Effect of microalgae inoculation on the start-up of microalgae-bacteria systems treating municipal, piggery and digestate wastewaters.

The effect of the inoculation of a microalgae-bacteria system on the removal of nutrients and organic matter using municipal, piggery and digestate wastewaters was evaluated. Three conditions for each substrate were evaluated: (1) inoculation with activated sludge and illumination, (2) inoculation with activated sludge without illumination, and (3) inoculation with activated sludge plus a native microalgae consortium under illumination. The illuminated reactors that were inoculated only with activated sludge developed microalgae after 12 operation days. In these reactors, the formation of flocs was observed affecting the sedimentation of the biomass positively. The removal of chemical oxygen demand, ammonium and phosphorous reached 84%, 65% and 77%, respectively.

Contribution of quinone-reducing microorganisms to the anaerobic biodegradation of organic compounds under different redox conditions.

The capacity of two anaerobic consortia to oxidize different organic compounds, including acetate, propionate, lactate, phenol and p-cresol, in the presence of nitrate, sulfate and the humic model compound, anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS) as terminal electron acceptors, was evaluated. Denitrification showed the highest respiratory rates in both consortia studied and occurred exclusively during the first hours of incubation for most organic substrates degraded. Reduction of AQDS and sulfate generally started after complete denitrification, or even occurred at the same time during the biodegradation of p-cresol, in anaerobic sludge incubations; whereas methanogenesis did not significantly occur during the reduction of nitrate, sulfate, and AQDS. AQDS reduction was the preferred respiratory pathway over sulfate reduction and methanogenesis during the anaerobic oxidation of most organic substrates by the anaerobic sludge studied. In contrast, sulfate reduction out-competed AQDS reduction during incubations performed with anaerobic wetland sediment, which did not achieve any methanogenic activity. Propionate was a poor electron donor to achieve AQDS reduction; however, denitrifying and sulfate-reducing activities carried out by both consortia promoted the reduction of AQDS via acetate accumulated from propionate oxidation. Our results suggest that microbial reduction of humic substances (HS) may play an important role during the anaerobic oxidation of organic pollutants in anaerobic environments despite the presence of alternative electron acceptors, such as sulfate and nitrate. Methane inhibition, imposed by the inclusion of AQDS as terminal electron acceptor, suggests that microbial reduction of HS may also have important implications on the global climate preservation, considering the green-house effects of methane.

Effects of different quinoid redox mediators on the removal of sulphide and nitrate via denitrification.

The impact of different quinoid redox mediators on the simultaneous conversion of sulphide and nitrate in a denitrifying culture was evaluated. All quinones evaluated, including anthraquinone-2,6-disulphonate (AQDS), 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone and 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulphonate (NQS) were reduced by sulphide under abiotic conditions. NQS showed the highest reduction rate by sulphide (132 micromol h(-1)) and promoted the maximum rate of sulphide oxidation (87 micromol h(-1)) by denitrifying sludge, which represents an increase of 44% compared to the control lacking quinones. The reduced form of AQDS (AH(2)QDS) served as an electron donor for the microbial reduction of nitrite and N(2)O, which represents the first demonstration of hydroquinones supporting the microbial reduction of denitrifying intermediates. The results taken as a whole suggest that some quinones may significantly increase the rate of removal of S and N under denitrifying conditions.