Application of different redox mediators induced bio-promoters to accelerate the recovery of denitrification and denitrifying functional microorganisms inhibited by transient Cr(VI) shock

The transient hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) shock may directly inhibit the denitrification process of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), which is difficult to recover in a short time. This study developed four nontoxic bio-promoters (combination of L-cysteine, flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), biotin, cytokinin and different redox mediators) to quickly restore the denitrification performance after high-loading Cr(VI) suppressing. After feeding with 100 mg/L of Cr(VI) for 42 cycles (T, 4 h), the removal efficiency of nitrate was reduced by 85.00%, and nitrite was accumulated simultaneously. The denitrification performance was recovered quickly with the addition of bio-promoters, introducing redox mediators showed noticeable superiority on the bio-inhibition release. Compared with sodium humate and riboflavin, the AQDS induced bio-promoter achieved the best nitrate removal recovery performance within only 28 T, and the recovery rate was 2.16 times faster than the natural recovery. Microbial analysis showed that Cr(VI) specially inhibited napA-type denitrifiers, and the OTU numbers sharply dropped by 48.74%. Redox mediators induced bio-promoters could effectively recover the abundance of napA-type and nirS-type denitrifying microorganisms, which was consistent with the change of nitrate removal efficiency. This study offers a cost-effective approach to deal with Cr(VI) shock problem, which may promote the development of bio-promoters for WWTPs.

Automated summary

This study developed four nontoxic bio-promoters to quickly restore the denitrification performance after high-loading Cr(VI) suppressing. Redox mediators induced bio-promoters showed noticeable superiority in releasing bio-inhibition and effectively recovering the abundance of denitrifying microorganisms.