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A practical procedure for the microbiological monitoring of activated sludge plant functioning
Author(s) -
Castillo González Eduardo,
De Medina Salas Lorena,
Contreras Gutiérrez Alejandra
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
water and environment journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1747-6593
pISSN - 1747-6585
DOI - 10.1111/wej.12189
Subject(s) - activated sludge , effluent , aeration , microorganism , sewage treatment , wastewater , pulp and paper industry , biology , waste management , bacteria , environmental science , environmental engineering , ecology , engineering , genetics
The activated sludge process is one of the most used procedures for removing organic materials and nutrients from wastewater. In this article, microbiological monitoring was applied to supervise the functioning of an activated sludge plant. Samples were taken weekly at three points: aeration tank, returned sludge and effluent. Identification of four functional groups of microorganisms, Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria, protozoa, metazoa and algae in fresh specimen investigation were used to assess the performance of the plant. The results revealed that initially there were undesirable microorganisms in the aeration tank and in the returned sludge. The density of these organisms was reduced and replaced by Gram‐negative bacteria, ciliates, rotifers and nematodes, which was an indication of stabilization. The microbiological analysis using groups of microorganisms for assessment of the functioning of the activated sludge plant proved to be a reliable, simple and inexpensive method for monitoring the start‐up and operation of plants.