Applicability of experience from laboratory reactors with biological phosphorus removal in full-scale plants

2006 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Tykesson ◽  
L.L. Blackall ◽  
Y. Kong ◽  
P.H. Nielsen ◽  
J. la Cour Jansen

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) has been used at many wastewater treatment plants all over the world for many years. In this study a full-scale sludge with good EBPR was tested with P-release batch tests and combined FISH/MAR (fluorescence in situ hybridisation and microautoradiography). Proposed models of PAOs and GAOs (polyphosphate- and glycogen-accumulating organisms) and microbial methods suggested from studies of laboratory reactors were found to be applicable also on sludge from full-scale plants. Dependency of pH and the uptake of both acetate and propionate were studied and used for calculations for verifying the models and results from microbial methods. All rates found from the batch tests with acetate were higher than in the batch tests with propionate, which was explained by the finding that only those parts of the bacterial community that were able to take up acetate anaerobically were able to take up propionate anaerobically.

2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (11) ◽  
pp. 37-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.M. Saunders ◽  
A. Oehmen ◽  
L.L. Blackall ◽  
Z. Yuan ◽  
J. Keller

Glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs) were present in six full-scale plants investigated and in all but one made a significant contribution to the amount of volatile fatty acid (VFA) taken up anaerobically. While most plants surveyed contain GAOs, it was demonstrated that it is possible for a full-scale plant to operate with an insignificant GAO population.“Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis”were the significant polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) in all plants surveyed. “Candidatus Competibacter phosphatis” were found in all plants along with other possible GAOs that were observed but not identified. A significant GAO population will increase the carbon requirements by removing VFA that could otherwise have been used by PAOs. Process optimization minimizing GAOs in full-scale plants would lead to a more efficient use of VFA. Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR), fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH), glycogen accumulating organism (GAO); polyphosphate accumulating organism (PAO);


2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 123-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.L. Zilles ◽  
C.-H. Hung ◽  
D.R. Noguera

The objective of this research was to assess the relevance of organisms related to Rhodocyclus in enhanced biological phosphorus removal in full-scale wastewater treatment plants. The presence of these organisms in full-scale plants was first confirmed by fluorescent in situ hybridization. To address which organisms were involved in phosphorus removal, a method was developed which selected polyphosphate-accumulating organisms from activated sludge samples by DAPI staining and flow cytometry. Sorted samples were characterized using fluorescent in situ hybridization. The results of these analyses confirmed the presence of organisms related to Rhodocyclus in full-scale wastewater treatment plants and supported the involvement of these organisms in enhanced biological phosphorus removal. However, a significant fraction of the polyphosphate-accumulating organisms were not related to Rhodocyclus.


1990 ◽  
Vol 22 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 35-43
Author(s):  
K. D. Tracy ◽  
S. N. Hong

The anaerobic selector of the A/0™ process offers many advantages over conventional activated sludge processes with respect to process performance and operational stability. This high-rate, single-sludge process has been successfully demonstrated in full-scale operations for biological phosphorus removal and total nitrogen control in addition to BOD and TSS removal. This process can be easily utilized in upgrading existing treatment plants to meet stringent discharge limitations and to provide capacity expansion. Upgrades of two full-scale installations are described and performance data from the two facilities are presented.


1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 153-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Wedi ◽  
P. A. Wilderer

Most of the fundamental processes responsible for enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) were obtained through laboratory tests under defined conditions with pure or enriched cultures. Acinetobacter sp. was identified as the most important group of bacteria responsible for bio-P removal. Full scale data showed, however, that laboratory results do not match full scale results well enough. There is a lack of data on the effects of sub-optimal process conditions such as inadequate availability of volatile fatty acids (VFA), high nitrate recycle, storm water inflow or low temperatures. In this paper the results of full scale experiments on P-release are presented and compared with theoretical values. Measurements at a full scale Phoredox-system showed a surprisingly low P-release in the anaerobic reactor. Only 4 to 10% of the phosphorus in the activated sludge was released in the bulk liquid. With laboratory batch-tests, a maximum of 20% of the P in the sludge could be released. It is assumed that under the prevailing process conditions either the fraction of Acinetobacter sp. was very small, or bacteria other than Acinetobacter sp. were responsible for the P-removal, or most of the phosphorus was bound chemically but mediated by biological processes.


