Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Autotrophic denitrification by nitrate-dependent Fe(II) oxidation in a continuous up-flow biofilter

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A continuous-upflow biofilter packed with sponge iron was constructed for nitrate removal under an anaerobic atmosphere. Microbacterium sp. W5, a nitrate reducing and Fe(II) oxidizing strain, was added to the biofilter as an inoculum. The best results were achieved when NO3 −-N concentration was 30 mg/L and Fe2+ was 800 mg/L. Nitrite in influent would inhibit nitrate removal and aqueous Fe2+ resulted in encrustation. Fe(II)EDTA would prevent cells from encrustation and the maximum nitrogen removal efficiency was about 90 % with Fe(II)EDTA level of 1100 mg/L. Nitrate reduction followed first-order reaction kinetics. Characteristics of biofilms were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Ghafari S, Hasan M, Aroua MK (2008) Bio-electrochemical removal of nitrate from water and wastewater—a review. Bioresour Technol 99:3965–3974

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Karanasios KA, Vasiliadou IA, Pavlou S, Vayenas DV (2010) Hydrogenotrophic denitrification of potable water: a review. J Hazard Mater 180:20–37

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Shrimali M, Singh KP (2001) New methods of nitrate removal from water. Environ Pollut 112:351–359

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Foglar L, Briski F, Sipos L, Vukovic M (2005) High nitrate removal from synthetic wastewater with the mixed bacterial culture. Bioresour Technol 96:879–888

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Chung J, Amin K, Kim S, Yoon S, Kwon K, Bae W (2014) Autotrophic denitrification of nitrate and nitrite using thiosulfate as an electron donor. Water Res 58:169–178

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Chakraborty A, Picardal F (2013) Neutrophilic, nitrate-dependent, Fe(II) oxidation by a Dechloromonas species. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 29:617–623

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Zhang M, Zheng P, Wang R, Li W, Lu H, Zhang J (2014) Nitrate-dependent anaerobic ferrous oxidation (NAFO) by denitrifying bacteria: a perspective autotrophic nitrogen pollution control technology. Chemosphere 117:604–609

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Weber KA, Achenbach LA, Coates JD (2006) Microorganisms pumping iron: anaerobic microbial iron oxidation and reduction. Nat Rev Microbiol 4:752–764

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Canfield DE, Rosing MT, Bjerrum C (2006) Early anaerobic metabolisms. Philos Trans R Soc Lond Ser A Math Phys Eng Sci 361:1819–1834

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Straub KL, Schonhuber WA, Buchholz-Cleven B, Schink B (2004) Diversity of ferrous iron-oxidizing, nitrate-reducing bacteria and their involvement in oxygen-independent iron cycling. Geomicrobiol J 21:371–378

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Carlson HK, Clark IC, Blazewicz SJ, Iavarone AT, Coates JD (2013) Fe(II) oxidation is an innate capability of nitrate-reducing bacteria that involves abiotic and biotic reactions. J Bacteriol 195:3260–3268

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Kappler A, Johnson CM, Crosby HA, Beard BL, Newman DK (2010) Evidence for equilibrium iron isotope fractionation by nitrate-reducing iron(II)-oxidizing bacteria. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 74:2826–2842

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Chakraborty A, Roden EE, Schieber J, Picardal F (2011) Enhanced growth of Acidovorax sp. strain 2AN during nitrate-dependent Fe(II) oxidation in batch and continuous-flow systems. Appl Environ Microbiol 77:8548–8556

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Kappler A, Schink B, Newman DK (2005) Fe(III) mineral formation and cell encrustation by the nitrate-dependent Fe(II)-oxidizer strain BoFeN1. Geobiology 3:235–245

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Finneran KT, Housewright ME, Lovley DR (2002) Multiple influences of nitrate on uranium solubility during bioremediation of uranium-contaminated subsurface sediments. Environ Microbiol 4:510–516

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Li B, Tian C, Zhang D, Pan X (2014) Anaerobic nitrate-dependent iron (II) oxidation by a novel autotrophic bacterium, Citrobacter freundii strain PXL1. Geomicrobiol J 31:138–144

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Oshiki M, Ishii S, Yoshida K, Fujii N, Ishiguro M, Satoh H, Okabe S (2013) Nitrate-dependent ferrous iron oxidation by anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) bacteria. Appl Environ Microbiol 79:4087–4093

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Weber KA, Hedrick DB, Peacock AD, Thrash JC, White DC, Achenbach LA, Coates JD (2009) Physiological and taxonomic description of the novel autotrophic, metal oxidizing bacterium, Pseudogulbenkiania sp. strain 2002. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 83:555–565

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Byrne-Bailey KG, Weber KA, Chair AH, Bose S, Knox T, Spanbauer TL, Chertkov O, Coates JD (2010) Completed genome sequence of the anaerobic iron-oxidizing bacterium Acidovorax ebreus strain TPSY. J Bacteriol 192:1475–1476

