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The discovery of denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) has not only improved our understanding of global methane and nitrogen cycles, but also provided new technology options for removal of nitrate from nitrate-contaminated water. Previous studies have demonstrated DAMO organisms could remove nitrate and nitrite from wastewater under strictly anaerobically conditions. In the study, we investigate the feasibility of nitrate removal from groundwater, which contains dissolved oxygen in addition to nitrate. A membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR), inoculated with DAMO co-culture, was capable of treating synthetic groundwater containing highly contaminated nitrate (50  mg N/L) and oxygen (7–9 mg O 2 /L), with a maximum volumetric nitrate removal rate of 45 mg N/L-d. Accumulations of acetate and propionate were observed in some transient periods, indicating the possible involvement of acetate and propionate as intermediates in methane oxidation. The 16 S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed that Candidatus Methylomirabilis, a known bacterial DAMO organism able to couple nitrite reduction with anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM), was the dominant population. No archaeal DAMO organisms that are capable of coupling nitrate to AOM were observed, however, considerable amount of denitrifiers were developed in this system. Based on known metabolisms of these microorganisms and a series of batch studies, it was assumed that methane was oxidized into volatile fatty acids (VFAs) under oxygen-limiting conditions, then the generated VFAs served as carbon sources for these heterotrophic denitrifiers to remove nitrate. This study offers a potential technology for nitrate removal from groundwater by DAMO process in MBfR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been reported that microbial reduction of sulfate, nitrite/nitrate and iron/manganese could be coupled with anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM), which plays a significant role in controlling methane emission from anoxic niches. However, little is known about microbial chromate (Cr(VI)) reduction coupling with AOM. In this study, a microbial consortium was enriched via switching nitrate dosing to chromate feeding as the sole electron acceptor under anaerobic condition in a membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR), in which methane was continuously provided as the electron donor through bubble-less hollow fiber membranes. According to long-term reactor operation and chromium speciation analysis, soluble chromate could be reduced into Cr(III) compounds by using methane as electron donor. Fluorescence in situ hybridization and high-throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon profiling further indicated that after feeding chromate Candidatus 'Methanoperedens' (a known nitrate-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation archaeon) became sole anaerobic methanotroph in the biofilm, potentially responsible for the chromate bio-reduction driven by methane. Two potential pathways of the microbial AOM-coupled chromate reduction were proposed: (i) Candidatus 'Methanoperedens' independently utilizes chromate as electron acceptor to form Cr(III) compounds, or (ii) Candidatus 'Methanoperedens' oxidizes methane to generate intermediates or electrons, which will be utilized to reduce chromate to Cr(III) compounds by unknown chromate reducers synergistically. Our findings suggest a possible link between the biogeochemical chromium and methane cycles. Unlabelled Image • Microbial Cr(VI) reduction was achieved in a CH4-based MBfR. • Soluble Cr(VI) was reduced to Cr(III) compounds. • DAMO archaea became the sole anaerobic methanotroph in Cr(VI)-reducing biofilm. • DAMO archaea might be responsible for methane-driven Cr(VI) bio-reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Fresh leachates in different seasons from a refuse transfer station in Shanghai were characterized and seasonal impact on physicochemical characteristics of the leachates was investigated. The leachate properties, including concentration of organic substances, nitrogen distribution, electric conductivity (EC), oxidation–reduction potential (ORP), etc. had been monitored in summer and winter. The results showed that pH, COD, TOC, TN and EC of the leachate in winter were much higher than those in summer. While other parameters, such as inorganic nitrogen, ORP, metals, TSS and VSS, showed no considerable distinction between the two seasons. Three-dimensional excitation–emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy was also conducted to characterize dissolved organic materials (DOM) of the leachate. The observation revealed that seasonal variations had direct effects on the fundamental characteristics of raw leachate, which provided useful potential reference for fresh leachate bio-treatment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]