Granular activated carbon (GAC)-driven microbial electron shuttle boosts denitrification and mitigates N

Xiangyu Yang, Mingchen Yao, Peng Li, Jan Peter van der Hoek, Lujing Zhang, Gang Liu

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Microbiome, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

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0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Xiangyu Yang *Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Regional Environment and Sustainability, Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, P. R. China.

Mingchen Yao *Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Regional Environment and Sustainability, Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, P. R. China.

Peng LiChina Water Environment Group, Beijing, 101101, P. R. China.

Jan Peter van der HoekSection of Sanitary Engineering, Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, 2628 CN, The Netherlands.

Lujing ZhangSection of Sanitary Engineering, Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, 2628 CN, The Netherlands.

Gang LiuKey Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Regional Environment and Sustainability, Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, P. R. China. gliu@rcees.ac.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDenitrification in wastewater treatment is severely limited under low-temperature and low-carbon ("dual-low") conditions, hindering sustainable nitrogen removal. Biofilm systems, though energy-efficient, suffer from reduced efficiency in such environments due to impaired interspecies electron transfer (IET). Granular activated carbon (GAC), a conductive mediator, offers potential to enhance IET between electroactive microorganisms (EAMs) and denitrifiers, yet its role in dual-low systems remains underexplored. This study investigates GAC's capacity to optimize biofilm functionality and mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under these constraints.

resultsUnder dual-low conditions (4-6°C, C/N = 4), GAC increased denitrification efficiency by 19.4-21.9% and reduced N

conclusionsGAC fosters synergistic EAM-denitrifier partnerships, enabling efficient denitrification and GHG mitigation in cold and carbon-limited ("dual-low") biofilm systems, advancing sustainable wastewater management. Video Abstract.

Indexed as

BacteriaBiofilmsCarbonCharcoalDenitrificationNitrous OxideCold TemperatureElectron TransportWastewaterWater PurificationCarbonCharcoalNitrous OxideWastewaterBiofilmDenitrificationElectron transferGranular activated carbonLow-temperature/carbon source

Identifiers

PMID40751169

DOI10.1186/s40168-025-02161-3

PMCPMC12315362

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.