Nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) production in biological nutrient removal has been studied widely due to the strong negative effects on the environment. Nitrite-denitrifying phosphorus removal (N-DPR), as a significant source of NO and N₂O production, has received great attention. However, the mechanism of NO and N₂O production at different phosphorus concentrations is not well understood. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of phosphorus concentration on pollutant removal, as well as NO and N₂O production during the N-DPR process. The results showed that the phosphorus removal efficiency was improved with the increase of phosphorus concentration, which is caused by the enrichment of denitrifying phosphorus accumulating organisms (DPAOs) at high phosphorus concentration. High NO production was observed at phosphorus concentration of 0.5 mg L⁻¹, which is mainly attributed to the slow recovery of reductase activity and low abundance of DPAOs. The maximal N₂O accumulation of 31.45 mg L⁻¹ was also achieved at phosphorus concentration of 0.5 mg L⁻¹. The possible reason is that fewer poly-β-hydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) were synthesized by glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs) at low phosphorus concentration, which could intensify the electron competition among different reductases. In addition, free nitrous acid (FNA) inhibition was another significant reason for high N₂O production.

Excessive nitrogen (N) loading has had severe consequences in coastal zones around the world. Denitrification and anammox are major microbial pathways for removing N in aquatic environments before it is exported to the coast. To assess two processes in eutrophic riverine systems, the denitrification and anammox and their bacterial participants were investigated in sediments of the Xiaoqing (XQ) River and Jiaolai (JL) River in Northeast China. By combining the evidence from N¹⁵ isotope tracing experiment and functional gene-based analysis, it was found that denitrification and anammox are ubiquitous along the investigated riverine sediments. The denitrification varied from 39.38 to 1433.01 nmol N₂ m⁻² h⁻¹. Moreover, the anammox rates were in the range of 15.91 to 1209.97 nmol N₂ m⁻² h⁻¹. Quantitative PCR results revealed that the nirK and nirS genes were in the order of 10⁴–10⁶ copies g⁻¹ and 10³–10⁵ copies g⁻¹, respectively, in both river sediments, while the hzsA was in the order of 10⁶–10⁵ copies g⁻¹ in XQ at approximately two orders of magnitude compared with JL. The phylogenetic analysis of functional genes revealed the high diversity of the denitrifier and low diversity of anammox bacteria. Variance partitioning analyses verified that the grain particle characteristics were the major factor group determined the N removal efficiency. The denitrification and anammox processes were estimated to have removed 16.1% of the inorganic nitrogen inputs before being exported to Laizhou Bay, which highlights that a more extensive understanding of the regularity of the N removal processes is important in the technical remediation of eutrophication problems.

In the absence of adequate molecular oxygen in a continuously flooded soil, other oxidizing anions can potentially oxidize arsenite (As(III)) into arsenate (As(V)) and reduce the bioavailability of arsenic (As) to rice while maintaining high rice yield. We conducted a greenhouse study to evaluate the effect of two prevalent oxyanions (10 mg/L nitrate and/or 50 μg/L perchlorate) on the As uptake, speciation, and accumulation in a hybrid rice (XL753) at the heading and maturity stages. The presence of nitrate and/or perchlorate at the used concentrations increased the rice grain yield by 35–93% to16.6–23.8 g/pot while lowering the total As in rice grains by 34–45% to 0.81–0.97 mg/kg dry weight. Perchlorate alone led to the greatest decrease in total As. Organic As was the predominant species in rice grains, with dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) accounting for 66–76% of total As in all treatments. In contrast, inorganic As was the dominant As form in rice straws and roots, with As(V) accounting for 62.4–91.4% of total As in all treatments. The translocation and accumulation of different As species in rice tissues varied at different growth stages in the presence of two tested oxyanions, as indicated by the ratios of inorganic vs organic As and inorganic As(III) vs As(V). Overall, the presence of oxyanions in irrigation water at the tested concentrations significantly decreased the total As accumulation in rice grains, while enhancing the rice yield.

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Metsulfuron-methyl is a sulfonylurea herbicide, primarily with postemergence activity but also with occasional pre-emergent activity, used for control of weeds and woody plants on agricultural lands and natural areas. The active ingredient is popular in Alaska as Ally XP formulation; little is known about its high-latitude environmental behavior and potential adverse impacts on soil health in cold regions. Our study determined field degradation rates at two experimental farms in Alaska and assessed whether laboratory-incubated soil amended at 1× or 100× label rates would adversely impact microbial community diversity. DT50 was observed at 4.12–5.13 days, with the compound below 1 μg/kg detection limit at 90 days. Interestingly, this is faster than the reported range of field half-lives in the literature (7–42 days). Microbial community composition was not affected by MSM at both 1× and 100× rates. High-latitude regions exhibit extreme summer photoperiods that may exacerbate the MSM degradation/dissipation rate; we postulate that timing of application may have large impacts on MSM attenuation.

