High-nitrate wastewater treatment in an expanded granular sludge bed reactor and microbial diversity using 454 pyrosequencing analysis

Evaluation of simultaneous nutrient and COD removal with polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) accumulation using mixed microbial consortia under anoxic condition and their bioinformatics analysis

Simultaneous nitrate-N, phosphate and COD removal was evaluated from synthetic waste water using mixed microbial consortia in an anoxic environment under various initial carbon load (ICL) in a batch scale reactor system. Within 6 hours of incubation, enriched DNPAOs (Denitrifying Polyphosphate Accumulating Microorganisms) were able to remove maximum COD (87%) at 2 g/L of ICL whereas maximum nitrate-N (97%) and phosphate (87%) removal along with PHB accumulation (49 mg/L) was achieved at 8 g/L of ICL. Exhaustion of nitrate-N, beyond 6 hours of incubation, had a detrimental effect on COD and phosphate removal rate. Fresh supply of nitrate-N to the reaction medium, beyond 6 hours, helped revive the removal rates of both COD and phosphate. Therefore, it was apparent that in spite of a high carbon load, maximum COD and nutrient removal can be maintained, with adequate nitrate-N availability. Denitrifying condition in the medium was evident from an increasing pH trend. PHB accumulation by the mixed culture was directly proportional to ICL; however the time taken for accumulation at higher ICL was more. Unlike conventional EBPR, PHB depletion did not support phosphate accumulation in this case. The unique aspect of all the batch studies were PHB accumulation was observed along with phosphate uptake and nitrate reduction under anoxic conditions. Bioinformatics analysis followed by pyrosequencing of the mixed culture DNA from the seed sludge revealed the dominance of denitrifying population, such as Corynebacterium, Rhodocyclus and Paraccocus (Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria). Rarefaction curve indicated complete bacterial population and corresponding number of OTUs through sequence analysis. Chao1 and Shannon index (H') was used to study the diversity of sampling. "UCI95" and "LCI95" indicated 95% confidence level of upper and lower values of Chao1 for each distance. Values of Chao1 index supported the results of rarefaction curve.

Sulfate reduction and mixotrophic sulfide-utilization denitrification integrated biofilm process for sulfate-laden wastewater treatment and sulfur recovery

A novel and integrated biofilm process--the sulfate reduction (SR) and mixotrophic (MR) sulfide-utilization denitrification process (SMSD)--was recently proposed for sulfate treatment and sulfur recovery. The process consisted of two bioreactors: a 5.1 L anaerobic upflow reactor for SR, and a 3.5 L anaerobic upflow reactor for MR desulfurization-denitrification. The experiment was conducted for 370 days to evaluate the performance of SMSD at various sulfate concentrations and hydraulic retention times. The process successfully achieved sulfate, organics and nitrogen compound removal efficiencies of 94.1, 97.7 and 99.1%, respectively. Sulfate was predominantly converted to element sulfur, while nitrate and nitrite were finally converted to nitrogen gas. In SR, with the help of high pH and sponge cubes with various bacteria, 97.5% of sulfide conversion efficiency and 540 mgS/L of sulfide were obtained. In MR, sulfide was removed up to 100% and was partially oxidized to sulfur. The extent of heterotrophic denitrification, which ranged from 35.8 to 59.8%, depended on the categories of electron acceptors.

Microbial community in anoxic–oxic–settling–anaerobic sludge reduction process revealed by 454 pyrosequencing analysis

Modification of the anoxic–oxic (AO) process by inserting a sludge holding tank (SHT) into the sludge return line forms an anoxic–oxic–settling–anaerobic (A+OSA) process that can achieve a 48.98% sludge reduction rate. The 454 pyrosequencing method was used to obtain the microbial communities of the AO and A+OSA processes. Results showed that the microbial community structures of the 2 processes were different as a result of the SHT insertion. Bacteria assigned to the phyla Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes commonly existed and dominated the microbial populations of the 2 processes. However, the relative abundance of these populations shifted in the presence of SHT. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria decreased during the A+OSA process. A specific comparison at the class level showed that Sphingobacteria was enriched in the A+OSA process. The result suggested that the fermentative bacteria Sphingobacteria may have key functions in reducing the sludge from the A+OSA process. Uncultured Nitrosomonadaceae gradually became the dominant ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, and the nitrite-oxidizing bacterium Nitrospira was enriched in the A+OSA process. Both occurrences were favorable for stabilized nitrogen removal. The known denitrifying species in the A+OSA process were similar to those in the AO process; however, their relative abundance also decreased.

Performance and microbial diversity of an expanded granular sludge bed reactor for high sulfate and nitrate waste brine treatment

The disposal of waste brines has become a major challenge that hinders the wide application of ion-exchange resins in the water industry in recent decades. In this study, high sulfate removal efficiency (80%-90%) was achieved at the influent sulfate concentration of 3600 mg/L and 3% NaCl after 145 days in an expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor. Furthermore, the feasibility of treating synthetic waste brine containing high levels of sulfate and nitrate was investigated in a single EGSB reactor during an operation period of 261 days. The highest nitrate and sulfate loading rate reached 6.38 and 5.78 kg/(m(3)·day) at SO(2-)4-S/NO(-)3-N mass ratio of 4/3, and the corresponding removal efficiency was 99.97% and 82.26% at 3% NaCl, respectively. Meanwhile, 454-pyrosequencing technology was used to analyze the bacterial diversity of the sludge on the 240th day for stable operation of phase X. Results showed that a total of 9194 sequences were obtained, which could be affiliated to 14 phyla, including Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Chlorobi, Bacteroidetes, Synergistetes and so on. Proteobacteria (77.66%) was the dominant microbial population, followed by Firmicutes (12.23%) and Chlorobi (2.71%).