Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Investigation of the polyphosphate-accumulating organism population in the full-scale simultaneous chemical phosphorus removal system

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The simultaneous chemical phosphorus removal (SCPR) process has been widely applied in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) due to the high phosphorus removal efficiency through the synergy of biological and chemical phosphorus removal (BPR and CPR). However, phosphorus removal reagents could affect the bacterial community structure in the SCPR system and further affect the BPR process. The BPR phenotypes and community structures in the SCPR system, especially the population of polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs), are not completely clear. In order to clarify these problems, the phosphorus removal performance and the PAO population in a full-scale SCPR system were investigated. Results showed that diverse PAOs still existed in the SCPR system though the BPR phenotypes were not observed. However, the relative abundances of Accumulibacter and Tetrasphaera, the two most important genera of PAOs, were only 0.59% and 0.20%, respectively, while the relative abundances of Competibacter and Defluviicoccus, two genera of glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs), were as high as 5.77% and 1.28%, respectively. Batch tests showed that PAOs in the SCPR system still had a certain polyphosphate accumulating metabolic activity, which could gradually recover after stopping the addition of chemical reagents. This study provided a microbiological basis for the SCPR system to recover the enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) performance under suitable conditions, which could reduce the dosage of chemical reagents and the operational cost.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Acevedo B, Oehmen A, Carvalho G, Seco A, Borras L, Barat R (2012) Metabolic shift of polyphosphate-accumulating organisms with different levels of polyphosphate storage. Water Res 46(6):1889–1900

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Acevedo B, Murgui M, Borras L, Barat R (2017) New insights in the metabolic behaviour of PAO under negligible poly-P reserves. Chem Eng J 311:82–90

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Auger C, Han S, Appanna VP, Thomas SC, Ulibarri G, Appanna VD (2013) Metabolic reengineering invoked by microbial systems to decontaminate aluminum: implications for bioremediation technologies. Biotechnol Adv 31(2):266–273

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen W, Westerhoff P, Leenheer JA, Booksh K (2003) Fluorescence excitation−emission matrix regional integration to quantify spectra for dissolved organic matter. Environ Sci Technol 37(24):5701–5710

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Coats ER, Brinkman CK, Lee S (2017) Characterizing and contrasting the microbial ecology of laboratory and full-scale EBPR systems cultured on synthetic and real wastewaters. Water Res 108:124–136

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fan Z, Zeng W, Wang B, Chang S, Peng Y (2019) Analysis of microbial community in a continuous flow process at gene and transcription level to enhance biological nutrients removal from municipal wastewater. Bioresour Technol 286:121374

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fernando EY, McIlroy SJ, Nierychlo M, Herbst F, Petriglieri F, Schmid MC, Wagner M, Nielsen JL, Nielsen PH (2019) Resolving the individual contribution of key microbial populations to enhanced biological phosphorus removal with Raman–FISH. ISME J

  • Ge H, Batstone DJ, Keller J (2015) Biological phosphorus removal from abattoir wastewater at very short sludge ages mediated by novel PAO clade Comamonadaceae. Water Res 69:173–182

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gunther S, Trutnau M, Kleinsteuber S, Hause G, Bley T, Roske I, Harms H, Muller S (2009) Dynamics of polyphosphate-accumulating bacteria in wastewater treatment plant microbial communities detected via DAPI (4′,6′-diamidino-2-phenylindole) and tetracycline labeling. Appl Environ Microbiol 75(7):2111–2121

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guo Y, Zeng W, Li N, Peng Y (2018) Effect of electron acceptor on community structures of denitrifying polyphosphate accumulating organisms in anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (A2O) process using DNA based stable-isotope probing (DNA-SIP). Chem Eng J 334:2039–2049

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harms G, Layton AC, Dionisi HM, Gregory IR, Garrett VM, Hawkins SA, Robinson KG, Sayler GS (2003) Real-time PCR quantification of nitrifying bacteria in a municipal wastewater treatment plant. Environ Sci Technol 37(2):343–351

