info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Use of image analysis in the study of competition between filamentous and non-filamentous bacteria
Fecha
2004-06Registro en:
Contreras, Edgardo Martin; Giannuzzi, Leda; Zaritzky, Noemi Elisabet; Use of image analysis in the study of competition between filamentous and non-filamentous bacteria; Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd; Water Research; 38; 11; 6-2004; 2621-2630
0043-1354
1879-2448
CONICET Digital
CONICET
Autor
Contreras, Edgardo Martin
Giannuzzi, Leda
Zaritzky, Noemi Elisabet
Resumen
One of the most common problems in the operation of activated sludge plants is the inability to separate solids from treated effluents in the clarifiers caused by the overgrowth of filamentous micro-organisms (FM) with respect to floc-forming bacteria. In order to develop kinetic models that help to predict bulking events, growth kinetics of the FMs and non-filamentous bacteria (NFB) should be known. This paper addresses the competition of a FM and a NFB in a continuous stirred tank reactor. Experimental observations of the effect of the dilution rate on the composition of themixed culture were compared to simulated results. Image analysis was used to measure NFB and FM fractions in order to evaluate the proposed mathematical model. Experimental results and numerical simulations showed that low D values favored the growth of FM; on the contrary, when high D values were applied a rapid overgrowth of the NFB were observed. Thus, high D values favored the growth of NFB minimizing the risk of filamentous bulking.