Population dynamics of filamentous bacteria in Danish wastewater treatment plants with nutrient removal

Bulking and foaming are two frequently occurring operational problems in activated sludge wastewater treatment plants, and these problems are mainly associated with excessive growth of filamentous bacteria. In this study, a comprehensive investigation of the identity and population dynamics of filamentous bacteria in 28 Danish municipal treatment plants with nutrient removal has been carried out over three years. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was applied to quantify more than twenty probe-defined populations of filamentous bacteria that in total constituted a large fraction of the entire microbial community, on average 24%. Despite the majority being present within the flocs, they occasionally caused settling problems in most of the plants. A low diversity of probe-defined filamentous bacteria was found in the plants with Microthrix and various species belonging to phylum Chloroflexi (e.g., type 0803 and type 0092) as the most abundant. Few other filamentous probe-defined species were found revealing a large similarity between the filamentous populations in the plants investigated. The composition of filamentous populations was stable in each plant with only minor changes in relative abundances observed during the three-year study period. The relative composition of the different species was unique to each plant giving a characteristic “fingerprint”. Comprehensive statistical analyses of the presence and abundance of the filamentous organisms did not reveal many correlations with a particular plant design or process parameter.

► A 3 year qFISH survey of filamentous bacteria in was carried out in 28 BNR plants.
► Filamentous bacteria were very abundant (approx. 24% of the biomass in average), primarily inside activated sludge flocs.
► The most species abundant were Microthrix, TM7, Chloroflexi type 0092 and type 0803.
► The relative abundance of species in the individual plants was constant and unique.
► Few correlations between plant design, process parameters and filaments were found.