DNRA and Denitrification Coexist over a Broad Range of Acetate/N-NO3− Ratios, in a Chemostat Enrichment Culture

Denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) compete for nitrate in natural and engineered environments. A known important factor in this microbial competition is the ratio of available electron donor and elector acceptor, here expressed as Ac/N ratio (acetate/nitrate-nitrogen). We studied the impact of the Ac/N ratio...

Fermentative Bacteria Influence the Competition between Denitrifiers and DNRA Bacteria

Denitrification and dissimilatory reduction to ammonium (DNRA) are competing nitrate-reduction processes that entail important biogeochemical consequences for nitrogen retention/removal in natural and man-made ecosystems. The nature of the available carbon source and electron donor have been suggested to play an important role on the outcome of...

Role of nitrite in the competition between denitrification and DNRA in a chemostat enrichment culture

Denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) are two microbial processes that compete for oxidized nitrogen compounds in the environment. The objective of this work was to determine the role of nitrite versus nitrate as terminal electron acceptor on the competition between DNRA and denitrification. Initially, a mixed...

Heterogeneous diffusion in aerobic granular sludge

Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) technology allows simultaneous nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon removal in compact wastewater treatment processes. To operate, design, and model AGS reactors, it is essential to properly understand the diffusive transport within the granules. In this study, diffusive mass transfer within full-scale and lab-scale...

How to measure diffusion coefficients in biofilms: A critical analysis

Biofilm and granular sludge processes depend on diffusion of substrates. Despite their importance for the kinetic description of biofilm reactors, biofilm diffusion coefficients reported in literature vary greatly. The aim of this simulation study was to determine to what extent the methods that are used to measure diffusion coefficients...

Diffusion of Soluble Organic Substrates in Aerobic Granular Sludge: Effect of Molecular Weight

Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) is an advanced biofilm-based technology for wastewater treatment. Diffusion of substrates into the granules is a key aspect of this technology. Domestic wastewater contains soluble organic substrates of different sizes that could potentially diffuse into the granules. In this study, the relation between the...

Density measurements of aerobic granular sludge

Granular sludge processes are frequently used in domestic and industrial wastewater treatment. The granule buoyant density and biomass density are important parameters for the design and operation of granular sludge reactors. Different methods to measure the granule density include the pycnometer method, the Percoll density gradient method,...

Trichlorobacter ammonificans, a dedicated acetate-dependent ammonifier with a novel module for dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia

Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia (DNRA) is a common biochemical process in the nitrogen cycle in natural and man-made habitats, but its significance in wastewater treatment plants is not well understood. Several ammonifying Trichlorobacter strains (former Geobacter) were previously enriched from activated sludge in nitrate-limited...