Biological nitrogen removal characteristics and mechanisms of a novel salt-tolerant strain Vibrio sp. LV-Q1 and its application capacity for high-salinity nitrogen-containing wastewater treatment

Abstract

High concentration of salts in wastewater can adversely affects the metabolic activities and growth of microorganisms, resulting in reduced efficiency of biological nitrogen removal. Screening high-efficiency heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HN-AD) bacteria with salt tolerance is important for the wastewater treatment. In this study, a novel salt-tolerant strain LV-Q1 capable of HN-AD was isolated and identified as Vibrio sp. This strain demonstrates a salinity tolerance range of 0–8 %. Notably, strain LV-Q1 exhibited exceptional nitrogen removal efficiencies (at initial concentrations of 100 mg/L), achieving 97.97 % for NH4+-N, 100 % for NO3--N, and approximately 100 % for mixed nitrogen (NH4+-N and NO3--N) at a salinity of 5 %. Optimal ammonium removal parameters for LV-Q1 were established. The nitrogen removal pathway of LV-Q1 primarily involves direct assimilation of ammonium and its conversion into N2 through HN-AD. Analysis of the salt tolerance mechanism revealed LV-Q1's ability to equilibrate osmotic pressure through the accumulation of amino acids and betaine, production of antioxidative enzymes or extracellular protein, and utilization of its quorum sensing (QS) properties to withstand high-salinity environments. The strain LV-Q1 exhibited strong resistance to salinity shock in bioaugmentation within a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR), markedly enhancing nitrogen and carbon removal performance with an improved removal efficiency of 26.74 % and 10.15 % averagely at the end of the reaction at a salinity of 5 %. Moreover, Vibrio sp. LV-Q1 successfully proliferated and dominated, and its relative abundance gradually increased to 59.81 %. This study contributes new insights and resources for the treatment of nitrogen in saline effluents.