Nitrite-dependent microbial utilization for simultaneous removal of sulfide and methane in sewers

Chemicals are commonly dosed in sewer systems to reduce the emission of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and methane (CH₄), incurring high costs and environmental concerns. Nitrite dosing is a promising approach as nitrite can be produced from urine wastewater, which is a feasible integrated water management strategy. However, nitrite dosing usually requires strict conditions, e.g., relatively high nitrite concentration (e.g., ∼200 mg N/L) and acidic environment, to inhibit microorganisms. In contrast to “microbial inhibition”, this study proposes “microbial utilization” concept, i.e., utilizing nitrite as a substrate for H₂S and CH₄ consumption in sewer. In a laboratory-scale sewer reactor, nitrite at a relatively low concentrations of 25–48 mg N/L was continuously dosed. Two nitrite-dependent microbial utilization processes, i.e., nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (n-DAMO) and microbial sulfide oxidation, successfully occurred in conjunction with nitrite reduction. The occurrence of both processes achieved a 58 % reduction in dissolved methane and over 90 % sulfide removal in the sewer reactor, with microbial activities measured as 15.6 mg CH₄/(L·h) and 29.4 mg S/(L·h), respectively. High copy numbers of n-DAMO bacteria and sulfide-oxidizing bacteria (SOB) were detected in both sewer biofilms and sediments. Mechanism analysis confirmed that the dosed nitrite at a relatively low level did not cause the inhibition of sulfidogenic process due to the downward migration of activity zones in sewer sediments. Therefore, the proposed “microbial utilization” concept offers a new alternative for simultaneous removal of sulfide and methane in sewers.