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • He S, Gall DL, McMahon KD (2007) “Candidatus accumulibacter” population structure in enhanced biological phosphorus removal sludges as revealed by polyphosphate kinase genes. Appl Environ Microbiol 73(18):5865–5874

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kawakoshi A, Nakazawa H, Fukada J, Sasagawa M, Katano Y, Nakamura S, Hosoyama A, Sasaki H, Ichikawa N, Hanada S, Kamagata Y, Nakamura K, Yamazaki S, Fujita N (2012) Deciphering the genome of polyphosphate accumulating Actinobacterium Microlunatus phosphovorus. DNA Res 19(5):383–394

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li C, Zeng W, Li N, Guo Y, Peng Y (2019) Population structure and morphotype analysis of “Candidatus Accumulibacter” using fluorescence in situ hybridization-staining-flow Cytometry. Appl Environ Microbiol 85(9):1–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu R, Hao X, Chen Q, Li J (2019) Research advances of Tetrasphaera in enhanced biological phosphorus removal: a review. Water Res 115003

  • Mao YP, Graham DW, Tamaki H, Zhang T (2015) Dominant and novel clades of Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis in 18 globally distributed full-scale wastewater treatment plants. Sci Rep 5(11857)

  • Mielczarek AT, Nguyen HTT, Nielsen JL, Nielsen PH (2013) Population dynamics of bacteria involved in enhanced biological phosphorus removal in Danish wastewater treatment plants. Water Res 47(4):1529–1544

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Muszynski A, Zaleska-Radziwill M (2015) Polyphosphate accumulating organisms in treatment plants with different wastewater composition. Architect Civil Eng Environ 8:99–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Muszynski A, Zaleska-Radziwill M, Doskocz N (2018) Factors affecting Accumulibacter population structure in full- and laboratory-scale biological reactors with nutrients removal. Water Sci Technol 77(12):2794–2802

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen PH, McIlroy SJ, Albertsen M, Nierychlo M (2019) Re-evaluating the microbiology of the enhanced biological phosphorus removal process. Curr Opin Biotechnol 57:111–118

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • No author (2005) Standard methods for the examination of water and waste water, 21st edn. American Public Health Association, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Oehmen A, Lemos PC, Carvalho G, Yuan Z, Keller J, Blackall LL, Reis MAM (2007) Advances in enhanced biological phosphorus removal: from micro to macro scale. Water Res 41(11):2271–2300

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ong YH, Chua A, Fukushima T, Ngoh GC, Shoji T, Michinaka A (2014) High-temperature EBPR process: the performance, analysis of PAOs and GAOs and the fine-scale population study of Candidatus “Accumulibacter phosphatis”. Water Res 64:102–112

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Panswad T, Doungchai A, Anotai J (2003) Temperature effect on microbial community of enhanced biological phosphorus removal system. Water Res 37(2):409–415

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pardo P, Rauret G, Lopez-Sanchez JF (2004) Shortened screening method for phosphorus fractionation in sediments - a complementary approach to the standards, measurements and testing harmonised protocol. Anal Chim Acta 508(2):201–206

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Qiu G, Zuniga-Montanez R, Law Y, Thi SS, Nguyen TQN, Eganathan K, Liu X, Nielsen PH, Williams RBH, Wuertz S (2019) Polyphosphate-accumulating organisms in full-scale tropical wastewater treatment plants use diverse carbon sources. Water Res 149:496–510

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rey-Martínez N, Badia-Fabregat M, Guisasola A, Baeza JA (2019) Glutamate as sole carbon source for enhanced biological phosphorus removal. Sci Total Environ 657:1398–1408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruban V, Lopez-Sanchez JF, Pardo P, Rauret G, Muntau H, Quevauviller P (2001) Harmonized protocol and certified reference material for the determination of extractable contents of phosphorus in freshwater sediments - a synthesis of recent works. Fresenius J Anal Chem 370(2–3):224–228

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Saunders AM, Albertsen M, Vollertsen J, Nielsen PH (2016) The activated sludge ecosystem contains a core community of abundant organisms. ISME J 10(1):11–20

