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Smith SK, Weaver JE, Ducoste JJ, de Los Reyes FL. Microbial community assembly in engineered bioreactors. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 255:121495. [PMID: 38554629 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
Microbial community assembly (MCA) processes that shape microbial communities in environments are being used to analyze engineered bioreactors such as activated sludge systems and anaerobic digesters. The goal of studying MCA is to be able to understand and predict the effect of design and operation procedures on bioreactor microbial composition and function. Ultimately, this can lead to bioreactors that are more efficient, resilient, or resistant to perturbations. This review summarizes the ecological theories underpinning MCA, evaluates MCA analysis methods, analyzes how these MCA-based methods are applied to engineered bioreactors, and extracts lessons from case studies. Furthermore, we suggest future directions in MCA research in engineered bioreactor systems. The review aims to provide insights and guidance to the growing number of environmental engineers who wish to design and understand bioreactors through the lens of MCA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Savanna K Smith
- Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Joseph E Weaver
- School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Joel J Ducoste
- Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Francis L de Los Reyes
- Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
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2
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Wu C, Goodrow S, Chen H, Li M. Distinctive biotransformation and biodefluorination of 6:2 versus 5:3 fluorotelomer carboxylic acids by municipal activated sludge. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 254:121431. [PMID: 38471201 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2024] [Revised: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
Fluorotelomer carboxylic acids (FTCAs) represent an important group of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) given their high toxicity, bioaccumulation potential, and frequent detection in landfill leachates and PFAS-impacted sites. In this study, we assessed the biodegradability of 6:2 FTCA and 5:3 FTCA by activated sludges from four municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the New York Metropolitan area. Coupling with 6:2 FTCA removal, significant fluoride release (0.56∼1.83 F-/molecule) was evident in sludge treatments during 7 days of incubation. Less-fluorinated transformation products (TPs) were formed, including 6:2 fluorotelomer unsaturated carboxylic acid (6:2 FTUCA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA), and perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA). In contrast, little fluoride (0.01∼0.09 F-/molecule) was detected in 5:3 FTCA-dosed microcosms, though 25∼68% of initially dosed 5:3 FTCA was biologically removed. This implies the dominance of "non-fluoride-releasing pathways" that may contribute to the formation of CoA adducts or other conjugates over 5:3 FTCA biotransformation. The discovery of defluorinated 5:3 FTUCA revealed the possibility of microbial attacks of the C-F bond at the γ carbon to initiate the transformation. Microbial community analysis revealed the possible involvement of 9 genera, such as Hyphomicrobium and Dechloromonas, in aerobic FTCA biotransformation. This study unraveled that biotransformation pathways of 6:2 and 5:3 FTCAs can be divergent, resulting in biodefluorination at distinctive degrees. Further research is underscored to uncover the nontarget TPs and investigate the involved biotransformation and biodefluorination mechanisms and molecular basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Wu
- Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, United States
| | - Sandra Goodrow
- Division of Science and Research, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Trenton, NJ, United States
| | - Hao Chen
- Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, United States
| | - Mengyan Li
- Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, United States.
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Rochera C, Peña M, Picazo A, Morant D, Miralles-Lorenzo J, Camacho-Santamans A, Belenguer-Manzanedo M, Montoya T, Fayos G, Camacho A. Naturalization of treated wastewater by a constructed wetland in a water-scarce Mediterranean region. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 357:120715. [PMID: 38579465 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
The effluents from conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), even if accomplishing quality regulations, substantially differ in their characteristics with those of waters in natural environments. Constructed wetlands (CWs) serve as transitional ecosystems within WWTPs, mitigating these differences and restoring natural features before water is poured into the natural environment. Our study focused on an experimental surface-flow CW naturalizing the WWTP effluent in a semiarid area in Eastern Spain. Despite relatively low pollutant concentrations entering the CW, it effectively further reduced settled organic matter and nitrogen. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) reaching the CW was mainly protein-like, yet optical property changes in the DOM indicated increased humification, aromaticity, and stabilization as it flowed through the CW. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that the CW released less abundant but more active bacterial populations than those received. MiSeq Illumina sequencing highlighted changes in the prokaryotic community composition, with phyla Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria dominating the CW outflow. Functional prediction tools (FaproTax and PICRUSt2) demonstrated a shift towards microbial guilds aligned with those of the natural aquatic environments, increased aerobic chemoheterotrophs, photoautotrophs, and metabolic reactions at higher redox potentials. Enhanced capabilities for degrading plant material correlated well with changes in the DOM pool. Our findings emphasize the role of CWs in releasing biochemically stable DOM and functionally suited microbial populations for natural receiving environments. Consequently, we propose CWs as a naturalization nature-based solution (NBS) in water-scarce regions like the Mediterranean, where reclaimed discharged water can significantly contribute to ecosystem's water resources compared to natural flows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Rochera
- Cavanilles Institute for Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, E-46980, Paterna, Valencia, Spain.
| | - María Peña
- Global Omnium Medioambiente, S.L., E46005, Valencia, Spain.
| | - Antonio Picazo
- Cavanilles Institute for Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, E-46980, Paterna, Valencia, Spain.
| | - Daniel Morant
- Cavanilles Institute for Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, E-46980, Paterna, Valencia, Spain.
| | - Javier Miralles-Lorenzo
- Cavanilles Institute for Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, E-46980, Paterna, Valencia, Spain.
| | - Alba Camacho-Santamans
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal, 643, E-08028, Barcelona, Spain.
| | | | | | - Gloria Fayos
- Aguas de Valencia, S.A., Diputación de Valencia, E46005, Valencia, Spain.
| | - Antonio Camacho
- Cavanilles Institute for Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, E-46980, Paterna, Valencia, Spain.