2006 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 277-284
Author(s):  
C. Yeates ◽  
L.L. Blackall

The enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) process is regularly used for the treatment of wastewater, but suffers from erratic performance. Successful EBPR relies on the growth of bacteria called polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs), which store phosphorus intracellularly as polyphosphate, thus removing it from wastewater. Metabolic models have been proposed which describe the measured chemical transformations, however genetic evidence is lacking to confirm these hypotheses. The aim of this research was to generate a metagenomic library from biomass enriched in PAOs as determined by phenotypic data and fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) using probes specific for the only described PAO to date, “Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis”. DNA extraction methods were optimised and two fosmid libraries were constructed which contained 93 million base pairs of metagenomic data. Initial screening of the library for 16S rRNA genes revealed fosmids originating from a range of non-pure-cultured wastewater bacteria. The metagenomic libraries constructed will provide the ability to link phylogenetic and metabolic data for bacteria involved in nutrient removal from wastewater.


Microbiology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 157 (8) ◽  
pp. 2287-2296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeong Myeong Kim ◽  
Hyo Jung Lee ◽  
Dae Sung Lee ◽  
Kangseok Lee ◽  
Che Ok Jeon

The presence of glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAO) has been hypothesized to be a cause of deterioration in enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) processes due to their abilities to out-compete polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAO). Based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, new members of uncultured gammaproteobacterial GAO (GB) were identified from sludge samples of a lab-scale sequencing batch reactor used for EBPR. The new GB formed a phylogenetic lineage (GB8) clearly distinct from the previously reported seven GB subgroups. Because the new GB8 members were not targeted by the known fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) oligonucleotide probes, a GB8-specific FISH probe (GB429) and a new FISH probe (GB742) targeting all eight GB subgroups were designed, and the phenotypic properties of the new GB8 members were investigated. FISH and microautoradiography approaches showed that GB429-targeted cells (GB8) were large coccobacilli (2–4 µm in size) with the ability to take up acetate under anaerobic conditions, but unable to accumulate polyphosphate under the subsequent aerobic conditions, consistent with in situ phenotypes of GB. FISH analyses on several sludge samples showed that members of GB8 were commonly detected as the majority of GB in lab- and full-scale EBPR processes. In conclusion, this study showed that members of GB8 could be a subgroup of GB with an important role in EBPR deterioration. Designs of FISH probes which hybridize with broader GB subgroups at different hierarchical levels will contribute to studies of the distributions and ecophysiologies of GB in lab- or full-scale EBPR plants.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eustace Y. Fernando ◽  
Simon Jon Mcllroy ◽  
Marta Nierychlo ◽  
Florian-Alexander Herbst ◽  
Markus C. Schmid ◽  
...  

AbstractEnhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) is a globally important biotechnological process and relies on the massive accumulation of phosphate within special microorganisms.CandidatusAccumulibacter conform to classical physiology model for polyphosphate accumulating organisms and are widely believed to be the most important player for the process in full-scale EBPR systems. However, it was impossible till now to quantify the contribution of specific microbial clades to EBPR. In this study, we have developed a new tool to directly link the identity of microbial cells to the absolute quantification of intracellular poly-P and other polymers underin situconditions, and applied it to eight full-scale EBPR plants. BesidesCa. Accumulibacter, members of the genusTetrasphaerawere found to be important microbes for P accumulation, and in six plants they were the most important. As theseTetrasphaeracells did not exhibit the classical phenotype of poly-P accumulating microbes, our entire understanding of the microbiology of the EBPR process has to be revised. Furthermore, our new single-cell approach can now also be applied to quantify storage polymer dynamics in individual populationsin situin other ecosystems and might become a valuable tool for many environmental microbiologists.


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