Metagenomic Analysis of Microbial Alliances for Efficient Degradation of PHE: Microbial Community Structure and Reconstruction of Metabolic Network.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are a widespread organic pollutant worldwide. In this study, a highly efficient phenanthrene (PHE)-degrading microbial community was enriched from oil extraction soil, which could degrade 500 mg/L PHE within 4 days. Using 16S rRNA sequencing, the dominant bacteria in this community at the phylum level were found to be Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes. Metagenomic annotation of genes revealed the metabolic pathways and the contribution of different bacteria to the degradation process. Pseudomonadaceae contributed multiple functional genes in the degradation process. This study revealed the functional genes, metabolic pathways, and microbial interactions of the microbial community, which are expected to provide guidance for practical management.

Treatment of wastewater with high carbon-to-nitrogen ratio using a waterfall aeration biofilm reactor combined with sequencing batch reactor: Microbial community structure and metabolism analysis.

A low-cost and high-efficiency waterfall aeration biofilm reactor (WABR) combined with a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was established to treat wastewater with a C/N ratio of 50. Three WABR-SBR systems with different fillers were used. In the stable operation phase, the removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand was R1 (approximately 99%), R2 (97-99%), and R3 (96-99%); the effluent concentration of NH4+-N was 0.5 mg/L without nitrite or nitrate accumulation. High-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that the dominant phyla in the microbial community structure were Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Planctomycetes. Quantitative PCR was used to quantify the nitrification and denitrification gene expressions (Nitrobacter, nirS, and nirK) to evaluate the simultaneous nitrification and denitrification processes. Both anammox and denitrifying bacteria were abundant. Metagenomic annotation of genes that revealed the metabolic pathways of carbohydrates, amino acids, and the two dominant enzymes (GH and GT) provide valuable information for microbial ecology analysis.

Shifts in microbial community structure and diversity in a novel waterfall biofilm reactor combined with MBBR under light and dark conditions.

In this study, a novel, low-cost, easy-maintenance and effective waterfall aeration biofilm reactor (WFBR) was designed to treat wastewater with MBBR. The chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrogen removal efficiency, and the microbial community structure in this novel system were evaluated for 70 days under light and dark conditions. The COD and ammonium nitrogen (NH3-N) removal efficiency remained at approximately 90% and 100% respectively after 25 days, even if the influent substrate concentration and illumination condition changes. High-throughput sequencing was used to investigate the composition and function of the microbial community in different fillers in the treatment system. Dark padding, illuminate carrier and fabric play the good performance in nitrogen nitrification, denitrification and fixation respectively. The major classes present were Betaproteobacteria (30.2% on average), Cytophagia (19.8%), Gammaproteobacteria (11.7%), Alphaproteobacteria (11.2%), Sphingobacteriia (5.1%), Flavobacteriia (2.6%), Deltaproteobacteria (2.4%), Verrucomicrobiae (0.7%), Chloroplast (0.6%) and Clostridia (0.5%). These results could provide important guidance for the improvement of MBBR or other tradition wastewater treatment process, and could also enrich our theoretical understanding of microbial ecology.

COD and nitrogen removal and microbial communities in a novel waterfall biofilm reactor operated at different COD/TN ratios.

The aim of this study was to characterize the pollutant removal efficiency and the microbial communities that arose in a newly designed waterfall biofilm reactor (WFBR) at different chemical oxygen demand/total nitrogen (COD/TN) ratios. The reactor was operated continuously for 28 days at different COD/TN ratios, and its efficiency was evaluated. Results showed that as the thickness of the biofilm increased, the structure of the biofilm encouraged anaerobic-aerobic, anoxic-anaerobic, and fully anaerobic conditions in one reactor. The COD/TN ratios used had a significant effect on the removal of COD and nitrogen components. At a COD/TN ratio of 14, the ammonium nitrogen removal efficiency reached its highest value (99%), but the COD removal efficiency remained at approximately 90%. High-throughput sequencing revealed that the highest community diversity and richness were seen at a COD/TN ratio of 18, and the major phyla were Proteobacteria (average abundance of 47%), Actinobacteria (24%), and Bacteroidetes (13%). As the COD/TN ratios increased from 7 to 18, the abundance of Proteobacteria gradually increased from 25% to 68%. These results could provide important guidance for the design of new wastewater treatment systems and also enrich our theoretical understanding of microbial ecology.

Medium optimization to improve the flocculation rate of a novel compound bioflocculant, CBF-256, using response surface methodology and flocculation characters.

A novel compound bioflocculant, CBF-256, was obtained using three bacterial strains, Bacillus sp., Enterobacter sp., and Aeromonas sp., which were screened from activated sludge of a printing and dyeing wastewater treatment plant. Response surface methodology was employed to optimize the fermentation medium dosage to improve the flocculation rate of CBF-256, which increased from 69.00% to 82.65%. In addition the yield of the compound bioflocculant increased from 2.31 g·L(-1) to 2.84 g·L(-1). The flocculating efficiency distribution of the components of the culture broth indicated that the supernatant was the most effective component in the flocculation process. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to analyze the fermentation medium and composite bacteria. The compound flocculants were produced easily, and during the flocculation process, all the flocculation ingredients settled down in the remaining sludge along with the bacteria screened from the activated sludge, without causing secondary pollution.