Microbial community analysis involved in the aerobic/extended-idle process performing biological phosphorus removal.

Recently, it has been found that biological phosphorus removal can be achieved in an aerobic/extended-idle (AEI) process using both glucose and acetate as the sole substrate. However, the microbial consortiums involved in glucose-fed and acetate-fed systems have not yet been characterized. Thus the aims of this paper were to investigate the diversities and dynamics of bacterial communities during the acclimation period, and to quantify polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) and glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs) in the systems. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the microbial communities were mainly composed of phylum Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chlorobi and another six kinds of unclassified bacteria. Fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) analysis revealed that PAOs and GAOs accounted for 43 ± 7 and 16 ± 3% of all bacteria in the glucose-fed system, and 19 ± 4 and 35 ± 5% of total bacteria in the acetate-fed system, respectively. The results showed that the conventional PAOs could thrive in the AEI process, and a defined anaerobic zone was not necessarily required for putative PAOs growth.

[Comparison study on phosphorus removal between single-stage oxic process and anaerobic/aerobic process].

To compare the efficiency of phosphorus removal between anaerobic/aerobic process (SBR1) and single-stage oxic process (SBR2), two SBRs were conducted using acetate as the sole carbon source which is the most extensive substrate in municipal wastewater. The results obtained from three months experiment showed that the phosphorus removal efficiency and the TP removed on a unit MLSS were 91.72%, 3.23 mg x g(-1) (SBR1)and 71.70%, 2.91 mg x g(-1) (SBR2) respectively during steady operation. The further study found that a significant increase of PHA associated with an decrease of glycogen in SBR1 while a significant synthesis of PHA increased with the accumulation of glycogen in SBR2, indicating glycogen was not essential for the synthesis of PHA in single-stage oxic process. Furthermore, obvious phosphorus release was observed in both SBRs during idle period, but the content of phosphorus released in SBR2 (13.28 mg x L(-1)) was significantly higher than that in SBR1 (2.6 mg x L(-1)). The possible reason for SBR1 and SBR2 exhibited different phosphorus removal efficiencies was that microorganisms in both SBRs had different cyclic storage and consumption process of energy storages during metabolic process.

Effects of earthworms on surface clogging characteristics of intermittent sand filters.

Intermittent sand filters (ISFs) are effective and economical in treating wastewater, but they are easy to clog up. To explore a feasible and simple method to alleviate clogging, two pilot-scale ISFs were constructed, one of which contained earthworms and the other did not. During the operation, the effects of earthworms on the hydraulic behaviour of ISFs were investigated. The results showed that both ISFs exhibited good performance in wastewater treatment. However, they showed different hydraulic characteristics although operated at the same organic loading rate (approximately 300 g m(-2) d(-1)). The ISF without earthworms clogged only after 53 d operation, and was partially recovered after 7 d resting, but after that, clogging occurred again, and more rapidly than the initial clogging event (40 d). However, water on the medium surface of the ISF with earthworms was not observed during the whole experiments. In addition, 11-13% of effective porosity and 0.015-0.026 cm s(-1) of infiltration rate were measured in the upper 20 cm of the ISF at the end of the experiments. The facts demonstrated that earthworms played a positive role in alleviating clogging and earthworms fed filter could alleviate surface clogging effectively.

[Effects of two typical substrates as the sole carbon source on biological phosphorus removal with a single-stage oxic process].

To investigate the performances of phosphorus removal in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with single-stage oxic process using synthetical wastewater, glucose (R1) and acetate (R2) were fed to two SBRs as the sole carbon source, respectively. The operation run mode was determined to be: influent --> aeration (4 h) --> settling (8 h) --> effluent. The results showed that the performance of phosphorus removal in R1 was higher than that in R2 after steady-operation. Total phosphorus (TP) removed per MLVSS in R1 and R2 were 7.2-7.7 and 3.8-4.6 mg x g(-1) during aeration, respectively, but the rate of phosphorus release at the two reactors were 3.6-3.8 and 2.7-3.1 mg x g(-1) during the idle zone, respectively. The energy storage of poly-beta-hydroxyalkanoates (PHA) was constant nearly in R1 during the whole period, but glycogen was accumulated to the maximum value at 30 minutes of aeration, and then was decreased to the initial level. However in R2, PHA and glycogen were both accumulated at about 45 minutes of aeration. This phenomenon suggested that glycogen is the main energy source for metabolism during aerobic period in R1, and the main energy resource come from the decomposition of PHA and the hydrolysis of glycogen in R2. The facts showed that glycogen could replace PHAs to supply energy for phosphate uptake and polyphosphate accumulation in such a single-stage oxic process. Since glycogen accumulated in R1 was more than that in R2, the efficiency of phosphorus removal in R1 was higher than that in R2.

Nitrogen and phosphorus recovery from wastewater and the supernate of dewatered sludge.

Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus supply to freshwater negatively affects water quality and ecosystem balance through a process known as eutrophication. This can lead to increased wastewater treatment costs, a reduction in the biological diversity and recreational value of natural water bodies. Besides, algal blooms can result in loss of livestock and human health issues. Therefore, efficient and reliable nitrogen and phosphorus removal methods are required. In wastewater containing relatively high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus (e.g. wastewater from chemical fertilizer plant, the supernate of dewatered sludge, etc.), these elements are difficult to remove economically to reach the appropriate compliance limits by biological methods. On the other hand, both nitrogen and phosphorus are nutrients for the plants, and recently, nitrogen and phosphorus recovery by precipitation (e.g. struvite) has drawn much attention, because nitrogen and phosphorus precipitates can be utilized as a fertilizer and both phosphorus and ammonium can be simultaneously removed. Thus, this review summarized nitrogen and phosphorus recovery methods, during which nitrogen and phosphorus compounds can be used as a raw material for the fertilizer industry, including the options of struvite and hydroxyapatite formation and other feasible using options. In this article most important patents are also discussed.