Investigation on the properties and kinetics of glucose-fed aerobic granular sludge

Aerobic granulation is a process in which suspended biomass aggregate and form discrete well-defined granules in aerobic systems. To investigate the properties and kinetics of aerobic granular sludge, aerobic granules were cultivated with glucose synthetic wastewater in a series of sequencing batch reactors (SBR). The spherical shaped granules were observed on 8th day with the mean diameter of 0.1 mm. With the organic loading rate (OLR) being increased to 4.0 g COD L⁻¹ d⁻¹, aerobic granules grew matured with spherical shape. The size of granules ranged from 1.2 to 1.8 mm, and the corresponding settling velocity of individual granule was 24.2–36.4 m h⁻¹. The oxygen utilization rate (OUR) of mature granules was 41.90 g O₂ kg MLSS⁻¹ h⁻¹, which was two times higher than that of activated sludge (18.32 g O₂ kg MLSS⁻¹ h⁻¹). The experimental data indicated that the substrate utilization and biomass growth kinetics generally followed Monod's kinetics model. The corresponding kinetic coefficients of k (maximum specific substrate utilization rate), K_s (half velocity coefficient), Y (growth yield coefficient) and K_d (decay coefficient) were determined as follows, k_c = 23.65 d⁻¹, K_c = 3367.05 mg L⁻¹, K_N = 0.038 d⁻¹, K_N = 29.65 mg L⁻¹, Y = 0.1927–0.2022 mg MMLS (mg COD)⁻¹ and K_d = 0.00845–0.0135 d⁻¹, respectively. Those properties of aerobic granules made aerobic granules system had a short setup period, high substrate utilization rate and low sludge production.     

Investigation on the formation and kinetics of glucose-fed aerobic granular sludge

Aerobic granular sludge was cultivated in a glass sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with glucose synthetic wastewater. The spherical shaped granules were observed on 4th day with the mean diameter of 0.1 mm. With the increase of chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration of the influent, aerobic granules grew matured, the size of which ranged from 1.2 to 1.9 mm. The aerobic granular sludge could sustain high organic loading rate (about 4.0 g COD L⁻¹ d⁻¹), with good settling ability (settling velocity 36 m/h) and high biomass concentration (MLSS 6.7 ±0.2 g/L). Experimental data indicated that the substrate utilization and biomass growth kinetics followed Monod's kinetics model approximately. The corresponding kinetic coefficients of maximum specific substrate utilization rate (k), half velocity coefficient (K_s), growth yield coefficient (Y) and decay coefficient (K_d) were 13.2 d⁻¹, 275.8 mg/L, 0.183–0.250 mg MLSS/mg COD and 0.023–0.075 d⁻¹, respectively, which made aerobic granules have short setup period, high rate of substrate utilization and little surplus sludge.     

Removal of Cu(II) ions by biosorption onto powdered waste sludge (PWS) prior to biological treatment in an activated sludge unit: A statistical design approach

Biological treatment of synthetic wastewater containing Cu(II) ions was realized in an activated sludge unit with pre-adsorption of Cu(II) onto powdered waste sludge (PWS). Box-Behnken experimental design method was used to investigate Cu(II), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and toxicity removal performance of the activated sludge unit under different operating conditions. The independent variables were the solids retention time (SRT, 5–30 d), hydraulic residence time (HRT, 5–25 h), feed Cu(II) concentration (0–50 mg L^?1) and PWS loading rate (0–4 g h^?1) while percent Cu(II), COD, toxicity (TOX) removals and the sludge volume index (SVI) were the objective functions. The data were correlated with a quadratic response function (R² = 0.99). Cu(II), COD and toxicity removals increased with increasing PWS loading rate and SRT while decreasing with the increasing feed Cu(II) concentration and HRT. Optimum conditions resulting in maximum Cu(II), COD, toxicity removals and SVI values were found to be SRT of 30 d, HRT 15 h, PWS loading rate 3 g h^?1 and feed Cu(II) concentration of less than 30 mg L^?1.     

