Unlocking the potential of comammox Nitrospira for sustainable wastewater treatment

Nitrogen (N) pollution contributes to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. Sustainable nitrogen management is, therefore, urgently needed. To this end, nitrogen removal from wastewater plays a key role. Current N removal technologies suffer from high energy consumption and greenhouse gas (nitrous oxide) emissions, underscoring the need for more sustainable and efficient nitrogen removal technologies. The UniCoN project aims to unlock the potential of recently discovered complete ammonia oxidizing (comammox) bacteria for more sustainable and efficient N removal from wastewater. To achieve this, I will employ a multidisciplinary approach of integrating engineering principles with multi-omics analyses and advanced modeling techniques to 1) first provide a comprehensive physiological and kinetic characterization of diverse comammox bacteria; 2) foster their synergistic partnership with other microorganisms to develop a novel process in biofilm reactors; and 3) identify optimal system configurations and operational strategies to harness the potential of comammox bacteria in future and existing wastewater treatment plants. The anticipated results will 1) enable novel sustainable biotechnologies with the potential of complete N removal and zero nitrous oxide production, 2) improve existing engineered applications of biological nitrogen removal, and 3) deepen our understanding of the importance of comammox bacteria both in natural and engineered systems. This project’s interdisciplinary nature will also allow me to expand my expertise in molecular biology while combining my expertise in process engineering and mathematical modeling with the host.