Abstract
To understand the seasonal variation of the activated sludge (AS) bacterial community and identify core microbes in different wastewater processing systems, seasonal AS samples were taken from every biological treatment unit within 4 full-scale wastewater treatment plants. These plants adopted A2/O, A/O and oxidation ditch processes and were active in the treatment of different types and sources of wastewater, some domestic and others industrial. The bacterial community composition was analyzed using high-throughput sequencing technology. The correlations among microbial community structure, dominant microbes and process performance were investigated. Seasonal variation had a stronger impact on the AS bacterial community than any variation within different wastewater treatment system. Facing seasonal variation, the bacterial community within the oxidation ditch process remained more stable those in either the A2/O or A/O processes. The core genera in domestic wastewater treatment systems were Nitrospira, Caldilineaceae, Pseudomonas and Lactococcus. The core genera in the textile dyeing and fine chemical industrial wastewater treatment systems were Nitrospira, Thauera and Thiobacillus.
Highlights
For full-scale WWTPs, the relationship between the performance and operational parameters of the plants and the resulting bacterial community diversity received limited attention[6]
All of these studies that quantified bacterial community structures in different WWTPs considered aeration tank samples to be representative of the whole WWTP7,9–12
activated sludge (AS) sample differences within WWTPs was lower than the differences between WWTPs
Summary
For full-scale WWTPs, the relationship between the performance and operational parameters of the plants and the resulting bacterial community diversity received limited attention[6]. A few studies have considered temporal dynamics where long-term studies of the bacterial communities in activated sludge have reported temporal variations in both composition and structure[16,17,18] These studies employed traditional molecular analysis methods such as automated ribosomal intergenic spacer region analysis (ARISA) or Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (T-RFLP) which yield results of fairly low accuracies due to PCR bias or low throughput[19]. A comprehensive comparison of domestic sewage treatment systems and industrial wastewater treatment systems would contribute valuable information for wastewater treatment practitioners towards improved design and maintenance of engineered industrial wastewater treatment systems In this year-round study, AS bacterial community and their seasonal succession of four typical WWTPs were represented. The core microbes in different wastewater treatment systems were identified
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