Analysis and succession of nitrifying bacteria community structure in sequencing biofilm batch reactor

To reveal the succession procedure of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) community structure in sequencing biofilm batch reactor (SBBR), the molecular biological techniques of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), cloning, and real-time PCR were applied. DGGE showed that the structural diversity of the bacterial community increased during the biofilm formation period, and some kinds of populations had been highly preponderant consistently. The results of cloning and sequencing revealed that Nitrosomonas was the dominant species. The real-time PCR analysis indicated that the amount of the AOB increased significantly after the cultivation period, and the NOB gradually decreased. The AOB content on the 25th day was 17 times that of the 6th day. It also showed the biofilm formed successfully with accumulating nitrite and prepared to achieve the achievement of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in SBBR. Furthermore, the ammonia-oxidizing rate was in correspondence with the NH₄ ⁺-N removal efficiency.     

Microbial community dynamics in bioaugmented sequencing batch reactors for bromoamine acid removal

Sphingomonas xenophaga QYY with the ability to degrade bromoamine acid (BAA) was previously isolated from sludge samples. The enhancement of BAA removal by strain QYY in sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) was investigated in this study. The results showed that augmented SBRs exhibited stronger abilities to degrade BAA than the non-augmented control one. In order to estimate the relationship between community dynamics and function of augmented SBRs, a combined method based on fingerprints (ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis, RISA) and 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used. The results indicated that the microbial community dynamics were substantially changed, and the introduced strain QYY was persistent in the augmented systems. This study suggests that it is feasible and potentially useful to enhance BAA removal using BAA-degrading bacteria, such as S. xenophaga QYY.     

Hydraulic selection pressure-induced nitrifying granulation in sequencing batch reactors

The effect of hydraulic selection pressure on the development of nitrifying granules was investigated in four column-type sequencing batch reactors (SBR). The nature of SBR is cycle operation, thus SBR cycle time can serve as a main hydraulic selection pressure imposed on the microbial community in the system. No nitrifying granulation was observed in the SBR operated at the longest cycle time of 24 h, due to a very weak hydraulic selection pressure, while the washout of nitrifying sludge was found in the SBR run at the shortest cycle time of 3 h, and led to a failure of nitrifying granulation. Excellent nitrifying granules with a mean diameter of 0.25 mm and specific gravity of 1.014 were developed in a SBR operated at cycle times of 6 h and 12 h, respectively. The results further showed that a short cycle time would stimulate microbial activity, production of cell polysaccharides and also improve the cell hydrophobicity. These hydraulic selection pressure-induced microbial changes favour the formation of nitrifying granules. This work, probably for the first time, shows that nitrifying granules can be developed at a proper hydraulic selection pressure in terms of SBR cycle time. Nitrifying granulation is a novel biotechnology which has a great potential for wastewater nitrification.     

Development and characteristics of phosphorus-accumulating microbial granules in sequencing batch reactors

Phosphorus (P)-accumulating microbial granules were developed at different substrate P/chemical oxygen demand (COD) ratios in the range of 1/100 to 10/100 by weight in sequencing batch reactors. The soluble COD and PO4-P profiles showed that the granules had typical P-accumulating characteristics, with concomitant uptake of soluble organic carbon and the release of phosphate in the anaerobic stage, followed by rapid phosphate uptake in the aerobic stage. The size of P-accumulating granules exhibited a decreasing trend with the increase in substrate P/COD ratio, while the structure of the granules became more compact and denser as the substrate P/COD ratio increased. The P uptake by granules fell within the range of 1.9% to 9.3% by weight, which is comparable with uptake obtained in conventional enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) processes. It was further found that low aerobic respirometric activity of granules in terms of specific oxygen utilization rate favors P uptake by granules. The results presented would be useful for the further development of a novel granule-based EBPR technology.     

