Roles of nitrite in facilitating nitrogen and sulfur conversion in the hybrid bioreactor of Sulfate-reduced ammonium oxidation and anaerobic ammonium oxidation

Abstract

The hybrid bioreactor combining sulfate-reducing ammonium oxidation (Sulfammox) and Anammox offered potential for simultaneous nitrogen and sulfur removal, but the removal efficiency and microbial mechanism remain unclear. This study demonstrated that in the hybrid bioreactor, the ammonium utilization rate (AUR) of Sulfammox increased by 5.42 times. The promotion of NO2− on nitrogen and sulfur conversion in Sulfammox could be attributed to: 1) Increasing extracellular polymers substance (EPS) accelerated the stratification of granule sludge; 2) Increasing the relative abundance of Candidatus Brocadia by 29.55 times and Candidatus Anammoxoglobus by 3.17 times; 3) Upregulating the expression of nitrification (amo, hao and nxr) and sulfur metabolism (sat, aprAB dsr and sox) genes, associated with the pathways NH4+→NH2OH → NO2−→NO3− and SO42−→S2−→SO42−. Moreover, Candida Brocadia sapporoensis emerged as a potential specie of Sulfammox, mediating nitrification by hao and nxr, and sulfate reduction by sat and aprAB, thereby enabling electron transfer between nitrogen and sulfur.