Denitrifying phosphorus removal: Linking the process performance with the microbial community structure

Abstract

This study investigated the link between the process performance of two denitrifying phosphorus (P) removal systems and their microbial community structure. Two sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) were operated with either acetate or propionate as the sole carbon source, and were gradually acclimatised from anaerobic–aerobic to anaerobic–anoxic conditions. It was found that the propionate SBR was able to sustain denitrifying P removal after acclimatisation, while the enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) activity in the acetate reactor collapsed after the aerobic phase was eliminated. The results suggested that the anoxic glycogen production rate in the acetate SBR was insufficient to support the anaerobic glycogen demand for acetate uptake. The chemical transformations in each SBR suggested that different types of polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) were present in each system, possessing different affinities for nitrate. Microbial characterisation with fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) revealed that Accumulibacter was the dominant organism in each reactor, although different cell morphotypes were observed. A coccus morphotype was predominant in the acetate SBR while the propionate SBR was enriched in a rod morphotype. It is hypothesised that the coccus morphotype corresponds to an Accumulibacter strain that is unable to use nitrate as electron acceptor but is able to use oxygen, and possibly nitrite. The rod morphotype is proposed to be a PAO able to use nitrate, nitrite and oxygen. This hypothesis is in agreement with literature studies focussed on the identity of denitrifying PAOs (DPAOs), as well as a recent metagenomic study on Accumulibacter.