Quantification of polyhydroxyalkanoate accumulated in waste activated sludge

Journal Article (2022)
Author(s)

R. Pei (Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, TU Delft - BT/Environmental Biotechnology)

Gerard Vicente-Venegas (Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology)

M. C M van Loosdrecht (TU Delft - BT/Environmental Biotechnology)

R Kleerebezem (TU Delft - BT/Environmental Biotechnology)

Alan Werker (Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology)

Research Group
BT/Environmental Biotechnology
Copyright
© 2022 R. Pei, Gerard Vicente-Venegas, Mark C.M. van Loosdrecht, R. Kleerebezem, A. Werker
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.118795
More Info
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Publication Year
2022
Language
English
Copyright
© 2022 R. Pei, Gerard Vicente-Venegas, Mark C.M. van Loosdrecht, R. Kleerebezem, A. Werker
Research Group
BT/Environmental Biotechnology
Volume number
221
Reuse Rights

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Abstract

Polyhydroxyalkanoate accumulation experiments at pilot scale were performed with fullscale municipal waste activated sludge. Development of biomass PHA content was quantified by thermogravimetric analysis. Over 48 h the biomass reached up to 0.49 ± 0.03 gPHA/gVSS (n=4). Samples were processed in parallel to characterise the distribution of PHA in the biomass. Selective staining methods and image analysis were performed by Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy. The image analysis indicated that nominally 55% of this waste activated sludge was engaged in PHA storage activity. Thus even if the biomass PHA content reached 0.49gPHA/gVSS, the accumulating fraction of the biomass was estimated to have attained about 0.64gPHA/gVSS. The combination of quantitative microscopy and polymer mass assessment enabled to distinguish the effect of level of enrichment in PHA storing bacteria and the average PHA storage capacity of the accumulating bacteria. The distribution of microbial 16S rRNA levels did not follow a measurable trend during PHA accumulation.