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From macro to lab-scale: Changes in bacterial community led to deterioration of EBPR in lab reactor

  • Research Article
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Central European Journal of Biology

Abstract

A laboratory scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR), fed with synthetic wastewater containing a mixture of organic compounds, was operated for nearly six months. Despite maintaining the same operational conditions, a deterioration of enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) occurred after 40 days of SBR operation. The Prel/Cupt ratio decreased from 0.28 to 0.06 P-mol C-mol−1, and C requirements increased from 11 to 32 mg C h−1 g−1 of mixed liquor suspended solids. A FISH analysis showed that the percentage of Accumulibacter in an overall community of polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) and glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs) dropped from 93% to 13%. An increase in abundance of Gammaproteobacteria (from 2.6% to 22%) and Alphaproteobacteria (from 1.8% to 10%) was observed. The number of Competibacter increased from 0.5% to nearly 9%. Clusters 1 and 2 of Defluviicoccus-related GAOs, not detected before deterioration, constituted 35% and 27% of Alphaproteobacteria, respectively. We concluded that lab-scale experiments should not be extended implicitly to full-scale EBPR systems because some bacterial groups are detected mainlyin lab-scale reactors. Well-defined, lab-scale operational conditions reduce the number of ecological niches available to bacteria.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Department of Biology, Warsaw University of Technology, 00-653, Warsaw, Poland

    Adam Muszyński, Maria Łebkowska & Agnieszka Tabernacka

  2. Samsung Electronics, Poland R&D Center, 00-640, Warsaw, Poland

    Aleksandra Miłobędzka

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  1. Adam Muszyński
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  2. Maria Łebkowska
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  4. Aleksandra Miłobędzka
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Correspondence to Adam Muszyński.

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Muszyński, A., Łebkowska, M., Tabernacka, A. et al. From macro to lab-scale: Changes in bacterial community led to deterioration of EBPR in lab reactor. cent.eur.j.biol. 8, 130–142 (2013). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11535-013-0116-2

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