Simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal from municipal wastewater by Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycling mediated partial-denitrification/anammox

The efficient removal of nitrogen and phosphorus remains challenging for traditional wastewater treatment. In this study, the feasibility for enhancing the partial-denitrification and anammox process by Fe (III) reduction coupled to anammox and nitrate-dependent Fe (II) oxidation was explored using municipal wastewater. The nitrogen removal efficiency increased from 75.5 % to 83.0 % by adding Fe (III). Batch tests showed that NH4+-N was first oxidized to N2 or NO2--N by Fe (III), then NO3--N was reduced to NO2--N and N2 by Fe (II), and finally, NO2--N was utilized by anammox. Furthermore, the performance of phosphorus removal improved by Fe addition and the removal efficiency increased to 78.7 %. High-throughput sequencing showed that the Fe-reducing bacteria Pseudomonas and Thiobacillus were successfully enriched. The abundance of anammox bacterial increased from 0.03 % to 0.22 % by multiple nitrite supply pathways. Fe addition presents a promising pathway for application in the anammox process.