Molecular methods for forensic analysis of microbial communities in wastewater treatment
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Management of microbial communities is essential for achieving process stability in many biotechnology-based applications. Chief among these is the process of activated sludge for wastewater treatment. This process leverages a high concentration of microorganisms capable of degrading organics and removing biological nutrients to produce high quality effluent that can be safely discharged into natural receiving waters. Traditional engineering controls have been very successful in producing reliable and robust systems. However, process upsets still occur, many of which can be attributed to the presence (or absence) of consequential microorganisms in the activated sludge. Application of molecular tools to study these microorganisms is crucial to gain insight into process controls for mitigating disruptions. This is especially true given the vast complexity and diversity of the microbial communities in activated sludge, such that the majority of microbes remain uncultivated. Here, we present a case study using molecular tools for forensic analysis of an upset at a full-scale activated sludge treatment plant in the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. This plant had experienced periodic episodes of high levels of effluent suspended solids coinciding with the presence of a large coccoid cell (3-5 microns in diameter) dispersed in the sludge. We have identified this organism as a member of the Competibacteraceae family, members of which thrive under alternating conditions of carbon abundance and limitation via the accumulation of polyhydroxyalkanoates. Furthermore, other closely related Competibacteraceae clades were found to co-exist in the plant, although they were not associated with poor effluent quality. Monitoring of clade dynamics and association with available operational data suggests that conditions suggestive of solids accumulation in the clarifier were associated with plant instability. Furthermore, genomic evidence for these groups points to differences in motility and floc formation that may also have played a role. Altogether, this research shows the greater insight into plant operation that can be achieved by understanding the microbial community of an engineered system.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic resource; remote; computer; online resource |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Place | California |
| Place | [Stanford, California] |
| Publisher | [Stanford University] |
| Copyright date | 2018; ©2018 |
| Publication date | 2018; 2018 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Brand, Veronica Rangel |
|---|---|
| Degree supervisor | Criddle, Craig |
| Thesis advisor | Criddle, Craig |
| Thesis advisor | Francis, Christopher |
| Thesis advisor | Spormann, Alfred M |
| Degree committee member | Francis, Christopher |
| Degree committee member | Spormann, Alfred M |
| Associated with | Stanford University, Civil & Environmental Engineering Department. |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|---|
| Genre | Text |
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Veronica Rangel Brand. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department. |
| Thesis | Thesis Ph.D. Stanford University 2018. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2018 by Veronica Rangel Brand
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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