N2O Accumulation Research Articles

Effect of dissolved oxygen on N2O release in the sewer system during controlling hydrogen sulfide by nitrate dosing

Nitrate dosing is commonly used for controlling hydrogen sulfide in sewer systems. However, it may potentially facilitate N2O emission due to the denitrification process promoted by nitrate addition. In this study, lab-scale sewer reactors were operated to investigate the impact of nitrate addition on N2O production in sewer systems. Results showed that the N2O flux even increased by six times with the addition of nitrate when dissolved oxygen (DO) in the wastewater exceeded 0.4 mg/L. Principal component analysis showed that the N2O concentration was notably affected by DO and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) in the wastewater. Furthermore, it was founded that N2O flux had a strong linear relationship with the DO concentration in the batch test. The microbial analysis found that the nosZ possessing organisms decreased significantly in the micro-aerobic condition and the copy numbers of nosZ gene declined consequently. It indicated that the inhibition of N2O reduced to N2 was responsible for significant accumulation and emission of N2O in the micro-aerobic condition. Given the gravity sewers are not completely anaerobic, the DO concentration is ranged from 0.1 to 2.4 mg/L in gravity sewers with the partially filled flow. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the N2O production when nitrate dosing for hydrogen sulfide controlling in gravity sewers.

Oxygen-depletion by rapid ammonia oxidation regulates kinetics of N2O, NO and N2 production in an ammonium fertilised agricultural soil

Oxygen (O2) is a key factor driving the expression of N-cycle-related functional genes and regulating nitrogenous gas production in the soil. However, how and to what extent the associated gene transcription and corresponding gas kinetics interact with the transition of soil O2 status caused by N fertilisation, remains poorly understood. In this context, we conducted a robotized incubation experiment using a He/O2 atmosphere with different amounts of ammonium-based fertiliser (0 (control), 60 (AS60) and 200 mg N kg−1 (NH4)2SO4 (AS200)) applied to an agricultural soil with a strong nitrification potential under three different initial O2 levels (oxic 21%, sub-oxic 3%, and anoxic 0%) over 14 days. Through repeated measurements of N2O, NO, and N2 concentrations and kinetics of mineral N following the decline of O2 concentrations, we found that higher ammonium addition (200 vs. 60 mg N kg−1) caused faster O2 consumption in the headspace and induced up to 238 times higher net accumulation of N2O under initially oxic headspace condition. We speculate that this was due to: 1) the rapid transition of O2 status from oxic to anoxic due to vigorous ammonia oxidation; and 2) the increased N2O/(N2O + NO + N2) ratio of denitrification with higher N addition. The amoA and nosZ gene transcript numbers changed significantly in response to ammonium addition and decreasing O2 concentration, whereas high-throughput sequencing revealed a significant structural alteration of the soil microbiota along with the transition of O2 status. Our results highlight that the vigorousness of oxygen depletion in the soil matrix driven by rapid ammonia oxidation is the proximal factor that regulates gas kinetics in high nitrification-potential soil when O2 diffusion is limited. This implies that practices which reduce hotspots of ammonia oxidation have the potential to mitigate N2O emissions from nitrifier denitrification and denitrification in agricultural soil.

Prediction and Forecasting of Air Quality Index in Chennai using Regression and ARIMA time series models

Air is one of the most fundamental constituents for the sustenance of life on earth. The meteorological, traffic factors, consumption of non-renewable energy sources, and industrial parameters are steadily increasing air pollution. These factors affect the welfare and prosperity of life on earth; therefore, the nature of air quality in our environment needs to be monitored continuously. The Air Quality Index (AQI), which indicates air quality, is influenced by several individual factors such as the accumulation of NO2, CO, O3, PM2.5, SO2, and PM10. This research paper aims to predict and forecast the AQI with Machine Learning (ML) techniques, namely linear regression and time series analysis. Primarily,Multi Linear Regression (MLR) model, supervised machine learning, is developed to predict AQI. NO2, Ozone(O3), PM 2.5, and SO2 sensor output collected from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) – Chennai region, India feed as input features and optimized AQI calculated from sensor's output set as a target to train the regression model. The obtained model parameters are validated with new and unseen sensor output. The Key Performance Indices(KPI) like co-efficient of determination, root mean square error and mean absolute error were calculated to validate the model accuracy. The K-cross-fold validation for testing data of MLR was obtained as around 92%. Secondly, the Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) time series model is applied to forecast the AQI. The obtained model parameters were validated with unseen data with a timestamp. The forecasted AQI value of the next 15 days lies in a 95 % confidence interval zone. The model accuracy of test data was obtained as more than 80%.

Soil nitrification response to dairy digestate and inorganic ammonium sources depends on soil pH and nitrifier abundances

AbstractTo reduce CH4 emissions, some dairy operations use manure as feedstock for anaerobic digesters, after which the nonvolatilized portion forms a digestate effluent with high NH4+ content that is used as fertilizer. When applied to soil, N fertilizers are subject to nitrification, where NH3–oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) oxidize NH3 to NO2–, NO2––oxidizing bacteria (NOB) oxidize NO2– to NO3−, and N oxides are produced from biotic and abiotic reactions. This study used soil microcosms to evaluate the properties of nitrification in response to the addition of N as digestate vs. NH4Cl in soils from the different climatic regions of the western Oregon coastal plain (CP) and eastern Oregon Columbia River basin (CRB). In each soil, properties of NH3 oxidation or N oxide accumulation did not differ when N was provided via digestate or NH4Cl over the normal temperature range; however, nitrification rates, communities, and products differed between soils. The average nitrification rate in CP soil was almost twofold higher than in CRB soil (P ≤ .001), despite no significant differences in AOB activity or AOB amoA copy numbers. With N addition, AOA activity also increased in CP soil, where AOA amoA copy numbers were fivefold higher than CRB soil (P < .002). Accumulation of NO2– only in CRB soil was likely due to NOB inhibition by high NH3 concentrations (∼560 μM) present at the high pH of CRB soil (8.5). Overall, nitrification was dictated by differences in edaphic properties, temperature, and nitrifier communities more than N source.

Increase of N2O production during nitrate reduction after long-term sulfide addition in lake sediment microcosms

Microbial denitrification is a main source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions which have strong greenhouse effect and destroy stratospheric ozone. Though the importance of sulfide driven chemoautotrophic denitrification has been recognized, its contribution to N2O emissions in nature remains elusive. We built up long-term sulfide-added microcosms with sediments from two freshwater lakes. Chemistry analysis confirmed sulfide could drive nitrate respiration in long term. N2O accumulated to over 1.5% of nitrate load in both microcosms after long-term sulfide addition, which was up to 12.9 times higher than N2O accumulation without sulfide addition. Metagenomes were extracted and sequenced during microcosm incubations. 16 S rRNA genes of Thiobacillus and Defluviimonas were gradually enriched. The nitric oxide reductase with c-type cytochromes as electron donors (cNorB) increased in abundance, while the nitric oxide reductase receiving electrons from quinols (qNorB) decreased in abundance. cnorB genes similar to Thiobacillus were enriched in both microcosms. In parallel, enrichment was observed for enzymes involved in sulfur oxidation, which supplied electrons to nitrate respiration, and enzymes involved in Calvin Cycle, which sustained autotrophic cell growth, implying the coupling relationship between carbon, nitrogen and sulfur cycling processes. Our results suggested sulfur pollution considerably increased N2O emissions in natural environments.

Inhibition of ferrous iron (Fe2+) to sulfur-driven autotrophic denitrification: Insight into microbial community and functional genes

The effect of Fe2+ on the performance of sulfur-driven autotrophic denitrification (SDAD) using S0 as electron donor was evaluated. The experimental results showed that as initial Fe2+ concentration increased, nitrate (NO3–) removal rate significantly decreased. Fe2+ ion (0.1 mM and 1 Mm) inhibited SDAD rate (approximately 10% and 50%) and resulted in an accumulation of nitrite (NO2–) and nitrous oxide (N2O). The relative abundance of Thiobacillus was positively correlated with NO3– removal rate, whereas negatively correlated with Fe2+ concentration, suggesting that Fe2+ inhibited the sulfur-oxidizing denitrifying bacteria. Moreover, the abundance of bacterial 16S rRNA, denitrifying genes (narG, nirS, nirK and nosZ) and sulfur-oxidizing genes (soxB and dsrA) decreased with the increase of Fe2+ concentration, among them nosZ and soxB were the most sensitive genes to Fe2+, and nosZ/narG, soxB/(bacterial 16S rRNA) and soxB/nirK had influence on NO3– removal rate, while nosZ/(bacterial 16S rRNA) affected N2O accumulation rate.