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Zhang Y, Deng Y, Wang C, Li S, Lau FTK, Zhou J, Zhang T. Effects of operational parameters on bacterial communities in Hong Kong and global wastewater treatment plants. mSystems 2024; 9:e0133323. [PMID: 38411061 PMCID: PMC10949511 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.01333-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are indispensable biotechnology facilities for modern cities and play an essential role in modern urban infrastructure by employing microorganisms to remove pollutants in wastewater, thus protecting public health and the environment. This study conducted a 13-month bacterial community survey of six full-scale WWTPs in Hong Kong with samples of influent, activated sludge (AS), and effluent to explore their synchronism and asynchronism of bacterial community. Besides, we compared AS results of six Hong Kong WWTPs with data from 1,186 AS amplicon data in 269 global WWTPs and a 9-year metagenomic sequencing survey of a Hong Kong WWTP. Our results showed the compositions of bacterial communities varied and the bacterial community structure of AS had obvious differences across Hong Kong WWTPs. The co-occurrence analysis identified 40 pairs of relationships that existed among Hong Kong WWTPs to show solid associations between two species and stochastic processes took large proportions for the bacterial community assembly of six WWTPs. The abundance and distribution of the functional bacteria in worldwide and Hong Kong WWTPs were examined and compared, and we found that ammonia-oxidizing bacteria had more diversity than nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. Besides, Hong Kong WWTPs could make great contributions to the genome mining of microbial dark matter in the global "wanted list." Operational parameters had important effects on OTUs' abundance, such as the temperature to the genera of Tetrasphaera, Gordonia and Nitrospira. All these results obtained from this study can deepen our understanding of the microbial ecology in WWTPs and provide foundations for further studies. IMPORTANCE Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are an indispensable component of modern cities, as they can remove pollutants in wastewater to prevent anthropogenic activities. Activated sludge (AS) is a fundamental wastewater treatment process and it harbors a highly complex microbial community that forms the main components and contains functional groups. Unveiling "who is there" is a long-term goal of the research on AS microbiology. High-throughput sequencing provides insights into the inventory diversity of microbial communities to an unprecedented level of detail. At present, the analysis of communities in WWTPs usually comes from a specific WWTP and lacks comparisons and verification among different WWTPs. The wide-scale and long-term sampling project and research in this study could help us evaluate the AS community more accurately to find the similarities and different results for different WWTPs in Hong Kong and other regions of the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulin Zhang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Lab, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yu Deng
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Lab, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Chunxiao Wang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Lab, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Shuxian Li
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Lab, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Frankie T. K. Lau
- Drainage Services Department, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, Wanchai, Hong Kong, China
| | - Jizhong Zhou
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, and School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Tong Zhang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Lab, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Macau Institute for Applied Research in Medicine and Health, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China
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Xu H, Zhang L, Xu R, Yang B, Zhou Y. Iron cycle-enhanced anaerobic ammonium oxidation in microaerobic granular sludge. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 250:121022. [PMID: 38113591 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.121022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
Granule-based partial nitritation and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (PN/A) is an energy-efficient approach for treating ammonia wastewater. When treating low-strength ammonia wastewater, the stable synergy between PN and anammox is however difficult to establish due to unstable dissolved oxygen control. Here, we proposed, the PN/A granular sludge formed by a micro-oxygen-driven iron redox cycle with continuous aeration (0.42 ± 0.10 mg-O2/L) as a novel strategy to achieve stable and efficient nitrogen (N) removal. 240-day bioreactor operation showed that the iron-involved reactor had 37 % higher N removal efficiency than the iron-free reactor. Due to the formation of the microaerobic granular sludge (MGS), the bio(chemistry)-driven iron cycle could be formed with the support of anaerobic ammonium oxidation coupled to Fe3+ reduction. Both ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and generated Fe2+ could scavenge the oxygen as a defensive shield for oxygen-sensitive anammox bacteria in the MGS. Moreover, the iron minerals derived from iron oxidation and Fe-P precipitates were also deposited on the MGS surface and/or embedded in the internal channels, thus reducing the size of the channels that could limit oxygen mass transfer inside the MGS. The spatiotemporal assembly of diverse functional microorganisms in the MGS for the realization of stable PN/A could be achieved with the support of the iron redox cycle. In contrast, the iron-free MGS could not optimize oxygen mass transfer, which led to an unstable and inefficient PN/A. This work provides an alternative iron-related autotrophic N removal for low-strength ammonia wastewater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Xu
- Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre, Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 637141, Singapore
| | - Liang Zhang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Ronghua Xu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Bo Yang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, State Environmental Protection Engineering Center for Pollution Treatment and Control in Textile Industry, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Yan Zhou
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 639798, Singapore.
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Zhou C, Yu Y, Zeng W, Feng S, Li J. Effects of microbubble pretreatment on physiochemical and microbial properties of excess activated sludge. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2024; 31:12528-12542. [PMID: 38233712 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-31939-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Fast increased amount of excess activated sludge (EAS) from wastewater treatment plants has aroused universal concerns on its environmental risks and demands for appropriate treatments, while effective treatment is dependent upon proper pretreatment. In this study, air-supplied microbubbles (air-MBs) with generated size of 25.18 to 28.25 μm were used for EAS pretreatment. Different durations (30, 60, 90, and 120 s) yielded sludge with varied physiochemical conditions, and 60 s decreased sludge oxidation status and significantly increased adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content. Soluble, loosely-bound, and tightly-bound extracellular polymeric substances (SEPS, LB-EPS, and TB-EPS) were extracted from the sludge through a stepwise approach and examined through three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix (3D-EEM) and quantitative analysis. The results showed that 60- and 120-s treatments generated stronger fluorescence intensities on dissolved organic matters (DOMs) of protein-like and fulvic acid in LB-EPS and TB-EPS, which indicated the decrease of counterparts in EAS, and therefore facilitated sludge dewaterability and reduction. The dominant microbial communities in EAS, including Proteobacteria, Bacteroidota, Chloroflexi, and Actinobacteriota, were not significantly affected by MB pretreatment. The results collectively revealed the effects of MB pretreatment on EAS and indicated that MBs could be an effective pretreatment technique for EAS treatment process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cuihong Zhou
- Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, College of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing, 102617, China
| | - Yiqiong Yu
- Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, College of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing, 102617, China
| | - Wanlin Zeng
- Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, College of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing, 102617, China
- E20 Institute of Environment Industry, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Shugeng Feng
- Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, College of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing, 102617, China.