Growth kinetics of aerobic granules developed in sequencing batch reactors

AIMS: This paper attempts to develop a kinetic model to describe the growth of aerobic granules developed under different operation conditions. METHODS AND RESULTS: A series of experiments were conducted by using four-column sequencing batch reactors to study the formation of aerobic granules under different conditions, e.g. organic loading rates, hydrodynamic shear forces and substrate N/COD ratios. A simple kinetic model based on the Linear Phenomenological Equation was successfully derived to describe the growth of aerobic granules. It was found that the growth of aerobic granules in terms of equilibrium size and size-dependent growth rate were inversely related to shear force imposed to microbial community, while a high organic loading favoured the growth of aerobic granules, leading to a large size granule. The effect of substrate N/COD ratio on the growth kinetics of aerobic granules was realized through change in microbial populations, and enriched nitrifying population in aerobic granules developed at high substrate N/COD ratio resulted in a low overall growth rate of aerobic granules. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed model can provide good prediction for the growth of aerobic granules indicated by the correlation coefficient >0.95. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The kinetic model proposed could offer a useful tool for studying the growth kinetics of cell-to-cell immobilization process. The study confirmed that the growth of aerobic granules and biofilms are subject to a similar kinetic pattern. This work would also be helpful for better understanding the mechanism of aerobic granulation.     

Aerobic granulation in sequencing batch reactors at different settling times

The present investigation examines the way to enhance aerobic granulation by controlling the microbial communities via applying different settling times. Early granulation of aerobic granules is noticeable at a settling time of 5 min. The functional strains are enriched in granules without challenge of non-flocculating strains. Short settling times at initial stage principally determine the efficiency of subsequent granulation processes.     

Biodegradation of oil sands process affected water in sequencing batch reactors and microbial community analysis by high-throughput pyrosequencing

Two sequencing batch reactors (SBR) were constructed and filled with different inocula of activated sludge (AS) and mature fine tailings (MFT) to treat oil sands process-affected water (OSPW). The COD was reduced by 82% in the AS-SBR and 43% in the MFT-SBR during phase I using 10% OSPW and 90% synthetic wastewater as reactor feed. However, COD removal reached 12% and 20% in the AS-SBR and the MFT-SBR, respectively, when 100% raw OSPW was fed into the reactors. Maximum removal of acid-extractable organics (AEO) was 8.7% and 16.6% in the AS-SBR and the MFT-SBR, respectively with a hydraulic retention time of one day. Pyrosequencing analysis revealed that Proteobacteria was the dominant phylum and beta- and gamma-Proteobacteria were dominant classes in both reactors. Evidence of a microbial community change was observed when influent raw OSPW was switched from 50 to 100%. More significant changes in the AS-SBR community were detected.     

Anammox start-up in sequencing batch biofilm reactors using different inoculating sludge

In this study, anammox bacteria were rapidly enriched in sequencing batch biofilm reactors (SBBRs) with different inoculations. The activated sludge taken from a sequencing batch reactor was used and inoculated to SBBR1, while SBBR2 was seeded with stored anaerobic sludge from an upflow anaerobic fixed bed (2-year stored at 5–15 °C). Nitrogen removal performance, anammox activity, biofilm characteristics and variation of the microbial community were evaluated. The maximum total nitrogen loading rate (NLR) of SBBR1 gradually reached to 1.62 kg?N/(m³/day) with a removal efficiency higher than 88 % and the NLR of SBBR2 reached to 1.43 kg?N/(m³/day) with a removal efficiency of 86 %. SBBR2 was more stable compared to SBBR1. These results, combined with molecular techniques such as scanning electron microscope, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism, indicated that different genera of anammox bacteria became dominant. This research also demonstrates that SBBR is a promising bioreactor for starting up and enriching anammox bacteria.     

