Identifying the link between MBRs’ key operating parameters and bacterial community: A step towards optimized leachate treatment

Abstract

A MBR treating compost leachate was studied in order to link the operating parameters (solid and hydraulic retention time) to contaminant’s specific bacterial catabolic activity. In this context, a lab-scale aerobic membrane bioreactor was operated for 200 days, at solid retention times (SRT) of 30 and 45 days and four different contaminant load rates. Results showed that increasing the food to microorganism ratio (F/M) by increasing the contaminant load rates lessened the selectivity pressure, which allowed the proliferation of subdominant operational taxonomic units (OTU) (relative abundance >3%) that were otherwise inhibited by highly adapted dominant OTUs (relative abundance >10%). Subsequently, increasing the SRT resulted in a lower species richness and the selection of two dominant types of bacteria: 1) genera with low growth rates that feed on non-limiting substrates or substrates with few competitors, and 2) genera with metabolisms that are highly specific to the available substrates and that can outcompete the other genera by using the substrate more efficiently. The bacterial population evolution observed during this study suggests that the mixed liquor population diversity and structure can be modulated with the operating conditions for the bioenhancement of contaminant specific catabolic activity. Identified dominant and subdominant genera were linked to the MBR’s NH4+ and COD removal performances. Interestingly, nitrification performances were unaffected by the organic load rate and the Nitrosomonas relative abundance.