Global expansion of mariculture generates large volumes of saline wastewater that require sustainable and decentralized treatment to protect coastal ecosystems. Gravity-driven membrane bioreactors (GMBRs) are an attractive low-energy option for this purpose; however, severe membrane fouling in saline environments usually limits water flux. In this study, a microalgal-bacterial consortium (MBC) was introduced to reshape biofilm architecture and improve the long-term performance of GMBRs. Four ceramic membrane-integrated GMBRs were operated for 160 days to treat synthetic mariculture wastewater, including two MBC systems with bacteria-to-microalgae inoculation ratios of 3:2 and 5:2 and two bacteria-only controls. The optimized MBC system (5:2) achieved a stable flux of 14.9 LMH, which was 2.4 times that of the conventional GMBRs (∼6 LMH), while also showing superior nutrient removal (TN removal: 67.9-73.3%, effluent TN: 4.65-5.73 mg/L; TP removal: 92.0-96.3%, effluent TP: 0.1-0.3 mg/L). The improved performance was associated with the formation of larger, more porous aggregates (>20 μm), the development of a synergistic MBC architecture, and enhanced degradation of extracellular polymeric substances. Confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy revealed a dynamic “loose-dense-loose” structural evolution of the biofilm in the MBC systems, which prevented the dense and irreversible layering observed in the conventional systems. Microbial community analysis further showed that the optimized system enriched functional bacteria (e.g., Nitrosomonas and Nitrospira) while maintaining high microalgal viability. These findings demonstrate that MBC is an effective strategy for improving GMBR performance and offers a sustainable approach for mariculture wastewater treatment.

This study presents the first comparative multi-technology assessment of fine (2.5-50 mu m) microplastic (MP) removal across pilot- and full-scale sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Saudi Arabia. Influent and effluent samples were collected from two STPs employing different treatment configurations: oxidation ditch (OD) and aerobic granular sludge (AGS) at STP-A, and a full-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) alongside pilot-scale moving bed biofilm reactor (p-MBBR) and p-AGS at STP-B. Influent MP concentrations exceeded 103 MP L-1, while effluent concentrations ranged from 2.4 to 6.1 x 10(2) MP L-1, corresponding to removal efficiencies of 80-93%. At STP-A, OD and AGS achieved comparable removal, whereas at STP-B the MBR showed the highest performance, consistent with membrane-based size exclusion (0.4 mu m nominal pore size). Fragments dominated all samples (similar to 80-85%), with ultrafine MPs (< 2.5 mu m) being most abundant. A comparative assessment indicated that 1.4-1.8 x 10(13) MPs yr(- 1) entered the two plants, with similar to 2.2 x 10(9) particles discharged daily in treated effluents. Raman spectroscopy identified 13 polymers with process-specific profiles. The persistence of fine MPs highlights the need for post-treatment polishing and size-resolved monitoring to support sustainable wastewater reuse under water-scarce conditions.

Geobacter sulfurreducens is a model electroactive bacterium whose remarkable extracellular electron transfer capabilities bridge microbiology, materials science, and sustainability. Over the past two decades, its metabolism has been harnessed for clean energy generation, wastewater treatment, and the development of environmentally friendly electronic materials. Its metabolic versatility aligns with multiple of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In environmental systems, Geobacter reduces toxic and radioactive metals to insoluble, stable forms, detoxifies organic pollutants, and mitigates methane emissions in anoxic soils, contributing to climate action and water quality (SDGs 6 and 13). At the materials frontier, Geobacter produces conductive protein nanowires that enable biological electronics and biosensors, opening new avenues for biodegradable, renewable electronic devices (SDGs 7 and 9). Moreover, its redox machinery allows ambient-temperature synthesis of catalysts, including single-atom and nanocluster metals, offering green alternatives to conventional high-energy synthesis processes (SDG 12). Taken together, G. sulfurreducens exemplifies how microbial metabolism can be engineered toward circular bioeconomy solutions that integrate pollution control, energy recovery, and material innovation. As research advances, this organism continues to define a new paradigm of "sustainable microbiology," in which living systems serve as platforms for next-generation green technologies.

