Long-term effects of nickel oxide nanoparticles on performance, microbial enzymatic activity, and microbial community of a sequencing batch reactor

- Nitrogen and phosphorus removal was affected at over 5 mg L−1 NiO NPs.
- High NiO NP concentration inhibited the microbial enzymatic activity.
- ROS and LDH increased with the increase in NiO NP concentration.
- NiO NPs could affect the microbial richness and diversity of activated sludge.

The nitrogen and phosphorus removal, microbial enzymatic activity, and microbial community of a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) were evaluated under long-term exposure to nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs). High NiO NP concentration (over 5 mg L−1) affected the removal of chemical oxygen demand, nitrogen, and phosphorus. The presence of NiO NP inhibited the microbial enzymatic activities and reduced the nitrogen and phosphorus removal rates of activated sludge. The microbial enzymatic activities of the activated sludge showed a similar variation trend to the nitrogen and phosphorus removal rates with the increase in NiO NP concentration from 0 to 60 mg L−1. The Ni content in the effluent and activated sludge showed an increasing trend with the increase in NiO NP concentration. Some NiO NPs were absorbed on the sludge surface or penetrate the cell membrane into the interior of microbial cells in the activated sludge. NiO NP facilitated the increase in reactive oxygen species by disturbing the balance between the oxidation and anti-oxidation processes, and the variation in lactate dehydrogenase demonstrated that NiO NP could destroy the cytomembrane and cause variations in the microbial morphology and physiological function. High-throughput sequencing demonstrated that the microbial community of SBR had some obvious changes at 0-60 mg L−1 NiO NPs at the phyla, class and genus levels.