Impacts of electron donor and acceptor on the performance of electrotrophic denitrification.

Electrotrophic denitrification is a novel nitrogen removal technique. In this study, the performance and the mechanism of electrotrophic denitrification were investigated at different nitrate concentrations and current intensities. The results showed that the performance of electrotrophic denitrification was good with a sludge loading of 0.39 kg N/kg VSS day. The half-saturation constant for nitrate-N was 1894.03 mg/L. The optimal nitrate-N concentration and current intensity were 1500 mg/L and 20 μA, respectively. Electrotrophic denitrification was defined as the process of direct use of electron for nitrate reduction, and electrotrophic denitrifier was proposed to be the microbe of using electricity as energy source directly. The present work will benefit the development and application of electrotrophic denitrification. Graphical abstract ᅟ.