Nitrogen source affects non-aeration microalgal-bacterial biofilm growth progression and metabolic function during greywater treatment.

The non-aeration microalgal-bacteria symbiotic system has attracted great attention due to excellent pollutants removal performance and low greenhouse gas emission. This study investigated how nitrogen (N) sources (ammonia, nitrate and urea) impact biofilm formation, pollutants removal and microbial niches in a microalgal-bacterial biofilm. Results showed that functional genus and enzymes contributed to organics biodegradation and carbon fixation, N transformation and assimilation enabled efficient pollutants removal without CO emission.