Built‐in Electric Field Triggered Interfacial Accumulation Effect for Efficient Nitrate Removal at Ultra‐Low Concentration and Electroreduction to Ammonia

AbstractA built‐in electric field in electrocatalyst can significantly accumulate higher concentration of NO3− ions near electrocatalyst surface region, thus facilitating mass transfer for efficient nitrate removal at ultra‐low concentration and electroreduction reaction (NO3RR). A model electrocatalyst is created by stacking CuCl (111) and rutile TiO2 (110) layers together, in which a built‐in electric field induced from the electron transfer from TiO2 to CuCl (CuCl_BEF) is successfully formed . This built‐in electric field effectively triggers interfacial accumulation of NO3− ions around the electrocatalyst. The electric field also raises the energy of key reaction intermediate *NO to lower the energy barrier of the rate determining step. A NH3 product selectivity of 98.6 %, a low NO2− production of <0.6 %, and mass‐specific ammonia production rate of 64.4 h−1 is achieved, which are all the best among studies reported at 100 mg L−1 of nitrate concentration to date.

Built-in Electric Field Triggered Interfacial Accumulation Effect for Efficient Nitrate Removal at Ultra-Low Concentration and Electroreduction to Ammonia.

A built-in electric field in electrocatalyst can significantly accumulate higher concentration of NO3 - ions near electrocatalyst surface region, thus facilitating mass transfer for efficient nitrate removal at ultra-low concentration and electroreduction reaction (NO3 RR). A model electrocatalyst is created by stacking CuCl (111) and rutile TiO2 (110) layers together, in which a built-in electric field induced from the electron transfer from TiO2 to CuCl (CuCl_BEF) is successfully formed . This built-in electric field effectively triggers interfacial accumulation of NO3 - ions around the electrocatalyst. The electric field also raises the energy of key reaction intermediate *NO to lower the energy barrier of the rate determining step. A NH3 product selectivity of 98.6 %, a low NO2 - production of <0.6 %, and mass-specific ammonia production rate of 64.4 h-1 is achieved, which are all the best among studies reported at 100 mg L-1 of nitrate concentration to date.

Evaluation of nitrogen removal and N2O emission in a novel anammox coupled with sulfite-driven autotrophic denitrification system: Influence of pH

A combination of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) with sulfur-autotrophic denitrification is a promising alternative for complete nitrogen removal. Herein, a novel anammox coupled with sulfite-driven autotrophic denitrification (ASDAD) is firstly proposed. The influence of pH (8.5–6.5) on nitrogen removal and N2O emission is investigated in an anaerobic sequencing batch biofilm reactor fed with low-nitrogen wastewater containing sulfite. Long-term operation demonstrates that a maximum nitrogen removal of 94.5% occurred at a pH of 7.5 and that the contribution of autotrophic denitrification to nitrogen removal increased as the pH declined. Cyclic and batch experiments verify that anammox and sulfite-autotrophic denitrification simultaneously participates in nitrogen removal, and the stoichiometry for sulfite-driven autotrophic denitrification is firstly proposed. Furthermore, N2O accumulation is also highly correlated with the pH. The N2O emission peaks at a pH of 6.5 due to the inactivated anammox and incomplete autotrophic denitrification of nitrite at such a low pH. High-throughput sequencing reveals the coexistence of anammox (Candidatus Brocadia and Candidatus Kuenenia) and sulfur-oxidizing species (Thiobacillus). Finally, the schema for nitrogen conversion and N2O formation of ASDAD is elucidated based on metagenomic metabolism. This study offers a cost-effective and environment-friendly completely autotrophic nitrogen removal process for municipal wastewater with a low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio in practice.

