Isolation, identification and immobilized-cell characteristics of a bacterium that produces $N_2$ from $NH{_4}{^+}$ under an aerobic condition

To treat wastewater efficiently by a one-step process of nitrogen removal, a new strain of $N_2-producing$ bacteria from $NH{_4}{^+}$ under an aerobic condition was isolated and identified. By 16S-rDNA analysis, the isolate was identified as Enterobacter asburiae with 96% similarity. The isolate shows that the capacity of $N_2$ production under an oxic condition was approximately three times higher than that under an anoxic condition. The optimal conditions (pH, temperature and C/N ratio) of the immobilized isolate for $N_2$ production were found to be 7.0, $30^{\circ}C$ and 5, respectively. Under all the optimum reaction conditions, the removal efficiency of $COD_{Cr}$ and TN reached 56.1 and 60.9%, respectively. The removal rates of $COD_{Cr}$ and TN were highest for the first 2.5 hrs (with the removal $COD_{Cr}$ ratios of 32.1), and afterwards the rates decreased as reaction proceeded. For application of the immobilized isolate to a practical process of ammonium removal, a continuous bioreactor system exhibited a satisfactory performance at HRT of 12.1 hr, in which the effluent concentrations of $NH{_4}{^+}-N$ was measured to be 15.4 mg/L with its removal efficiency of 56.0%. The maximum removal rate of $NH{_4}{^+}-N$ reached 1.6 mg $NH{_4}{^+}-N/L/hr$ at HRT of 12.1 hr (with N loading rate of 0.08 $Kg-N/m^3-carrier/d)$. As a result, the application of the immobilized isolate appears a viable alternative to the nitrification-denitrification processes.