Impact of methionine on a partial-nitritation biofilter

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2016-04, Vol.23 (7), p.6651-6660
• Main Authors: Gonzalez-Martinez, Alejandro, Rodriguez-Sanchez, Alejandro, Garcia-Ruiz, Maria Jesus, Osorio, Francisco, Gonzalez-Lopez, Jesus
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino acids; Ammonium; Ammonium Compounds - analysis; Ammonium Compounds - metabolism; anaerobic digesters; Anaerobic digestion; Anaerobiosis; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; bacterial communities; Biofilms; Biofilms - drug effects; Biofilms - growth & development; Biofilters; Biomass; Bioreactors - microbiology; Civil engineering; Denitrification; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Effluents; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental impact; Environmental science; Liquor; Lysobacter; methionine; Methionine - metabolism; Methionine - pharmacology; Micavibrio; microbial biomass; Models, Theoretical; Nitrification - drug effects; Nitrogen; Nitrogen - analysis; Nitrogen - metabolism; Nitrosomonas; Nitrosomonas - growth & development; Nitrosomonas - metabolism; Oxidation; Oxidation-Reduction; Relative abundance; Research Article; Ribosomal DNA; Studies; Sulfur; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollutants, Chemical - metabolism; Water Pollutants, Chemical - pharmacology; Water Pollution Control; Water Purification - methods; Water treatment
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-5889-1

It has been demonstrated that an anaerobic digestion process cannot attain an efficient removal of several amino acids, with methionine being one of the most persistent of these. Thus, the effect that methionine amino acid has over the partial-nitritation process with fixed-biofilm configuration in terms of performance and bacterial community dynamics has been investigated. With respect to the performance with no addition, 100 mg/L methionine loading decreased ammonium oxidation efficiency in 60 % and 100 % at concentrations of 300 and 500 mg/L methionine, respectively. Bacterial biomass sharply increased by 30, 65, and 230 % with the addition of 100, 300, and 500 mg/L methionine, respectively. Bacterial community analysis showed that methionine addition supported the proliferation of a diversity of heterotrophic genera, such as Lysobacter and Micavibrio, and reduced the relative abundance of ammonium oxidizing genus Nitrosomonas. This research shows that the addition of methionine affects the performance of the partial-nitritation process. In this sense, amino acids can pose a threat for the of partial-nitritation process treating anaerobic digester supernatant at full-scale implementation.