Unveiling long-term combined effect of salinity and Lead(II) on anammox activity and microbial community dynamics in saline wastewater treatment

Wenjun Yin; Yilin Li; Wei Xu; Yibin Bao; Junjie Zhu; Xiaomei Su; Jie Han; Chongjun Chen; Hongjun Lin; Faqian Sun

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2024.130767

Unveiling long-term combined effect of salinity and Lead(II) on anammox activity and microbial community dynamics in saline wastewater treatment

Bioresour Technol. 2024 Apr 30:402:130767. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.130767. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Wenjun Yin¹, Yilin Li¹, Wei Xu¹, Yibin Bao¹, Junjie Zhu¹, Xiaomei Su¹, Jie Han¹, Chongjun Chen², Hongjun Lin¹, Faqian Sun³

Affiliations

¹ College of Geography and Environmental Science, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China.
² School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China.
³ College of Geography and Environmental Science, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China. Electronic address: faqian@zju.edu.cn.

PMID: 38692373
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.130767

Abstract

The study assessed the effect of salinity and lead (Pb(II)) on the anammox sludge for nitrogen removal from saline wastewater. Results showed decreased nitrogen removal and specific anammox activity (SAA) with elevated salinity and Pb(II). SAA reduced from 541.3 ± 4.3 mg N g^-1 VSS d^-1 at 0.5 mg/L Pb(II) to 436.0 ± 0.2 mg N g^-1 VSS d^-1 at 30 g/L NaCl, further to 303.6 ± 7.1 mg N g^-1 VSS d^-1 under 30 g/L NaCl + 0.5 mg/L Pb(II). Notably, the combined inhibition at salinity (15-20 g/L NaCl) and Pb(II) (0.3-0.4 mg/L) exhibited synergistic effect, while higher salinity and Pb(II) aligned with independent inhibition models. Combined inhibition decreased protein/polysaccharides ratio, indicating more severe negative effect on anammox aggregation capacity. Metagenomics confirmed decreased Candidatus Kuenenia, and enhanced denitrification under elevated salinity and Pb(II) conditions. This study offers insights into anammox operation for treating saline wastewater with heavy metals.

Keywords: Anaerobic ammonium oxidation; Extracellular polymeric substances; Heavy metal; Inhibitory effects; Metagenomics.