| | - Jiangting Li
- Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, College of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing, 102617, China
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Qin W, Zheng C, Yang J, Hong M, Song Y, Ma J. Long-term performance and biofilms of the novel nano manganese dioxide coupling carbon source pre-loaded biological activated carbon filters for drinking water. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 240:117436. [PMID: 37865322 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/23/2023]
Abstract
In order to accelerate the start-up of biological activated carbon (BAC) filters and enhance ammonium (NH4+-N) removal performance, three substrates (sucrose and/or nano manganese dioxide (nMnO2)) pre-loaded BAC filters were set up to investigate the pollutants removals and microbiological characteristics for a long-term operation of 197 days. The average NH4+-N removal performance treated by the sucrose coupled with nMnO2 loaded BAC filter was the highest (71.18 %), which was 3.83 times of that by the control filter (18.58 %). 29 % of NH4+-N treated by the sucrose coupled with nMnO2 loaded BAC removed through the traditional nitrification and denitrification, or simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) pathways according to the calculation of the alkalinity consumption (6.12 mmol/L). There was no leakage of carbon source and Mn, and no accumulation of nitrite from the substrates loaded BAC. The dominant bacteria in the sucrose coupled with nMnO2 loaded BAC were Dechloromona (accounting for 8.02% of the total bacterial) and Acidaminobacter (accounting for 15.16% of total bacterial) on the Day 180, which had the capacity of nitrification or denitrification. NH4+-N and micropollutants removals treated by the combined process of peracetic acid (PAA) pre-oxidation and substrates loaded BAC were significant due to the generation of assimilable organic carbon (AOC) (5.98 ± 1.93 μg-C/mL) by PAA (100 μM)/Fe2+ pre-oxidation and the higher biomass ((4.57 ± 3.07) × 107 cells/g DW BAC) in the sucrose coupled with nMnO2 loaded BAC filter. Therefore, nMnO2 coupling carbon source pre-loading strategy could not only enhance initial colonization, but also promote pollutants removals for long-term operation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen Qin
- School of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, PR China.
| | - Chengyuan Zheng
- School of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, PR China.
| | - Jingru Yang
- School of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, PR China.
| | - Miaoqing Hong
- School of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, PR China.
| | - Yang Song
- School of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, PR China.
| | - Jun Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, PR China.
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Lin H, Zheng Y, Yang Y, Liu F, Yang K, Zhang B, Wen X. The role of the core microorganisms in the microbial interactions in activated sludge. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 235:116660. [PMID: 37451573 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 07/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
In order to gain a deeper understanding of the microbial interactions in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in China and clarify the role of the core community in the microbial interactions in activated sludge (AS), this study used a molecular ecological network approach based on random matrix theory to construct co-occurrence networks of the core microorganisms (CoreN), the whole AS community (WholeN) and the microbial communities without the core microorganisms (OtherN), respectively. It was shown that the WholeN had more complex and tighter connections compared with the OtherN, because of its higher total number of nodes, higher average clustering coefficient, and shorter average geodesic distance. The proportions of positive links in the CoreN, WholeN and OtherN were gradually decreased, indicating that the core microorganisms promoted cooperation between AS microorganisms. Moreover, higher robustness after random removal of 50% of the nodes of the WholeN (0.2836 ± 0.0311) was observed than the robustness of the OtherN (0.1152 ± 0.0263). In addition, the vulnerability of OtherN (0.0514) is significantly higher than WholeN (0.0225). Meanwhile, the average ratio of negative/positive cohesion, was significantly decreased when the core microorganisms were removed. These results demonstrated that core community could strengthen the stability of the ecological network in AS. By discerning the key factors affecting ecological network, AS temperature was observed to have a strong correlation with all three networks. Moreover, pollutants in wastewater shown stronger correlations with the CoreN and WholeN, supporting the point that core community play a critical role in pollutant removal in WWTPs to a certain extent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huimin Lin
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Yichen Zheng
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Yuankai Yang
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Fengyi Liu
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Kuo Yang
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Bing Zhang
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China; Research Center of Food Environment and Public Health Engineering, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China.
| | - Xianghua Wen
- Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
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Mehrani MJ, Kowal P, Sobotka D, Godzieba M, Ciesielski S, Guo J, Makinia J. The coexistence and competition of canonical and comammox nitrite oxidizing bacteria in a nitrifying activated sludge system - Experimental observations and simulation studies. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 864:161084. [PMID: 36565884 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.161084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The second step of nitrification can be mediated by nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB), i.e. Nitrospira and Nitrobacter, with different characteristics in terms of the r/K theory. In this study, an activated sludge model was developed to account for competition between two groups of canonical NOB and comammox bacteria. Heterotrophic denitrification on soluble microbial products was also incorporated into the model. Four 5-week washout trials were carried out at dissolved oxygen-limited conditions for different temperatures (12 °C vs. 20 °C) and main substrates (NH4+-N vs. NO2--N). Due to the aggressive reduction of solids retention time (from 4 to 1 d), the biomass concentrations were continuously decreased and stabilized after two weeks at a level below 400 mg/L. The collected experimental data (N species, biomass concentrations, and microbiological analyses) were used for model calibration and validation. In addition to the standard predictions (N species and biomass), the newly developed model also accurately predicted two microbiological indicators, including the relative abundance of comammox bacteria as well as nitrifiers to heterotrophs ratio. Sankey diagrams revealed that the relative contributions of specific microbial groups to N conversion pathways were significantly shifted during the trial. The contribution of comammox did not exceed 5 % in the experiments with both NH4+-N and NO2--N substrates. This study contributes to a better understanding of the novel autotrophic N removal processes (e.g. deammonification) with nitrite as a central intermediate product.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamad-Javad Mehrani
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Street 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Przemyslaw Kowal
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Street 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Dominika Sobotka
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Street 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Martyna Godzieba
- Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Department of Environmental Biotechnology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Sloneczna 45G, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
| | - Slawomir Ciesielski
- Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Department of Environmental Biotechnology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Sloneczna 45G, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
| | - Jianhua Guo
- Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology (ACWEB, formerly AWMC), The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Jacek Makinia
- Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Street 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland.
