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Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering

ISSN 2095-2201

ISSN 2095-221X(Online)

CN 10-1013/X

Postal Subscription Code 80-973

2018 Impact Factor: 3.883

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.    2020, Vol. 14 Issue (6) : 93    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-020-1272-7
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Taxonomic and functional variations in the microbial community during the upgrade process of a full-scale landfill leachate treatment plant – from conventional to partial nitrification-denitrification
Binbin Sheng1,2,4, Depeng Wang1,2(), Xianrong Liu3, Guangxing Yang3, Wu Zeng3, Yiqing Yang3, Fangang Meng1,2()
1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
2. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
3. Guangzhou Environmental Protection Investment Group Co., Guangzhou 510330, China
4. School of Life Sciences and Biopharmaceutics, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510006, China
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Abstract

• Upgrade process was investigated in a full-scale landfill leachate treatment plant.

• The optimization of DO can technically achieve the shift from CND to PND process.

• Nitrosomonas was mainly responsible for ammonium oxidation in PND system.

• An obviously enrichment of Thauera was found in the PND process.

• Enhanced metabolic potentials on organics was found during the process update.

Because of the low access to biodegradable organic substances used for denitrification, the partial nitrification-denitrification process has been considered as a low-cost, sustainable alternative for landfill leachate treatment. In this study, the process upgrade from conventional to partial nitrification-denitrification was comprehensively investigated in a full-scale landfill leachate treatment plant (LLTP). The partial nitrification-denitrification system was successfully achieved through the optimizing dissolved oxygen and the external carbon source, with effluent nitrogen concentrations lower than 150 mg/L. Moreover, the upgrading process facilitated the enrichment of Nitrosomonas (abundance increased from 0.4% to 3.3%), which was also evidenced by increased abundance of amoA/B/C genes carried by Nitrosomonas. Although Nitrospira (accounting for 0.1%–0.6%) was found to stably exist in the reactor tank, considerable nitrite accumulation occurred in the reactor (reaching 98.8 mg/L), indicating high-efficiency of the partial nitrification process. Moreover, the abundance of Thauera, the dominant denitrifying bacteria responsible for nitrite reduction, gradually increased from 0.60% to 5.52% during the upgrade process. This process caused great changes in the microbial community, inducing continuous succession of heterotrophic bacteria accompanied by enhanced metabolic potentials toward organic substances. The results obtained in this study advanced our understanding of the operation of a partial nitrification-denitrification system and provided a technical case for the upgrade of currently existing full-scale LLTPs.

Keywords Landfill leachate      Process upgrade      Partial nitrification-denitrification      Bacterial community      Metagenomics     
Corresponding Author(s): Depeng Wang,Fangang Meng   
Issue Date: 11 June 2020
 Cite this article:   
Binbin Sheng,Depeng Wang,Xianrong Liu, et al. Taxonomic and functional variations in the microbial community during the upgrade process of a full-scale landfill leachate treatment plant – from conventional to partial nitrification-denitrification[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2020, 14(6): 93.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-020-1272-7
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2020/V14/I6/93
Fig.1  Schematic illustration of the two-stage A/O and MBR biological system.
Fig.2  Wastewater characteristics of COD (a), TN (b), and their ratios (c) in the two-stage A/O and MBR system; (d) effluent nitrate, nitrite and the nitrite accumulation rate calculated by the stoichiometric method in the pre-nitrification tank.
Fig.3  Microbial community composition of predominant phyla (a) and genera (b) in different phases. (c) Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) at the genus level based on the unweighted_unifac distance metric illustrating the variability of the microbial community.
Fig.4  (a) Redundancy analyses showed the correlation between the operational parameters and microbial community structure. (b) Welch’s two-sided t-test revealed significant differences in microbial community composition between the CND and PND phases.
Fig.5  (a) Detailed information regarding nitrogen metabolism-related genes in the two-stage A/O and MBR system. (b) Significant differences in nitrogen metabolism-related genes between the CND and PND phases. (c) Abundance of nitrification genes carried by different AOB and NOB.
Fig.6  (a) Abundance of KEGG metabolism pathways with significant differences between the CND and PND phases. (b) Significant abundance fold-changes in carbohydrate active enzymes observed in the PND phase.
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