Sulfur-Based Denitrification in Streambank Subsoils in a Headwater Catchment Underlain by Marine Sedimentary Rocks in Akita, Japan

Sulfur-based denitrification may be a key biogeochemical nitrate (NO3−) removal process in sulfide-rich regions, but it is still poorly understood in natural terrestrial ecosystems. We examined sulfur-driven NO3− reduction using streambank soils in a headwater catchment underlain by marine sedimentary rock in Akita, Japan. In a catchment exhibiting higher sulfide content in streambed sediment, we sampled two adjacent streambank soils of streambank I (two layers) and of streambank II (eight layers). Anaerobic long-term incubation experiments (40 days, using soils of streambank I) and short-term incubation experiments (5 days, using soils of streambank II) were conducted to evaluate variations of N solutes (NO3−, NO2−, and NH4+), N gases (NO, N2O), and the bacterial flora. In both experiments, two treatment solutions containing NO3− (N treatment), and NO3− and S2O32− (N + S treatment) were prepared. In the N + S treatment of the long-term experiment, NO3− concentrations gradually decreased by 98%, with increases in the SO42−, NO2−, NO, and N2O concentrations and with not increase in the NH4+, indicating denitrification had occurred with a high probability. Temporal accumulation of NO2− was observed in the N + S treatment. The stoichiometric ratio of SO42− production and NO3− depletion rates indicated that denitrification using reduced sulfur occurred even without additional S, indicating inherent S also served as an electron donor for denitrification. In the short-term incubation experiment, S addition was significantly decreased NO3− concentrations and increased NO2−, NO, and N2O concentrations, especially in some subsoils with higher sulfide contents. Many denitrifying sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (Thiobacillus denitrificans and Sulfuricella denitrificans) were detected in both streambank I and II, which dominated up to 5% of the entire microbial population, suggesting that these bacteria are widespread in sulfide-rich soil layers in the catchment. We concluded that the catchment with abundant sulfides in the subsoil possessed the potential for sulfur-driven NO3− reduction, which could widely influence N cycling in and NO3− export from the headwater catchment.

The importance of utilizing nitrate (NO3-) over ammonium (NH4+) as nitrogen source during detoxification of exogenous thiocyanate (SCN-) in Oryza sativa.

Thiocyanate (SCN-) is a nitrogen-containing pollutant, which can be involved in the nitrogen (N) cycle and interferes with plant growth. The current study highlights a new insight into the N (nitrate [NO3-] and ammonium [NH4+]) utilization ways in rice seedlings under SCN- exposure to clarify the interactive effect on uptake and assimilation between these N-containing chemicals. Phenotypically, relative growth rates (RGR) of NO3--fed seedlings were significantly higher than NH4+-fed rice seedlings at the same SCN- concentration. Both N fertilizations have no significant influence on SCN- content and its assimilation in rice seedlings. However, significant accumulation of NO3- and NH4+ were detected in shoots prior to roots under SCN- stress. Enzymatic assay and mRNA analysis showed that the carbonyl sulfide (COS) pathway of SCN- degradation occurred in both roots and shoots of NO3--fed seedlings but only evident in roots of NH4+-fed seedlings. Moreover, the effect of SCN- on the activity of nitrate reductase (NR), glutamine synthetase (GS), and glutamate synthase (GOGAT) was negligible in NO3--fed seedlings, while GOGAT activity was significantly inhibited in shoots of NH4+-fed seedlings. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) estimation provided positive evidence in utilizing NO3- over NH4+ as the main N source to support rice seedling growth during detoxification of exogenous SCN-. Overall, SCN- pollution has unexpectedly changed the rice preference for N source which shifted from NH4+ to NO3-, suggesting that the interactions of SCN- with different N sources in terms of uptake and assimilation in rice plants should not be overlooked, especially at the plant N nutritional level.