The fate of crop nutrients during digestion of swine manure in psychrophilic anaerobic sequencing batch reactors

The objectives of the study were to measure the levels of manure nutrients retained in psychrophilic anaerobic sequencing batch reactors (PASBRs) digesting swine manure, and to determine the distribution of nutrients in the sludge and supernatant zones of settled bioreactor effluent. Anaerobic digestion reduced the total solids (TS) concentration and the soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) of manure by 71.4% and 79.9%, respectively. The nitrogen, potassium, and sodium fed with the manure to the PASBRs were recovered in the effluent. The bioreactors retained on average 25.5% of the P, 8.7% of the Ca, 41.5% of the Cu, 18.4% of the Zn, and 67.7% of the S fed to the PASBRs. The natural settling of bioreactor effluent allowed further nutrient separation. The supernatant fraction, which represented 71.4% of effluent volume, contained 61.8% of the total N, 67.1% of the NH4-N, and 73.3% of the Na. The settled sludge fraction, which represented 28.6% of the volume, contained 57.6% of the solids, 62.3% of the P, 71.6% of the Ca, 89.6% of the Mg, 76.1% of the Al, 90.0% of the Cu, 74.2% of the Zn, and 52.2% of the S. The N/P ratio was increased from 3.9 in the raw manure to 5.2 in the bioreactor effluent and 9.2 in the supernatant fraction of the settled effluent. The PASBR technology will then substantially decrease the manure management costs of swine operations producing excess phosphorus, by reducing the volume of manure to export outside the farm. The separation of nutrients will also allow land spreading strategies that increase the agronomic value of manure by matching more closely the crop nutrient requirements.     

Modeling and optimization of granulation process of activated sludge in sequencing batch reactors

Aerobic granulation is a promising process for wastewater treatment, but this granulation process is very complicated and is affected by many factors. Thus, a mathematical model to quantitatively describe such a granulation process is highly desired. In this work, by taking into account all of key steps including biomass growth, increase in particle size and density, detachment, breakage and sedimentation, an one‐dimensional mathematic model was developed to simulate the granulation process of activated sludge in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). Discretization methodology was applied by dividing operational time, sedimentation process, size fractions and slices into discretized calculation elements. Model verification and prediction for aerobic granulation process were conducted under four different conditions. Four parameters indicative of granulation progression, including mean radius, biomass discharge ratio, total number, and bioparticle size distribution, were predicted well with the model. An optimum controlling strategy, automatically adjusted of settling time, was also proposed based on this model. Moreover, aerobic granules with a density higher than 120 g VSS/L and radius in a range of 0.4–1.0 mm were predicted to have both high settling velocity and substrate utilization rate, and the corresponding optimum operating conditions were be determined. Experimental results demonstrate that the developed model is appropriate for simulating the formation of aerobic granules in SBRs. These results are useful for designing and optimizing the cultivation and operation of aerobic granule process. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2013; 110: 1312–1322. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Causes and control of filamentous growth in aerobic granular sludge sequencing batch reactors

Poor long-term stability of aerobic granules developed in sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) remains a limitation to widespread use of aerobic granulation in treating wastewater. Filamentous growth has been commonly reported in aerobic granular sludge SBR. This review attempts to address the instability problem of aerobic granular sludge SBR from the perspective of filamentous growth in the system. The possible causes of filamentous growth are identified, including long retention times of solids, low substrate concentration in the liquid phase, high substrate gradient within the granule, dissolved oxygen deficiency in the granule, nutrient deficiency inside granule, temperature shift and flow patterns. Because of cyclic operation of aerobic granular sludge SBR and peculiarities of aerobic granules, various stresses can be present simultaneously and can result in progressive development of filamentous growth in aerobic granular sludge SBR. Overgrowth of filamentous bacteria under stress conditions appears to be a major cause of instability of aerobic granular sludge SBR. Specific recommendations are made for controlling filamentous growth.     

A unified theory for upscaling aerobic granular sludge sequencing batch reactors

Aerobic granular sludge sequencing batch reactors (SBR) are a promising technology for treating wastewater. Increasing evidence suggests that aerobic granulation in SBRs is driven by selection pressures exerted on microorganisms. Three major selection pressures have been identified as follows: settling time, volume exchange ratio and discharge time. This review demonstrates that these three major selection pressures can all be unified to one, the minimal settling velocity of bio-particles, that determines aerobic granulation in SBRs. The unified selection pressure theory is a useful guide for manipulating and optimizing the formation and characteristics of aerobic granules in SBRs. Furthermore, the unified theory provides a single engineering basis for scale up of aerobic granular sludge SBRs.     

Soil food web components affect plant community structure during early succession

There is a growing awareness among ecologists of the strong links that exist between above- and belowground food webs. So far, the majority of studies have considered these links from the microbial point of view, usually with single plants or very simple plant communities. Here, we report the interactions between two components of the soil food web, root-feeding insects and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, and their effects on the structure and development of early successional plant communities. We use long-term field experiments that employ manipulations of these organisms, both singly and in combination. Both groups have strong effects on plant community structure, with root-feeding insects increasing and AM fungi decreasing plant species richness. Root-feeding insects appear to accelerate the process of early succession, while AM fungi retard it. There are strong interactions between the insects and fungi. The effect of insects is greatest when AM fungi are present. It is suggested that this is a consequence of plant physiology, rather than any direct interaction between the groups involved. Meanwhile, AM fungi have their greatest effect on plant communities when insects are absent, suggesting that there is some disruption of the symbiosis by the invertebrates. In developing plant communities, the rate and direction of the succession is therefore determined by the relative abundance of these two members of the soil food web. The next challenge will be to understand the roles of other members of the subterranean web in terms of their interactions with insects and AM fungi and effects on plant community development.     

Anaerobic sequencing batch reactors for wastewater treatment: a developing technology

This paper describes and discusses the main problems related to anaerobic batch and fed-batch processes for wastewater treatment. A critical analysis of the literature evaluated the industrial application viability and proposed alternatives to improve operation and control of this system. Two approaches were presented in order to make this anaerobic discontinuous process feasible for industrial application: (1) optimization of the operating procedures in reactors containing self-immobilized sludge as granules, and (2) design of bioreactors with inert support media for biomass immobilization. Received: 22 May 2000 / Received revision: 20 July 2000 / Accepted: 21 July 2000     

Ant community structure during forest succession in a subtropical forest in South-East China

Understanding how communities respond to environmental gradients is critical to predict responses of species to changing habitat conditions such as in regenerating secondary habitats after human land use. In this study, ground-living ants were sampled with pitfall traps in 27 plots in a heterogeneous and diverse subtropical forest to test if and how a broad set of environmental variables including elevation, successional age, and tree species richness influence ant diversity and community composition. In total, 13,441 ant individuals belonging to 71 species were found. Ant abundance was unrelated to all environmental variables. Rarefied ant species richness was negatively related to elevation, and Shannon diversity decreased with shrub cover. There was considerable variation in ant species amongst plots, associated with elevation, successional age, and variables related to succession such as shrub cover. It is shown that younger secondary forests may support a species-rich and diverse community of ants in subtropical forests even though the species composition between younger and older forests is markedly different. These findings confirm the conservation value of secondary subtropical forests, which is critical because subtropical forests have been heavily exploited by human activities globally. However, the findings also confirm that old-growth forest should have priority in conservation as it supports a distinct ant community. Our study identifies a set of ant species which are associated with successional age and may thus potentially assist local conservation planning.     

Aerobic decolorization of Acid Brilliant Scarlet GR by microbial community and the community dynamics during sequencing batch processes

In this research, aerobic decolorization of Acid Brilliant Scarlet GR by microbial community was studied. Effects of conditions and dye concentraion on decolorization processes were investigated. Additionally, continuous decolorization was evaluated through sequencing batch tests and the microbial dynamics during this process was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. The results showed that 100 mg l^?1 of the dye was completely decolorized within 12 h, which was mainly caused by biodegradation. The optimal decolorization conditions were as follows: inoculation size 2.07 g l^?1 (wet cell pellet), rotation speed 150 r min^?1, pH 5.0–7.0 and 30 °C. The processes were well described by zero-order kinetics, and more than 700 mg l^?1 of the dye would inhibit the activity of the consortium. Furthermore, the microbial community exhibited high efficiency in sequencing batch processes for continuous decolorization. Microbial community structure shifted obviously when exposed to higher concentration of the dye (500 mg l^?1), and all the dominant microorganisms were affiliated with four different phyla of Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Firmicutes.     

