The bacterial rhizosphere communities of three host plants of the pathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae, field-grown strawberry (Fragaria ananassa Duch.), oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.), and potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), were analyzed. We aimed to determine the degree to which the rhizosphere effect is plant dependent and whether this effect would be increased by growing the same crops in two consecutive years. Rhizosphere or soil samples were taken five times over the vegetation periods. To allow a cultivationindependent analysis, total community DNA was extracted from the microbial pellet recovered from root or soil samples. 16S rDNA fragments amplified by PCR from soil or rhizosphere bacterium DNA were analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The DGGE fingerprints showed plant-dependent shifts in the relative abundance of bacterial populations in the rhizosphere which became more pronounced in the second year. DGGE patterns of oilseed rape and potato rhizosphere communities were more similar to each other than to the strawberry patterns. In both years seasonal shifts in the abundance and composition of the bacterial rhizosphere populations were observed. Independent of the plant species, the patterns of the first sampling times for both years were characterized by the absence of some of the bands which became dominant at the following sampling times. Bacillus megaterium and Arthrobacter sp. were found as predominant populations in bulk soils. Sequencing of dominant bands excised from the rhizosphere patterns revealed that 6 out of 10 bands resembled gram-positive bacteria. Nocardia populations were identified as strawberry-specific bands.

Triclosan (TCS; 5-chloro-2-[2,4-dichloro-phenoxy]-phenol) is a widely used antimicrobial agent. To understand its fate during sewage treatment, the biodegradation and removal of TCS were determined in activated sludge. In addition, the effects of TCS on treatment processes were assessed. Fate was determined by examining the biodegradation and removal of TCS radiolabeled with 14C in the 2,4-dichlorphenoxy ring in laboratory batch mineralization experiments and bench-top continuous activated-sludge (CAS) systems. In batch experiments with unacclimated sludge, TCS was mineralized to 14CO2, but the total yield varied as a function of test concentration. Systems that were redosed with TCS exhibited more extensive and faster mineralization, indicating that adaptation was a critical factor determining the rate and extent of biodegradation. In a CAS study in which the influent level of TCS was incrementally increased from 40 microg/L to 2,000 microg/L, removal of the parent compound exceeded 98.5% and removal of total radioactivity (parent and metabolites) exceeded 85%. Between 1.5 and 4.5% of TCS in the influent was sorbed to the wasted solids, whereas >94% underwent primary biodegradation and 81 to 92% was mineralized to CO2 or incorporated in biomass. Increasing levels of TCS in the influent had no major adverse effects on any wastewater treatment process, including chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand, and ammonia removal. In a subsequent experiment, a CAS system, acclimated to TCS at 35 microg/L, received two separate 4-h shock loads of 750 microg/L TCS. Neither removal of TCS nor treatment processes exhibited major adverse effects. An additional CAS study was conducted to examine the removal of a low level (10 microg/L) of TCS. Removal of parent equaled 94.7%, and biodegradation remained the dominant removal mechanism. A subsequent series of CAS experiments examined removal at four influent concentrations (7.5, 11, 20, and 50 microg/L) of TCS and demonstrated that removal of parent ranged from 98.2 to 99.3% and was independent of concentration. Although TCS removal across all experiments appeared unrelated to influent concentration, removal was significantly correlated (r2 = 0.87) with chemical oxygen demand removal, indicating that TCS removal was related to overall treatment efficiency of specific CAS units. In conclusion, the experiments show that TCS is extensively biodegraded and removed in activated-sludge systems and is unlikely to upset sewage treatment processes at levels expected in household and manufacturing wastewaters.

Laboratory models of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) provide controlled systems for studying chemical biodegradability and removal as well as WWTP microbial ecology and engineering. In this study, Continuous Activated Sludge (CAS, 3-L) and Semi-Continuous Activated Sludge (SCAS, 2.5-L) units were maintained for up to 17 weeks using feedstocks of either fresh WWTP sewage, a complex synthetic wastewater, or a simple glucose/peptone feed (SCAS only). The goal of this research was to evaluate the microbial communities of the WWTP and the CAS and SCAS units to determine which laboratory models, and which feedstocks, were able to maintain the complexity of the WWTP microbial communities in the laboratory. One endpoint evaluated in this study was microbial community metabolic profiles, as measured using Biolog MicroPlates. Biolog Microplates contain 95 different pre-dried carbon sources and a tetrazolium dye used to spectrophotometrically measure oxidation of carbon sources. The Biolog carbon source utilization patterns of the CAS communities were similar to the SCAS communities when both were fed WWTP sewage. In addition, the profiles for these laboratory models remained similar to the WWTP microbial communities, even over an extended cultivation time (16 weeks) in the CAS systems. Amendment with a complex synthetic wastewater (25% by chemical oxygen demand) did not affect microbial metabolic response in the CAS systems, but amendment (100% by chemical oxygen demand) with a simple glucose-peptone wastewater in the SCAS system resulted in a measurable shift in microbial metabolic response.

The temperature-phased anaerobic biofilter (TPAB) process is a new high-rate anaerobic treatment system that includes a thermophilic biofilter connected in series to a mesophilic biofilter providing for two-temperature. two-phase treatment.Three TPAB systems with thermophilic:mesophilic reactor size ratios of 1:7, I:3. and I: I were operated at system hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 24. 36. and 48 hours at temperatures of 56°C in the thermophilic phase and 35°C in the mesophilic phase. The three TPAB systems achieved soluble and total chemical oxygen demand (COD) reductions in excess of 97% and 90%. respectively, for a synthetic milk substrate over a range of system COD loadings from 2 to 16 g COD/L/ d. There was little difference in performance between the three TPAB systems based on COD reduction and methane production, making it feasible to use a smaller thermophilic first phase in the TPAB system.At the 48-hour system HRT, the 6-hour thermophilic phase biofilter reached saturation loading at a COD load of 48 gil/d. After further increases in organic loading, the methane production decreased in the thermophilic first phase and increased in the corresponding mesophilic second phase while levels of n-valeric and butyric acids increased significantly. It is proposed that a microbial population shift occurred in the thermophilic first phase at high organic loadings at low HRTs. Although a decrease in methane production from the thermophilic phase was observed, the performance of the overall two-stage TPAB system did not decline.The TPA B systems were observed to outperform single-stageanaerobic filters operated at equivalent HRTs and organic loadings. Water Environ. Res .. 67, 1095Res .. 67, (1995.

The “temperature-phased anaerobic biofilter” or TPAB process (U.S. Patent pending), is a new high-rate anaerobic treatment system that includes a thermophilic (56°C) biofilter connected in series with a mesophilic (35°C) biofilter providing for two-temperature, two-phase treatment. Three TPAB systems of different thermophilic:mesophilic reactor size ratios were operated at system HRTs of 24 hrs, 36 hrs, and 48 hrs to characterize performance and to determine if an optimum size ratio exists between the thermophilic and mesophilic phases. The three TPAB systems achieved SCOD reductions in excess of 97% and TCOD reductions in excess of 90% for a synthetic milk substrate over a range of system COD loadings from 2 g COD/L/day to 16 g COD/L/day. There was little difference in performance between the three TPAB systems based on COD reduction and methane production. The 1:7 ratio of thermophilic:mesophilic phase TPAB system performed as well as the 1:3 and 1:1 size ratio TPAB systems. In applications of the process, a relatively small thermophilic first-phase can be used without sacrificing overall two-phase system performance. The TPAB process is a promising new anaerobic treatment technology with the ability to achieve higher efficiencies of organic removals than is generally possible for single-stage anaerobic filter systems operated at equivalent HRTs and organic loadings.

Triclosan (TCS; 5-chloro-2-[2,4-dichloro-phenoxy]-phenol) is a widely used antimicrobial agent. To understand its fate during sewage treatment, the biodegradation and removal of TCS were determined in activated sludge. In addition, the effects of TCS on treatment processes were assessed. Fate was determined by examining the biodegradation and removal of TCS radiolabeled with 14C in the 2,4-dichlorphenoxy ring in laboratory batch mineralization experiments and bench-top continuous activated-sludge (CAS) systems. In batch experiments with unacclimated sludge, TCS was mineralized to 14CO2, but the total yield varied as a function of test concentration. Systems that were redosed with TCS exhibited more extensive and faster mineralization, indicating that adaptation was a critical factor determining the rate and extent of biodegradation. In a CAS study in which the influent level of TCS was incrementally increased from 40 microg/L to 2,000 microg/L, removal of the parent compound exceeded 98.5% and removal of total radioactivity (parent and metabolites) exceeded 85%. Between 1.5 and 4.5% of TCS in the influent was sorbed to the wasted solids, whereas >94% underwent primary biodegradation and 81 to 92% was mineralized to CO2 or incorporated in biomass. Increasing levels of TCS in the influent had no major adverse effects on any wastewater treatment process, including chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand, and ammonia removal. In a subsequent experiment, a CAS system, acclimated to TCS at 35 microg/L, received two separate 4-h shock loads of 750 microg/L TCS. Neither removal of TCS nor treatment processes exhibited major adverse effects. An additional CAS study was conducted to examine the removal of a low level (10 microg/L) of TCS. Removal of parent equaled 94.7%, and biodegradation remained the dominant removal mechanism. A subsequent series of CAS experiments examined removal at four influent concentrations (7.5, 11, 20, and 50 microg/L) of TCS and demonstrated that removal of parent ranged from 98.2 to 99.3% and was independent of concentration. Although TCS removal across all experiments appeared unrelated to influent concentration, removal was significantly correlated (r2 = 0.87) with chemical oxygen demand removal, indicating that TCS removal was related to overall treatment efficiency of specific CAS units. In conclusion, the experiments show that TCS is extensively biodegraded and removed in activated-sludge systems and is unlikely to upset sewage treatment processes at levels expected in household and manufacturing wastewaters.

Two 1-L porous pot (65 µ stainless steel mesh) reactors were fed synthetic wastewater with a COD of 200 mg/L including 2 mg/L linear alkyl benzene sulfonate (LAS) to evaluate the influence of specific operating conditions (i.e, hydraulic retention time, HRT, and solids retention time, SRT) on the measured rate of LAS biodegradation. The reactors were operated in parallel under a constant SRT of 10 d, and HRTs of 2, 4, 6, and 12 h. Subsequently, the reactors were operated under a constant HRT of 6 h, and SRTs of 3, 6, 10, and 15 d. The biodegradation responses of LAS were measured using a respirometric method, and the extant kinetic parameters were evaluated using the Monod model. The extant kinetic parameters obtained from these experiments suggest that the HRT had little impact on the measured kinetic parameters (μ = 0.14 ± 0.06 h-1 , K S = 0.4 ± 0.3 mg COD/L, and Y = 0.67 ± 0.02 mg biomass COD formed/mg LAS COD utilized) at a constant SRT of 10 d. The SRT had a more noticeable effect on the measured biodegradation kinetics (e.g., Y increased from 0.50 ± 0.08 to 0.66 ± 0.05 mg/mg when the SRT increased from 3 to 10 d at a constant HRT of 6 h). Extant kinetics for LAS biodegradation were measured in the field at two activated sludge wastewater treatment plants operated at different conditions. The field results were similar to the results from laboratory systems operated to simulate the field conditions (μ values ranged from 0.02-0.05 h-1 , K S values ranged from 0.11-0.39 mg COD/L, and yield values ranged from 0.46-0.50 mg biomass COD formed/mg LAS COD utilized). The week to week variability in measured LAS kinetic parameters was greater with the field samples than with the laboratory samples, possibly due to the non-steady state nature of the treatment plants. The long term variability in the field kinetic parameters was comparable to the laboratory variability. These results confirm the efficacy of the extant respirometric technique to measure biodegradation rates of surfactants in laboratory and field systems operated at a range of HRT and SRT conditions.

We use a nonsteady-state model to evaluate the effects of community adaptation and sorption kinetics on the fate of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) in batch experiments conducted with activated sludge that was continuously fed different concentrations of LAS. We observed a sharp decrease in the biodegradation rate between 30 and 60 minutes and the presence of an LAS residual at the end of the batch experiments. The modeling analysis indicates that these phenomena were caused by relatively slow inter-phase mass transport of LAS. The modeling analyses also showed that the amount of LAS-degrading biomass increased when the continuous activated sludge was fed a higher LAS concentration. Although community adaptation to LAS involved accumulation of more LAS degraders, the increase was not proportional to the feed concentration of LAS, which supports the concept that LAS degraders also utilized portions of the general biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) fed to the continuous activated sludge systems.