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Cultivation of nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria: impact of reactor configuration

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

Nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (n-damo) is mediated by bacteria that anaerobically oxidize methane coupled with nitrite reduction and is a potential bioprocess for wastewater treatment. In this work, the effect of reactor configuration on n-damo bacterial cultivation was investigated. A magnetically stirred gas lift reactor (MSGLR), a sequencing batch reactor (SBR), and a continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) were selected to cultivate the bacteria. Microbial community was monitored by using quantitative PCR, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, pmoA gene sequencing, and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The effects of substrate inhibition, methane mass transfer, and biomass washout in the three reactors were focused on. The results indicated that the MSGLR had the best performance among the three reactor systems, with the highest total and specific n-damo activities. Its maximum volumetric nitrogen removal rate was up to 76.9 mg N L−1 day−1, which was higher than previously reported values (5.1–37.8 mg N L−1 d−1).

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by two grants from the Natural Science Foundation (Nos. 51108408 and 41276109).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Baolan Hu, Zhanfei He, Sha Geng, Chen Cai, Liping Lou, Ping Zheng & Xinhua Xu

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  1. Baolan Hu
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  2. Zhanfei He
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  3. Sha Geng
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  4. Chen Cai
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  5. Liping Lou
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  6. Ping Zheng
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  7. Xinhua Xu
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Correspondence to Xinhua Xu.

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Hu, B., He, Z., Geng, S. et al. Cultivation of nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria: impact of reactor configuration. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 98, 7983–7991 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-014-5835-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-014-5835-z

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