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The Role Of Nitrification And Denitrification In Successful Cultivation Of Oxygenic Photogranules For Wastewater Treatment, Kristie Stauch-White

Environmental & Water Resources Engineering Masters Projects

Oxygenic photogranules (OPGs) are compact, spherical, self-immobilizing biofilms in the form of dense aggregates of microorganisms with a predomination of filamentous cyanobacteria cultivated from photoilluminated activated sludge. In this study, aerobic and anaerobic nitrogen transformation processes occurring simultaneously within OPGs, during both successful and unsuccessful cultivations, were examined. Chemical analyses including ammonium, nitrate, and nitrite concentrations at the beginning and periodically during OPG cultivations indicated nitrogen transformations occurring during successful cultivations. Additionally, qPCR studies revealed that successful cultivations supported a greater relative abundance of cyanobacteria, nitrifying, and denitrifying populations during the cultivation period. Dissolved oxygen microprofiles within a successfully cultivated …