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Enhancement of extracellular Cr(VI) reduction for anammox recovery using hydrazine: performance, pathways, and mechanism

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Abstract

The hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) would frequently impose inhibition to anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process, hindering the efficiency of nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment. Hydrazine (N2H4), which is an intermediate product of anammox, participates in intracellular metabolism and extracellular Cr(VI) reduction. However, the roles of N2H4-induced intracellular metabolism and extracellular reduction in nitrogen removal under Cr(VI) stress remain unclear. The addition of 3.67 mg/L of N2H4 increased the anammox activity by 17%. As an intermediate, N2H4 enhanced anammox metabolism by increasing the heme c content and electron transfer system activity. As a reductant, N2H4 accelerated the reduction of c-Cyts-mediated extracellular Cr(VI) to the less toxic Cr(III). Extracellular Cr(III) accounts for 74% of the total Cr in a Cr(VI)-stressed anammox consortia. These findings highlight that N2H4-induced extracellular Cr(VI) reduction is the dominant mechanism for the survival of anammox consortia. We also found that N2H4 increased the production of extracellular polymeric substances to sequester excessive Cr(VI) and produced Cr(III). Taken together, the study findings suggest a potential strategy for enhancing nitrogen removal from ammonium-rich wastewater contaminated with Cr(VI).

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundations of China (No. 52000182, U21A20294, 51878662), the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (No. 2020JJ4725) and the Technological Innovation Guidance Program of Jiangxi Province (No. 20203BDH80W017). Dr. Tang C J is supported by the Young Scholar Program of Ministry of Education of China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Caiyan Qu, Lushan Li, Fan Feng, Xing Wu, Muchuan Qin, Jia Tang, Xi Tang, Ruiyang Xiao & Chongjian Tang

  2. Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Control & Treatment of Heavy Metal Pollution, Changsha, 410083, China

    Caiyan Qu, Lushan Li, Fan Feng, Xi Tang, Ruiyang Xiao & Chongjian Tang

  3. Yongzhou Environmental Monitoring Station, Yongzhou, 425000, China

    Kainian Jiang

  4. Ghent University Global Campus, Incheon, Republic of Korea; Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University, and Centre for Advanced Process Technology for Urban Resource Recovery (CAPTURE), Ghent, 9000, Belgium

    Di Wu

Authors
  1. Caiyan Qu
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  2. Lushan Li
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  3. Fan Feng
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  4. Kainian Jiang
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  5. Xing Wu
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  6. Muchuan Qin
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  7. Jia Tang
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  8. Xi Tang
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  9. Ruiyang Xiao
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  10. Di Wu
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  11. Chongjian Tang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chongjian Tang.

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Highlights

• N2H4 addition enhanced and recovered anammox performance under Cr(VI) stress.

• N2H4 accelerated electron transfer of Cr(VI) reduction for detoxification.

• N2H4 enhanced anammox metabolism for activity recovery from Cr(VI) inhibition.

• Extracellular Cr(VI) reduction to less toxic Cr(III) was the dominant mechanism.

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11783_2023_1715_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Enhancement of extracellular Cr(VI) reduction for anammox recovery using hydrazine: performance, pathways, and mechanism

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Qu, C., Li, L., Feng, F. et al. Enhancement of extracellular Cr(VI) reduction for anammox recovery using hydrazine: performance, pathways, and mechanism. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 17, 115 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1715-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1715-z

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