Nitrogen removal and spatial distribution of denitrifier and anammox communities in a bioreactor for mine drainage treatment

摘要

Mine drainage water may contain high levels of nitrate (NO_3~-) due to undetonated nitrogen-based explosives. The removal of NO_3~- and nitrite (NO_2~-) in cold climates through the mi-crobial process of denitrification was evaluated using a pilot-scale fixed-bed bioreactor (27 m~3). Surface water was diverted into the above-ground bioreactor filled with sawdust, crushed rock, and sewage sludge. At hydraulic residence times of ca.15 h and with the addition of acetate, NO_3~- and NO_2~- were removed to below detection levels at a NO_3~- removal rate of 5-10 g N m~(-3) (bioreactor material) d~(-1) The functional groups contributing to nitrogen removal in the bioreactor were studied by quantifying nirS and nirK present in denitrifying bacteria, nosZI and nosZII genes from the nitrous oxide - reducing community, and a taxa-specific part of thel6S rRNA gene for the anammox community. The abundances of nirS and nirK were almost 2 orders of magnitude greater than the anammox specific 16S rRNA gene, indicating that denitrification was the main process involved in nitrogen removal. The spatial distribution of the quantified genes was heterogeneous in the bioreactor, with trends observed in gene abundance as a function of depth, distance from the bioreactor inlet, and along specific flowpaths. There was a significant relationship between the abundance of nirS, nirK, and nosZI genes and depth in the bioreactor, such that the abundance of organisms containing these genes may be controlled by oxygen diffusion and substrate supply in the partially or completely water-saturated material. Among the investigated microbial functional groups, nirS and anammox bacterial 16S rRNA genes exhibited a systematic trend of decreasing and increasing abundance, respectively, with distance from the inlet, which suggested that the functional groups respond differently to changing environmental conditions. The greater abundance of nirK along central flowpaths may indicate that the bioreactor design favored preferential flow along these flowpaths, away from the sides of the bioreactor. An improved bioreactor design should consider the role of preferential flowpaths and the heterogeneous distribution of the genetic potential for denitrification, nitrous oxide reduction and anammox on bioreactor function.