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10
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Tian L, Wang L, Zhang X, Huang X, Wang F, Zhu S, Li X, Guan Y. Multi-omics analysis on seasonal variations of the biofilm microbial community in a full-scale pre-denitrification biofilter. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2023; 30:24284-24298. [PMID: 36334202 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-23539-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The seasonal variations of biofilm communities in a municipal wastewater treatment plant were investigated using multi-omics techniques. The abundance of the main phyla of microorganisms varied with summer (July 2019) and winter (January 2019) samples considerably, the Bacteroidetes enriched in winter and Chloroflexi in summer. The results of metaproteomic and metagenomic showed that most of the functional microorganisms belonged to the Betaproteobacteria class, and the enrichment of Flavobacteria class in winter guaranteed the stability of denitrification performance to some extent. Seasonal variations affected the proteomic expression profiling, a total of 2835 differentially expressed proteins identified were significantly enriched in quorum sensing, two-component system, ribosome, benzoate degradation, butanoate metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle), and cysteine and methionine metabolism pathways. With the expression of nitrogen metabolic proteins decreases in winter, the overall expression of denitrification-related enzymes in winter was much lower than that in summer, the nitrogen metabolism pathway varied significantly. Seasonal variations also induced the alteration of the biofilm metabolite profile; a total of 66 differential metabolites, 8 potential biomarkers, and 8 perturbed metabolic pathways such as TCA cycle were detected. It was found that most of the perturbed pathways are directly related to nitrogen metabolism, and several amino acids and organic acids associated with the TCA cycle were significantly perturbed, the accumulation of TCA cycle intermediates, ornithine, and L-histidine in winter might be conducive to resisting cold temperatures. Furthermore, the correlation between biofilm microbial communities and metabolites was identified by the combined analysis of metabolomic and metaproteomic. The differences of microbial community structure, function, and metabolism between winter and summer in a full-scale pre-denitrification biofilter were revealed for the first time, strengthening our understanding of the microbial ecology of biofilm communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Tian
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China
| | - Lin Wang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China.
| | - Xiaofeng Zhang
- Qingdao Water Development Service Center, Qingdao, 266071, China
| | - Xuda Huang
- Qingdao Water Development Service Center, Qingdao, 266071, China
| | - Fuhao Wang
- Qingdao Water Affairs Group, Environmental Energy Co., Ltd, Qingdao, 266075, China
| | - Sifu Zhu
- Qingdao Haibo River Water Operation Co., Ltd, Qingdao, 266021, China
| | - Xueqiang Li
- Qingdao Haibo River Water Operation Co., Ltd, Qingdao, 266021, China
| | - Ying Guan
- Qingdao Haibo River Water Operation Co., Ltd, Qingdao, 266021, China
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11
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Coats ER, Appel FJ, Guho N, Brinkman CK, Mellin J. Interrogating the performance and microbial ecology of an enhanced biological phosphorus removal/post-anoxic denitrification process at bench and pilot scales. WATER ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH : A RESEARCH PUBLICATION OF THE WATER ENVIRONMENT FEDERATION 2023; 95:e10852. [PMID: 36987547 DOI: 10.1002/wer.10852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Research focused on interrogating post-anoxic enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) at bench and pilot scales. Average bench-scale effluent ranged from 0.33 to 1.4 mgP/L, 0.35 to 3.7 mgNH3 -N/L, and 1.1 to 3.9 mgNOx -N/L. Comparatively, the pilot achieved effluent (50th percentile/average) of 0.13/0.2 mgP/L, 9.7/8.2 mgNH3 -N/L, and 0.38/3.3 mgNOx -N/L under dynamic influent and environmental conditions. For EBPR process monitoring, P:C ratio data indicated that 0.2-0.4 molP/molC will result in stable EBPR; relatedly, a target design influent volatile fatty acid (VFA):P ratio would exceed 15 mgCOD/mgP. Post-anoxic EBPR was enriched for Nitrobacter spp. at 1.70%-20.27%, with Parcubacteria also dominating; the former is putatively associated with nitritation and the latter is a putative fermenting heterotrophic organism. Post-anoxic specific denitrification rates (SDNRs) (20°C) ranged from 0.70 to 3.10 mgN/gVSS/h; there was a strong correlation (R2 = 0.94) between the SDNR and %Parcubacteria for systems operated at a 20-day solids residence time (SRT). These results suggest that carbon substrate potentially generated by this putative fermenter may enhance post-anoxic EBPR. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Post-anoxic EBPR can achieve effluent of <0.2 mgP/L and <12 mgN/L. The P:C and VFA:P ratios can be predictive for EBPR process monitoring. Post-anoxic EBPR was enriched for Nitrobacter spp. over Nitrospira spp. and also for Parcubacteria, which is a putative fermenting heterotrophic organism. Post-anoxic specific denitrification rates (20°C) ranged from 0.70 to 3.10 mgN/gVSS/h. BLASTn analysis of 16S rDNA PAO primer set was shown to be improved to 93.8% for Ca. Accumulibacter phosphatis and 73.2%-94.0% for all potential PAOs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik R Coats
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
| | - Felicity J Appel
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
- Kimley-Horn, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Nick Guho
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
- Carollo Engineers, Walnut Creek, California, USA
| | - Cynthia K Brinkman
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
| | - Jason Mellin
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
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12
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Chen X, Zhang D, Li X, Li X, Lou J, Wei M. Effect of vegetable residues incorporation on soil fertility, rhizosphere microbial community structure, and plant growth of continuously cropped cucumber in a solar greenhouse. ANN MICROBIOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1186/s13213-022-01690-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Purpose
Incorporating crop residues into the soil is considered a sustainable and valuable method to alleviate soil deterioration caused by continuous monoculture in greenhouse production. However, the effect of vegetable residues retention on soil amendments is poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated the impacts of sweet pepper, tomato, and cucumber plant residues on soil microbial communities and plant growth of continuously cropped cucumber in a solar greenhouse.