淀山湖浮游植物群落特征及其演替规律

为探明淀山湖浮游植物群落结构演变与富营养化之间的关系,于2004-2006年对上海市最大天然淡水湖泊淀山湖的浮游植物进行逐月采样调查,分析其群落结构特征.共采集到淀山湖浮游植物84属205种,主要由绿藻(种类数占50%)、硅藻(20%)、蓝藻(13%)、裸藻(13%)等组成.相邻两月之间种类相似性系数呈现冬春季高、夏秋季低的趋势:优势种为银灰平裂藻(Merismopedia glauca)、小席藻(Phormidium tenus)、铜绿微囊藻(Microcystis aeruginosa)、具缘微囊藻(M.marginata)、湖泊鞘丝藻(Lyngbya limnetica)、微小色球藻(Chroococcus minutus),颗粒直链藻最窄变种(Melosira granulata var.angustissima )、啮蚀隐藻(Cryptomonas erosa)、小球藻(Chlorella vulgate)和四尾栅藻(Scenedesmus quadricauda)等.浮游植物群落细胞数量主要由蓝藻(42.73%)、绿藻(37.75%)、硅藻(12.67%)和隐藻(6.06%)组成;生物量主要由硅藻(36.75%)、蓝藻(16.78%)、绿藻(16.36%)和隐藻03.53%)等组成.淀山湖浮游植物群落结构季节演替模式不同于PEG(Plankton Ecology Group)模型,其中蓝藻从春末开始大量出现,夏季大量繁殖,一直延续到秋初.综合文献资料看出,淀山湖浮游植物群落已从1959年的硅藻一金藻型、1987-1988年的隐藻-硅藻型演变为2004-2006年的蓝藻-绿藻型;数量由1959年的103 ind./L上升至2004-2006年的1.11×107 cells/L.演替的总体趋势表现为:贫中营养型的金藻、甲藻比例下降,富营养型的蓝藻、隐藻和微型绿藻增加.浮游植物数量和群落结构的演变指示了淀山湖水体的富营养化进程.     

The effect of temperature on slaughterhouse wastewater treatment in anaerobic sequencing batch reactors

High strength slaughterhouse wastewater was treated in four 42 l anaerobic sequencing batch reactors (ASBRs) operated at 30 degrees C, 25 degrees C and 20 degrees C. The wastewater contained between 30% and 53% of its chemical oxygen demand (COD) as suspended solids (SS). The ASBRs could easily support volumetric organic loading rates (OLRs) of 4.93, 2.94 and 2.75 kg/m3/d (biomass OLRs of 0.44, 0.42 and 0.14 g/g volatile SS (VSS)/d) at 30 degrees C, 25 degrees C, and 20 degrees C, respectively. At all operating temperatures, the total COD (TCOD) and soluble COD (SCOD) were reduced by over 92%, while average SS removal varied between 80% and 96%. Over the experimental period, 90.8%, 88.7% and 84.2% of the COD removed was transformed into methane at 30 degrees C, 25 degrees C and 20 degrees C, respectively. The decrease in the conversion of the COD removed into methane as operating temperature was lowered, may be partly explained by a lower degradation of influent SS as temperature was reduced. The reactors showed a high average methanogenic activity of 0.37, 0.34 and 0.12 g CH4-COD/gVSS/d (22.4, 12.7 and 11.8 l/d) at 30 degrees C, 25 degrees C and 20 degrees C, respectively. The average methane content in the biogas increased from 74.7% to 78.2% as temperature was lowered from 30 degrees C to 20 degrees C.