Performance of a composite membrane bioreactor treating toluene vapors: Inocula selection,reactor performance and behavior under transient conditions

In this study, a membrane biofilm reactor performance for toluene as a model pollutant is presented. A composite membrane consisting of a porous polyacrylonitrile (PAN) support layer coated with a very thin (0.3 μm) dense polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) top layer was used. Batch experiments were performed to select an appropriate inocula (slaughterhouse wastewater treatment sludge with a specific toluene consumption rate of 118 ± 23 μg g^?1 VSS L^?1) among the three available sources of inoculums. The maximum elimination capacity gas-side reactor volume based (EC)_v and membrane based (EC)_{m, max} obtained were 609 g m^?3 h^?1 and 1.2 g m^?2 h^?1 respectively, which is much higher than other membrane bioreactors. Further experiments involved the study of the membrane biofilm reactor flexibility when operational parameters as temperature, loading rate etc. were modified. In all cases, the membrane biofilm reactor showed a rapid adaptation and new steady-states were obtained within hours. Overall, the results illustrate that membrane bioreactors can potentially be a good option for treatment of air pollutants such as toluene.     

New integrated bioprocess for the continuous production,extraction and purification of lipopeptides produced by Bacillus subtilis in membrane bioreactor

Recently, a bubbleless membrane bioreactor (BMBR) has been successfully developed for biosurfactant production by Bacillus subtilis [1]. In this study, for the first time, continuous culture were carried out for the production of surfactin in a BMBR, both with or without a coupled microfiltration membrane. Results from continuous culture showed that a significant part of biomass was immobilized onto the air/liquid membrane contactor. Immobilized biomass activity onto the air/liquid membrane contactor was monitored using a respirometric analysis. Kinetics of growth, surfactin and primary metabolites production were investigated. Planktonic biomass, immobilized biomass and surfactin production and productivity obtained in batch culture (3 L) of 1.5 days of culture were 4.5 g DW, 1.3 g DW, 1.8 g and 17.4 mg L^?1 h^?1, respectively. In continuous culture without total cell recycling (TCR), the planktonic biomass was leached, but immobilized biomass reached a steady state at an estimated 6.6 g DW. 11.5 g of surfactin was produced after 3 days of culture, this gave an average surfactin productivity of 54.7 mg L^?1 h^?1 for the continuous culture, which presented a surfactin productivity of 30 mg L^?1 h^?1 at the steady state. TCR was then investigated for the continuous production, extraction and purification of surfactin using a coupled ultrafiltration step. In continuous culture with TCR at a dilution rate of 0.1 h^?1, planktonic biomass, immobilized biomass, surfactin production and productivity reached 7.5 g DW, 5.5 g DW, 7.1 g and 41.6 mg L^?1 h^?1 respectively, after 2 days of culture. After this time, biomass and surfactin productions stopped. Increasing dilution rate to 0.2 h^?1 led to the resumption of biomass and surfactin production and these values reached 11.1 g DW, 10.5 g DW, 7.9 g and 110.1 mg L^?1 h^?1, respectively, after 3 days of culture. This study has therefore shown that with this new integrated bioprocess, it was possible to continuously extract and purify several grams of biosurfactant, with purity up to 95%.     

Development and examination of a granular nitrogen-fixing wastewater treatment system

This work presents the first success at aerobic granulation in a nitrogen deficient system. Two sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) were used to treat nitrogen deficient (the N-fix system) or nitrogen-sufficient (containing NH₄Cl) synthetic wastewater (acetic acid as the sole carbon source). Granulation was observed in both systems, with particularly large granules (average diameter: 7 mm) grown in the N-fix system. We propose that the unique morphology of nitrogen-fixing granules is a consequence of the response of oxygen-sensitive diazotrophs to elevated oxygen concentrations.Both the nitrogen-fixing and nitrogen-supplemented systems were shown to be capable of removing all of the influent substrate carbon. Excellent biomass settleability characteristics were obtained, with the N-fix system having a final sludge volume index (SVI) of less than 100 mL g⁻¹ and its granules having settling velocities of over 1.4 cm s⁻¹. However, moderately high solids discharges were recorded for both systems, which revealed a potential limitation of granular sludge processes that is not widely discussed in the literature.     

Dairy wastewater polluting load and treatment performances of an industrial three-cascade-reactor plant

An industrial three-cascade-reactor plant treating 45 m³ d^?1 of dairy wastewater (DW) was monitored for approx. one year to investigate the effect of variable daily influent loads. It removed more than 85% COD, NH₄-N and non-ionic and anionic surfactants from DW within the loads 7–24, 0.4–2.3, 0.4–0.7 and 0.1–0.5 kg d^?1, respectively; NH₄-N removal, in particular, was almost quantitative. Although the degradation of the above parameters below the lower load thresholds declined to 78.7, 87.5, 50.2 and 64.7%, respectively, their residual concentrations met effluent discharge standards. The biomass settling properties, assessed as sludge volume index (SVI), were satisfactory (generally lower than 150 ml g^?1) regardless of the organic load of the influent. The depletion of the pollutant load took mainly place in the first reactor albeit a significant contribution to the removal of the slowly degradable organic matter fraction was given by the two subsequent reactors.     

