Heme Induces the Cooperation of Feammox and Anammox to Improve the Removal of Ammonia Nitrogen

Anammox is limited in practical application due to the need to control the influent ratio of NO 2 - to NH 4 + . Fe(III) (hydr)oxides have been confirmed to serve as electron acceptors and induce a so-called Feammox to anaerobically oxidize ammonia in Anammox systems via extracellular electron transfer, which however is also restrained by the low activity of Fe(III) (hydr)oxides. Heme, a Fe-containing compound with high redox activity, was introduced into the Anammox system to improve NH 4 + oxidation in this study. A removal rate of 46.32 mg N/(L·d) was achieved for nitrogen through the addition of heme, which was 43.85 % higher than the maximum Feammox efficiency in documents (32.20 mg N/(L·d)). Continuous experiments showed that the added heme participated in the intracellular and extracellular electron transfer of Anammox. The contribution of Feammox to nitrogen removal was affected by the influent NO 2 - -N/NH 4 + -N ratio. Under a high NO 2 - -N/NH 4 + -N ratio (1.25:1), the contribution of Feammox to NH 4 + -N removal was 8.29 %. This ratio increased to 31.49 % under a low NO 2 - -N/NH 4 + -N ratio (0.80). Besides increasing the nitrogen removal efficiency, heme addition may significantly lower the nitrite requirement in this biological process, leading to improved adaptability in its application. • Nitrogen removal efficiency with heme reached 46.32 mg N/(L·d). • Heme participated in intracellular/extracellular electron transfer of Anammox. • NO 3 - drove ferroheme/ferriheme cycle to maintain the continuous nitrogen removal. • Heme contributed to the enrichment of Candidatus Brocadiaceae .