Methods
The 16S rRNA and ITS1 rRNA genes were amplified, and high-throughput sequencing was performed to explore the impacts of vegetable residues incorporation on soil microbial communities. Additionally, soil chemical properties, cucumber root vigor, and fruit yield were measured to assess the impacts of vegetable residues incorporation on continuously cropped soil and cucumber growth.
Results
The results showed that incorporating vegetable residues could improve soil buffering capacity, increase the content of soil organic matter and available nutrients, and increased the diversity of soil microorganisms and improved community structure; vegetable residues increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Chloroflexi, while reducing the quantity of soil-borne pathogens such as Bacillariophyta and Acidobacteria. Similar results were observed for the fungal communities: the relative abundance of Ascomycota was decreased to varying degrees, while the relative abundance of Rozellomycota and Basidiomycota was raised. The results demonstrated that vegetable residues incorporation significantly increased cucumber root vigor and enhanced fruit yield. The effects of different types of residues on improving soil properties were ordered sweet pepper plant residues > cucumber plant residues > tomato plant residues, and 20% of sweet pepper plant residues incorporation had the most significant effect on crop yield.
Conclusion
In summary, returning vegetable residues alleviated soil continuous cropping obstacles by improving the soil fertility and the diversity and community structure of soil microorganisms, and consequently promoting the growth and yield of greenhouse-grown cucumbers. The findings demonstrated that returning vegetable residues was an effective and sustainable measure for soil amendment during continuous cropping in greenhouse production.
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13
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Chen W, Wei J, Su Z, Wu L, Liu M, Huang X, Yao P, Wen D. Deterministic mechanisms drive bacterial communities assembly in industrial wastewater treatment system. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2022; 168:107486. [PMID: 36030743 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Revised: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Microbial communities are responsible for biological treatment of many industrial wastewater, but our knowledge of their diversity, assembly patterns, and function is still poor. Here, we analyzed the bacterial communities of wastewater and activated sludge samples taken from 11 full-scale industrial wastewater treatment plants (IWWTPs) characterized by the same process design but different wastewater types and WWTP compartments. We found significantly different diversity and compositions of bacterial assemblages among distinct wastewater types and IWWTPs compartments. IWWTPs bacterial communities exhibited a clear species abundance distribution. The dispersal-driven process was weak in shaping IWWTP communities. Meanwhile, environmental and operating conditions were important factors in regulating the structure of the activated sludge community and pollutants removal, indicating that bacterial community was largely driven by deterministic mechanisms. The core microbial community in IWWTPs was different from that in municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWWTPs), and many taxa (e.g. the genus Citreitalea) rarely were detected before, indicating IWWTPs harbored unique core bacterial communities. Furthermore, we found that bacterial community compositions were strongly linked to activated sludge function. These findings are important to both microbial ecologists and environmental engineers, who may optimize the operation strategies jointly for maintaining biodiversity, which in turn may promote a more stable performance of the IWWTP. Overall, our study enhances the mechanistic understanding of the IWWTP microbial community diversity, assembly patterns, and function, and provides important implications for microbial ecology and wastewater treatment processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weidong Chen
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Jie Wei
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Zhiguo Su
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Linwei Wu
- Institute of Ecology, Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing China
| | - Min Liu
- Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
| | - Xiaoxuan Huang
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Pengcheng Yao
- Zhejiang Institute of Hydraulics and Estuary, Hangzhou 310017, China
| | - Donghui Wen
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
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14
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Sampara P, Luo Y, Lin X, Ziels RM. Integrating Genome-Resolved Metagenomics with Trait-Based Process Modeling to Determine Biokinetics of Distinct Nitrifying Communities within Activated Sludge. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:11670-11682. [PMID: 35929783 PMCID: PMC9387530 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c02081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Conventional bioprocess models for wastewater treatment are based on aggregated bulk biomass concentrations and do not incorporate microbial physiological diversity. Such a broad aggregation of microbial functional groups can fail to predict ecosystem dynamics when high levels of physiological diversity exist within trophic guilds. For instance, functional diversity among nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) can obfuscate engineering strategies for their out-selection in activated sludge (AS), which is desirable to promote energy-efficient nitrogen removal. Here, we hypothesized that different NOB populations within AS can have different physiological traits that drive process performance, which we tested by estimating biokinetic growth parameters using a combination of highly replicated respirometry, genome-resolved metagenomics, and process modeling. A lab-scale AS reactor subjected to a selective pressure for over 90 days experienced resilience of NOB activity. We recovered three coexisting Nitrospira population genomes belonging to two sublineages, which exhibited distinct growth strategies and underwent a compositional shift following the selective pressure. A trait-based process model calibrated at the NOB genus level better predicted nitrite accumulation than a conventional process model calibrated at the NOB guild level. This work demonstrates that trait-based modeling can be leveraged to improve our prediction, control, and design of functionally diverse microbiomes driving key environmental biotechnologies.
