title: Inhibitory impact of quinone-like compounds over partial nitrification.
abstract: High-strength ammonium wastewaters containing phenolic compounds are generated by several industries. A possible solution for these industrial wastewaters could be the combination of an advanced oxidation process with a biological nitrogen removal process via nitrite. Therefore, knowledge of the interactions between both treatment steps is needed, in particular for the potential inhibitory effect of quinone-like intermediates from the oxidation of phenolic compounds (hydroquinone, catechol and p-benzoquinone) over partial nitrification. In this sense, the aim of this work was to study the impact of quinone-like compounds over an activated sludge enriched in ammonium-oxidising bacteria (AOB) by means of respirometry and titrimetry. The results show that nitrification was progressively inhibited as quinone-like compounds concentration was increased, with IC(50) values at 1h of exposure time of 3.1+/-0.5, 11+/-1 and 2.8+/-0.4mgL(-1) for hydroquinone, catechol and p-benzoquinone, respectively. Also, it was established that exposure time between quinone-like compounds and the enriched AOB sludge was a crucial factor when dealing with inhibition.
authors.affiliation: Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Escola d'Enginyeria, Edifici Q, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain. mariaeugenia.suarez@uab.es <mariaeugenia.suarez@uab.es>
authors.forename: María Eugenia
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Suárez-Ojeda
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guisasola
authors.forename: Julián
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Carrera
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D016227:Benzoquinones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D002396:Catechols / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D006873:Hydroquinones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D009573:Nitrites / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D011809:Quinones / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D013997:Time Factors; D017186:Titrimetry; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D016227:Benzoquinones; D002396:Catechols; D006873:Hydroquinones; D009573:Nitrites; D011809:Quinones; C004532:quinone; C034221:catechol; C031927:hydroquinone