Synergetic effects of pyrrhotite and biochar on simultaneous removal of nitrate and phosphate in autotrophic denitrification system

In the trend of upgrading wastewater treatment plants, developing advanced treatment technologies for more efficient nutrient removal is crucial. This study prepared a pyrrhotite-biochar composite (Fex Sy @BC) to investigate its potential for simultaneous removal of nitrate and phosphate under autotrophic denitrification conditions. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the novel composite of Fex Sy @BC, which exhibited 9.2 mg N/(L·d) NO3- -N reduction rate, 97.3% N2 production, and 81.8 mmol N/(kg·d) NO3- -N material load with small solid/liquid ratio (0.008). The NO3- -N removal with Fex Sy @BC was 1.2-2.2 times higher than that with pure iron sulfides or biochar or their mixtures, whereas the Δn(S)/Δn(N) of Fex Sy @BC was the lowest (1.80). Moreover, the PO43- -P reduction rate of Fex Sy @BC reached 3.23 mg P/(L·d), as high as that of pure pyrite or pyrrhotite. Thiobacillus was the most dominant denitrifying bacterium. Fex Sy @BC exhibited great promise for enhancing nutrient removal from secondary effluent without additional carbon source. PRACTITIONER POINTS: FexSy@BC enhanced nitrate and phosphate removal simultaneously. First-order kinetics and Monod model were fitted for denitrification with FexSy@BC. FexSy@BC had smaller molar ratio of sulfate release to nitrate removal. Thiobacillus was the dominant bacterium in FexSy@BC autotrophic denitrification. Synergistic effects on nutrients removal existed between biochar and pyrrhotite.