scholarly journals Microbial Diversity Dynamics in a Methanogenic-Sulfidogenic UASB Reactor

Author(s):  
E. Fernández-Palacios ◽  
Xudong Zhou ◽  
Mabel Mora ◽  
David Gabriel

In this study, the long-term performance and microbial dynamics of an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor targeting sulfate reduction in a SOx emissions treatment system were assessed using crude glycerol as organic carbon source and electron donor under constant S and C loading rates. The reactor was inoculated with granular sludge obtained from a pulp and paper industry and fed at a constant inlet sulfate concentration of 250 mg S-SO42−L−1 and a constant C/S ratio of 1.5 ± 0.3 g Cg−1 S for over 500 days. Apart from the regular analysis of chemical species, Illumina analyses of the 16S rRNA gene were used to study the dynamics of the bacterial community along with the whole operation. The reactor was sampled along the operation to monitor its diversity and the changes in targeted species to gain insight into the performance of the sulfidogenic UASB. Moreover, studies on the stratification of the sludge bed were performed by sampling at different reactor heights. Shifts in the UASB performance correlated well with the main shifts in microbial communities of interest. A progressive loss of the methanogenic capacity towards a fully sulfidogenic UASB was explained by a progressive wash-out of methanogenic Archaea, which were outcompeted by sulfate-reducing bacteria. Desulfovibrio was found as the main sulfate-reducing genus in the reactor along time. A progressive reduction in the sulfidogenic capacity of the UASB was found in the long run due to the accumulation of a slime-like substance in the UASB.

1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 581-598
Author(s):  
C.F. Shew ◽  
N. Kosaric

Abstract Toxicity of sulfite (Na2SO3) and cadmium (CdCl2) ions to anaerobic granular sludge was investigated in 1.2 litre bench-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors during process acclimation and shock load conditions. Minimal sulfite toxicity was observed under gradual and shock load conditions at sulfite concentrations of up to 1000 mg S/L if proper acclimation was allowed to occur. No long-term toxic effects were observed although the COD digestion rate was temporarily inhibited by shock load of sulfite. Scanning electron micrographs indicated that more sulfate-reducing bacteria were present in the granules developed in the reactors with sulfite supplement although rod-shaped Methanosaeta-like bacteria were still dominant. High bacterial growth rate was observed in the reactors which were supplied with the feed containing sulfite. The COD digestion rate was inhibited at a cadmium loading rate of 2.4 g Cd per day under both acclimation and shock load conditions. Acclimation did not seem to improve the bacteria to tolerate the toxicity of cadmium. The concentration of free cadmium was very low in the reactors under normal conditions, but increased rapidly when the COD digestion in the reactors ceased. The bacteria could not be reactivated after inhibited by cadmium. When reactors were operated at low specific COD loading rates, more inorganic precipitates were formed inside the granules which consequently settled faster.


2013 ◽  
Vol 634-638 ◽  
pp. 182-186
Author(s):  
Juan Wang ◽  
Qin Zhong

With the aim to use anaerobic granular sludge, the methanogenic activity inhibition and recovery of anaerobic granular sludge from an industrial anaerobic reactor (s1) were investigated by measuring the methane volume at low pH. A lab-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was inoculated with s1.s1 was used to remove Zn2+ in wastewater. The results show that activity of s1 is similar when the pH value is 6.5 to 7.0. The methane volume is obviously decreased when the pH value is 6.0. The activity is completely inhibited when the pH value is 4.5. The activity is fully recovered when the pH is above 6.5 and hardly recovers when the pH fell to 4.5. The main Zn2+ removal mechanism is chemical adsorption.


2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
O.-C. Chan ◽  
W.-T. Liu ◽  
H. H. Fang

The microbial community structure of granular sludge from an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor treating brewery effluent was studied by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Twelve major bands were observed in the DGGE fingerprint for the Bacteria domain and four bands for the Archaea domain. Of the bacterial bands observed, six were successfully purified and sequenced. Among them, three were related to the gram-positive low G+C group, one to the Delta subclass of the Proteobacteria, one to the Gamma subclass, and one to the Cytophaga group with no close related sequence. The 16S rRNA sequences of the four archaeal bands were closely associated with Methanosaeta concilii and Methanobacterium formicum.


2004 ◽  
Vol 48 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 227-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Tsuneda ◽  
T. Shiono ◽  
K. Nakamura ◽  
T. Dogan ◽  
A. Hirata

An upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was successfully applied to continuous degradation of ferric ethylene diamine tetraacetate (Fe-EDTA) as a typical xenobiotic substance contained in photo-processing wastewater. The sludge in the UASB reactor had an abundance of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), which had been anaerobically cultivated in a sulfate-rich culture medium including Fe-EDTA and yeast-extract as the carbon sources. Since the prominent reductions of Fe-EDTA and sulfate ion were observed, the contribution of SRB to Fe-EDTA degradation in the UASB reactor was confirmed. The aggregated sludge in the UASB reactor became gradually large reaching steady state with an equivalent diameter of 60-90 μm after 124 days operation. An increase of the amount of yeast extract addition to feed solution improved the Fe-EDTA removal efficiency up to 90%. Moreover, the combination of ozone treatment with SRB treatment further improved removal efficiency of total organic carbon (TOC) in an actual photo-processing wastewater composed of fixing and developing wastes.


