This study contributes to the improvement of low-cost biotechnology for wastewater treatment in constructed wetlands (CWs). Constructed wetlands are energy efficient engineered systems that mimic the treatment processes of natural wetlands, removing polluting organic matter, nutrients, and pathogens from water. The aim of this study was to investigate the advisability of the inoculation of hori...

From discovery in the early 1990s to completion of full-scale anammox reactor, it took almost two decades to uncover the secret veil of anammox bacteria. There were three milestones during the commercialization of anammox: the development of the first enrichment culture medium, the completion of the first commercial anammox reactor, and the fast start-up of full-scale anammox plant. Till now, t...

A bench-scale up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was applied to start-up the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) process from conventional return activated sludge. The reactor was operated for approximately 170 days and was fed synthetic wastewater containing mainly nitrite ) (NO2 − and ammonium ) (NH 4 + as main substrates. After 106 days of operation, the first evidence of Ana...

Anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria have been recognized as an important sink for fixed nitrogen and are detected in many natural environments. However, their presence in terrestrial ecosystems has long been overlooked, and their contribution to the nitrogen cycling in natural and agricultural soils is currently unknown. Here we describe the enrichment and characterization of anammo...

Twenty-five replicates of growth medium for anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) containing (15)N-labeled ammonium and non-labeled nitrite were inoculated into an anammox enrichment culture at low density, and anaerobically incubated batchwise. In the headspace, (29)N(2) partial pressure linearly increased via anammox in 25 vials, confirming that anammox populations were viable in all subcult...

Anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria play an important role in the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen. They derive their energy for growth from the conversion of ammonium and nitrite into dinitrogen gas in the complete absence of oxygen. Several methods have been used to detect the presence and activity of anammox bacteria in the environment, including 16S rRNA gene-based approaches....

N-dodecanoyl homoserine lactone (C12-HSL) was detected in the supernatant of an anammox granular sludge reactor (AGSR). C12-HSL could enhance the specific anammox activity of anammox biomass. Adding C12-HSL-containing AGSR supernatant into the continuously stirred tank reactors reduced the start-up time of the anammox process from 80 to 66days. Moreover, the nitrogen loading rate was also enhan...

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is a recently discovered microbial pathway and a cost-effective way to remove ammonium from wastewater. Anammox bacteria have been described as obligate chemolithoautotrophs. However, many chemolithoautotrophs (i.e., nitrifiers) can use organic compounds as a supplementary carbon source. In this study, the effect of organic compounds on anammox bacteria wa...

In a membrane bioreactor (MBR), fast growth of anammox bacteria was achieved with a sludge residence time (SRT) of 12 days. This relatively short SRT resulted in a--for anammox bacteria--unprecedented purity of the enrichment of 97.6%. The absence of a selective pressure for settling, and dedicated cultivation conditions led to growth in suspension as free cells and the complete absence of floc...

ANaerobic AMMonium OXidation (Anammox) is an efficient microbiological process for the removal of ammonia nitrogen from wastewater. Although several Anammox reactors have been operated successfully in European water pollution control plants, there are challenges associated with the process which must be addressed to ensure dependable performance when treating high strength wastestreams in New Y...