Microbial communities are critical for nutrient removal in aerobic granular sludge (AGS) wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Despite the stable long-term operation of full-scale AGS WWTPs, the microbial populations and functional traits sustaining stable long-term performance remain poorly resolved. To address this gap, the recovered MAG catalog from nine full-scale AGS WWTPs across five countries was analyzed. From this catalog, 74 high-quality core MAGs were identified and used for downstream taxonomic characterization and functional analyses. These high-quality core MAGs spanned 48 established and 7 novel genera, representing 31 known and 43 novel species. Functional analysis linked core MAGs to key WWTP processes: polyphosphate accumulation (9), glycogen accumulation (12), denitrification (62), and nitrification (1). These included four novel MAGs with glycogen-accumulating (3) and polyphosphate-accumulating (1) potential and 11 capable of nitrous oxide reduction, critical for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Ca. Phosphoribacter was the most abundant genus, highlighting its underestimated role caused by misclassification as Tetrasphaera in 16S rRNA surveys. Specifically, Ca. P. hodrii was the dominant species, exhibiting enhanced sugar uptake and amino acid synthesis as likely drivers of its enrichment in the AGS WWTPs. Overall, this study resolves for the first time the taxa and functional traits consistently enriched in full-scale AGS systems, enabling a shift from an empirical performance assessment toward biologically informed process interpretation.

Photobioelectrochemistry couples light-harvesting and electrochemical materials with biological catalysts to convert solar energy into fuels, chemicals, and recoverable resources. A central premise is that photobioelectrochemical performance depends on how biological catalysts, photoactive materials, interfacial charge-transfer pathways, and operating environments are coupled, rather than on any component in isolation. The biotic-abiotic interface and reactor context provide the basis for comparing recent advances in biological catalysts, engineered photoactive interfaces, and reactor configurations. These advances are discussed with particular focus on solar fuel generation, CO₂ conversion and upgrading, and the use of waste and wastewater streams for value recovery, nutrient capture, bioproduction, and bioremediation. Across these systems, the review examines how interface design, electrode architecture, and reactor conditions control the delivery of photogenerated charge to biological catalysts, thereby influencing activity, selectivity, and stability. By linking interfacial charge transfer with biological function and reactor-level constraints, this review aims to identify design considerations that can support the transition of photobioelectrochemical systems from isolated demonstrations to practical sustainable biotechnology applications.

Seawater intrusion impacts nutrient removal in biological wastewater treatment systems. This study evaluated the short-term response of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) to 1 % seawater salinity under gradual adaptation (GA) or shock salinity (SS) exposure. Carbon removal remained stable (>87 %), consistent with Ca. Competibacter harboring osmoprotective genes. Yet C-storage patterns shifted: glycogen regeneration decreased (Control similar to 1.45 mmol C/ g VSS; GA similar to 0.56; SS similar to 0.84) while PHA increased (Control similar to 0.74 mmol C/g VSS; GA similar to 0.92; SS similar to 1.34). Nitrogen removal stayed high (>80 %) despite slight NO2- accumulation (similar to 0.2 mg/L). P-cycling was most affected, matching the dominance of Ca. Accumulibacter Clade II lacking osmolyte genes. P-release (similar to 41.6 mg/L control) declined under GA (similar to 24.48) and increased under SS (similar to 56.48), while P-uptake decreased (control similar to 53.3 mg/L; GA similar to 0.33; SS similar to 0). Overall, the results showed that GA reduced salinity-driven stress and connected functional shifts to key lineages, guiding strategies to enhance AGS resilience to salinity.

The effective removal of nitrogen and phosphorus is a technical bottleneck in rural wastewater treatment. In this work, Gravity-Driven Membrane Bioreactor (GDMBR) was upgraded by integrating electrocoagulation (EC), aerobic-anaerobic (OA) tanks and ceramic membrane to fabricate EC-OA-GDMBR. This enhancement aimed to improve the long-term and stable removal efficiency of nitrogen and phosphorus in rural wastewater treatment. First, Fe3+ generated from EC facilitated Anammox (Candidatus Brocadia and Candidatus Kuenenia) and Feammox (Pseudomonas, Exiguobacterium, Geobacteria, and Geobacteria) in the anaerobic tank. Denitrification occurred either in the anaerobic tank or in the deep layer of biofilm in the aerobic tank, resulting in a synergy on the nitrogen removal even at low carbon source. Second, EC enhanced the phosphorus removal by combining with PO43- to form insoluble phosphate precipitates. Additionally, the carriers created more attachment areas for microbial growth in the aerobic tank, promoting organic degradation. Accordingly, the EC, biodegradation, Anammox/Feammox and denitrification in EC-OA-GDMBR synergistically improved water purification efficiency, achieving CODCr < 38.8 +/- 1.2 mg/L, NH3-N < 0.05 mg/L, TN < 8.8 mg/L and TP < 0.02 mg/L in enfluent. Third, EC-OA-GDMBR exhibited desirable filtration efficiency (5.5-8.3 LMH), as the biofilm with large porosity (191.1 similar to 273.6 mu m) on the ceramic membrane surface delayed the formation of cake layer. Furthermore, after 120 day s of system operation, this, this setup demonstrated strong strong stability and adaptability to the characteristics of dispersed and discontinuous inflow for rural wastewater. This work elucidates the efficiency improvement of nitrogen and phosphorus removal for EC-OA-GDMBR, and provides a new vision for rural wastewater treatment.

