Performance and microbial communities of Mn(II)-based autotrophic denitrification in a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR)

In this study, Mn(II) as electron donor was tested for the effects on denitrification in the MBBR under the conditions of initial nitrate concentration (10 mg L−1, 30 mg L−1, 50 mg L−1), pH (5, 6, 7) and hydraulic retention time (HRT) (4 h, 8 h, 12 h) which conducted by response surface methodology (RSM), the results demonstrated that the highest nitrate removal efficiency was occurred under the conditions of initial nitrate concentration of 47.64 mg L−1, HRT of 11.96 h and pH 5.21. Analysis of SEM and flow cytometry suggested that microorganisms were immobilized on the Yu Long plastic carrier media successfully before the reactor began to operate. Furthermore, high-throughput sequencing was employed to characterize and compare the community compositions and structures of MBBR under the optimum conditions, the results showed that Pseudomonas sp. SZF15 was the dominant contributor for effective removal of nitrate in the MBBR.