Occurrence of anammox on suspended sediment (SPS) in oxic river water: Effect of the SPS particle size

Anammox is a newly discovered nitrogen transformation process. However, its role in nitrogen removal in fresh water is far from understood. Here, we hypothesized that anammox could occur on suspended sediment in oxic river water. To test this hypothesis, simulation experiments with a nitrogen stable (¹⁵N) isotopic tracer technique were conducted to study the occurrence of anammox on suspended sediment (SPS) in oxic river water, and the effects of the SPS particle size, including <20 μm, 20–63 μm, 63–100 μm, 100–200 μm, and <200 μm (original SPS) size fractions, were investigated. The results showed that anammox occurred in oxic water with SPS due to the existence of low oxygen microsites around/on SPS, and the anammox rate was even higher than the denitrification rate. The anammox rate increased with the SPS concentration, and it was negatively correlated with the particle size and was positively correlated with the organic carbon content of SPS (p < 0.05). The ²⁹N₂ produced by anammox in a system containing 1.0 g L⁻¹ SPS with a particle size below 20 μm was 0.27 mg-N/m³·d, which was 5.3 times higher than that produced with a particle size of 100–200 μm. The anammox rate was significantly positively correlated with the anammox bacterial abundance (p < 0.01), and Ca. Brocadia was the dominant species. This study suggests that the SPS in oxic water may be a ‘hotspot’ for the anammox process and that its role in nitrogen removal should be considered in future studies.