Nitrification and denitrification limitations under simulated high-nitrogen conditions relevant to livestock manure treatment and the effects of magnetite

Byung-kyu Ahn; Tae-Hoon Kim; Yun-Ju Jeon; Ha-eun Oh; Yeo-Myeong Yun

doi:10.11109/JAES.2026.28.2.085

All Issue

2026 Vol.28, Issue 2 Preview Page Next Page

Nitrification and denitrification limitations under simulated high-nitrogen conditions relevant to livestock manure treatment and the effects of magnetite 가축분뇨 처리수의 고농도 질소 조건을 모사한 회분식 실험에서 질산화 및 탈질 반응 제한과 Magnetite의 영향

31 August 2026. pp. 85-96

PDF XML

Abstract

Livestock manure contains high concentrations of nitrogen that can impair biological nitrogen removal and increase the risk of nutrient discharge to receiving waters. This study evaluated nitrification and denitrification performance under high nitrogen conditions relevant to livestock manure treatment and examined the potential of magnetite (Fe₃O₄) to alleviate performance deterioration. Batch experiments were conducted at different concentrations of free ammonia (FA), free nitrous acid (FNA), and nitrate, and nitrogen removal was compared with and without magnetite addition. During nitrification, ammonia removal decreased markedly at FA concentrations of 150 mg-FA/L and above, reaching 39, 37, and 13% at 150, 200, and 400 mg-FA/L, respectively. FNA had little effect on final ammonia removal up to 1.0 mg-FNA/L, although ammonia removal was temporarily delayed during the initial reaction period at 1.0 mg-FNA/L. Magnetite increased ammonia removal from 39% to approximately 54% at 150 mg-FA/L, whereas the improvement was smaller at higher FA concentrations. During denitrification, nitrate removal remained above 94% at initial nitrate concentrations up to 500 mg N/L but decreased to 77, 45, and 28% at 1,000, 3,000, and 6,000 mg N/L, respectively. Magnetite increased nitrate removal from 77% to 97% at 1,000 mg N/L and from 28% to 48% at 6,000 mg N/L, whereas no clear improvement was observed at 3,000 mg N/L. Among the tested FNA conditions, 0.2mg-FNA/L resulted in lower initial and final nitrate removal than the lower FNA concentrations, while magnetite produced no clear improvement under FNA conditions in either nitrification or denitrification. These findings demonstrate that the effect of magnetite varies with the nitrogen condition, providing measurable improvements under elevated FA and nitrate conditions but limited benefits in the presence of FNA.

Keywords

Free ammonia

Free nitrous acid

Magnetite

Nitrification

Denitrification

References

Anthonisen, A.C., Loehr, R.C., Prakasam, T.B.S., Srinath, E.G., 1976. Inhibition of nitrification by ammonia and nitrous acid. Journal (Water Pollution Control Federation), 48, 835-852.

Baek, G., Kim, J., Lee, C., 2016. A long-term study on the effect of magnetite supplementation in continuous anaerobic digestion of dairy effluent-Enhancement in process performance and stability. Bioresource Technology, 222, 344-354.

10.1016/j.biortech.2016.10.019

Chen, Y., Yang, J., Xiao, L., Jiang, L., Wang, X., Tang, Y., 2023. Role of nano-Fe₃O₄ for enhancing nitrate removal in microbial electrolytic cells: Characterizations and microbial patterns of cathodic biofilm. Chemosphere, 339, 139643.

10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139643

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 1994. Measuring Air Quality: The Pollutant Standards Index. EPA 451/K- 94-001.

Gorski, C.A., Nurmi, J.T., Tratnyek, P.G., Hofstetter, T.B., Scherer, M.M., 2010. Redox behavior of magnetite: Implications for contaminant reduction. Environmental Science & Technology, 44, 55-60.

10.1021/es9016848

Gumaelius, L., Magnusson, G., Pettersson, B., Dalhammar, G., 2001. Comamonas denitrificans sp. nov., an efficient denitrifying bacterium isolated from activated sludge. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, 51, 999-1006.