Denitrification of nitrified and non-nitrified swine lagoon wastewater in the suspended sludge layer of treatment wetlands

One method for managing livestock-wastewater N is the use of treatment wetlands. The objectives of this study were to (1) assess the magnitude of denitrification enzyme activity (DEA) in the suspended sludge layers of bulrush and cattail treatment wetlands, and (2) evaluate the impact of nitrogen pretreatment on DEA in the suspended sludge layer. The study used four wetland cells (3.6 m × 33.5 m) with two cells connected in series. Each wetland series received either untreated or partially nitrified swine wastewater from a single-cell anaerobic lagoon. The DEA of the suspended sludge layers of the constructed wetlands was measured by the acetylene inhibition method. The control DEA treatment for the sludge layer had a mean rate of 18 μg N₂O-N g^?1 sludge h^?1. Moreover, the potential DEA (nitrate-N and glucose-C added) mean was very large, 121 μg N₂O-N g^?1 sludge h^?1. These DEA rates are consistent with the previously reported high levels of nitrogen removal by denitrification from these wetlands, especially when the wastewater was partially nitrified. Stepwise regression using distance within the wetland, wastewater nitrate, and wastewater ammonia explained much of the variation in DEA rates. In both bulrush and cattail wetlands, there were zones of very high potential DEA.     

Recycling of agro-industrial sludge through vermitechnology

This work illustrates the feasibility of vermitechnology to stabilize sludge from an agro-industry. To achieve the goal, industrial sludge (IS) was mixed with three different bulky agents, i.e. cow dung (CD), biogas plant slurry (BGS) and wheat straw (WS), in different ratios to produce nine different feed mixtures for earthworm Eisenia fetida. Vermicomposting bedding material was analyzed for its different physic-chemical parameters after 15 weeks of experimentations. In all waste mixtures, a decrease in pH, organic C and C:N ratio, but increase in total N, available P, exchangeable K, exchangeable Ca and trace elements (Mg, Fe and Zn) was recorded. IS (40%) + CD (60%) and IS (40%) + BGS (60%) vermibeds showed the highest mineralization rate and earthworm growth patterns during vermicomposting process. Vermicompost contains (dry weight basis) a considerable range of plant available forms of P (17.5–28.9 g kg^?1), K (13.8–21.4 g kg^?1), Ca (41.1–63.4 g kg^?1), Mg (262.4–348.3 mg kg^?1), Fe (559.8–513.0 mg kg^?1) and Zn (363.1–253.6 mg kg^?1). Earthworm growth parameters, i.e. biomass gain, total cocoon production, individual growth rate (mg wt. worm^?1 day^?1), natality rate, total fecundity were optimum in bedding containing 20–40% industrial sludge. C:N ratio of worm-processed material was within the agronomic acceptable or favorable limit (<15–20). The results clearly suggested that vermitechnology can be a potential technology to convert industrial sludges into vermifertilizer for sustainable land restoration practices.     

Nitrate removal rates in woodchip media of varying age

A variety of low-cost carbonaceous solids have been successfully tested in bioreactors designed for nitrate treatment. In many agricultural and wastewater settings, however, such reactors may be practical only if they are maintenance free for a number of years after installation. Although field installations have demonstrated consistent treatment over multi-year timeframes, the ability to accurately quantify slowly declining reaction rates in field settings is problematic because of variations in reactor flow rates, ambient temperatures and influent chemistry. In this study, laboratory column tests were undertaken on four samples of coarse wood particle media (woodchips), two that were fresh and two that had been in continuous operation in subsurface denitrifying bioreactors for periods of 2 and 7 years respectively. Four experimental runs were undertaken at increasing influent NO₃-N concentrations of from 3.1 to 48.8 mg N L^?1. Nitrate mass removal rates remained relatively constant and did not systematically increase in successive runs at higher NO₃ concentrations indicating that NO₃ was not the rate-limiting substrate at these concentrations. Thus, zero-order reaction kinetics were used to model the attenuation reaction (presumably denitrification). The 7-year-old media had a mean NO₃-N removal rate of 9.1 mg N L^?1 d^?1 (6.4 g N m^?3 media d^?1), which remained within 75% of the rate for the 2-year-old media (12.1 mg N L^?1 d^?1 or 8.5 g N m^?3 media d^?11) and within 40–59% of the rate for the fresh chips (15.4–23.0 mg N L^?1 d^?1 or 10.8–16.1 g N m^?3 media d^?1). Results support field experience indicating that woodchips loose about 50% of their reactivity during their first year of operation as soluble organic compounds are leached out, but then relatively stable rates persist for a considerable number of years thereafter.     

