The effect of nitrite inhibition on the anammox process.

The negative effect of nitrite on anammox activity has been reported widely during the past decade. Although the adverse effect is clear, conflicting reports exist on the level at which it occurs and its reversible/irreversible nature. An in depth study on nitrite inhibition therefore was performed in which the influence of environmental factors was evaluated. Anammox activity was measured in anammox granules by continuously monitored standardized manometric batch tests extending the interpretation by evaluation of lag times, maximum conversion rates during the tests and substrates/product conversion ratios. The granules where obtained from a one-stage anammox reactor, the dominant anammox organisms belonged to the Brocadia type. The observed 50% activity inhibition for nitrite (IC(50)) was 0.4 g N L(-1). The activity recovered fully after removal of the nitrite. Conversion in fresh medium after exposure to up to 6 g NO(2)(-)-N L(-1) for 24 h showed less then 60% loss of activity. Presence of ammonium during nitrite (2 g N L(-1)) exposure resulted in a stronger loss of activity after nitrite exposure (50% and 30% in presence and absence of ammonium respectively). Presence of oxygen during nitrite incubation led to a maximum activity reduction of 32%. The recovery after exposure indicates that the adverse effect of nitrite is reversible and thus inhibitory rather than toxic in nature. Similarities between exposure at three different pH-values indicate that nitrite rather than nitrous acid is the actual inhibiting compound.

Emission of nitrous oxide and nitric oxide from a full-scale single-stage nitritation-anammox reactor.

At a full-scale single-stage nitritation-anammox reactor, off-gas measurement for nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide (N(2)O) was performed. NO and N(2)O are environmental hazards, imposing the risk of improving water quality at the cost of deteriorating air quality. The emission of NO during normal operation of a single-stage nitritation-anammox process was 0.005% of the nitrogen load while the N(2)O emission was 1.2% of the nitrogen load to the reactor, which is in the same range as reported emission from other full-scale wastewater treatment plants. The emission of both compounds was strongly coupled. The concentration of NO and N(2)O in the off-gas of the single-stage nitritation-anammox reactor was rather dynamic and clearly responded to operational variations. This exemplifies the need for time-dependent measurement of NO and N(2)O emission from bioreactors for reliable emission estimates. Nitrite accumulation clearly resulted in increased NO and N(2)O concentrations in the off-gas, yielding higher emission levels. Oxygen limitation resulted in a decrease in NO and N(2)O emission, which was unexpected as oxygen limitation is generally assumed to cause increased emissions in nitrogen converting systems. Higher aeration flow dramatically increased the NO emission load and also seemed to increase the N(2)O emission, which stresses the importance of efficient aeration control to limit NO and N(2)O emissions.

Full-scale granular sludge Anammox process.

The start-up of the first full scale Anammox reactor is complete. The reactor shows stable operation, even at loading rates of 10 kg N/m3.d. This performance is the result of the formation of Anammox granules, which have a high density and settling velocities exceeding 100 m/h. With this performance, the Anammox granular sludge technology has been proven on full scale.

Global impact and application of the anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria.

In the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process, ammonia is oxidized with nitrite as primary electron acceptor under strictly anoxic conditions. The reaction is catalysed by a specialized group of planctomycete-like bacteria. These anammox bacteria use a complex reaction mechanism involving hydrazine as an intermediate. The reactions are assumed to be carried out in a unique prokaryotic organelle, the anammoxosome. This organelle is surrounded by ladderane lipids, which make the organelle nearly impermeable to hydrazine and protons. The localization of the major anammox protein, hydrazine oxidoreductase, was determined via immunogold labelling to be inside the anammoxosome. The anammox bacteria have been detected in many marine and freshwater ecosystems and were estimated to contribute up to 50% of oceanic nitrogen loss. Furthermore, the anammox process is currently implemented in water treatment for the low-cost removal of ammonia from high-strength waste streams. Recent findings suggested that the anammox bacteria may also use organic acids to convert nitrate and nitrite into dinitrogen gas when ammonia is in short supply.

1994-2004: 10 years of research on the anaerobic oxidation of ammonium.

The obligately anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) reaction with nitrite as primary electron acceptor is catalysed by the planctomycete-like bacteria Brocadia anammoxidans, Kuenenia stuttgartiensis and Scalindua sorokinii. The anammox bacteria use a complex reaction mechanism involving hydrazine as an intermediate. They have a unique prokaryotic organelle, the anammoxosome, surrounded by ladderane lipids, which exclusively contains the hydrazine oxidoreductase as the major protein to combine nitrite and ammonia in a one-to-one fashion. In addition to the peculiar microbiology, anammox was shown to be very important in the oceanic nitrogen cycle, and proved to be a very good alternative for treatment of high-strength nitrogenous waste streams. With the assembly of the K. stuttgartiensis genome at Genoscope, Evry, France, the anammox reaction has entered the genomic and proteomic era, enabling the elucidation of many intriguing aspects of this fascinating microbial process.

Plasmodium vivax: in vitro growth and reinvasion in red blood cells of Aotus nancymai.

Plasmodium vivax was maintained in experimentally infected Aotus nancymai. Positive monkeys were used as donors for culture material. After leucocyte removal with two different methods, including the classic CF11 method and a commercially available filter, parasites were grown under continuous shaking conditions in standard RPMI 1640, containing 20% human AB + serum. When mature schizonts were present, artificially induced reticulocytes from monkeys pretreated with the hemolytic drug phenylhydrazine HCl were added. Addition of reticulocytes and shaking were both necessary to realize a significant reinvasion under in vitro conditions. A strong positive correlation between the percentage of reticulocytes and in vitro invasion was demonstrated, and a preferential invasion into reticulocytes was demonstrated in vivo and in vitro using blood films stained with brilliant cresyl blue and counterstained with Giemsa.