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15
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Begmatov S, Dorofeev AG, Kadnikov VV, Beletsky AV, Pimenov NV, Ravin NV, Mardanov AV. The structure of microbial communities of activated sludge of large-scale wastewater treatment plants in the city of Moscow. Sci Rep 2022; 12:3458. [PMID: 35236881 PMCID: PMC8891259 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-07132-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial communities in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play a key role in water purification. Microbial communities of activated sludge (AS) vary extensively based on plant operating technology, influent characteristics and WWTP capacity. In this study we performed 16S rRNA gene profiling of AS at nine large-scale WWTPs responsible for the treatment of municipal sewage from the city of Moscow, Russia. Two plants employed conventional aerobic process, one plant—nitrification/denitrification technology, and six plants were operated with the University of Cape Town (UCT) anaerobic/anoxic/oxic process. Microbial communities were impacted by the technology and dominated by the Proteobacteria, Bacteroidota and Actinobacteriota. WWTPs employing the UCT process enabled efficient removal of not only organic matter, but also nitrogen and phosphorus, consistently with the high content of ammonia-oxidizing Nitrosomonas sp. and phosphate-accumulating bacteria. The latter group was represented by Candidatus Accumulibacter, Tetrasphaera sp. and denitrifiers. Co-occurrence network analysis provided information on key hub microorganisms in AS, which may be targeted for manipulating the AS stability and performance. Comparison of AS communities from WWTPs in Moscow and worldwide revealed that Moscow samples clustered together indicating that influent characteristics, related to social, cultural and environmental factors, could be more important than a plant operating technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shahjahon Begmatov
- Institute of Bioengineering, Research Center of Biotechnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prosp, bld. 33-2, Moscow, Russia, 119071
| | - Alexander G Dorofeev
- Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Research Center of Biotechnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prosp, bld. 33‑2, Moscow, Russia, 119071
| | - Vitaly V Kadnikov
- Institute of Bioengineering, Research Center of Biotechnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prosp, bld. 33-2, Moscow, Russia, 119071
| | - Alexey V Beletsky
- Institute of Bioengineering, Research Center of Biotechnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prosp, bld. 33-2, Moscow, Russia, 119071
| | - Nikolai V Pimenov
- Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Research Center of Biotechnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prosp, bld. 33‑2, Moscow, Russia, 119071
| | - Nikolai V Ravin
- Institute of Bioengineering, Research Center of Biotechnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prosp, bld. 33-2, Moscow, Russia, 119071.
| | - Andrey V Mardanov
- Institute of Bioengineering, Research Center of Biotechnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prosp, bld. 33-2, Moscow, Russia, 119071.
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16
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Clagnan E, Brusetti L, Pioli S, Visigalli S, Turolla A, Jia M, Bargna M, Ficara E, Bergna G, Canziani R, Bellucci M. Microbial community and performance of a partial nitritation/anammox sequencing batch reactor treating textile wastewater. Heliyon 2021; 7:e08445. [PMID: 34901500 PMCID: PMC8637490 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Implementation of onsite bioremediation technologies is essential for textile industries due to rising concerns in terms of water resources and quality. Partial nitritation-anaerobic ammonium oxidation (PN/A) processes emerged as a valid, but unexplored, solution. In this study, the performance of a PN/A pilot-scale (9 m3) sequencing batch reactor treating digital textile printing wastewater (10-40 m3 d-1) was monitored by computing nitrogen (N) removal rate and efficiencies. Moreover, the structure of the bacterial community was assessed by next generation sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analyses of several genes, which are involved in the N cycle. Although anaerobic ammonium oxidation activity was inhibited and denitrification occurred, N removal rate increased from 16 to 61 mg N g VSS-1 d-1 reaching satisfactory removal efficiency (up to 70%). Ammonium (18-70 mg L-1) and nitrite (16-82 mg L-1) were detected in the effluent demonstrating an unbalance between the aerobic and anaerobic ammonia oxidation activity, while constant organic N was attributed to recalcitrant azo dyes. Ratio between nitrification and anammox genes remained stable reflecting a constant ammonia oxidation activity. A prevalence of ammonium oxidizing bacteria and denitrifiers suggested the presence of alternative pathways. PN/A resulted a promising cost-effective alternative for textile wastewater N treatment as shown by the technical-economic assessment. However, operational conditions and design need further tailoring to promote the activity of the anammox bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Clagnan
- Free University of Bolzano, Faculty of Science and Technology, Piazza Università 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Brusetti
- Free University of Bolzano, Faculty of Science and Technology, Piazza Università 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
| | - Silvia Pioli
- Free University of Bolzano, Faculty of Science and Technology, Piazza Università 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
| | - Simone Visigalli
- Politecnico di Milano, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICA), Piazza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Andrea Turolla
- Politecnico di Milano, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICA), Piazza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Mingsheng Jia
- Politecnico di Milano, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICA), Piazza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Martina Bargna
- Lariana Depur Spa, Via Laghetto 1, 22073 Fino Mornasco, Italy
| | - Elena Ficara
- Politecnico di Milano, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICA), Piazza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Giovanni Bergna
- Lariana Depur Spa, Via Laghetto 1, 22073 Fino Mornasco, Italy
| | - Roberto Canziani
- Politecnico di Milano, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICA), Piazza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Micol Bellucci
- Politecnico di Milano, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICA), Piazza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
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17