Biotrickling air filtration of 2-chlorophenol at high loading rates

The degradation of 2-chlorophenol vapours in air was performed in a trickling biofilter packed with ceramic material seeded with the bacterium Pseudomonas pickettii, strain LD1. The system performance was evaluated under varying operating conditions (inlet 2-chlorophenol air concentrations from 0.10 to 3.50 g m^?3, and superficial air velocities of 30.0, 60.0, and 120.0 m h^?1). For all air velocity the maximum degradation rate was obtained for loading rates of 40 g m^?2 h^?1. Higher loading conditions resulted in strong inhibition of microbial activity, particularly severe at high air velocity. Process analysis, performed using data on pollutant concentration profiles along the filter packing obtained under different conditions of inlet concentration and air velocity, proves that best performance (i.e. maximum degradation efficiency and capacity) can be obtained for a narrow range of operating conditions, which can be ensured by proper design of biofilter size (i.e. diameter and height). Kinetic analysis of experimental data confirms that 2-CP inhibits microbial activity in the biofilter bed. Experimental data are satisfactorily fitted by the Haldane kinetic equation up to a critical value of loading rate, beyond which the experimental degradation rate is overestimated by the kinetic model. The inhibition appears to be affected by the loading rate, and the estimated inhibition constant linearly increases with increasing empty bed residence time.     

A key cultivation technology for denitrifying granular sludge

Well-formed denitrifying granular sludge with a biomass concentration of 24.8 gVSS L^?1 and a specific nitrate removal rate of 0.19 gNO₃-N gVSS^?1 d^?1 was obtained in an upflow sludge blanket (USB) reactor by cultivating seeded aerobic flocculent sludge for 6–8 weeks. Regularity phenomena exist in the granulation including flotation of flocculent sludge, formation of fine granules, occurrence of channelling, and formation of mature granular sludge. The granulation is similar to crystal growth, that the non-denitrifying bacteria evolve into the carriers (fine granules), on the surface of which denitrifying bacteria proliferate and develop into mature granular sludge.There are several key parameters that must be considered when developing a good denitrifying granular sludge. First, the proper seed sludge must be chosen (VSS/SS at 0.65–0.75, SRT over 25 days) to accelerate the granulation process. Secondly, any floating sludge should be stirred, and the sludge loading rate should be within the range of 0.05–0.15 gNO₃-N gVSS^?1 d^?1 until fine granules emerge. Additionally, spontaneous gas agitation or interval air-blowing should be used to effectively eliminate channelling; Finally, the sludge loading rate should be less than 0.25 gNO₃-N gVSS^?1 d^?1 until dense, mature granular sludge appears. This study could support and promote the full-scale application of denitrifying granular sludge.     

Evolution of bioaggregate strength during aerobic granular sludge formation

This work investigated the modification of aggregate properties during the formation of granular sludge in a sequencing batch airlift reactor (SBAR). The cohesion of biological aggregates was quantified by subjecting sludge samples to two different controlled shear stresses in a stirred reactor. For reference sludge (without granules), flocs broke and reformed easily, indicating that floc size was controlled by the turbulence micro-scale (Kolmogorov scale, here from 17 μm to 62 μm). In contrast, granules showed high strength which enabled them to resist turbulence and their size was no longer imposed by the Kolmogorov micro-scale. Different steps were observed during the granulation process: a first increase of aggregate cohesion associated with a decrease in sludge volume index (SVI), a growth of aggregates with detachment of fragile particles from the surface and, finally, an increase in the sizes of small and large granules to reach a pseudo-stable size distribution. Results suggest that small particles could have formed the seeds for new granules, as they were maintained in the bioreactor. Here, granular sludge was formed in an SBAR with a conventional settling time (30 min), i.e. without particle washout, and with a low superficial air velocity (SAV = 0.6 cm s⁻¹): it is thus demonstrated that high SAV and low settling time are not necessary to produce granules, but probably only accelerate the accumulation of granules. It is shown that the increase of cohesion is the initial phenomenon explaining the granule formation concomitantly with bacterial aggregates densification. It seems important, in the future, to investigate the reasons for this cohesion increase, which is possibly explained either by bacterial bounding interactions or the excretion of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS).     