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Kopf SH, Henny C, Newman DK (2013) Ligand-enhanced abiotic iron oxidation and the effects of chemical versus biological iron cycling in anoxic environments. Environ Sci Technol 47:2602–2611

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Hegler F, Schmidt C, Schwarz H, Kappler A (2010) Does a low-pH microenvironment around phototrophic FeII-oxidizing bacteria prevent cell encrustation by FeIII minerals? FEMS Microbiol Ecol 74:592–600

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. APHA (2005) Standard Methods for the examination of water and wastewater. Association A.P.H, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  23. Zhang M, Zheng P, Li W, Wang R, Ding S, Abbas G (2015) Performance of nitrate-dependent anaerobic ferrous oxidizing (NAFO) process: a novel prospective technology for autotrophic denitrification. Bioresour Technol 179:543–548

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Weber KA, Pollock J, Cole KA, O’Connor SM, Achenbach LA, Coates JD (2006) Anaerobic nitrate-dependent iron(II) bio-oxidation by a novel lithoautotrophic betaproteobacterium, strain 2002. Appl Environ Microbiol 72:686–694

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Waki M, Yasuda T, Yokoyama H, Hanajima D, Ogino A, Suzuki K, Yamagishi T, Suwa Y, Tanaka Y (2009) Nitrogen removal by co-occurring methane oxidation, denitrification, aerobic ammonium oxidation, and anammox. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 84:977–985

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Adav SS, Lee D, Lai JY (2010) Enhanced biological denitrification of high concentration of nitrite with supplementary carbon source. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 85:773–778

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Coby AJ, Picardal FW (2005) Inhibition of NO3− and NO2− reduction by microbial Fe(III) reduction: evidence of a reaction between NO2− and cell surface-bound Fe2+. Appl Environ Microbiol 71:5267–5274

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Cooper DC, Picardal FW, Schimmelmann A, Coby AJ (2003) Chemical and biological interactions during nitrate and goethite reduction by Shewanella putrefaciens 200. Appl Environ Microbiol 69:3517–3525

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Schaedler S, Burkhardt C, Hegler F, Straub KL, Miot J, Benzerara K, Kappler A (2009) Formation of cell-iron-mineral aggregates by phototrophic and nitrate-reducing anaerobic Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria. Geomicrobiol J 26:93–103

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Dippon U, Pantke C, Porsch K, Larese-Casanova P, Kappler A (2012) Potential function of added minerals as nucleation sites and effect of humic substances on mineral formation by the nitrate-reducing Fe(II)-oxidizer Acidovorax sp. BoFeN1. Environ Sci Technol 46:6556–6565

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Miot J, Benzerara K, Morin G, Kappler A, Bernard S, Obst M, Ferard C, Skouri-Panet F, Guigner J, Posth N, Galvez M Jr, Brown GE, Guyot F (2009) Iron biomineralization by anaerobic neutrophilic iron-oxidizing bacteria. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 73:696–711

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Dong X, Zhang Y, Zhou J, Chen M, Wang X, Shi Z (2013) Fe(II)EDTA–NO reduction coupled with Fe(II)EDTA oxidation by a nitrate- and Fe(III)-reducing bacterium. Bioresour Technol 138:339–344

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Straub KL, Benz M, Schink B, Widdel F (1996) Anaerobic, nitrate-dependent microbial oxidation of ferrous iron. Appl Environ Microbiol 62:1458–1460

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Muehe EM, Gerhardt S, Schink B, Kappler A (2009) Ecophysiology and the energetic benefit of mixotrophic Fe(II) oxidation by various strains of nitrate-reducing bacteria. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 70:335–343

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Nguyen TAH, Ngo HH, Guo WS, Nguyen TV, Zhang J, Liang S, Chen SS, Nguyen NC (2014) A comparative study on different metal loaded soybean milk by-product ‘okara’ for biosorption of phosphorus from aqueous solution. Bioresour Technol 169:291–298

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (No. 51008239 and 51378400), the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province, China (No. 2013CFB289 and 2013CFB308) and, the National "Twelfth Five-Year" Plan for Science and Technology Pillar Program (2014BAL04B04, 2015BAL01B02).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Jun Zhou, Hongyu Wang, Kai Yang, Dan Chen & Huining Zhang

  2. School of Urban Construction, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430081, China

    Bin Ji

  3. Northeast Electric Power Design Institute, Changchun, 130000, China

    Yuchong Sun

  4. Central and Southern China Municipal Engineering Design and Research Institute, Wuhan, 430010, China

    Jun Tian

Authors
  1. Jun Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hongyu Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kai Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Bin Ji
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Dan Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Huining Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Yuchong Sun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Jun Tian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Hongyu Wang or Kai Yang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhou, J., Wang, H., Yang, K. et al. Autotrophic denitrification by nitrate-dependent Fe(II) oxidation in a continuous up-flow biofilter. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 39, 277–284 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-015-1511-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-015-1511-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation