Decreasing ammonium generation using hydrogenotrophic bacteria in the process of nitrate reduction by nanoscale zero-valent iron

An integrated nitrate treatment using nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) and Alcaligenes eutrophus, which is a kind of hydrogenotrophic denitrifying bacteria, was conducted to remove nitrate and decrease ammonium generation. Within 8 days, nitrate was removed completely in the reactors containing NZVI particles plus bacteria while the proportion of ammonium generated was only 33%. That is a lower reduction rate but a smaller proportion of ammonium relative to that in abiotic reactors. It was also found that ammonium generation experienced a biphasic process, involving an increasing period and a stable period. After domestication of the bacteria, the combined NZVI–cell system could remove all nitrate without ammonium released when the refreshed nitrate was introduced. Nitrate reduction and the final product distribution were also studied in batch reactors amended with different initial NZVI contents and biomass concentrations, respectively. Both the nitrate removal rate and the ammonium yield decreased when the initial content of NZVI reduced and the initial biomass concentration increased. However, about 27% of the nitrate was converted to ammonium when excess bacteria (OD422 = 0.026) were used, which was higher than that with appropriate amount of bacteria.