Nitrate removal and greenhouse gas production in a stream-bed denitrifying bioreactor

Denitrifying bioreactors are currently being tested as an option for treating nitrate (NO₃^?) contamination in groundwater and surface waters. However, a possible side effect of this technology is the production of greenhouse gases (GHG) including nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane (CH₄). This study examines NO₃^? removal and GHG production in a stream-bed denitrifying bioreactor currently operating in Southern Ontario, Canada. The reactor contains organic carbon material (pine woodchips) intended to promote denitrification. Over a 1 year period, monthly averaged removal of influent (stream water) NO₃^? ranged from 18 to 100% (0.3–2.5 mg N L^?1). Concomitantly, reactor dissolved N₂O and CH₄ production, averaged 6.4 μg N L^?1 (2.4 mg N m^?2 d^?1), and 974 μg C L^?1 (297 mg C m^?2 d^?1) respectively, where production is calculated as the difference between inflow and effluent concentrations. Gas bubbles entrapped in sediments overlying the reactor had a composition ranging from 19 to 64% CH₄, 1 to 6% CO₂, and 0.5 to 2 ppmv N₂O; however, gas bubble emission rates were not quantified in this study. Dissolved N₂O production rates from the bioreactor were similar to emission rates reported for some agricultural croplands (e.g. 0.1–15 mg N m^?2 d^?1) and remained less than the highest rates observed in some N-polluted streams and rivers (e.g. 110 mg N m^?2 d^?1, Grand R., ON). Dissolved N₂O production represented only a small fraction (0.6%) of the observed NO₃^? removal over the monitoring period. Dissolved CH₄ production during summer months (up to 1236 mg C m^?2 d^?1), was higher than reported for some rivers and reservoirs (e.g. 6–66 mg C m^?2 d^?1) but remained lower than rates reported for some wastewater treatment facilities (e.g. sewage treatment plants and constructed wetlands, 19,500–38,000 mg C m^?2 d^?1).     

Long-term phosphorus and nitrogen removal processes and preferential flow paths in Northern constructed peatlands

Four treatment peatlands were studied in Northern Finland in order to determine peat P, Al and Fe concentration distributions and to find removal parameters for nutrient modelling. The sites had been under loading for 10–16 years. About 20 peat samples for analyses of oxalate-extractable and total P, Al and Fe were collected from the depth 0–10 cm in each peatland. The peat P concentration ranged from 0.097 mg g^?1 to 14 mg g^?1 being 1.7 mg g^?1on average. P accumulated in preferential flow path areas. Although P concentrations were locally high, DSSP (the index of potential soil P release from peat to water) was very low in all studied peatlands, indicating that peat was not saturated by phosphorus. The results indicate that Al-based precipitation chemicals increase substantially P retention capacity of peatland and maintain a stabile P reduction in spite of varying P loads. The results also show long-term phosphorus accumulation in peatlands polishing municipal wastewater from activated sludge treatment. The regression analyses showed that k-value for N removal depends on N loading and hydraulic loading. The first-order area model together with regression analysis of the rate constant result in a good agreement between observed and calculated nitrogen concentration. The NH₄-N loading to the peatland should be below 0.10 mg m² d^?1 in order to achieve a high reduction of 70%.     

Real-time control strategy for nitrogen removal via nitrite in a SHARON reactor using pH and ORP sensors

This paper presents a real-time control strategy for nitrogen removal via nitrite in a continuous flow SHARON reactor using on-line available and industrially feasible sensors (pH and ORP). The developed control strategy optimizes the length of aerobic and anoxic phases as well as the external carbon source addition. This strategy, implemented in a laboratory-scale SHARON reactor fed with synthetic wastewater and real dewatering sludge supernatant, was able to cope with step variations in influent flow rate and ammonium concentration. The main advantages of this control strategy over the traditional operation mode with fixed carbon source dosification and fixed length cycle operation were: better effluent quality (ammonia concentration decreased from 12 to 2 mg NH₄–N L^?1 and nitrogen removal efficiency raised from 95% to 98%) as result of the shorter cycle length: 2.9 h versus 4.0 h, and savings in external carbon addition: 1332 mg COD d^?1 versus 2100 mg COD d^?1.     