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Spieck E, Wegen S, Keuter S. Relevance of Candidatus Nitrotoga for nitrite oxidation in technical nitrogen removal systems. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2021; 105:7123-7139. [PMID: 34508283 PMCID: PMC8494671 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-021-11487-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Revised: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 07/31/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Abstract Many biotechnological applications deal with nitrification, one of the main steps of the global nitrogen cycle. The biological oxidation of ammonia to nitrite and further to nitrate is critical to avoid environmental damage and its functioning has to be retained even under adverse conditions. Bacteria performing the second reaction, oxidation of nitrite to nitrate, are fastidious microorganisms that are highly sensitive against disturbances. One important finding with relevance for nitrogen removal systems was the discovery of the mainly cold-adapted Cand. Nitrotoga, whose activity seems to be essential for the recovery of nitrite oxidation in wastewater treatment plants at low temperatures, e.g., during cold seasons. Several new strains of this genus have been recently described and ecophysiologically characterized including genome analyses. With increasing diversity, also mesophilic Cand. Nitrotoga representatives have been detected in activated sludge. This review summarizes the natural distribution and driving forces defining niche separation in artificial nitrification systems. Further critical aspects for the competition with Nitrospira and Nitrobacter are discussed. Knowledge about the physiological capacities and limits of Cand. Nitrotoga can help to define physico-chemical parameters for example in reactor systems that need to be run at low temperatures. Key points • Characterization of the psychrotolerant nitrite oxidizer Cand. Nitrotoga • Comparison of the physiological features of Cand. Nitrotoga with those of other NOB • Identification of beneficial environmental/operational parameters for proliferation Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00253-021-11487-5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Spieck
- Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Simone Wegen
- Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sabine Keuter
- Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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18
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Wang D, Tao J, Fan F, Xu R, Meng F. A novel pilot-scale IFAS-MBR system with low aeration for municipal wastewater treatment: Linkages between nutrient removal and core functional microbiota. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 776:145858. [PMID: 33640551 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we proposed a novel IFAS-MBR with low aeration for the treatment of real municipal wastewater. With biocarriers packed in the anoxic tank, the pilot-scale IFAS-MBR operated with average dissolved oxygen concentrations of 0.56 mg/L in the oxic tank. Over 110 days of operation, highly efficient nutrient removal was achieved with the total nitrogen (TN) and phosphorus (TP) removal efficiencies of 78.1 ± 7.2% and 93.7 ± 5.8%, respectively. The average effluent concentrations of TN and TP reached 5.4 and 0.26 mg/L, respectively. Meanwhile, the removal efficiency of COD reached 95.3 ± 1.3% in the system, and the concentrations of COD decreased from 31.9 ± 3.7 (sludge supernatant) to 12.7 ± 1.6 mg/L (permeate) after membrane filtration. Microbial community analysis showed that Nitrosomonas (0.32%) and Nitrospira (1.85%) in activated sludge were the main drivers of the nitrification process, while various denitrifying bacteria in activated sludge and biofilms were responsible for nitrate reduction in the anoxic tank. Candidatus Accumulibacter (0.34%) and Dechloromonas (1.31%) primarily contributed to denitrifying phosphorus uptake in the anoxic tank. Furthermore, these organisms (i.e., core functional microbiota) exhibited stable levels over the entire operation. The highly enriched hydrolytic fermentation bacteria drove community succession, and the remarkable functional robustness of microbial communities in activated sludge and biofilms favored nutrient removal. Overall, the novel IFAS-MBR system provides an energy-efficient MBR alternative owing to its highly efficient performance and low operating costs enabled by low aeration rates and the absence of an external carbon source.
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Affiliation(s)
- Depeng Wang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Pollution Control and Waste Utilization in Livestock and Poultry Production, Changsha, Hunan 410125, China
| | - Junshi Tao
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Pollution Control and Waste Utilization in Livestock and Poultry Production, Changsha, Hunan 410125, China
| | - Fuqiang Fan
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Pollution Control and Waste Utilization in Livestock and Poultry Production, Changsha, Hunan 410125, China
| | - Ronghua Xu
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Pollution Control and Waste Utilization in Livestock and Poultry Production, Changsha, Hunan 410125, China
| | - Fangang Meng
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Pollution Control and Waste Utilization in Livestock and Poultry Production, Changsha, Hunan 410125, China.
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19
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Yu J, Tang SN, Lee PKH. Microbial Communities in Full-Scale Wastewater Treatment Systems Exhibit Deterministic Assembly Processes and Functional Dependency over Time. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2021; 55:5312-5323. [PMID: 33784458 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c06732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Microbial communities constitute the core component of biological wastewater treatment processes. We conducted a meta-analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene of temporal samples obtained from diverse full-scale activated sludge and anaerobic digestion systems treating municipal and industrial wastewater (collected in this study and published previously) to investigate their community assembly mechanism and functional traits over time, which are not currently well understood. The influent composition was found to be the main driver of the microbial community's composition, and relatively large proportions of specialist (26.1% and 18.6%) and transient taxa (67.2% and 68.1%) were estimated in both systems. Deterministic processes, especially homogeneous selection events (accounting for >53.8% of assembly events), were consistently identified as the dominant microbial community assembly mechanisms in both systems over time. Significant and strong correlations (Pearson's r = 0.51-0.92) were detected between the dynamics of the temporal community and the functional compositions in both systems, which suggests functional dependency. In contrast, the occurrence of sludge bulking and foaming in the activated sludge system led to an increase in stochastic assembly processes (i.e., limited dispersal and undominated events), a shift toward functional redundancy and less community diversity, a decreased community niche breadth index, and a more compact co-association network. This study illustrates that the mechanism of microbial community assembly and functional traits over time can be used to diagnose system performance and provide information on potential system malfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinjin Yu
- School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Siang Nee Tang
- Facility Management and Environmental Engineering, TAL Group, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Patrick K H Lee
- School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
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20
