Effect of different types of volatile fatty acids on the performance and bacterial population in a batch reactor performing biological nutrient removal

Abstract

Different ratios of four volatile fatty acids (VFAs) were used as the primary feed to a laboratory scale biological nutrient reactor during four operational stages. The reactor performed efficiently over 500 days of operation with over 90% dissolved phosphorus and over 98% ammonium-nitrogen (NH4+-N) removal. Through in the first experimental phase, acetate and propionate were present in a significant proportion as carbon sources, the relative abundance of Candidatus Accumulibacter, a potential polyphosphate accumulating organism, increased from 10% to 57% and the Defluviicoccus genus, a known glycogen accumulating organism (GAO), decreased from 41% to 5%. Further tests indicated the presence of denitrifying phosphorus accumulating organisms (DPAO) belonging to Clade IIC, that could use nitrite as the electron acceptor during P-uptake. In general, VFAs favored the increase of the genus Defluviicoccus and Candidatus Accumulibacter. High relative abundance of Defluviicoccus did not affect the stability and the performance of the BNR process.