Premium
Feast/famine growth environments and activated sludge population selection
Author(s) -
Chiesa Steven C.,
Irvine Robert L.,
Manning John F.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.260270503
Subject(s) - activated sludge , substrate (aquarium) , settling , famine , population , starvation , selection (genetic algorithm) , chemistry , biology , environmental engineering , environmental science , pulp and paper industry , environmental chemistry , waste management , ecology , sewage treatment , engineering , computer science , geography , demography , archaeology , endocrinology , sociology , artificial intelligence
The effect of feast/famine growth conditions on activated sludge cultures indicates that nonfilamentous cultures can be selected by providing proper substrate gradients and extended periods of endogenous metablism. Reactor operating strategies providing intermittently high substrate concentrations result in cultures characterized by high peak substrate and oxygen uptake activities, rapid settling rates, and high resistance to starvation. Sludge settleability can be manipulated using controlled variations in growth environment with corresponding changes noted in sludge activity. In combination with the low net growth rates associated with activated sludge systems, feast/famine environments would logically convey a selection advantage to microbes capable of readily assimilating substrate materials and maintaining viability during extended starvation periods.