Combined effects of salinity and nitrogen levels on some physiological and biochemical aspects at the halophytic forage legume Sulla carnosa

ABSTRACT Salinity and low nitrogen availability are two major abiotic stresses that often coexist and disturb plant productivity. This study aimed at investigating the combined effects of salinity (0 and 100 mM NaCl) and nitrogen (0.5 and 5.0 mM NH4NO3) levels on the morphological parameters, the mineral status, nitrogen use efficiency, photosynthesis, and nitrate reductase (NR, E.C. 1.6.6.1) and glutamine synthetase (GS, EC 6.3.1.2) activities at Sulla carnosa.‎ Salinity enhanced growth rate (66%), the relative growth rate (RGR), root volume (RV), Na+ and Cl− accumulations and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). It had no detrimental effect on photosynthetic assimilation rate (A) and leaf NR and GS activities under high nitrogen level condition. High nitrogen availability under saline condition enhanced growth rate, RGR, shoot/root ratio, photosynthesis activity, NR activity in roots, and the accumulation of NO3 − in different plant organs and all cations and anions in roots. In brief, salinity and high nitrogen availability represented an adequate condition for optimal growth and high Na+ and NO3 − accumulations at S. carnosa. This study suggested that S. carnosa could be a suitable forage legume that can be widely cultivated in the discarded, salinized and nitrogen-contaminated agricultural soils.

The Growth of Leaf Lettuce and Bacterial Communities in a Closed Aquaponics System with Catfish

Aquaponics is a circulating and sustainable system that combines aquaculture and hydroponics and forms a symbiotic relationship between fish, plants, and microorganisms. We hypothesized that feed alone could support plant growth, but the symbiosis with fish adds some beneficial effects on plant growth in aquaponics. In this study, we created three closed culture systems, namely, aquaponics, hydroponics without nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), and aquaculture, and added the same amount of feed containing N and P to all the treatments in order to test the hypothesis. Accumulation of NO3− and PO43− was alleviated in aquaponics and hydroponics as a result of plant uptake. Lettuce plants grown in aquaponics grew vigorously until 2 weeks and contained a constant level of N in plants throughout the production period, whereas those in hydroponics grew slowly in the early stage and then vigorously after 2 weeks with a late increment of N concentration. These results suggest that catfish help with the faster decomposition of the feed, but, in hydroponics, feed can be slowly dissolved and decomposed owing to the absence of the fish. The bacterial community structures of the culture solution were investigated using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. At the class level, Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria were the major microbial groups in the solutions. Aquaponics prevented the pollution of tank solution and maintained a higher water quality compared with hydroponics and aquaculture, suggesting that aquaponics is a more sustainable cultivation system even in a small-scale system.

Linking meta-omics to the kinetics of denitrification intermediates reveals pH-dependent causes of N2O emissions and nitrite accumulation in soil

Soil pH is a key controller of denitrification. We analysed the metagenomics/transcriptomics and phenomics of two soils from a long-term liming experiment, SoilN (pH 6.8) and un-limed SoilA (pH 3.8). SoilA had severely delayed N2O reduction despite early transcription of nosZ (mainly clade I), encoding N2O reductase, by diverse denitrifiers. This shows that post-transcriptionally hampered maturation of the NosZ apo-protein at low pH is a generic phenomenon. Identification of transcript reads of several accessory genes in the nos cluster indicated that enzymes for NosZ maturation were present across a range of organisms, eliminating their absence as an explanation for the failure to produce a functional enzyme. nir transcript abundances (for NO2− reductase) in SoilA suggest that low NO2− concentrations in acidic soils, often ascribed to abiotic degradation, are primarily due to biological activity. The accumulation of NO2− in neutral soil was ascribed to high nar expression (nitrate reductase). The -omics results revealed dominance of nirK over nirS in both soils while qPCR showed the opposite, demonstrating that standard primer pairs only capture a fraction of the nirK pool. qnor encoding NO reductase was strongly expressed in SoilA, implying an important role in controlling NO. Production of HONO, for which some studies claim higher, others lower, emissions from NO2− accumulating soil, was estimated to be ten times higher from SoilA than from SoilN. The study extends our understanding of denitrification-driven gas emissions and the diversity of bacteria involved and demonstrates that gene and transcript quantifications cannot always reliably predict community phenotypes.

