Effect of high concentrations of nitrogen on mixed populations of nitrifying bacteria isolated from industrial nitrogenous wastewaters.

The effect of high concentrations of different forms of nitrogen (NH4+, NO2-, NO3- and urea N) on nitrification by mixed populations of nitrosobacters isolated from nitrogen fertilizer plant wastewaters and nitrobacters isolated from effluents from a biological bed treating these wastewaters was determined. The inhibitory activity (within the concentration values for industrial wastewaters) of only the reaction products was observed, i.e. nitrites for nitrification phase I and nitrates for nitrification phase II. A mixed population of phase II nitrifying bacteria is highly resistant to high concentrations of ammonia nitrogen (50% inhibition at 3,000 mg N/l).