Nitrous oxide emissions and microbial communities variation in low dissolved oxygen and low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio anoxic-oxic wastewater treatment plant.

Abstract

Dissolved oxygen (DO) levels and carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio affect nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions by influencing the physiological and ecological dynamics of nitrifying and denitrifying microbial communities in activated sludge systems. For example, Nitrosomonas is a common N2O producing nitrifying bacteria in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and DO conditions can affect the N2O production capacity. Previous studies have reported N2O emission characteristics under adequate DO and C/N conditions in A/O WWTPs. However, in actual operation, owing to economic and managerial factors, some WWTPs have a long-term state of low DO levels in oxic tanks and low influent C/N. Research on N2O emission characteristics in low DO-limited and low C/N ratio WWTPs is limited. This study investigated N2O emissions and the corresponding shifts in microorganisms within an anoxic-oxic (A/O) WWTP over 9-month. Quantitative PCR was used to assess the abundance of ten functional genes related to nitrification and denitrification processes, and high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was employed to determine the composition change of microorganisms. The findings revealed that 1) the average N2O emission factor was 1.07% in the studied WWTP; 2) the DO-limited oxic tank primarily contributed to N2O; 3) NO2-, TOC, and C/N ratios were key factors for dissolved N2O in the aerobic tank; and 4) Nitrosomonas and Terrimonas exhibited a robust correlation with N2O emissions. This research provides data references for estimating N2O emission factors and developing N2O reduction policies in WWTPs with DO-limited and low C/N ratios.