Microbial Population Dynamics During Domestication and Cultivation of Biofilm to Remove and Enrich Phosphate

: The purpose of this study was to develop a method to remove and recover high concentration phosphate solutions from wastewater. An experiment was carried out to cultivate and enrich phosphorus accumulating organisms (PAOs) in the biofilm with nylon as the biological carrier using artificial water distribution. Microflora morphology, species diversity, and the genetic relationship of biofilm during the process of biofilm domestication were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and MiSeq high-throughput sequencing. In addition, the feasibility of recycling a high concentration of phosphate in the conventional biofilm within a short time was validated. The membrane was hung in the biological carrier when the reactor was operated for 10 d. After the hanging of the film succeeded, the effluent COD was below 50 mg·L-1, the effluent phosphorus was close to zero, and the removal efficiency of phosphorus reached to above 95%. The operation was stable at this level for 40 d. The results from the SEM indicated that the microbial morphology in the biofilm was uniform with full oval-shaped spheres with a clear profile. MiSeq high-throughput sequencing indicated that the dominant phylum in the reactor included Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Ignavibacteriae, and Nitrospirae. Proteobacteria, as the dominant genera, increased from 47% to 58%. Rhodocyclaceae, as the dominant phosphorus accumulating bacteria, increased from 17.9% to 28.9%. During the recovery period, the concentration of the phosphorus solution increased from 40mg·L-1 to 82 mg·L-1 by increasing the influent phosphate concentration and the COD concentration in the anaerobic phase, meeting the requirement of phosphorus recovery with the struvite method.