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Characterization of the bacterial community involved in the bioflocculation process of wastewater organic matter in high-loaded MBRs

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

High-loaded membrane bioreactors (HL-MBRs), i.e., bioreactors equipped with a membrane for biomass retention and operated at extremely short sludge and hydraulic retention times, can concentrate sewage organic matter to facilitate subsequent energy and chemical recovery from these organics. Bioflocculation, accomplished by microorganisms that produce extracellular polymers, is a very important mechanism in these reactors. Bacterial diversity of the sludge and supernatant fraction of HL-MBRs operated at very short sludge retention times (0.125, 0.5, and 1 day) were determined using a PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and clone library approach and compared to the diversity in sewage. Already at a sludge retention time (SRT) of 0.125 day, a distinct bacterial community developed compared to the community in sewage. Bioflocculation, however, was low and the majority of the bacteria, especially Arcobacter, were present in the supernatant fraction. Upon increasing SRT from 0.125 to 1 day, a much stronger bioflocculation was accompanied by an increased abundance of Bacteroidetes in the (solid) sludge fraction: 27.5 % at an SRT of 0.5 day and 46.4 % at an SRT of 1 day. Furthermore, cluster analysis of DGGE profiles revealed that the bacterial community structure in the sludge was different from that in the supernatant. To localize specific bacterial classes in the sludge flocs, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was carried out with three different bacterial probes. This showed that Betaproteobacteria formed clusters in the sludge flocs whereas Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria were mainly present as single cells.

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Acknowledgments

This work was performed in the cooperation framework of Wetsus, Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology (www.wetsus.nl). Wetsus is co-funded by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, the European Union Regional Development Fund, the Province of Fryslân, and the Northern Netherlands Provinces. The authors like to thank the participants of the research theme “Membrane processes and operation for wastewater treatment and reuse” for the fruitful discussions and their financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wetsus-Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, P.O. Box 1113, 8900 CC, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

    L. Faust, C. M. Plugge, P. F. H. van den Brink & H. Temmink

  2. Sub-department of Environmental Technology, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 8129, 6700 EV, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    L. Faust, H. Temmink & H. H. M. Rijnaarts

  3. Campus Essen-Biofilm Centre, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstr. 5, 45141, Essen, Germany

    M. Szendy

  4. Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University, Dreijenplein 10, 6703 HB, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    C. M. Plugge

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  1. L. Faust
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  2. M. Szendy
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  3. C. M. Plugge
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  4. P. F. H. van den Brink
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  5. H. Temmink
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  6. H. H. M. Rijnaarts
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Correspondence to L. Faust.

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Faust, L., Szendy, M., Plugge, C.M. et al. Characterization of the bacterial community involved in the bioflocculation process of wastewater organic matter in high-loaded MBRs. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 99, 5327–5337 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-015-6402-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-015-6402-y

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