Adsorption and dissociation of [formula omitted] on [formula omitted] doped with p-block elements

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a chemical compound produced in large amounts as a byproduct of combustion in vehicles and industrial processes. In its gas form, it is harmful to both human health and the environment causing acid rain, greenhouse effects, and a variety of respiratory symptoms. Hence, significant effort has been put into its detection and removal including studies on low-dimensional layered materials. Those have shown that molecules of NO2 have a good affinity for surfaces of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). This allows for NO2 detection, however, the interaction is too weak for its effective accumulation or subsequent catalysis. Consequently, this work investigates, employing density functional theory, doping of MoS2 for enhanced NO2 adsorption, and the extent to which it affects the molecule. The results show that the strength of molecule-substrate interaction depends on the changes in the orbital population of the dopant. This results in different adsorption configurations with varying energies and molecule-substrate charge transfers. The changes allow Cl-MoS2 to be more suitable for detection, and Ge-MoS2 accumulation of NO2. Also, due to the interaction strength, the Si and P doped monolayers facilitate dissociation of NO2 into NO. Thus, tuning the potential of MoS2 for surface catalysis.

Nutrition of conilon coffee under fertilization of nitrogen and molybdenum

Nitrogen (N) is the most applied nutrient in Coffea canephora crop. However, the absorption of N, especially in the form of nitrate, does not guarantee its effective use in the synthesis of biomolecules. The reduction of nitrate in the cytosol is often limited by the deficiency of molybdenum (Mo). This study, conducted during two coffee production cycles under field conditions, aimed to evaluate the effects of applying Mo on the nutrition of Conilon coffee subjected to doses of N. The experimental design used was in randomized blocks, in a 2 x 5 factorial scheme, the first factor being the absence and presence of molybdic fertilization and the second factor, N doses (300, 500, 700, 900 and 1,100 kg ha−1 year−1). Increasing doses of N promoted a linear increase in S, and within certain limits, increased the concentrations of N-NH4 +, P, K and Ca in coffee leaves; while there was a decrease in the levels of Mg and Mo. The sodium molybdate fertilizer applied to the soil was efficient in supplying Mo to the coffee. Although the Conilon maintains basal levels of nitrate in the leaves, molybdic fertilization prevented the excessive accumulation of NO3 - in plants submitted to N doses above 515 kg ha−1. In the second year, the highest concentrations of N-NH4 +, P, K and Ca were achieved with doses of N between 698 and 967 kg ha−1, which provided yield greater than 145 bags ha−1.

Integrated mechanistic and data-driven modeling for risk assessment of greenhouse gas production in an urbanized river system

Surrounded by intense anthropogenic activities, urban polluted rivers have increasingly been reported as a significant source of greenhouse gases (GHGs). However, unlike pollution and climate change, no integrated urban water models have investigated the GHG production in urban rivers due to system complexity. In this study, we proposed a novel integrated framework of mechanistic and data-driven models to qualitatively assess the risks of GHG accumulation in an urban river system in different water management interventions. Particularly, the mechanistic model delivered elaborated insights into river states in four intervention scenarios in which the installation of a new wastewater treatment plant using two different technologies, together with new sewage systems and additional retention tanks, were assessed during dry and rainy seasons. From the insights, we applied fuzzy rule-based models as a decision support tool to predict the GHG accumulation risks and identify their driving factors in the scenarios. The obtained results indicated the important role of new discharge connection and additional storage capacity in decreasing pollutant concentrations, consequently, reducing the risks. Moreover, among the major variables explaining the GHG accumulation in the rivers, DO level was considerably affected by the reaeration capacity of the rivers that was strongly dependent on river slope and flow. Furthermore, river water quality emerged as the most critical variable explaining the pCO2 and N2O accumulation that implied that the more polluted and anaerobic the sites were, the higher were their GHG accumulation. Given its simplicity and transparency, the proposed modeling framework can be applied to other river basins as a decision support tool in setting up integrated urban water management plans.

Biochar Mitigates N2O Emission of Microbial Denitrification through Modulating Carbon Metabolism and Allocation of Reducing Power.