Anaerobic granule development for removal of pentachlorophenol in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor

The granulation process using synthetic wastewater containing pentachlorophenol (PCP) in four 1.1 l laboratory scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors was studied, and the anaerobic biotransformation of PCP during the granulation process investigated. After 110 days granular sludge was developed and up to 160 and 180 mg/l of PCP was added into the reactors R1 and R2, respectively, when they were inoculated with acclimated anaerobic sludge from an anaerobic digester of a citric acid plant. The inoculum was predominately composed of bacilli and filamentous bacteria. Granulation did not occur in reactors R3 and R4 which were inoculated with acclimated anaerobic sludge from aerobic sludge of the municipal sewage treatment plant which consisted mainly of cocci. Despite similar bacilli in the granule, the filamentous bacteria from reactor R1 were thicker than those of reactor R2. The granular sludge had a maximum diameter of 2.5 and 2.2 mm, and SMA of 1.44 and 1.32 gCOD/gTVS per day for reactors R1 and R2, respectively. Over 98% chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rate and 99% of PCP removal rate were achieved when reactors R1 and R2 were operated at PCP and COD loading rates of 150 and 7.5 g/l per day, respectively. H₂-producing acetogens were the dominant anaerobes in the granular sludge.     

Predictive expressions of growth and Remazol Turquoise Blue-G reactive dye bioaccumulation properties of Candida utilis

The combined effects of initial sucrose and initial Remazol Turquoise Blue-G (RTBG) reactive dye concentrations on the specific growth rate and dye bioaccumulation efficiency of Candida utilis was investigated and optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) in this study. A 2² full factorial central composite design was successfully used for experimental design and analyses of the results. Two numerical correlations fitted to a second-order quadratic equation were obtained to estimate the responses of specific growth rate and dye uptake yield. The statistical analysis indicated that both the microbial growth and removal yield of dye enhanced with raising sucrose concentration up to 15 g l^?1 and diminished with the increase in initial RTBG dye concentration up to approximately 500 mg l^?1 due to inhibition caused by high concentrations of RTBG dye. The optimum combination predicted via RSM confirmed that C. utilis was capable of bioaccumulating RTBG with the maximum uptake yield of 82.0% in 15 g l^?1 sucrose and 50 mg l^?1 dye containing growth medium.     

Decolorization of textile azo dyes by aerobic bacterial consortium

The decolorization potential of two bacterial consortia developed from a textile wastewater treatment plant showed that among the two mixed bacterial culture SKB-II was the most efficient in decolorizing individual as well as mixture of dyes. At 1.3 g L^?1 starch supplementation in the basal medium by the end of 120 h decolorization of 80–96% of four out of the six individual azo dyes Congo red, Bordeaux, Ranocid Fast Blue and Blue BCC (10 mg L^?1) was noted. The culture exhibited good potential ability in decolorizing 50–60% of all the dyes (Congo red, Bordeaux, Ranocid Fast Blue and Blue BCC) when present as a mixture at 10 mg L^?1. The consortium SKB-II consisted of five different bacterial types identified by 16S rDNA sequence alignment as Bacillus vallismortis, Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus megaterium which were further tested to decolorize dyes. The efficient ability of this developed consortium SKB-II to decolorize individual dyes and textile effluent using packed bed reactors is being carried out.     

Bioaugmentation of microbial communities in laboratory and pilot scale sequencing batch biofilm reactors using the TOL plasmid

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of bioaugmentation and transfer of plasmid pWWO (TOL plasmid) to mixed microbial populations in pilot and laboratory scale sequencing batch biofilm reactors (SBBRs) treating synthetic wastewater containing benzyl alcohol (BA) as a model xenobiotic. The plasmid donor was a Pseudomonas putida strain chromosomally tagged with the gene for the red fluorescent protein carrying a green fluorescent protein labeled TOL plasmid, which confers degradation capacity for several compounds including toluene and BA. In the pilot scale SBBR donor cells were disappeared 84 h after inoculation while transconjugants were not detected at all. In contrast, both donor and transconjugant cells were detected in the laboratory scale reactor where the ratio of transconjugants to donors fluctuated between 1.9 × 10^?1 and 8.9 × 10^?1 during an experimental period of 32 days. BA degradation rate was enhanced after donor inoculation from 0.98 mg BA/min prior to inoculation to 1.9 mg BA/min on the seventeenth day of operation. Survival of a bioaugmented strain, conjugative plasmid transfer and enhanced BA degradation was demonstrated in the laboratory scale SBBR but not in the pilot scale SBBR.