1986 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 99-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gatze Lettinga ◽  
Look Hulshoff Pol

Of the high rate anaerobic wastewater treatment systems the UASB (Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket) reactor has found the widest application. Therefore the attention with respect to design, operation and economy will be focussed on this reactor type. In designing a UASB reactor specific attention is needed for the GSS (Gas-Solids Separator) device and the feed inlet system. For soluble wastewater generally no phase separation is required. Only for wastewaters high in suspended solids pre-acidification in a separate acidification reactor can be beneficial. Increasing attention is given to the development of modified UASB systems, such as a combination of a sludge bed reactor and an anaerobic filter. Other possible modified UASB systems may be found in a FS (Floating Settling) UASB reactor, the EGSB (Expanded Granular Sludge Bed) reactor and the UASB IC (Internal Circulation) reactor. As many factors are involved in the costs of a UASB reactor, only some rough data on reactor costs are presented.


1992 ◽  
Vol 26 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 877-886 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Ohtsuki ◽  
M. Watanabe ◽  
Y. Miyaji

Two start-up methods of thermophilic UASB reactor were investigated for fast start-ups; one utilized micro-carrier as an initial support material and the other used intact mesophilic UASB granules as an initial seed. With both methods thermophilic granules having high activity were obtained in less than 3 months, even with acidified wastewater. Maximum sludge load for VFA substrate and sugar substrate were 3.2 and 0.9 kgCOD/kgVSS/day, respectively. Pre-acidogenesis was indispensable for high-performance treatment of sugar-containing substrate. It was proven that with a two-phase system sludge load could be raised to 3.0 kgCOD/kgVSS/day for sugar containing wastewaters. Some features of obtained sludge were examined, including maximum substrate utilizing activities, temperature dependence, pH dependence, and activity deterioration under lower loading conditions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 500-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Thi Thanh ◽  
Takahiro Watari ◽  
Tran Phuong Thao ◽  
Masashi Hatamoto ◽  
Daisuke Tanikawa ◽  
...  

In this study, granular sludge formation was carried out using an aluminum chloride supplement in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor treating natural rubber processing wastewater. Results show that during the first 75 days after the start-up of the UASB reactor with an organic loading rate (OLR) of 2.65 kg-COD·m−3·day−1, it performed stably with a removal of 90% of the total chemical oxygen demand (COD) and sludge still remained in small dispersed flocs. However, after aluminum chloride was added at a concentration of 300 mg·L−1 and the OLR range was increased up to 5.32 kg-COD·m−3·day−1, the total COD removal efficiency rose to 96.5 ± 2.6%, with a methane recovery rate of 84.9 ± 13.4%, and the flocs began to form granules. Massively parallel 16S rRNA gene sequencing of the sludge retained in the UASB reactor showed that total sequence reads of Methanosaeta sp. and Methanosarcina sp., reported to be the key organisms for granulation, increased after 311 days of operation. This indicates that the microbial community structure of the retained sludge in the UASB reactor at the end of the experiment gave a good account of itself in not only COD removal, but also granule formation.


1995 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 249-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Christiansen ◽  
Hanne V. Hendriksen ◽  
Kimmo T. Järvinen ◽  
Birgitte K. Ahring

Data on anaerobic degradation of chloroaromatic compounds in Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactors (UASB-reactor) are presented and compared. Special attention is given to the metabolic pathways for degradation of chlorinated phenols by granular sludge. Results indicate that PCP can be degraded in UASB-reactors via stepwise dechlorination to phenol. Phenol will subsequently be converted to benzoate before ring cleavage. Dechlorination proceeds via different pathways dependent upon the inocula used. Results are further presented on the design of special metabolic pathways in granules which do not possess this activity using the dechlorinating organism, Desulfomonile tiedjei. Additionally, it is shown that it is possible to immobilize Dechlorosporium hafniense, a newly isolated dechlorinating anaerobe, into granular sludge, thereby introducing an ability not previously present in the granules.


2005 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 1697-1703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank A. M. de Bok ◽  
Hermie J. M. Harmsen ◽  
Caroline M. Plugge ◽  
Maaike C. de Vries ◽  
Antoon D. L. Akkermans ◽  
...  

A Gram-positive, spore-forming, syntrophic propionate-oxidizing bacterium, Pelotomaculum schinkii sp. nov. strain HHT, was isolated as a co-culture with Methanospirillum hungatei JF-1T from anaerobic, freeze-dried granular sludge obtained from an upflow anaerobic sludge bed reactor treating sugar beet wastewater. The bacterium converted propionate to acetate in co-culture with Methanospirillum hungatei JF-1T or Methanobacterium formicicum MFNT, but not in co-culture with Methanobrevibacter arboriphilus AZ. The organism could not be cultured axenically with any of the substrates tested and therefore can be considered as a (the first) true anaerobic syntrophic bacterium. The bacterium contained two distinct 16S rRNA gene sequences, with 96·8 % sequence similarity, which were both expressed during syntrophic growth on propionate as revealed by fluorescent in situ hybridization. The most closely related organisms are Cryptanaerobacter phenolicus LR7.2T, a bacterium that transforms phenol into benzoate, and Pelotomaculum thermopropionicum SIT, a thermophilic, syntrophic propionate-oxidizing bacterium. Other related species belong to the Gram-positive, sulfate-reducing genus Desulfotomaculum. The type strain of Pelotomaculum schinkii is strain HHT (=ATCC BAA-615T=DSM 15200T).


2013 ◽  
Vol 699 ◽  
pp. 234-237
Author(s):  
Hong Fen Wang

A pilot-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was used to study the sweet potato starch wastewater treatment performance and its influencing factors. Under normal temperature conditions, the operating parameters of sweet potato starch wastewater from UASB treatment was optimized, and the better conditions from different influent CODcr concentrations was obtained. The impacts from trace elements MgCl2, FeCl2, CoCl2, NiCl2 on physiological and biochemical characteristics of anaerobic granular sludge was developed.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document