Effect of passivated iron powder on final-product distribution in Fe-supported denitrification

An integrated nitrate treatment using passivated iron powder (PIP) and Alcaligenes eutrophus, which is a kind of hydrogenotrophic denitrifying bacteria, was conducted to investigate the effect of iron oxide coating on final-product distribution in hydrogenotrophic denitrification. Based on the results, the autotrophic denitrification supported by PIP could completely remove about 50 mg·L⁻¹ of nitrate within 4 days, and almost 80% of nitrate was changed into N₂O (under acetylene blocking) without residual nitrite or ammonium. While only 53% of the nitrate was removed using acid-washed iron (AWI) instead of PIP, about 70% was converted into ammonium. Furthermore, a layer of FeOOH converted from hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) and magnetite (Fe₃O₄), which may block direct chemical nitrate reduction, was observed on the iron surface when PIP was used to support hydrogenotrophic denitrification. In addition, increasing pH from 5 to 8 increased nitrite generation from 1.19 to 4.91%, and decreased ammonium formation from 4.23 to 0%.