Publication
Title
Bacterial community and filamentous population of industrial wastewater treatment plants in Belgium
Author
Abstract
The discharge of industrial water requires the removal of its pollutants, where biological wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are the most used systems. Biological WWTPs make use of activated sludge (AS), where bacteria are responsible for the removal of pollutants. However, our knowledge of the microbial communities of industrial plants is limited. Understanding the microbial population is essential to provide solutions to industrial problems such as bulking. The aim of this study was to identify at a high taxonomic resolution the bacterial population of 29 industrial WWTPs using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Our results revealed that the main functional groups were dominated by Thauera and Zoogloea within denitrifiers, Dechloromonas in phosphate-accumulating organisms, and Defluviicoccus in glycogen-accumulating organisms. The activated sludge characterization indicated that 59% of the industrial plants suffered from bulking sludge, with DSVI values of up to 448 mL g-1. From the bulking cases, 72% corresponded to filamentous bulking with Thiothrix as the most abundant filament; meanwhile, the other 28% corresponded to viscous bulking sludge in which Zoogloea was the most abundant genus. Furthermore, the bacterial population did not share a core of taxa across all industrial plants. However, 20 genera were present in at least 50% of the plants comprising the general core, including Thauera, Ca. Competibacter, and several undescribed microorganisms. Moreover, statistical analysis revealed that wastewater salinity strongly affected the microbial richness of the industrial plants. The bacterial population across industrial plants differed considerably from each other, resulting in unique microbial communities that are attributed to the specificity of their wastewaters.Key points center dot The general core taxa of industrial plants were mostly made up of undescribed bacterial genera.center dot Filamentous bacteria constituted on average 4.1% read abundance of the industrial WWTPs.center dot Viscous bulking remains a significant type of bulking within industrial WWTPs.Key points center dot The general core taxa of industrial plants were mostly made up of undescribed bacterial genera.center dot Filamentous bacteria constituted on average 4.1% read abundance of the industrial WWTPs.center dot Viscous bulking remains a significant type of bulking within industrial WWTPs.Key points center dot The general core taxa of industrial plants were mostly made up of undescribed bacterial genera.center dot Filamentous bacteria constituted on average 4.1% read abundance of the industrial WWTPs.center dot Viscous bulking remains a significant type of bulking within industrial WWTPs.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Applied microbiology and biotechnology. - Berlin, 1984, currens
Publication
Berlin : 2024
ISSN
0175-7598 [print]
1432-0614 [online]
DOI
10.1007/S00253-023-12822-8
Volume/pages
108 :1 (2024) , p. 20
ISI
001136853300003
Pubmed ID
38180550
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
The microbial ecology of industrial activated sludge plants – linking microbial data (e.g. filamentous organisms) to external factors
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 01.02.2024
Last edited 06.07.2024
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