Isolation and Characterization of Heterotrophic Nitrifying Strain W1

In a high concentration substrate medium, a heterotrophic bacterium with high removal efficiency of ammonium, named W1, was isolated from activated sludge of coking wastewater treatment facility. The bacterium was Gram-negative, rod-shaped, and identified preliminarily as Alcaligenes sp. according to its morphological and physiological properties and its 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. In the high concentration ammonium medium (400 mg·L−1 NH4+-N), the effects of C source, N source, C/N ratio and initial pH of medium on ammonium removal were investigated in order to determine the optimal condition for strain W1. The maximum ammonium removal was around 95% in 4 days in an improved medium. The production of N2 gas was examined in a closed system that was full of pure oxygen at the beginning. N2 gas was detected in the system after 4 days of cultivation, which further testified that strain W1 has heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification abilities simultaneously.