Using Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation Coupled to Ferric Reduction (Feammox Bacteria) to Treat Domestic Wastewater

Raimah Hossain, Rifat Anwar, Mushfique Ahmed, and Lian-Shin Lin
Wadsworth Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26505

Presentation No.: 58

Assigned Category (Presentation Format): Engineering (Poster Presentations)

Student’s Major: Biomedical Engineering

Recently, research has been conducted regarding anaerobic wastewater treatment due to its benefits, including lesser energy consumption and cost efficiency. Anaerobic ammonium oxidation coupled to ferric reduction, known as Feammox, has been investigated in soil environments to evaluate the nitrogen cycle. In this study, the potential to apply Feammox bacteria towards nitrogen removal in wastewater was examined. The experimental design included two bioreactors with and without carbon-based organics, as well as an influent supply of iron solution. The ammonium, iron, and organic carbon were measured to quantify Feammox kinetics. Results indicated a 20% higher ammonium oxidation rate in the bioreactor without organic carbon compared to the bioreactor with organic carbon. Analysis of the microbial community showed a more thriving community of Feammox bacteria in the bioreactor without organic carbon. Thus, it can be concluded that an abundance of organic carbon may inhibit Feammox activity and therefore, nitrogen removal. The research findings are expected to help design biological wastewater treatment systems using this novel microbial pathway for nitrogen removal.

Funding:

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's SURE program (Rita Rio & Michelle Richards-Babb)