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

doi:10.1007/s11783-023-1715-z

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2023, Vol. 17

Issue (9) : 115 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1715-z

RESEARCH ARTICLE

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

Caiyan Qu^1,², Lushan Li^1,², Fan Feng^1,², Kainian Jiang³, Xing Wu¹, Muchuan Qin¹, Jia Tang¹, Xi Tang^1,², Ruiyang Xiao^1,², Di Wu⁴, Chongjian Tang^1,²(

)

¹. School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
². Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Control & Treatment of Heavy Metal Pollution, Changsha 410083, China
³. Yongzhou Environmental Monitoring Station, Yongzhou 425000, China
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

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Abstract

● 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.

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).

Keywords Extracellular Cr(VI) reduction Electron transfer Anammox Hydrazine Cr(VI) inhibition

Corresponding Author(s): Chongjian Tang

Issue Date: 17 April 2023

Cite this article:

Caiyan Qu,Lushan Li,Fan Feng, et al. Enhancement of extracellular Cr(VI) reduction for anammox recovery using hydrazine: performance, pathways, and mechanism[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2023, 17(9): 115.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-023-1715-z
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2023/V17/I9/115

Tab.1 Experimental scenarios with Cr(VI) or N₂H₄ addition

Fig.1 Effects of N₂H₄ on nitrogen removal under Cr(VI) exposure and after Cr(VI) inhibition. (a) The total nitrogen (TN) degradation curves. (b) The specific anammox activity (SAA) and TN removal efficiency under Cr(VI) exposure and after Cr(VI) inhibition.

Fig.2 Effect of N₂H₄ on Cr(VI) reduction. (a) Mass balance calculations for total Cr in the effluent and sludge collected from the biotic test (Cr(VI) + N₂H₄ + sludge), abiotic test (Cr(VI) + N₂H₄), and biotic control (Cr(VI) + sludge). The proportion of reduced Cr(III) in the total Cr concentrations was further calculated to indicate the Cr(VI) reduction efficiency (data labels in white). (b) Intracellular and absorbed Cr(III) concentrations in the sludge. HPLC-ICP-MS chromatograms for Cr speciation in the effluent (c), and intracellular and absorbed (d) solutions collected from the biotic test.

Fig.3 Effects of N₂H₄ on the electron transfer system of the anammox consortia under Cr(VI) exposure and after Cr(VI) inhibition. (a) Electron transfer system activity (ETSA). (b) Heme c content. (c)–(d) UV-visible spectroscopy profiles of c-Cyts in the EPS and extracted cell solutions.

Tab.2 Area analysis of the absorption peak at 410 nm in the UV-Vis spectra of the cell and EPS solutions extracted from the anammox sludge using four different treatments

Fig.4 Effects of N₂H₄ on extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) production by the anammox consortia under Cr(VI) exposure and after Cr(VI) inhibition. (a) EPS contents normalized to the respective sample biomass. (b) Distribution of the fluorescence regional integration in the EEM fluorescence spectra of EPS (Region I: aromatic protein I, Region II: aromatic protein II, Region III: fulvic acid-like, Region IV: soluble microbial byproduct-like, Region V: humic acid-like). The data labels on the pie charts represent the proportions of Regions I, IV, and V.

Fig.5 The underlying mechanisms through which hydrazine (N₂H₄) addition accelerated the electron transfer of anammox metabolism and extracellular Cr(VI) reduction to alleviate Cr(VI) inhibition. The red or white vertical arrows indicate increases in the electron transfer system activity (ETSA), heme c content, and c-Cyts concentration in the quantitative analysis. Moreover, N₂H₄ addition increased EPS production through c-di-GMP regulation to extracellularly sequester Cr(VI) or the produced Cr(III).

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