Estimation of Dominant Bacterial Species in a Bench-Scale Shipboard Sewage Treatment Plant

Recently, an innovative method for wastewater treatment and nutrient removal was developed by combining the sequence batch reactor and membrane bioreactor to overcome pollution caused by shipboard sewage. This system is a modified form of the activated sludge process and involves repeated cycles of mixing and aeration. In the present study, the bacterial diversity and dominant microbial community in this wastewater treatment system were studied using the MACROGEN next generation sequencing technique. A high diversity of bacteria was observed in anaerobic and aerobic bioreactors, with approximately 486 species. Microbial diversity and the presence of beneficial species are crucial for an effective biological shipboard wastewater treatment system. The Arcobacter genus was dominant in the anaerobic tank, which mainly contained Arcobacter lanthieri (8.24%), followed by Acinetobacter jahnsonii (5.81%). However, the dominant bacterial species in the aerobic bioreactor were Terrimonas lutea (7.24%) and Rubrivivax gelatinosus (4.95%).