This study systematically examined the effect of different microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) components (i.e., anode, cathode, and suspension) on CH4 production in MEC-anaerobic digestion (MEC-AD) system. The impact of pre-enriching the anode with Geobacter sulfurreducens and the cathode with hydrogenotrophic methanogens was evaluated. CH4 production was 14 +/- 4 % higher in reactors with pre-enriched electrodes (PEE) than virgin electrodes (VE) under both open and closed-circuit conditions, demonstrating the advantages of electrode preenrichment. Closed circuit reactors (PEE-CC & VE-CC) exceeded open circuit reactors (PEE-OC & VE-OC) in CH4 production by 16.5 +/- 2 %, underscoring the importance of bioelectrochemical processes. VE-OC reactors produced 12 +/- 2 % more CH4 than AD without electrodes (AD-NE), which recorded the lowest CH4 production (306 +/- 5 ml), highlighting the role of biomass retention. The suspension contributed most significantly to CH4 production in all MEC-AD reactors (43-62 %), followed by the cathode (21-32 %) and the anode (7-19 %). G. sulfurreducens and D. acetexigens dominated the anodes of PEE-CC and VE-CC reactors, respectively, while Methanobacterium was prevalent on the cathode. The detection of 19 diverse methanogen species underscores the metabolic diversity of the system. These results highlight the synergistic effects of electrode pre-enrichment, bioelectrochemical processes, and biomass retention in enhancing AD performance by improving system stability and robustness.

The presence of nanoplastics (NPs) in sewage treatment plants (STPs) remains a critical yet underexplored environmental issue. Here, we present a novel investigation into the occurrence, recovery, and characterization of nanoplastics and small-size microplastics (50–2500 nm) in raw and treated sewage effluent from a full-scale STP (treating 4000 m3/day) operating with activated sludge. To our knowledge, this research includes the first confirmed assessment of nanoplastics in such a system and applies nano-flow cytometry to wastewater analysis for the first time globally. It is also the first study addressing micro- and nanoplastics in wastewater in Saudi Arabia, advancing plastic particle analysis in complex matrices. Particles in the 50– < 100 nm range accounted for 44% of total particles detected in STP effluents. Overall, plastic particles accounted for 16% (± 10%) of total particles within 50-2500 nm in raw sewage, increasing to 41% (± 13%) in treated effluent. This increase highlights the inefficiency of conventional treatment in fully removing plastic particles and suggests preferential removal based on size or density. The composition of a representative selection of particles was characterized by micro-Raman spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy-Dispersive X-ray. Identified polymers included polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyamide, and polypropylene. These findings provide important insights into treated sewage composition, particularly for reuse in arid regions.

Understanding the relative influence of immigration and species sorting in wastewater treatment systems is essential, as bacteria in influent wastewater can significantly impact treatment system functionality. This study investigated the contribution of immigration to the community assembly of different-sized microbial aggregates in a full-scale aerobic granular sludge (AGS) system using genome-resolved metatranscriptomics. Our novel analysis revealed that negative-net-growth-rate populations, which persist due to immigration, can exhibit substantial activity and potentially contribute to the AGS system's functionality. The results also highlighted that sulfate-reducing and fermenting bacteria, along with some nitrifiers and glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs), were more active in the influent wastewater, serving as a continuous source of both beneficial and competing immigrants to the AGS system. Granular sludge (size >0.2 mm) demonstrated a robust capacity to resist immigration effects from competing immigrants, whereas flocculent sludge (size <0.2 mm) was more susceptible. Importantly, flocculent sludge harbored functional microbial groups such as active nitrifiers and fermentative polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) belonging to Ca. Phosphoribacter, while granular sludge enriched for active conventional PAOs such as Ca. Accumulibacter. These findings provide valuable insights for engineers to design and operate AGS systems by optimizing microbial aggregate sizes and emphasizing the importance of influent microbial characterization in the design of wastewater treatment plants to enhance the functionality and activity of AGS systems.

