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Biological deterioration of alginate beads containing immobilized microalgae and bacteria during tertiary wastewater treatment

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

Secondary treatment of municipal wastewater affects the mechanical stability of polymer Ca-alginate beads containing the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris that are jointly immobilized with Azospirillum brasilense as treating agents whose presence do not affect bead stability. Nine strains of potential alginate-degrading bacteria were isolated from wastewater and identified, based on their nearly complete 16S rDNA sequence. Still, their population was relatively low. Attempts to enhance the strength of the beads, using different concentrations of alginate and CaCl2 or addition of either of three polymers (polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinyl alcohol, carboxymethylcellulose), CaCO3, or SrCl2, failed. Beads lost their mechanical strength after 24 h of incubation but not the integrity of their shape for at least 96 h, a fact that sustained successful tertiary wastewater treatment for 48 h. In small bioreactors, removal of phosphorus was low under sterile conditions but high in unsterile wastewater. Alginate beads did not absorb PO4 −3 in sterile wastewater, but in natural wastewater, they contained PO4 −3. Consequently, PO4 −3 content declined in the wastewater. A supplement of 10 % beads (w/v) was significantly more efficient in removing nutrients than 4 %, especially in a jointly immobilized treatment where >90 % of PO4 −3 and >50 % ammonium were removed. Tertiary wastewater treatment in 25-L triangular, airlift, autotrophic bioreactors showed, as in small bioreactors, very similar nutrient removal patterns, decline in bead strength phenomena, and increase in total bacteria during the wastewater treatment only in the presence of the immobilized treatment agents. This study demonstrates that partial biological degradation of alginate beads occurred during tertiary wastewater treatment, but the beads survive long enough to permit efficient nutrient removal.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Felipe Ascencio (CIBNOR) for helpful discussions and Blanca Lopez (CIBNOR) and Alberto Mendoza (IPN-CBG, Reynosa, Mexico) for identifying alginate-degrading bacteria. At CIBNOR, Manuel Moreno and Patricia Vazquez assayed alginate-degrading bacteria; Juan-Pablo Hernandez drew the bioreactor and provided technical assistance; Noga Bashan and Emmanuel Vidaña provided technical support concerning the operation of bioreactors; Ira Fogel provided editorial improvements; and Diego Briceno (IPN-CICIMAR) measured strength of gels. This study was supported by Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT contract 23510), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia of Mexico (CONACYT Basic Science-2009, 2011, contracts 130656 and 164548), and The Bashan Foundation, USA, for time for writing. I.C. was mainly supported by a graduate fellowship (CONACYT 236058) and small periodic grants from the Bashan Foundation. G.H.C. is a recipient of COFAA and EDI fellowships of the IPN.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Microbiology Group, Northwestern Center for Biological Research (CIBNOR), Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 195, Col. Playa Palo de Santa Rita Sur, La Paz, Baja California Sur, 23096, Mexico

    Ivonne Cruz, Yoav Bashan & Luz E. de-Bashan

  2. The Bashan Foundation, 3740 NW Harrison Blvd., Corvallis, OR, 97330, USA

    Yoav Bashan & Luz E. de-Bashan

  3. Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas-IPN (CICIMAR-IPN), Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional S/N., Col. Playa Palo de Santa Rita, La Paz, Baja California Sur, 23096, Mexico

    Gustavo Hernàndez-Carmona

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  1. Ivonne Cruz
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  2. Yoav Bashan
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  3. Gustavo Hernàndez-Carmona
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  4. Luz E. de-Bashan
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Correspondence to Luz E. de-Bashan.

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Dedication

This study is dedicated to the memory of the Italian microbiologist Prof. Franco Favilli (1933–2012) of the University of Florence, Italy, one of the pioneers of Azospirillum studies.

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Cruz, I., Bashan, Y., Hernàndez-Carmona, G. et al. Biological deterioration of alginate beads containing immobilized microalgae and bacteria during tertiary wastewater treatment. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 97, 9847–9858 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-013-4703-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-013-4703-6

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