RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Uncovering nitrogen removal in algal-bacterial processes for domestic wastewater treatment
A1 Lacerda Dos Santos, Thalita
A1 Vargas Estrada, Laura Gabriela
A1 Blanco, Saul
A1 Ribeiro da Silva, Gustavo Henrique
A1 Muñoz Torre, Raúl
K1 Algal–bacterial interactions
K1 Nitrogen assimilation
K1 Single-stage PBR
K1 Biomass productivity
K1 3308 Ingeniería y Tecnología del Medio Ambiente
AB The synergy between microalgae and bacteria in photobioreactors is complex, with the competition between assimilation and nitrification critically influencing nutrient removal efficiency. This study investigated the interplay between nutrient and carbon removal pathways in a single-stage microalgal-bacterial photobioreactor treating domestic wastewater by selectively inhibiting nitrification with allylthiourea (ATU). The inhibition successfully suppressed bacterial activity, reducing the NH4+ removal rate by 20% and increasing the contribution of microalgal assimilation to total nitrogen removal from 59% to 68%. Moreover, ATU addition induced a change in microbial population structure, as suggested by the decline in relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Bacteroidota phyla, which ultimately mediated a shift in the share of carbon fate mechanisms. The total organic carbon removal efficiency decreased from 94 ± 1% to 88 ± 1%, while the carbon assimilation efficiency into biomass was increased from 65% to 80%. Thus, mixotrophic microalgae like Scenedesmus sp. became the dominant genus, alongside the cyanobacterium Nodosilinea. Phosphate removal remained consistently high (97–98%) and unaffected by ATU addition, indicating its decoupling from nitrification. The results demonstrated that nitrogen removal was mainly dominated by microalgae assimilation complemented by bacterial pathway, consistent with nitrification-denitrification to achieve complete nitrogen removal.
PB Elsevier
SN 2214-7144
YR 2026
FD 2026
LK https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/83962
UL https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/83962
LA eng
NO Journal of Water Process Engineering, 2026, vol. 86, p. 109975
NO Producción Científica
DS UVaDOC
RD 09-abr-2026