To elucidate the direct effects of biochar on denitrification metabolism at the cellular level, the global response of model denitrifying soil bacterium (Paracoccus denitrificans) to biochar addition was investigated by physiological, proteomic, and metabolomics analyses. The enhancement effect on denitrification was positively correlated with its pyrolysis temperatures (300-500 °C) and dosages (0.1-1%), regardless of precursors [corn straw (CS) or wheat straw). Moreover, the stimulating effect of CS biochar made at 500 °C (CS-500) was mainly attributed to the bulk particles rather than the released soluble compounds. Without direct contact with cells, bulk CS-500 particles might directly modulate the carbon metabolism by the adsorption of extracellular metabolites. Since carbon flux to storage was shifted to oxidative catabolism and growth assimilation, more share of the produced reducing power was used for nitrogen reduction. Meanwhile, except for nitrate reductase, both protein expressions and enzyme activities of nitrite reductase, nitric oxide reductase, and nitrous oxide reductase were up-regulated. Accordingly, the accumulation of N2O was reduced by 98% due to the optimized electron distribution among denitrifying enzymes. Eventually, the growth rate of Pc. denitrificans enhanced because of the improved energy utilization efficiency. These results updated the regulation mechanism of biochar on denitrification metabolism and N2O mitigation.

Distinctive Patterns and Controls of Nitrous Oxide Concentrations and Fluxes from Urban Inland Waters.

Inland waters are significant sources of nitrous oxide (N2O), a powerful greenhouse gas. However, considerable uncertainty exists in the estimates of N2O efflux from global inland waters due to a lack of direct measurements in urban inland waters, which are generally characterized by high carbon and nitrogen concentrations and low carbon-to-nitrogen ratios. Herein, we present direct measurements of N2O concentrations and fluxes in lakes and rivers of Beijing, China, during 2018-2020. N2O concentrations and fluxes in the waters of Beijing exceeded previous estimates of global rivers due to the high carbon and nutrient concentrations and high aquatic productivity. In contrast, the N2O emission factor (N2O-N/DIN, median 0.0005) was lower than global medians and the N2O yield (ΔN2O/(ΔN2O + ΔN2), average 1.6%) was higher than those typically observed in rivers and streams. The positive relationship between N2O emissions and denitrifying bacteria as well as the Michaelis-Menten relationship between N2O emissions and NO3--N concentrations suggested that bacteria control the net production of N2O in waters of Beijing with N saturation, leading to a low N2O emission factor. However, low carbon-to-nitrogen ratios are beneficial for N2O accumulation during denitrification, resulting in high N2O yields. This study demonstrates the significant N2O emissions and their distinctive patterns and controls in urban inland waters and suggests that N2O emission estimates based on nitrogen loads and simple emission factor values are not appropriate for urban inland water systems.

Long-term effects of acetylene on denitrifying N2O production: Biomass performance and microbial community

Maximizing production and use of N2O produced by the process of denitrification has emerged as a promising concept for energy recovery from nitrogen. Acetylene is well known as an inhibitor of N2O reductase activity, however, to date, few studies have utilized long-term cultivation with acetylene to achieve denitrifying N2O recovery. This work assessed the performance of N2O production and shifts in the denitrifying community in response to long-term exposure of acetylene during nitrite denitrification. Batch tests showed that long-term exposure to acetylene at high concentrations (volume fraction >40 %) resulted in high N2O accumulation, up to 98.6 %. High-throughput 16S rRNA gene analysis suggested that Saprospiraceae dominated the microbial community at the end of the cultivation period with its abundance increasing from the initial 3.2% to 42.2%. Metagenomic analysis revealed that after the long-term cultivation under high level acetylene, the relative abundance of nosZ in the community did not change significantly. Instead, the nosZⅡ-harboring bacteria became dominant. Batch tests in series demonstrated that N2O reduction could be restored rapidly upon removal of acetylene. This study describes an effective method for high yield production of N2O during nitrite denitrification that can be used to enhance energy recovery and improves our understanding of the long-term effect of acetylene on the denitrifying community.