Electrostimulation enhanced ammonium removal during Fe(III) reduction coupled with anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Feammox) process.

Abstract Ammonium removal in wastewater treatment plants requires a large number of energy input, such as aeration and the addition of organics. Alternative, more economical technologies for nitrogen removal from wastewater are required. This study comprehensively investigated the feasible of microbial electricity coupled with Fe(III) reduction promoting the anaerobic ammonium removal. It was found that electrostimulation coupled with Fe(III) reduction (bioelectrochemical systems-Fe(III) (BES-Fe(III)) reactor) enhanced the anaerobic ammonium removal by 50.38% and 38.8% compared with the BES reactor and Fe(III) reactor, respectively. The ammonium removal rate reached the highest value of 80.62 ± 0.26 g N m−3·d−1 in the Fe(III)-BES reactor comparable to conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWWTPs). The improvement of ammonium removal might be the synergistic effect of BES and Feammox process on reaction process and microorganisms. Firstly, the addition of Fe2O3 could improve the electrochemical characteristics by enriching iron-reducing bacterial (FeRB). Secondly, the improved ammonium removal could be due to nitrite generated from Feammox process driving the anodic ammonium oxidation. Additionally, the ammonium removal improvement might be the effect of BES on the Fe2+ leaching so as to accelerate the Fe (II)/Fe(III) cycle. In agreement, higher abundance of FeRB and iron-oxidizing bacteria was detected in the Fe(III)-BES reactor. This study provides a lower energy consumption and operational cost technology compared with the conventional partial nitrification/denitrification, which was more than 800 times less than for the conventional wastewater treatment.