Extracellular electron transfer plays a role in the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, metals, sulfur, and nitrogen, and has wide-ranging biotechnological applications. The metal-reducing (Mtr), outer-membrane cytochrome (Omc), and porin-cytochrome (Pcc) pathways facilitate electron transfer to insoluble electron acceptors via trans-outer membrane cytochrome complexes. Although these pathways perform a similar function, they are phylogenetically unrelated, indicating independent evolutionary origins. Here, we report an extracellular electron transfer mechanism in which the high-current producing bacterium Desulfuromonas acetexigens differentially co-expresses, at transcript and protein levels, the porin-cytochrome, outer-membrane cytochrome, and metal-reducing pathways, along with high-molecular-weight cytochromes containing a large number of hemes (up to 86 heme-binding motifs), under extracellular electron transfer growth conditions (i.e. electrode under set potential or naturally occurring iron oxide minerals as the electron acceptor). Additionally, we identified over 40 Desulfobacterota species from diverse ecological environments that encode the outer-membrane cytochrome and metal-reducing pathways, with the majority also expressing the porin-cytochrome pathway. The newly identified metal-reducing proteins in Desulfobacterota form a major lineage, greatly expanding the known diversity of these proteins. To our knowledge, mtrCAB genes have not been reported in the Desulfobacterota phylum (formerly classified as Deltaproteobacteria), nor has any electroactive organism been shown to express these phylogenetically distant pathways simultaneously. These findings have ecological implications, challenging the belief that certain extracellular electron transfer pathways are exclusive to specific taxa, and suggesting that these pathways are more widespread than previously thought. Additionally, this reveals a previously unrecognized versatility in microbial electron transfer mechanisms that can be exploited in biotechnological applications.

Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) technology holds great promise of becoming the standard for biological wastewater treatment due to its lower energy consumption, small footprint, and high removal efficiency of nutrients compared to the conventional activated sludge processes. Different-sized aggregates have been shown to harbor a different microbial community composition. The central question is do full-scale AGS wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) select for core microbial communities across different aggregate sizes and how these selected organisms differ between the different-sized aggregates. This study analyzed samples from nine geographically distributed full-scale AGS WWTPs that consistently perform well in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and nutrient (N and P) removal. The main results showed that site-specific conditions highly influence microbial composition in smaller aggregates (< 1 mm), while larger granules form stable communities independent of WWTP location. Notably, all aggregates contained a small subset of 128-139 core OTUs that were both prevalent and abundant across all sizes. These core OTUs include key functional groups such as fermenters, aerobic heterotrophs, polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs), glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs), and nitrifiers, which play a crucial role in COD and nutrient removal. Additionally, an enrichment pattern was observed, with aerobic heterotrophs dominating in flocs, PAOs in small granules, and GAOs and nitrifiers in large granules. This study offers valuable insights into the core microbiome of different-sized aggregates in full-scale AGS WWTPs and highlights their potential role in overall system performance.

Microbial aggregates of different sizes in aerobic granular sludge (AGS) systems have been shown to exhibit distinct microbial community compositions. However, studies comparing the microbial activities of different-sized aggregates in AGS systems remain limited. In this study, genome-resolved metatranscriptomics was used to investigate microbial activity patterns within differently sized aggregates in a full-scale AGS plant. Our analysis revealed a weak correlation between the relative abundance of metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) and their transcriptomic activity, indicating that microbial abundance does not directly correspond to metabolic activity within the system. Flocculent sludge (FL; <0.2 mm) predominantly featured active nitrifiers and fermentative polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) from Candidatus Phosphoribacter, while small granules (SG; 0.2–1.0 mm) and large granules (LG; >1.0 mm) hosted more metabolically active PAOs affiliated with Ca. Accumulibacter. Differential gene expression analysis further supported these findings, demonstrating significantly higher expression levels of key phosphorus uptake genes associated with Ca. Accumulibacter in granular sludge (SG and LG) compared to flocculent sludge. Conversely, Ca. Phosphoribacter showed higher expression of these genes in the FL fraction. This study highlights distinct functional roles and metabolic activities of crucial microbial communities depending on aggregate size within AGS systems, offering new insights into optimizing wastewater treatment processes.