Humic acid (HA) in water is the main precursor of disinfection by-products in the chlorination process of drinking water. In this study, an ultraviolet/persulfate (UV/PS) process, in a laboratory-scale system, is successful in the degradation of HA. The results showed that HA was significantly degraded (UV₂₅₄ removal rate of ~ 89%) and partially mineralized (~ 62.5%) by UV/PS treatment at a PS dose of 0.4 mM, pH of 7.12, and UV irradiation time of 160 min. The trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) was also significantly reduced (THMFP reduction of ~ 85.4%). A strong linear relationship was observed between UV₂₅₄ and dissolved organic carbon. The removal rate of HA at low pH was better than that at high pH conditions, and the inhibition by Cl⁻ slowed down after an initial increase, and the inhibition was weaker than HCO₃⁻. By analyzing the fluorescence spectrum of two humic-like substances, the fluorescent compounds C1 and C2 in HA were significantly degraded, and the change in C1 and C2 concentration was correlated with the decrease of THMFP. The degradation of different fractions of natural organic matter in real-world water samples indicated that UV/PS has significant potential to decrease HA in water.

Anaerobic methane oxidation is a key process for methane reduction and nitrogen removal in eutrophic lakes. It is very important to know the distribution patterns of anaerobic methane oxidation activity and the related microbes in the typical plateau eutrophic lakes. Here, we aimed to characterize the anaerobic methane oxidation activity and to reveal the correlations to biological/non-biological factors along eutrophic gradients in Dianchi Lake. The anaerobic methane oxidation activity was analyzed by anaerobic incubation and gas chromatography. Candidatus Methylomirabilis was analyzed by Illumina Miseq 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. The methane oxidation activities ranged from 1.71 to 5.07 μg/g day⁻¹ in Dianchi Lake. These activities differed significantly among the four zones (p = 0.000), with more activity in the high eutrophication zone (Caohai). The relative abundance of Candidatus Methylomirabilis ranged from 84.86 to 98.13%, with no significant changes evident in the four research zones in Dianchi Lake. The anaerobic methane oxidation activity was significantly positively related to TN, NO₃⁻-N, TC, and Candidatus Methylomirabilis abundance, and significantly negatively related to TP and pH. Thus, our study showed anaerobic methane oxidation occurred in Dianchi sediment and the activity of anaerobic methane oxidation was associated with the level of eutrophication.

In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of treating water contaminated with ketoprofen (KET) by ultrasound (US) and sono-activated persulfate (US/PS) systems. The effects of different reaction parameters, such as the initial pharmaceutical compound concentration (C₀), persulfate concentration, ultrasonic power, and initial pH of the solution (pHᵢ) on the KET removal and reaction kinetics were investigated. Tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) was used as a chemical probe to identify the predominant radicals in the US and US/PS systems. The results demonstrated that the persulfate oxidant can be activated by US under neutral and alkaline conditions. Moreover, KET was predominantly degraded by hydroxyl radicals (HO.) generated by the activation of persulfate. Under alkaline conditions, the removal efficiency of KET improved with increasing amount of persulfate added. HO. was the dominant radical at a more alkaline pH in both US and US/PS systems, which was verified by the tert-butyl alcohol probe. These results provide insights into the treatment of water contaminated with pharmaceutical compounds.

Goethite is an effective adsorbent for hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)). Oxalic acid and other organic acids will affect the release, immobilization, and bioavailability of Cr(VI) in nature on the mineral surface. Mn(II) can accelerate the reduction of Cr(VI) with oxalic acid. Herein, the effects of oxalic acid and Mn(II) on the mobilization and transformation of adsorbed Cr(VI) on the surface of goethite were investigated in this study. The results revealed that Mn(II) could increase the adsorption of Cr(VI) by increasing the positive charge on the surface of goethite. The complexation of oxalic acid with the surface of goethite caused the adsorbed Cr(VI) to be released into the solution. Moreover, oxalic acid could undergo redox with adsorbed Cr(VI) through electron conduction on the surface of goethite, thereby resulting in the transformation of adsorbed Cr(VI) to Cr(III). During the reaction in the presence of oxalic acid, the concentration of Cr(III) increased from 0 to 13.9 mg/L. In addition, Mn(II), oxalic acid, and Cr(VI) could form unstable ester-like species in the solution, which accelerated the reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III). These findings of this study may enrich our understanding of the behaviors of Cr(VI) in the coexistence of goethite, oxalic acid, and Mn(II).

This paper describes the removal of Cr(VI) using the combination of bacterial reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by wood husk–packed column containing the Cr(VI)-reducing biofilm followed by Cr(III) removal using the coagulation-flocculation technique. The chromium removal process was carried out at the laboratory-scale for 90 days using different batches of Cr(VI) ranging from 35 to 231 mg L⁻¹. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a high coefficient of determination (R²) value of 0.9941, thus ensuring a satisfactory adjustment of the second-order regression model with the experimental data. The experimental observations were in reasonable agreement with the modeled values. The biofilm was able to completely reduce 100 mg L⁻¹ Cr(VI) in 6 h while a longer contact time (18 h) was needed for higher Cr(VI) concentrations. In this study, ORP (oxidation-reduction potential) was used as the control parameter during the Cr(VI) reduction process. The coagulation/flocculation process using the combination of alum and polyacrylamide results in complete removal of color, 85% Cr(III), and 97% turbidity. The field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) analysis of the biofilm revealed the embedding of bacterial cells in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). This study successfully demonstrated the potential application of a bacterial biofilm and chemical systems to remove chromium contamination from water systems.