10.1099/00207713-51-3-999

Kadam, R., Jo, S., Lee, J., Khanthong, K., Jang, H., Park, J., 2024. A review on the anaerobic co-digestion of livestock manures in the context of sustainable waste management. Energies, 17, 546.

10.3390/en17030546

Keevil, C.W., Hough, J.S., Cole, J.A., 1979. Regulation of respiratory and fermentative modes of growth of Citrobacter freundii by oxygen, nitrate and glucose. Microbiology, 113, 83-95.

10.1099/00221287-113-1-83

Lipps, W.C., Braun-Howland, E.B., Baxter, T.E., 2023. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater.

Liu, Y., Ngo, H.H., Guo, W., Peng, L., Wang, D., Ni, B., 2019. The roles of free ammonia (FA) in biological wastewater treatment processes: A review. Environment International, 123, 10-19.

10.1016/j.envint.2018.11.039

Lu, H., Chandran, K., Stensel, D., 2014. Microbial ecology of denitrification in biological wastewater treatment. Water Research, 64, 237-254.

10.1016/j.watres.2014.06.042

Ma, B., Wang, S., Li, Z., Gao, M., Li, S., Guo, L., She, Z., Zhao, Y., Zheng, D., Jin, C., Wang, X., Gao, F., 2017. Magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles induced effects on performance and microbial community of activated sludge from a sequencing batch reactor under long-term exposure. Bioresource Technology, 225, 495-502.

10.1016/j.biortech.2016.11.130

Niu, L., Baig, Z.T., Yeung, M., Soomro, A.F., Lu, L., Xi, J., 2023. Low-concentration organics mitigate the inhibition of free nitrous acid on nitrification in biofilters for gaseous ammonia removal. Chemical Engineering Journal, 476, 146757.

10.1016/j.cej.2023.146757

Nugrahaeningtyas, E., Lee, D.J., Song, J.I., Kim, J.K., Park, K.H., 2022. Potential application of urease and nitrification inhibitors to mitigate emissions from the livestock sector: a review. Journal of Animal Science and Technology, 64, 603.

10.5187/jast.2022.e535969707PMC9353359

Perazzoli, S., Michels, C., Soares, H.M., 2017. Magnetite nanoparticles influence the ammonium-oxidizing bacteria activity during nitritation process. Water Science and Technology, 75(1), 165-172.

10.2166/wst.2016.497

Soliman, M., Eldyasti, A., 2018. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB): opportunities and applications—a review. Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology, 17, 285-321.

10.1007/s11157-018-9463-4

Xu, H., Deng, Y., Zou, J., Zhang, K., Li, X., Yang, Y., Hu, C., 2022. Nitrification performance and bacterial community dynamics in a membrane bioreactor with elevated ammonia concentration: The combined inhibition effect of salinity, free ammonia and free nitrous acid on nitrification at high ammonia loading rates. Science of the Total Environment, 831, 154972.

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154972

Zhang, S., Chen, J., Liu, F., Lv, S., Wu, J., 2023. Effect of free ammonia and free nitrous acid on nitrogen removal of heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification bacteria. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 56, 104316.

10.1016/j.jwpe.2023.104316

Zhou, Y., Oehmen, A., Lim, M., Vadivelu, V., Ng, W.J., 2011. The role of nitrite and free nitrous acid (FNA) in wastewater treatment plants. Water Research, 45, 4672-4682.

10.1016/j.watres.2011.06.025

Information

Publisher :The Korean Society of Animal Environmental Science & Technology
Publisher(Ko) :(사)한국축산환경학회
Journal Title :Journal of Animal Environmental Science
Journal Title(Ko) :축산시설환경학회지
Volume : 28
No :2
Pages :85-96
Received Date : 2026-08-13
Revised Date : 2026-08-27
Accepted Date : 2026-08-28
DOI :https://doi.org/10.11109/JAES.2026.28.2.085

Journal of Animal Environmental Science ISSN:1226-0274(Print) 축산시설환경학회지

All Issue