Characterization of a Microbial Community in an Anammox Process Using Stored Anammox Sludge

• Main Authors: Wenjing Chen, Xiaohu Dai, Dawen Cao, Xiaona Hu, Wenru Liu, Dianhai Yang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2017-10-01
• Series: Water
• Subjects: Anammox; bacterial community; start-up; up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/9/11/829

This study investigated a rapid start-up anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) process by inoculation with stored Anammox sludge and characterized the associated microbial communities. The Anammox process took only 43 days to start. A high nitrogen removal rate of 1.13 kg N m−3 d−1 and a nitrogen loading rate of 1.28 kg N m−3 d−1 were achieved. The ratio of ammonium removal to nitrite removal to nitrate production (1:1:0.2) was slightly lower than the theoretical value, which indicated nitrogen removal by denitrification in the reactor. Illumina high-throughput sequencing of sludge samples confirmed the co-existence of Anammox bacteria and denitrifying bacteria in the reactor and demonstrated that denitrifying bacteria play a role in nitrogen removal during the Anammox process. The dominant microbes in the reactor were Proteobacteria, Chlorobi, Chloroflexi, and Planctomycetes. However, only one species of Anammox bacteria, Candidatus jettenia, was identified and had an abundance of 4.92%. Our results illustrate the relationship between Anammox reactor performance and microbial community succession.