oxide (NO) is a key intermediate in the biological nitrogen removal process. However, its role and production mechanism is still not fully understood. In this study, a sequencing batch biofilm reactor (SBBR) was used to study the short-cut nitrogen removal from high-strength ammonia wastewater and NO production mechanism. The ammonia concentration in SBBR was 1000 mg-N/L, with a carbon-nitrogen ratio of 5, the simultaneous partial nitrification and denitrification efficiency reached 66.42%, while the average total inorganic nitrogen removal efficiency was 83.37±6.93%. Microbial community analysis showed the vital role of functional bacteria such as Thauera, Stappia and Nitrosomonas in the short-cut nitrogen removal process. The accumulation of NO occurred mainly under aerobic conditions, with the highest NO concentration of 0.19 mg-N/L. NO accumulation was mainly attributed to the incomplete oxidation of hydroxylamine, nitrifier denitrification and heterotrophic denitrification. Synergistic inhibition of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria by NO with free ammonia and free nitrous acid contributed to rapid establishment of partial nitrification and long-term stability of the process. The present study provides novel insights into the underlying mechanisms mediating the inhibition of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria.
Keywords: Short-cut nitrogen removal, High-strength ammonia wastewater, Nitricoxide, Sequencing batch biofilm reactor, Role and Mechanism
Received: 26 Jun 2025; Accepted: 05 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhao, Zhang, Yu, Yang, Zhao, Lei and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jianqiang Zhao, 626710287@qq.com
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