Performance stability of partial nitritation/anammox process in treating food waste digestate: NOB inhibition and microbial interactions

IF 6.6 2区工程技术 Q1 ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL

Journal of water process engineering Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-19 DOI:10.1016/j.jwpe.2026.109727

Xuanhui Lv , Yunzhi Qian , Cunye Li , Jie Pan , Xiaoliang Fan , Yonghao Zhu , Chenshun Lu , Shilong He

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Abstract

Disruption of microbial community stability induced by organic matter presents key challenges in applying the anammox process to treat food waste digestion (FWD). In this study, the proliferation of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) led to the collapse of the partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) process, resulting in a reduction of nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) to 21.6% in the treatment of FWD. Treatment with in-situ free ammonia (15–20 mg/L) and ex-situ free nitrite acid (10 μg/L) slightly inhibited the activity of NOB during the first 8 days. However, NOB rapidly exhibited adaptive tolerance to the two types inhibition, accompanied by a decrease in anammox activity. qPCR results confirm that the decrease in ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AnAOB) and the increase in denitrifying bacteria (DB) are another key factors influencing the stability of PN/A process. The anaerobic cultivation mode induced inhibition of NOB, with the abundance of Nitrospira decreasing to 0.09%. Simultaneously, AnAOB underwent significant species evolution: Ca. Brocadia increased from 0.15% to 5.76%, leading to enhanced AnAOB (including Ca. Kuenenia) utilization of NO₂⁻-N. This study provides valuable insights into overcoming the challenges associated with NOB and heterotrophic bacterial proliferation during FWD treatment in the PN/A process.

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部分硝化/厌氧氨氧化工艺处理食物垃圾的性能稳定性：NOB抑制和微生物相互作用

有机物引起的微生物群落稳定性破坏是厌氧氨氧化工艺处理食物垃圾消化（FWD）的关键挑战。在本研究中，亚硝酸盐氧化菌（NOB）的增殖导致部分硝化/厌氧氨氧化（PN/A）过程崩溃，导致FWD处理中氮去除率（NRE）降至21.6%。原位游离氨（15 ~ 20 mg/L）和非原位游离亚硝酸盐（10 μg/L）处理前8 d对NOB活性有轻微抑制作用。然而，NOB迅速表现出对两种抑制的适应性耐受性，并伴有厌氧氨氧化活性的降低。qPCR结果证实氨氧化细菌（AnAOB）的减少和反硝化细菌（DB）的增加是影响PN/A过程稳定性的另一个关键因素。厌氧培养模式对NOB有抑制作用，硝基螺旋藻丰度降至0.09%。同时，AnAOB发生了显著的物种进化：Ca. Brocadia从0.15%增加到5.76%，导致AnAOB（包括Ca. Kuenenia）对NO2−-N的利用增强。该研究为克服PN/A过程中FWD治疗过程中NOB和异养细菌增殖相关的挑战提供了有价值的见解。

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来源期刊

Journal of water process engineering Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology-Biotechnology

CiteScore

10.70

自引率

8.60%

发文量

846

审稿时长

24 days

期刊介绍： The Journal of Water Process Engineering aims to publish refereed, high-quality research papers with significant novelty and impact in all areas of the engineering of water and wastewater processing . Papers on advanced and novel treatment processes and technologies are particularly welcome. The Journal considers papers in areas such as nanotechnology and biotechnology applications in water, novel oxidation and separation processes, membrane processes (except those for desalination) , catalytic processes for the removal of water contaminants, sustainable processes, water reuse and recycling, water use and wastewater minimization, integrated/hybrid technology, process modeling of water treatment and novel treatment processes. Submissions on the subject of adsorbents, including standard measurements of adsorption kinetics and equilibrium will only be considered if there is a genuine case for novelty and contribution, for example highly novel, sustainable adsorbents and their use: papers on activated carbon-type materials derived from natural matter, or surfactant-modified clays and related minerals, would not fulfil this criterion. The Journal particularly welcomes contributions involving environmentally, economically and socially sustainable technology for water treatment, including those which are energy-efficient, with minimal or no chemical consumption, and capable of water recycling and reuse that minimizes the direct disposal of wastewater to the aquatic environment. Papers that describe novel ideas for solving issues related to water quality and availability are also welcome, as are those that show the transfer of techniques from other disciplines. The Journal will consider papers dealing with processes for various water matrices including drinking water (except desalination), domestic, urban and industrial wastewaters, in addition to their residues. It is expected that the journal will be of particular relevance to chemical and process engineers working in the field. The Journal welcomes Full Text papers, Short Communications, State-of-the-Art Reviews and Letters to Editors and Case Studies