Phosphorus (P) recovery
from wastewater can be completed by iron-involved
autotrophic denitrification via forming Fe(III)–P precipitates
and/or adsorbing P onto Fe(III) oxyhydroxides. However, so far, most
studies focused on the final P-containing products, while the P-capturing
pathways in such a process remain unclear. In this work, autotrophic
iron-dependent denitrification (AIDD) was used as a typical anoxic
iron-involved P-capturing biosystem to investigate the main P recovery
pathways. The AIDD biosystem showed a relatively stable capability
of capturing P coupled with nitrate reduction. Direct formation of
amorphous Fe(II)–P precipitates after the phosphate was fed,
followed by microbially driven oxidation into Fe(III)–P minerals,
was found to be the primary pathway for the P capture. In addition,
adsorption of phosphate onto the formed iron oxyhydroxides also contributed
to the P recovery. This work provides better understanding about recovering
P in AIDD and iron-involved denitrification and highlights the important
roles of iron oxidizers in the iron-related biological wastewater
treatment processes.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.