Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Applied and Environmental Microbiology logoLink to Applied and Environmental Microbiology
. 1992 Sep;58(9):2751–2757. doi: 10.1128/aem.58.9.2751-2757.1992

Examination of Bacterial Characteristics of Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors in Three Pilot-Scale Plants for Treating Low-Strength Wastewater by Application of the Colony-Forming-Curve Analysis Method

Naoaki Kataoka 1, Yutaka Tokiwa 1,*, Yasuo Tanaka 1, Kiichi Fujiki 1, Hiroyuki Taroda 1, Kiyoshi Takeda 1
PMCID: PMC183003  PMID: 16348765

Abstract

Characteristic sludge ecosystems arising in anaerobic membrane bioreactors of three pilot-scale plants treating low-strength (less than 1 g of biological oxygen demand per liter) sewage or soybean-processing wastewater were examined by analysis of the colony-forming-curves (CFC) obtained by counting colonies at suitable intervals. The wastewaters, containing high amounts of suspended solids (SS) (SS/chemical oxygen demand ratio, 0.51 to 0.80), were treated by using two types of bioreactors: (i) a hydrolyzation reactor for solubilization and acidification of SS in wastewater and (ii) a methane fermentation reactor for producing methane. The colony counts for the two sewage treatment plants continued to increase even after 3 weeks of incubation, whereas those for soybean-processing wastewater reached an approximately constant level within 3 weeks of incubation. The CFCs were analyzed by correlating the rate of colony appearance on roll tubes with the physiological types of bacteria present in the bioreactors. It was found that there were large numbers of slow-colony-forming anaerobic bacteria within the bioreactors and that the viable populations consisted of a few groups with different growth rates. It is considered that the slow-growing colonies appearing after 10 days of incubation were the dominant microflora in the sewage treated by hydrolyzation reactors. In particular, highly concentrated sludge (30.0 g of mixed-liquor volatile SS per liter) retained by the membrane separation module contained a large number of such bacteria. Slow-growing colonies of these bacteria could be counted by using a sludge extract medium prepared from only the supernatant of autoclaved sludge. In addition, the highest colony counts were almost always obtained with the sludge extract medium, meaning that most of the anaerobic bacteria in these sludges have complex nutrient requirements for growth. This report also indicates the usefulness of application of the CFC analysis method to the study of bacterial populations of anaerobic treatment systems.

Full text

PDF
2751

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Balch W. E., Fox G. E., Magrum L. J., Woese C. R., Wolfe R. S. Methanogens: reevaluation of a unique biological group. Microbiol Rev. 1979 Jun;43(2):260–296. doi: 10.1128/mr.43.2.260-296.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Henson J. M., Smith P. H., White D. C. Examination of thermophilic methane-producing digesters by analysis of bacterial lipids. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1985 Dec;50(6):1428–1433. doi: 10.1128/aem.50.6.1428-1433.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Iannotti E. L., Fischer J. R., Sievers D. M. Medium for the enumeration and isolation of bacteria from a Swine waste digester. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1978 Oct;36(4):555–566. doi: 10.1128/aem.36.4.555-566.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Ishikuri S., Hattori T. Formation of bacterial colonies in successive time intervals. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1985 Apr;49(4):870–873. doi: 10.1128/aem.49.4.870-873.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kataoka N., Tokiwa Y., Takeda K. Improved technique for identification and enumeration of methanogenic bacterial colonies on roll tubes by epifluorescence microscopy. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1991 Dec;57(12):3671–3673. doi: 10.1128/aem.57.12.3671-3673.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Klass D. L. Methane from anaerobic fermentation. Science. 1984 Mar 9;223(4640):1021–1028. doi: 10.1126/science.223.4640.1021. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kobayashi H. A., Conway de Macario E., Williams R. S., Macario A. J. Direct characterization of methanogens in two high-rate anaerobic biological reactors. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1988 Mar;54(3):693–698. doi: 10.1128/aem.54.3.693-698.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. MAKI L. R. Experiments on the microbiology of cellulose decomposition in a municipal sewage plant. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 1954;20(2):185–200. doi: 10.1007/BF02543721. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. MacLeod F. A., Guiot S. R., Costerton J. W. Layered structure of bacterial aggregates produced in an upflow anaerobic sludge bed and filter reactor. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1990 Jun;56(6):1598–1607. doi: 10.1128/aem.56.6.1598-1607.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Mah R. A., Sussman C. Microbiology of anaerobic sludge fermentation. I. Enumeration of the nonmethanogenic anaerobic bacteria. Appl Microbiol. 1968 Feb;16(2):358–361. doi: 10.1128/am.16.2.358-361.1968. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Robinson R. W., Akin D. E., Nordstedt R. A., Thomas M. V., Aldrich H. C. Light and electron microscopic examinations of methane-producing biofilms from anaerobic fixed-bed reactors. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1984 Jul;48(1):127–136. doi: 10.1128/aem.48.1.127-136.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Applied and Environmental Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES