Application of low intensity ultrasound to enhance the activity of anammox microbial consortium for nitrogen removal

In this study, effect of low intensity ultrasound on the activity of anammox microbial consortium for nitrogen removal was investigated through batch experiments at the same irradiation frequency of 25 kHz. Total nitrogen removal rate increased by about 25.5% when ultrasound intensity of 0.3 w cm⁻² was applied at an optimal irradiation time of 4 min, and further experiments demonstrated that this effect could last for about 6 days. Analysis of extracellular polymeric substances indicated that the maximum increase of carbohydrate, protein and total extracellular substances was obtained on the first day after ultrasound, which was 28.8%, 30.5% and 29.7%, respectively. As the time prolonged, the production rate of extracellular carbohydrate, protein decreased gradually. Transmission electron microscopy observation demonstrated that ultrasounded cell wall of anammox microbial consortium became thinner resulting in increased release of extracellular substances. The results suggested that application of low intensity ultrasound may enhance the activity of anammox microbial consortium and ultimately the potential for nitrogen removal.     

生物电化学耦合厌氧氨氧化强化脱氮及其微生物群落特征

为探究生物电化学强化厌氧氨氧化(anaerobic ammonia oxidation,anammox)脱氮作用过程,采用双室微生物电解池(microbial electrolysis cell,MEC)富集电活性微生物,构建耦合厌氧氨氧化阴极的生物电化学系统。具体地,在外加0.2 V电压条件下改变不同总氮进水浓度于30°C进行暗培养批次实验研究,结合循环伏安法、电化学阻抗谱、高通量测序方法等多种表征手段研究了强化脱氮机理。结果表明,在初始总氮浓度分别为200、300和400 mg/L时对应获得了96.9%±0.3%、97.3%±0.4%和99.0%±0.3%的总氮去除率,且阴极电极生物膜表现出良好的电化学活性。高通量测序结果表明外加电压富集了除厌氧氨氧化菌以外的其他脱氮功能菌群:反硝化菌(Denitratisoma)、Limnobacter和氨氧化菌SM1A02和Anaerolineaceae、亚硝化菌(Nitrosomonas europaea)和硝化螺菌属(Nitrospira)等,这些具有电化学活性的微生物构成了体系的氨氧化胞外产电菌(ammonium oxidizing exoelectrogens,AOE)和反硝化电养菌(denitrifying electrotrophs,DNE),它们连同厌氧氨氧化菌Candidatus Brocadia构成了系统的脱氮微生物群落结构。AOE和DNE的种间直接电子传递作用协同厌氧氨氧化是强化系统总氮去除的关键原因。     

Role of anammox bacteria in removal of nitrogen compounds from wastewater

The review deals with the unique microbial group responsible for anaerobic ammonium oxidation with nitrite (anammox), and with the role of this process in development of the biotechnology for removal of nitrogen compounds from wastewater. The history of the study of this process is briefly related. Up-to date knowledge on the intracellular organization, energy metabolism, growth stoichiometry, and physiology of anammox bacteria is described, and the main methods for cultivation of these microorganisms are characterized. Special attention is paid to the problems associated with practical application of anammox bacteria, which result from their extremely slow growth, the absence of pure cultures, and the interaction with other microbial groups.     

有机碳源下废水厌氧氨氧化同步脱氮除碳

为明确有机碳源胁迫下,厌氧氨氧化反应器的同步脱氮除碳规律及功能微生物群落结构的动态变化,采用成功启动的厌氧氨氧化UASB反应器,通过逐步提升进水有机负荷,探究有机碳源下废水厌氧氨氧化同步脱氮除碳。研究表明,当进水化学需氧量(Chemical oxygen demand,COD)浓度从172 mg/L升至620 mg/L,反应器维持较高的脱氮效率,氨氮和总氮去除率均在85%以上,并对COD具有平均56.6%的去除率,高浓度COD未对Anammox菌活性构成显著抑制作用。聚合酶链式反应和变性梯度凝胶电泳(PCR-DGGE)图谱和割胶测序结果表明,变形菌门Proteobacteria、浮霉菌门Planctomycetes、绿曲挠菌门Chloroflexi以及绿菌门Chlorobi等微生物共存于同一反应体系中,推测反应器内存在复杂的脱氮除碳途径。而且,代表厌氧氨氧化的部分浮霉菌门微生物能耐受高浓度有机碳源,在高有机负荷下依旧发挥着高效的脱氮作用,为反应器高效脱氮提供了保障。     

Devices for gradient static magnetic field exposure

We describe devices designed for magnetic field exposures in which field amplitude and gradients are controlled simultaneously. Dosimetry based on field continuation of high resolution magnetic field scans and numerical models is compared with validation measurements. The dosimetry variables we consider are based on the assumption that the biological or chemical system under study has field transducers that are spatially isotropic, so that absolute field amplitude and two gradient components fully describe local exposure.     

Enhanced lindane removal from soil slurry by immobilized Streptomyces consortium

The aim of this work was to assess lindane removal from soil slurry by a Streptomyces consortium immobilized in cloth sachets, at different inoculum, lindane and slurry concentrations. In concentrated slurry (soil/water ratio of 2:3), the higher lindane removal (35.3 mg Kg⁻¹) was obtained with the medium inoculum (10⁷ CFU g⁻¹) and the highest lindane concentration tested, at 7 days of incubation. Although, lindane removal was also detected in abiotic controls, probably caused by pesticide adsorption to soil particles. Thus, these parameters were selected for evaluating the pesticide removal in diluted slurry (soil/water ratio of 1:4). After 14 days of incubation, 28.7 mg Kg⁻¹ of lindane were removed. Also, a phytotoxicity assay demonstrated that seeds growing on diluted slurries bioremediated during 7 and 14 days, showed an improvement in biological parameters, compared to those growing on non-bioremediated slurries. Thus, bioremediated slurries would not have toxic effects on lettuce seeds.     

Enhanced redox conductivity and enriched Geobacteraceae of exoelectrogenic biofilms in response to static magnetic field

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology - A possible approach to enhance the performance of microbial electrochemical system such as microbial fuel cells is to increase the conductivity of catalytic...     

Analysis of apoplastic and symplastic antioxidant system in shallot leaves: impacts of weak static electric and magnetic field

Impacts of electric and magnetic fields (EFs and MFs) on a biological organism vary depending on their application style, time, and intensities. High intensity MF and EF have destructive effects on plants. However, at low intensities, these phenomena are of special interest because of the complexity of plant responses. This study reports the effects of continuous, low-intensity static MF (7 mT) and EF (20 kV/m) on growth and antioxidant status of shallot (Allium ascalonicum L.) leaves, and evaluates whether shifts in antioxidant status of apoplastic and symplastic area help plants to adapt a new environment. Growth was induced by MF but EF applied emerged as a stress factor. Despite a lack of visible symptoms of injury, lipid peroxidation and H?O? levels increased in EF applied leaves. Certain symplastic antioxidant enzyme activities and non-enzymatic antioxidant levels increased in response to MF and EF applications. Antioxidant enzymes in the leaf apoplast, by contrast, were found to show different regulation responses to EF and MF. Our results suggest that apoplastic constituents may work as potentially important redox regulators sensing and signaling environmental changes. Static continuous MF and EF at low intensities have distinct impacts on growth and the antioxidant system in plant leaves, and weak MF is involved in antioxidant-mediated reactions in the apoplast, resulting in overcoming a possible redox imbalance.     

Firefly flashing under strong static magnetic field

Firefly flashing has been the subject of numerous scientific investigations. Here we present in vivo flashes from male specimens of three species of fireflies-two Japanese species Luciola cruciata, Luciola lateralis and one Indian species Luciola praeusta-positioned under a superconducting magnet. When the OFF state of the firefly becomes long after flashing in an immobile state under the strong static magnetic field of strength 10 Tesla for a long time, which varies widely from species to species as well as from specimen to specimen, the effect of the field becomes noticeable. The flashes in general are more rapid, and occasionally overlap to produce broad compound flashes. We present the broadest flashes recorded to date, and propose that the strong static magnetic field affects the neural activities of fireflies, especially those in the spent up or 'exhausted' condition.     

Functional consortium for denitrifying sulfide removal process

Denitrifying sulfide removal (DSR) process simultaneously converts sulfide, nitrate, and chemical oxygen demand from industrial wastewaters to elemental sulfur, nitrogen gas, and carbon dioxide, respectively. This investigation utilizes a dilution-to-extinction approach at 10⁻² to 10⁻⁶ dilutions to elucidate the correlation between the composition of the microbial community and the DSR performance. In the original suspension and in 10⁻² dilution, the strains Stenotrophomonas sp., Thauera sp., and Azoarcus sp. are the heterotrophic denitrifiers and the strains Paracoccus sp. and Pseudomonas sp. are the sulfide-oxidizing denitrifers. The 10⁻⁴ dilution is identified as the functional consortium for the present DSR system, which comprises two functional strains, Stenotrophomonas sp. strain Paracoccus sp. At 10⁻⁶ dilution, all DSR performance was lost. The functions of the constituent cells in the DSR granules were discussed based on data obtained using the dilution-to-extinction approach.     

Quantification of anammox populations enriched in an immobilized microbial consortium with low levels of ammonium nitrogen and at low temperature

The prebiotic effect of a pectic oligosaccharide-rich extract enzymatically derived from bergamot peel was studied using pure and mixed cultures of human faecal bacteria. This was compared to the prebiotic effect of fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS). Individual species of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli responded positively to the addition of the bergamot extract, which contained oligosaccharides in the range of three to seven. Fermentation studies were also carried out in controlled pH batch mixed human faecal cultures and changes in gut bacterial groups were monitored over 24 h by fluorescent in situ hybridisation, a culture-independent microbial assessment. Addition of the bergamot oligosaccharides (BOS) resulted in a high increase in the number of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, whereas the clostridial population decreased. A prebiotic index (PI) was calculated for both FOS and BOS after 10 and 24 h incubation. Generally, higher PI scores were obtained after 10 h incubation, with BOS showing a greater value (6.90) than FOS (6.12).     

