Pilot plant study on nitrogen and phosphorus removal in marine wastewater by marine sediment with sequencing batch reactor

PLoS One. 2020 May 19;15(5):e0233042. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233042. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Effective biological treatment of marine wastewater is not well-known. Accumulation of nitrogen and phosphorus from land-based effluent is a crucial cause of red-tide in marine systems. The purpose of the study is to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus in marine wastewater with a pilot plant-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) system by using marine sediment as eco-friendly and effective biological materials, and elucidate which bacterial strains in sludge from marine sediment influence the performance of SBR. By applying eco-friendly high efficiency marine sludge (eco-HEMS), the treatment performance was 15 m3 d-1 of treatment amount in 4.5 m3 of the reactor with the average removal efficiency of 89.3% for total nitrogen and 94.9% for total phosphorus at the optimal operation condition in summer. Moreover, the average removal efficiency was 84.0% for total nitrogen and 88.3% for total phosphorus in winter although biological treatment efficiency in winter is generally lower due to bacterial lower activity. These results were revealed by the DNA barcoding analysis of 16s rRNA amplicon sequencing of samples from the sludge in winter. The comparative analysis of the bacterial community composition in sludge at the high efficiency of the system showed the predominant genera Psychromonas (significantly increased to 45.6% relative abundance), Vibrio (13.3%), Gaetbulibacter (5.7%), and Psychroserpens (4.3%) in the 4 week adaptation after adding marine sediment, suggesting that those predominant bacteria influenced the treatment performance in winter.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacteria / classification*
  • Bacteria / genetics
  • Biodegradation, Environmental
  • Bioreactors / microbiology
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • DNA, Ribosomal / genetics
  • Geologic Sediments / microbiology*
  • Nitrogen / analysis*
  • Phosphorus / analysis*
  • Phylogeny
  • Pilot Projects
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA / methods*
  • Sewage / microbiology
  • Wastewater / analysis*

Substances

  • DNA, Bacterial
  • DNA, Ribosomal
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  • Sewage
  • Waste Water
  • Phosphorus
  • Nitrogen

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea under Grant NRF-2015M3A9B8029697 and NRF-2017M3A9B8065734. Marine bacteria KGN1 (KEMB 3401-006) and KGP1 (KEMB 3001-129) were obtained from the Korea Environmental Microorganisms Bank. Jinsoo Kim and Sungchul Kim are employed by and receive salary from Research & Development Institute of Inventory Co. Ltd.