Unlocking microbial community succession and key influencing factors during bioelectrocatalytically-driven simultaneous removal of ammonia nitrogen and sulfate from wastewater.

Journal: Bioresource technology
Published Date: Jul 2, 2025

Abstract

Ammonia nitrogen (NH-N) and sulfate (SO) removal by Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) was studied in dual-chamber microbial electrolysis cells (MECs). Appropriate anode potential stimulation promoted biofilm formation and enhanced extracellular polymeric substances fluorescence, facilitating electron transfer. The highest NH-N removal (81.1 %) was achieved at an anode potential of 0.6 V vs. Ag/AgCl after 50 days, coinciding with an increase in electroactive Candidatus_Brocadia from 1.1 % to 27.4 %. Simultaneously, SO removal reached 77.0 %, supported by cathodic biofilms dominated by SRB (Desulfofustis, Desulfomicrobium, and Desulfatirhabdium). Automated machine learning and principal co-ordinates analysis identified the anode potential as the key factor shaping microbial ecology. The appropriate anode potential (0.4-0.6 V vs. Ag/AgCl) promoted cathodic sulfidogenesis, indirectly enhancing electron flow and supporting Anammox at the anode. These findings demonstrated that MECs hold great promise for simultaneously enhancing anaerobic ammonia oxidation bacteria and SRB activity, enabling efficient NH-N and SO removal.

Authors

  • Xueqin Lu
    Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Rd, Shanghai 200241, PR China; Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Biotransformation of Organic Solid Waste, Shanghai 200241, PR China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, 1515 North Zhongshan Rd. (No. 2), Shanghai 200092, PR China.
  • Yijing Gao
    Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, PR China.
  • Xinyu Liu
    Institute of Medical Technology, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
  • Yibo Sun
    Shanghai Key Laboratory for Future Computing Hardware and System, School of Microelectronics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
  • Guangyin Zhen
    Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Rd, Shanghai 200241, PR China; Institute of Eco-Chongming (IEC), 3663N. Zhongshan Rd., Shanghai 200062, PR China; Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Biotransformation of Organic Solid Waste, Shanghai 200241, PR China; Technology Innovation Center for Land Spatial Eco-restoration in Metropolitan Area, Ministry of Natural Resources, 3663N. Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China. Electronic address: gyzhen@des.ecnu.edu.cn.

Keywords

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