Enhanced nitrogen removal in bio-electrochemical systems by pH control

Microbial fuel cells can be designed to remove nitrogenous compounds out of wastewater, but their performance is at present limited to 0.33 kg NO₃ ⁻-Nm⁻³ net cathode compartment (NCC) d⁻¹. By maintaining the pH in the cathode at 7.2, nitrogen removal was increased from 0.22 to 0.50 kg NO₃ ⁻-Nm⁻³ NCC d⁻¹. Bio-electrochemical active microorganisms seem to struggle with the deterioration of their own environment due to slow proton fluxes. Therefore, the results suggest that an appropriate pH adjustment strategy is necessary to allow a sustained and enhanced biological activity in bio-electrochemical systems.     

High-rate nitrogen removal from waste brine by marine anammox bacteria in a pilot-scale UASB reactor

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology - The goal of this study was to develop a startup strategy for a high-rate anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) reactor to treat waste brine with high...     

The effect of strong static magnetic field on lymphocytes

We investigated whether static electromagnetic fields (EMFs) at a flux density of 4.75 T, generated by an NMR apparatus (NMRF), could promote movements of Ca2+, cell proliferation, and the eventual production of proinflammatory cytokines in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) as well as in Jurkat cells, after exposure to the field for 1 h. The same study was also performed after activation of cells with 5 mg/ml phytohaemagglutinin (PHA). Our results clearly demonstrate that static NMRF exposure has neither proliferative, nor activating, nor proinflammatory effects on both normal and PHA activated PBMC. Moreover, the concentration of interleukin-1beta, interleukin-2, interleukin-6, interferon, and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) remained unvaried in exposed cells. Exposure of Jurkat cells statistically decreased the proliferation and the proliferation indexes, which 24 and 48 h after exposure were 0.7 +/- 0.29 and 0.87 +/- 0.12, respectively. Moreover, in Jurkat cells the [Ca2+]i was higher than in PBMC and was reduced significantly to about one half after exposure. This is consistent with the decrease of proliferation and with the low levels of IL-2 measured. On the whole, our data suggest that NMRF exposure failed to affect the physiologic behaviour of normal lymphomonocytes. Instead in Jurkat cells, by changing the properties of cell membranes, NMRF can influence Ca2+ transport processes, and hence Ca2+ homeostasis with improvement of proliferation.     

Nitrogen removal performance of a hybrid anammox reactor

The anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process has attracted considerable attention in recent years as an alternative to conventional nitrogen removal technologies. In this study, an innovative hybrid reactor combining fluidized and fixed beds for anammox treatment was developed. The fluidized bed was mechanically stirred and the gaseous product could be rapidly released from the anammox sludge to prevent washout of the sludge caused by floatation. The fixed bed comprising a non-woven biomass carrier could efficiently catch sludge to reduce washout. During the operation, nitrogen loading rates to the reactor were increased to 27.3 kg N/m³/d, with total nitrogen removal efficiencies of 75%. The biomass concentration in the fluidized bed reached 26-g VSS/L. Anammox granules were observed in the reactors, with settling velocities and sludge volumetric index of 27.3 ± 6.5 m/h and 23 mL/g, respectively. Quantification of extracellular polymeric substances revealed the anammox granules contained a significant amount of extracellular proteins.     

Novel coaggregating microbial consortium: testing strength for field applications

Acinetobacter johnsonii S35 has an ability to coaggregate with Oligotropha carboxidovorans S23 when grown with favorable carbon substrate and nutrient-rich growth media. However, nutrient-deficient situations or poorly accessible carbon substrates in waste streams could trigger changes in the cell surface properties and thus modify the coaggregation behavior. Thus, in the present study, we test the stability of these novel interactions under various stresses that might transpire in the waste streams. The effect of mineral-component deficiency and shortage of substrate on the growth, cell surface hydrophobicity and coaggregation ability of S35 and O. carboxidovorans S23 has been investigated. As compared to the control, growth of S35 was adversely affected in mineral-deficient medium; the cells had lower hydrophobicity but displayed only slightly lower aggregation index (AI, 75-84%) as compared to control (92%). S35 grown on marginally supplemented Sterile Filtrate of Activated Sludge (SFAS) could also grow well and form larger stable coaggregates with S23. S35 grown with mineral-deficient medium and with the supplemented SFAS still posses the ability to coaggregate with S23. Hence the coaggregation ability of S35 strain is constitutive and is not significantly affected by environmental factors. It would be desirable to work out suitable formulations of such robust and environmentally relevant microbes.