ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Nitrogen Converters in Various Landfill Leachates
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1
Department of Environmental Engineering, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey
2
Department of Environmental Engineering, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
3
Department of Bioengineering, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey
Submission date: 2017-09-17
Final revision date: 2017-10-26
Acceptance date: 2017-11-02
Online publication date: 2018-05-09
Publication date: 2018-05-30
Corresponding author
Bulent Mertoglu
Marmara Unversity, Marmara Universitesi Muhendislik Fakultesi, MC Binası Oda No 371 Goztepe Kampusu, 34722 istanbul, Turkey
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2018;27(5):1941-1948
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ABSTRACT
Nitrogen has significant adverse effects on the environment and leads to operational failure
in biological treatment units. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate and implement new nitrogen
conversion pathways in order to expand alternatives for in-situ/ex-situ leachate treatment systems. In this
study, microbial species responsible for nitrogen conversion were quantitatively investigated based on
both phylogenetic and functional gene markers using real-time PCR in nine different leachate samples
in Turkey. Real-time PCR studies revealed that landfill leachate harbored diverse nitrogen-converting
microbial communities that include ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, anammox
bacteria, and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA). Nitrosomonas and Nitrospira species were found to
be the dominant ammonia- and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, respectively. In contrast to the estimates, on
average Nitrospira species were detected as 5 times more abundant than ammonia-oxidizing bacteria
species. The presence of anammox and AOA revealed that partial nitrogen removal may occur inside
landfills.