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Song Y, Mhuantong W, Liu SY, Pisutpaisal N, Wongwilaiwalin S, Kanokratana P, Wang AJ, Jiang CY, Champreda V, Qiu DR, Liu SJ. Tropical and temperate wastewater treatment plants assemble different and diverse microbiomes. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2021; 105:853-867. [PMID: 33409607 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-020-11082-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Revised: 11/22/2020] [Accepted: 12/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The diversity and assembly of activated sludge microbiomes play a key role in the performances of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), which are the most widely applied biotechnological process systems. In this study, we investigated the microbiomes of municipal WWTPs in Bangkok, Wuhan, and Beijing that respectively represent tropical, subtropical, and temperate climate regions, and also explored how microbiomes assembled in these municipal WWTPs. Our results showed that the microbiomes from these municipal WWTPs were significantly different. The assembly of microbiomes in municipal WWTPs followed deterministic and stochastic processes governed by geographical location, temperature, and nutrients. We found that both taxonomic and phylogenetic α-diversities of tropical Bangkok municipal WWTPs were the highest and were rich in yet-to-be-identified microbial taxa. Nitrospirae and β-Proteobacteria were more abundant in tropical municipal WWTPs, but did not result in better removal efficiencies of ammonium and total nitrogen. Overall, these results suggest that tropical and temperate municipal WWTPs harbored diverse and unique microbial resources, and the municipal WWTP microbiomes were assembled with different processes. Implications of these findings for designing and running tropical municipal WWTPs were discussed. KEY POINTS: • Six WWTPs of tropical Thailand and subtropical and temperate China were investigated. • Tropical Bangkok WWTPs had more diverse and yet-to-be-identified microbial taxa. • Microbiome assembly processes were associated with geographical location.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Song
- IMCAS-RCEES joint lab at CAS Key Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China.,State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources and Environmental Microbiology Research Center at Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.,China-Thailand Joint Laboratory on Microbial Biotechnology, Beijing, 100101, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Wuttichai Mhuantong
- China-Thailand Joint Laboratory on Microbial Biotechnology, Beijing, 100101, China.,Biorefinery and Bioproduct Technology Research Group, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Pathum Thani, 12120, Thailand
| | - Shuang-Yuan Liu
- China-Thailand Joint Laboratory on Microbial Biotechnology, Beijing, 100101, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.,Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Nipon Pisutpaisal
- China-Thailand Joint Laboratory on Microbial Biotechnology, Beijing, 100101, China.,Department of Agro-Industrial, Food and Environmental Technology, Faculty of Applied Science, King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok, Bangkok, 10800, Thailand
| | - Sarunyou Wongwilaiwalin
- China-Thailand Joint Laboratory on Microbial Biotechnology, Beijing, 100101, China.,Biorefinery and Bioproduct Technology Research Group, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Pathum Thani, 12120, Thailand
| | - Pattanop Kanokratana
- China-Thailand Joint Laboratory on Microbial Biotechnology, Beijing, 100101, China.,Biorefinery and Bioproduct Technology Research Group, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Pathum Thani, 12120, Thailand
| | - Ai-Jie Wang
- IMCAS-RCEES joint lab at CAS Key Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Cheng-Ying Jiang
- IMCAS-RCEES joint lab at CAS Key Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China.,State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources and Environmental Microbiology Research Center at Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.,China-Thailand Joint Laboratory on Microbial Biotechnology, Beijing, 100101, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Verawat Champreda
- China-Thailand Joint Laboratory on Microbial Biotechnology, Beijing, 100101, China.,Biorefinery and Bioproduct Technology Research Group, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Pathum Thani, 12120, Thailand
| | - Dong-Ru Qiu
- China-Thailand Joint Laboratory on Microbial Biotechnology, Beijing, 100101, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.,Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Shuang-Jiang Liu
- IMCAS-RCEES joint lab at CAS Key Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China. .,State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources and Environmental Microbiology Research Center at Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China. .,China-Thailand Joint Laboratory on Microbial Biotechnology, Beijing, 100101, China. .,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
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Liu C, Li L, Xie J, Coulter JA, Zhang R, Luo Z, Cai L, Wang L, Gopalakrishnan S. Soil Bacterial Diversity and Potential Functions Are Regulated by Long-Term Conservation Tillage and Straw Mulching. Microorganisms 2020; 8:microorganisms8060836. [PMID: 32498450 PMCID: PMC7355473 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8060836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2020] [Revised: 05/25/2020] [Accepted: 05/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Soil physiochemical properties are regulated by cropping practices, but little is known about how tillage influences soil microbial community diversity and functions. Here, we assessed soil bacterial community assembly and functional profiles in relation to tillage. Soils, collected in 2018 from a 17-year field experiment in northwestern China, were analyzed using high-throughput sequencing and the PICRUSt approach. The taxonomic diversity of bacterial communities was dominated primarily by the phyla Proteobacteria (32–56%), Bacteroidetes (12–33%), and Actinobacteria (17–27%). Alpha diversity (Chao1, Shannon, Simpson, and operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness) was highest under no-tillage with crop residue removed (NT). Crop residue retention on the soil surface (NTS) or incorporated into soil (TS) promoted the abundance of Proteobacteria by 16 to 74% as compared to conventional tillage (T). Tillage practices mainly affected the pathways of soil metabolism, genetic information processing, and environmental information processing. Soil organic C and NH4–N were the principal contributors to the diversity and composition of soil microbiota, whereas soil pH, total nitrogen, total P, and moisture had little effect. Our results suggest that long-term conservation practices with no-tillage and crop residue retention shape soil bacterial community composition through modifying soil physicochemical properties and promoting the metabolic function of soil microbiomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang Liu
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; (C.L.); (J.X.); (R.Z.); (Z.L.); (L.C.); (L.W.)
- College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Lingling Li
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; (C.L.); (J.X.); (R.Z.); (Z.L.); (L.C.); (L.W.)
- College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
- Correspondence:
| | - Junhong Xie
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; (C.L.); (J.X.); (R.Z.); (Z.L.); (L.C.); (L.W.)
- College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Jeffrey A. Coulter
- Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA;
| | - Renzhi Zhang
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; (C.L.); (J.X.); (R.Z.); (Z.L.); (L.C.); (L.W.)
- College of Resource and Environment, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Zhuzhu Luo
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; (C.L.); (J.X.); (R.Z.); (Z.L.); (L.C.); (L.W.)
- College of Resource and Environment, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Liqun Cai
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; (C.L.); (J.X.); (R.Z.); (Z.L.); (L.C.); (L.W.)
- College of Resource and Environment, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Linlin Wang
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China; (C.L.); (J.X.); (R.Z.); (Z.L.); (L.C.); (L.W.)
- College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Subramaniam Gopalakrishnan
- International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, Hyderabad, Telangana 502324, India;
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