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Measurement and mathematical modelling of competition between fast- and slow-growing ordinary heterotrophic organisms in low and high substrate-loaded systems

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Abstract

Ordinary heterotrophic organisms (OHO) of an activated sludge wastewater treatment system showed an atypical growth behaviour when they are inoculated to batch aerobic growth tests with a high substrate-loaded condition. For example, the OHO maximum specific growth rates on readily biodegradable substrates (μ H) increased with a high ratio of substrate concentration to OHO active biomass concentration (So/Xo), although they were assumed to be constant in a conventional microbial growth kinetic model with a single OHO population group. We, therefore, set a hypothesis in that the change of OHO maximum specific growth rates in the batch test condition is caused by turnover of fast-growing OHO population against slow-growing OHO population. And, a competitive microbial growth kinetic model of the fast- and slow-growing OHO population groups was developed and validated with model-data fitting analysis for the batch test results. The competitive microbial growth kinetic model of process selection, rather than that of kinetic selection, was capable of simulating microbial growth kinetics in high substrate-loaded dynamic systems (i.e., batch tests) and low substrate-loaded steady-state systems (i.e., continuously operated wastewater treatment systems), better than the conventional non-competitive growth kinetic model.

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Abbreviations

AO:

Autotrophic organism

COD:

Chemical oxygen demand (mg/l)

RBCOD:

Readily biodegradable COD

SBCOD:

Slowly biodegradable COD

FISH:

Fluorescence in situ hybridization

MLE:

Modified Ludzack–Ettinger

OHO:

Ordinary heterotrophic organism

OUR:

Oxygen uptake rate

OURH OUROHO :

Oxygen uptake rate by OHOs

OURAO :

Oxygen uptake rate by AOs

TKN:

Total Kieldahl nitrogen (mg/l)

TSS:

Total suspended solids (mg/l)

VSS:

Volatile suspended solids (mg/l)

MLAVSS:

Mixed liquor active biomass in volatile suspended solid (mgVSS/l)

UCT:

University of Cape Town

b HT :

OHO specific death rate at temperature T; 0.62/days at 20 °C, COD unit

b HT* :

Specific endogenous mass loss rate at temperature T; 0.24/days at 20 °C, VSS unit

f av :

Fraction of OHO active biomass in the mixed liquor volatile suspended solids [(MLA)VSS/VSS]

f CV :

COD to VSS ratio of mixed liquor organic suspended solids (COD/VSS)

f E :

Fraction of OHO active biomass as endogenous residue (COD/COD)

f *E :

Fraction of OHO active biomasss as endogenous residue (VSS/VSS)

f MA :

Maximum ratio S ads/Z BH at saturation

f N :

TKN to VSS ratio of mixed liquor organic suspended solids (TKN/VSS)

f S,up :

Fraction of substrates, unbiodegradable and particulate (COD/COD)

f S,us :

Fraction of substrate, unbiodegradable and soluble (COD/COD)

K A :

Specific adsorption rate of S enm on OHO active biomass

K MP :

Maximum specific growth rate of OHO active biomass with S ads

K SP :

Half saturation coefficient with OHO active biomass on S ads

K SH :

Half saturation coefficient of Monod growth kinetics with RBCOD (S bs)

K SH1 :

Half saturation coefficient for fast-growing OHO active biomass with RBCOD (S bs)

K SH2 :

Half-saturation coeff. for slow-growing OHO active biomass with RBCOD (S bs)

R S :

System sludge age (days)

So:

Substrate concentration (mgCOD/l)

S ads1 :

Slowly biodegradable substrate, adsorbed on fast-growing OHOs (mgCOD/l)

S ads2 :

Slowly biodegradable substrate, adsorbed on slowly growing OHOs (mgCOD/l)

S enm :

Slowly biodegradable substrate, enmeshed in OHO active biomass (mgCOD/l)

S bs :

Readily biodegradable (soluble) substrate (mgCOD/l)

S us :

Unbiodegradable soluble substrate (mgCOD/l)

µ H :

Maximum specific growth rate of OHO active biomass with RBCOD (S bs)

µ H1 :

Maximum specific growth rate of fast-growing OHOs with RBCOD (S bs)

µ H2 :

Maximum specific growth rate of slowly growing OHOs with RBCOD (S bs)

Xo:

Active biomass concentration [mg(MLA)VSS/l]

X BH1 :

Fast-growing OHO active biomass concentration [mg(MLA)VSS/l]

X BH2 :

Slow-growing OHO active biomass concentration [mg(MLA)VSS/l]

Y ZH :

Yield coefficient of OHO active biomass (COD/COD)

Y *H :

Yield coefficient of OHO active biomass (VSS/COD)

Z BH(0) :

OHO active biomass concentration (mgCOD/l)

Z BH1(0) :

Fast-growing OHO active biomass concentration (mgCOD/l)

Z BH2(0) :

Slowly growing OHO active biomass concentration (mgCOD/l)

Z BH1(Inf) :

Fast-growing OHO active biomass concentration in raw sewage (mgCOD/l)

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Water Research Commission, National Research Foundation and Water and Sanitation Services SA (Pty) Ltd, and is published with their permission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Construction and Environmental Engineering, Kyungpook National University, 2559 Gyeongsang-daero, Sangju, Gyeongbuk, 742-711, Korea

    Byung Joon Lee, Yun Young Choi & Jung Woo Choi

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa

    Mark Wentzel & George Ekama

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  1. Byung Joon Lee
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  2. Mark Wentzel
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Correspondence to Byung Joon Lee.

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Lee, B.J., Wentzel, M., Ekama, G. et al. Measurement and mathematical modelling of competition between fast- and slow-growing ordinary heterotrophic organisms in low and high substrate-loaded systems. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 37, 1577–1590 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-014-1130-8

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