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schindler DW, Hecky RE, Findlay DL, Stainton MP, Parker BR, Paterson MJ, Beaty KG, Lyng M, Kasian SE (2008) Eutrophication of lakes cannot be controlled by reducing nitrogen input: results of a 37-year whole-ecosystem experiment. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 105(32):11254–11258

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schuler AJ, Jenkins D (2003) Enhanced biological phosphorus removal from wastewater by biomass with different phosphorus contents, part I:experimental results and comparison with metabolic models. Water Environ Res 75(6):499–511

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stokholm-Bjerregaard M, McIlroy SJ, Nierychlo M, Karst SM, Albertsen M, Nielsen PH (2017) A critical assessment of the microorganisms proposed to be important to enhanced biological phosphorus removal in full-scale wastewater treatment systems. Front Microbiol 8:718

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terashima M, Yama A, Sato M, Yumoto I, Kamagata Y, Kato S (2016) Culture-dependent and -independent identification of polyphosphate-accumulating Dechloromonas spp. predominating in a full-scale oxidation ditch wastewater treatment plant. Microbes Environ 31(4):449–455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tu Y, Schuler AJ (2013) Low acetate concentrations favor polyphosphate accumulating organisms over glycogen-accumulating organisms in enhanced biological phosphorus removal from wastewater. Environ Sci Technol 47(8):3816–3824

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang C, Geng Y, Cheng L, Mao Y (2018) Speciation, mass loadings, and fate of phosphorus in the sewage sludge of China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25(35):35531–35537

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Welles L, Tian WD, Saad S, Abbas B, Lopez-Vazquez CM, Hooijmans CM, van Loosdrecht M, Brdjanovic D (2015) Accumulibacter clades type I and II performing kinetically different glycogen-accumulating organisms metabolisms for anaerobic substrate uptake. Water Res 83:354–366

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xia Y, Wen XH, Zhang B, Yang YF (2018) Diversity and assembly patterns of activated sludge microbial communities: a review. Biotechnol Adv 36(4):1038–1047

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zeng W, Zhang J, Wang AQ, Peng YZ (2016) Denitrifying phosphorus removal from municipal wastewater and dynamics of “Candidatus Accumulibacter” and denitrifying bacteria based on genes of ppk1, narG, nirS and nirK. Bioresour Technol 207:322–331

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang QH, Yang WN, Ngo HH, Guo WS, Jin PK, Dzakpasu M, Yang SJ, Wang Q, Wang XC, Ao D (2016) Current status of urban wastewater treatment plants in China. Environ Int 92-93:11–22

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang C, Sun G, Zhao K, Zou S, Yuan L (2018) Performance of A2NO-MBR process in treating synthetic and municipal wastewater. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25(11):10782–10791

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng WL, Yu ZY, Xia Y, Wen XH (2018) Influence of polyaluminum chloride on microbial characteristics in anaerobic membrane bioreactors for sludge digestion. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 102(2):1005–1017

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhong CQ, Fu JF, Jiang TY, Zhang CM, Cao GX (2018) Polyphosphate metabolic gene expression analyses reveal mechanisms of phosphorus accumulation and release in Microlunatus phosphovorus strain JN459. FEMS Microbiol Lett 365(6)

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Programme of China (2016YFC0401103) and Beijing Excellent Talents Project (2017A36).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Department of Environmental Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, No.100 Pingleyuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100124, China

    Baogui Wang, Yu Guo, Qingan Meng, Wei Zeng & Yongzhen Peng

  2. Beijing Drainage Group Co., Ltd., Beijing, 100037, China

    Erlong Jiao & Lifang Zhang

Authors
  1. Baogui Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Erlong Jiao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yu Guo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Lifang Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Qingan Meng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Wei Zeng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Yongzhen Peng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wei Zeng.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Ta Yeong Wu

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 116 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, B., Jiao, E., Guo, Y. et al. Investigation of the polyphosphate-accumulating organism population in the full-scale simultaneous chemical phosphorus removal system. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 37877–37886 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09912-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09912-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation