Enzymatic regulation of N2O production by denitrifying bacteria in the sludge of biological nitrogen removal process

This study analyzed the activities of all denitrifying enzymes involved in the denitrification process under different organic loads in a continuously operating sequencing batch reactor (SBR), to reveal how the denitrifying enzymes performed while the denitrifying bacteria facing changes in organic load, and leading to nitrous oxide (N2O) production by fine-tuning enzyme activities. Results show that the activities of nitrate reductase (Nar), nitrite reductase (Nir), nitric oxide reductase (Nor) and nitrous oxide reductase (N2OR) increased with the increase of organic loads, and the increase of the activity of different enzymes promoted by the organic load increase were as Nar > Nir > Nor > N2OR. Compared with the Nar and Nir, the catalytic processes of the Nor and N2OR were more susceptible to the influence of the substrate concentration and the content of internal and external carbon sources. The Nor usually maintained excess catalytic activity to ensure the smooth reduction of nitric oxide when the electron donor and substrate were sufficient. Otherwise, it reduced to a relatively lower catalytic activity and remained stable. The activities of the N2OR were generally weaker than that of other denitrifying enzymes. More N2O was produced in the period feeding with low organic loads (COD/NO3--N <= 4.9). The mechanism of the enzyme activities (Nor and N2OR) regulating the total concentrations of N2O was clarified. When the organic load was relatively low (COD/NO3--N <= 2.5), the N2OR activity was inhibited due to its inability to acquire enough electrons, resulting the production of N2O. When the organic load was moderate (2.5 < COD/NO3--N <= 4.9), the N2OR activity was lower than the Nor activity due to the different activation rates of Nor and N2OR by the substrate in bacteria, resulting the production of N2O.

Automated summary

This study analyzed the activities of denitrifying enzymes in a continuously operating sequencing batch reactor under different organic loads. The results showed that the enzyme activities increased with the increase of organic loads, and the catalytic processes of different enzymes were influenced by substrate concentration and carbon sources. The Nor maintained excess catalytic activity when the electron donor and substrate were sufficient, while the N2OR had generally weaker activity. The mechanism of enzyme activities regulating the production of N2O was clarified.