Solar-driven desalination has emerged as a sustainable and efficient solution for addressing global water scarcity, especially beneficial in remote, off-grid, and disaster-affected regions. Among emerging technologies, photothermal membrane distillation (PMD) stands out due to its effective solar-energy conversion, scalability, and simplicity. Here, we report a hybrid PMD membrane fabricated by electrospinning MXene (Ti3C2Tx) nanosheets integrated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) onto a poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PH) substrate. The hybrid membrane synergistically combines MXene's exceptional photothermal conversion capabilities and the broad-spectrum antibacterial properties of AgNPs, thereby achieving enhanced permeate flux, excellent salt rejection (>99.99%), and superior resistance to biofouling. Under simulated solar irradiation (1 sun), the fabricated PMD membranes demonstrated permeate fluxes of 0.94 LMH and 3.08 LMH at ambient temperature (∼20 °C) and 30 °C, respectively, achieving a remarkable photothermal efficiency of 63.5% at ambient temperature, with a 35 g/L NaCl feed solution. When challenged with real Red Sea water (39 g/L salinity), the permeate flux showed only a marginal reduction (8.5%), underscoring excellent antifouling performance under realistic conditions. Beyond its desalination performance, the membrane demonstrated excellent antibacterial properties with a 99.8% killing effect. These findings underscore the potential of the Ag@MXene/PHNF membrane as a robust, scalable, and sustainable solution for decentralized water production, capable of producing approximately 24 L of potable water per square meter per day.

Microbial electromethanogenesis cells (MMCs) perform electromethanogenesis from captured CO2 using microorganisms (methanogens) on a cathode with water splitting on the anode using renewable electricity. The key challenge for MMCs is increasing methane production rates while maintaining high energy efficiencies. A unique dual-layer cathode design was developed here to substantially improve methane production rates by placing a conductive 3D electrode (reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) or multiple layers of carbon nanoparticle-coated stainless-steel mesh (CN-SSM)), on top of a thin carbon cloth with the catalyst (Pt/C). Using 3 mm thick 3D cathodes with flow directed through it generated 9-20 L/L/d of methane over multiple cycles, averaging 12 f 3 L/L/d for RVC at 50 f 5 A/m2, and 16 f 3 L/L/d for CN-SSM at 54 f 5 A/m2, with an applied voltage of 2.8 V. These rates were achieved with high energy conversion efficiencies (electricity to methane) of 20 f 4% (RVC) and 23 f 4% (CN-SSM). Thicker cathodes (6 mm) increased current but not methane production. Higher current densities of up to 148 A/m2 were temporarily obtained by spiking the anode feed daily with water. The biocathode archaeal community was dominated by hydrogenotrophic methanogens of the genus Methanobacterium. Cathodic methane recovery was found to be the most important operational component based on our analysis using a machine learning model. These results show that both high energy efficiencies and methane gas flowrates can be achieved by using highly porous dual-layer cathodes in zero-gap MMCs.

Extracellular electron transfer (EET)-capable microorganisms are key to bioelectrochemical systems for sustainable wastewater treatment with energy recovery. Desulfuromonas acetexigens is a promising electroactive bacterium known to produce high current densities of similar to 10 A/m(2). However, the influence of redox potential on its EET pathways and current production remains unclear. In this study, the effect of different anode potentials on the bioelectrochemical performance and EET pathways of D. acetexigens biofilms was investigated. Electrochemical analyses revealed that anode potential strongly influences current generation and coulombic efficiency, with -0.4 V yielding the highest performance. Proteomic analysis revealed redox-dependent regulation of multiple EET components, particularly outer membrane cytochromes such as OmcZ, OmcS, and other Omc-family cytochromes, highlighting flexible and modular EET machinery in D. acetexigens. This study provides the first proteomic insights into the redox-dependent regulation of EET in D. acetexigens, informing strategies to optimize its use in microbial electrochemical technologies.

