Accelerating the start-up of anaerobic
ammonium oxidation (anammox)
is the primary condition for its large-scale application. Anammox
with magnetic biochar took the shortest start-up time, reducing 15–24
days compared to the control blank (CK) and 6–26 days with
pyrolytic biochar. FCS300 (magnetic biochar prepared at 300 °C)
could produce the highest levels of heme c (0.123
μmol/g VSS). The extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in
FCS300 had the lowest R
ct (12.6 kΩ)
and a substantially higher electron-transfer capability (ETC). Candidatus jettenia was the main anammox bacteria
(AnAOB) in reactors after the successful start-up, and its distribution
was spatially variable on the suspended sludge and the biofilm of
the biochar. The findings implied that magnetic biochar might improve
electron transfer by shortening the anammox start-up time via an electron
shuttle mechanism or direct interspecies electron transfer.