The performance of nitrate-reducing Fe(II) oxidation processes under variable initial Fe/N ratios: The fate of nitrogen and iron species

Highlights

•Bacterially-mediated coupled N and Fe processes examined in incubation experiments.

•NO₃⁻ reduction was considerably inhibited as initial Fe/N ratio increased.

•The maximum production of N₂ occurred at an initial Fe/N molar ratio of 6.

•Fe minerals produced at Fe/N ratios of 1–2 were mainly easily reducible oxides.

Abstract

The Fe/N ratio is an important control on nitrate-reducing Fe(II) oxidation processes that occur both in the aquatic environment and in wastewater treatment systems. The response of nitrate reduction, Fe oxidation, and mineral production to different initial Fe/N molar ratios in the presence of Paracoccus denitrificans was investigated in 132 h incubation experiments. A decrease in the nitrate reduction rate at 12 h occurred as the Fe/N ratio increased. Accumulated nitrite concentration at Fe/N ratios of 2–10 peaked at 12–84 h, and then decreased continuously to less than 0.1 mmol/L at the end of incubation. N₂O emission was promoted by high Fe/N ratios. Maximum production of N₂ occurred at a Fe/N ratio of 6, in parallel with the highest mole proportion of N₂ resulting from the reduction of nitrate (81.2%). XRD analysis and sequential extraction demonstrated that the main Fe minerals obtained from Fe(II) oxidation were easily reducible oxides such as ferrihydrite (at Fe/N ratios of 1–2), and easily reducible oxides and reducible oxides (at Fe/N ratios of 3–10). The results suggest that Fe/N ratio potentially plays a critical role in regulating N₂, N₂O emissions and Fe mineral formation in nitrate-reducing Fe(II) oxidation processes.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Denitrification / N₂O emission / Fe(II) oxidation / Fe/N ratio / Fe minerals

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key R & D Program of China (No. 2017YFC0505305) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2662018JC053).

Electronic Supplementary material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-020-1366-2 and is accessible for authorized users.

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