The pursuit of efficient and sustainable electrochemical systems, that can generate green fuels and chemicals, stands as a primary contemporary challenge for sustaining a circular economy. As one of the main focuses in electrochemical systems, crafting robust electrocatalysts for various reactions, mostly based on expensive platinum group metals, has achieved plenty of attention in recent decades. To avoid the high cost and potential pollution associated with noble metal catalyst synthesis, nature-inspired catalysts, in particular catalysts based on electroactive microorganisms (EAM), serve as a valuable alternative for producing catalysts with intricate hierarchical structures and intrinsically scaling capability. This review aims to systematically detail the fundamental mechanisms of synthesis, potential applications, and future directions of EAM-based catalysts in electrochemical systems with emphasis on EAM-derived electrocatalysts and electrocatalysis. First, the synthesis methods, the mechanisms of synthesis, and the potential applications of EAM-derived electrocatalysts are discussed in detail. Second, the basics of microbial electrocatalysis, where EAM catalyzes various reactions at the electrodes of bioelectrochemical systems, are presented. The application of EAM catalysts in bioelectrochemical systems for organic matter degradation producing high current densities (> 2 A m−2) and electrosynthesis of high-value chemicals from CO2, and the application of EAM-derived electrocatalysts for hydrogen/oxygen evolution reaction achieving comparable overpotentials to benchmark Pt/C and IrO2 catalyst (400 mV for HER and 370 mV for OER at 10 mA cm−2) are systematically summarized. Finally, challenges and new research directions are discussed, to shed light on the future implementation of EAM-based catalysts in sustainable electrochemical systems.

The bottled drinking water market has seen significant growth and diversification, yet the selection criteria lack scientific basis, as all must adhere to stringent health standards. Prior studies predominantly focused on chemical quality, with limited assessments of microbial quality using methods prone to underestimation. Moreover, insufficient research explores the impact of packaging materials and temperatures optimal for mesophilic growth on microbial quality. To understand the unique characteristics and justify the distinction among different types of bottled waters, a comprehensive analysis encompassing both chemical and microbiological aspects is imperative. Addressing these gaps, our study examines 19 diverse bottled water brands comprising purified, mineral, artesian, and sparkling water types from Saudi Arabia and abroad. Our findings reveal distinct chemical compositions among bottled waters, with notable variations across types. Flow cytometry analysis reveals significant differences in bacterial content among water types, with natural mineral waters having the highest concentrations and treated purified waters the lowest. Bacterial content in plastic-bottled mineral water suggests it may be higher than in glass-bottled water. Flow cytometry fingerprints highlight separate microbial communities for purified and mineral waters. Additionally, temperatures favorable for mesophilic growth reveal varying microbial responses among different types of bottled waters. Some variation is also observed in mineral water bottled in plastic versus glass, suggesting potential differences that warrant further investigation. 16S rRNA gene sequencing identifies unique microbial taxa among different mineral waters. Overall, our study underscores that all bottled waters meet health regulations. Furthermore, the combined chemical and microbial profiles may serve as authenticity indicators for distinct bottled water types. This study can serve as a basis for future research on the environmental impact of bottled water transportation, suggesting that locally produced water may offer a more sustainable option.

Conventional methods, such as freshwater dilution and ammonia stripping, have been widely employed for microalgae-based piggery wastewater (PW) treatment, but they cause high freshwater consumption and intensive ammonia loss, respectively. This present work developed a novel fast microbial nitrogen-assimilation technology by integrating nitrogen starvation, zeolite-based adsorption, pH control, and co-culture of microalgae-yeast for the PW treatment. Among them, the nitrogen starvation accelerated the nitrogen removal and shortened the treatment period, but it could not improve the tolerance level of microalgal cells to ammonia toxicity based on oxidative stress. Therefore, zeolite was added to reduce the initial total ammonia-nitrogen concentration to around 300 mg/L by ammonia adsorption. Slowly releasing ammonia at the later phase maintained the total ammonia-nitrogen concentration in the PW. However, the pH increase could cause lots of ammonia loss air and pollution and inhibit the desorption of ammonia from zeolite and the growth and metabolism of microalgae during the microalgae cultivation. Thus, the highest biomass yield (3.25 g/L) and nitrogen recovery ratio (40.31%) were achieved when the pH of PW was controlled at 6.0. After combining the co-cultivation of microalgae-yeast, the carbon-nitrogen co-assimilation and the alleviation of pH fluctuation further enhanced the nutrient removal and nitrogen migration to high-protein biomass. Consequently, the fast microbial nitrogen-assimilation technology can help update the industrial system for high-ammonia wastewater treatment by improving the treatment and nitrogen recovery rates.