Filamentous bulking caused by Thiothrix species is efficiently controlled in full-scale wastewater treatment plants by implementing a sludge densification strategy.

ABSTRACT: Filamentous bulking caused by Thiothrix species is responsible for sludge washout and loss of performance in dairy wastewater treatment plants. A long-term study was conducted over 1.5 years to test three different mitigation strategies in a full-scale plant composed of two parallel sequential batch reactors (SBR1 and 2). Strategies based on polyaluminium chloride addition and volatile fatty acids reduction were ineffective to permanently solve the problem. On the contrary, modification of the reactor cycle based on the implementation of a periodic starvation proved efficient to solve the biomass wash-out and drastically reduce the sludge volume index in both reactors. Bacterial diversity analysis using 16S amplicon sequencing and quantitative PCR indicated a reduction of Thiothrix abundan

SUBMITTER: Henriet O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5431194 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature