Bioindication assessment of activated sludge Adaptation in a Lab-Scale Experiment

Abstract

The adaptation of activated sludge from the Hajdow sewage treatment plant in a laboratory SBR was studied. The structure of the ciliate assembly was considered as a criterion. 32 ciliate species were found during the experiment. The composition and changes in the ciliate community structure during the process of activated sludge adaptation was examined. In the process of adaptation, reduction was observed in the number of ciliate species together with an increase in assembly total abundance. The decrease in the Shannon diversity index and equitability index in the adaptation process was observed. In the process of adaptation, two states of ciliate assembly were marked out - unstable transient period and stable period. During the transient period, reduction of ammonium utilization efficiency down to 50% and its subsequent increase up to 80% in the stable period were observed. In the transient period, the Simpson dominance index remained low but increased in the stable period. At a temperature of 10°C, the transient period lasted from six to nine days. After the stabilization process, the diversity of the ciliate assemblage remained at a lower level. Rarefaction methods showed that the number of potential ecological niches of ciliate amounted to 30 in the adaptation period, whereas there were only 15-20 ecological niches in adapted sludge.

Influence of Treated Sewage Discharge on the Benthos Ciliate Assembly in the Lowland River

“…The following ecological indices, being the measure of biodiversity of the ciliate assemblage were calculated: Shannon diversity index (H), Margalef index, dominance index (D) and equitability J index [38], which indices are often applied for activated sludge analysis [39].…”

The Influence of COD Fraction Forms and Molecules Size on Hydrolysis Process Developed by Comparative OUR Studies in Activated Sludge Modelling

“…Additionally, other studies regarding the development of wastewater treatment technologies and the optimization of the processes have been carried out and implemented. They have concerned issues related to the development of technologies that use activated sludge in various forms [7][8][9][10][11]; the bioaugmentation of reactors [12,13], biofilm, and hybrid techniques [14,15]; and the preliminary preparation and pre-treatment of sewage sludge and back-side waters [16,17]. New research has also covered alternative technologies, e.g., sorption which may be used for the removal of a big amount of organic and inorganic pollutants and which can be used in conjunction with several techniques (such as flocculation-coagulation) [18][19][20].…”

New Approaches in Biological Wastewater Treatment Aimed at Removal of Organic Matter and Nutrients

“…If the anoxic volume is kept unchanged, the nitrate concentration will increase in the effluent, potentially causing problematic issues in the sedimentation tank (floating sludge), demanding additional method of sludge treatment or usage of membranes [10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. The A/O system is characterized by the same configuration as in the case of the Phoredox, Bardenpho system; however, the anaerobic zone is compartmentalized, inducing a plug-flow regime that improves the removal capacity of phosphorus as well as facilitates converting the easily biodegradable material to acetate [11][12][13][14][15][16]. While comparing the existing schemes of biological phosphate removal or recovery from wastewater presented in literature, it is necessary to distinguish their advantages and disadvantages.…”