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Resilience in Function, Microbial Community Structure, and Nitrifier Composition of Bench-Scale Biofilm Reactors during Wet Weather Disturbances

Publication ,  Journal Article
Ali, P; Xu, G; Carlson-Stadler, R; Delgado Vela, J; Liu, L; Shaw, A; Stadler, LB
Published in: ACS Es and T Water
February 14, 2025

Wet weather events, such as hurricanes and tropical storms, are on the rise globally due to climate change. Activated sludge systems are vulnerable to wet weather, as hydraulic overloading can cause a washout of biomass. Biofilm-based treatment technologies, such as moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBR), can improve resiliency by preventing biomass washout and protecting slow-growing nitrifiers. In this study, we investigated the resilience of a biofilm system challenged by wet weather events and examined the impact of different disturbances on the system’s microbial community. We performed three simulated wet weather stressor experiments on replicate bench-scale MBBR bench reactors: (1) high flow and high load (representative of flooding and a first flush); (2) high flow, high load, and no dissolved oxygen (DO) (representative of flooding with power outage); and (3) starvation and no DO (temporary plant shut down). The biofilm system’s function, in terms of ammonia-N and soluble organic carbon removal, was resilient to the wet weather disturbances as the function recovered to the baseline performance after disturbance within hours. The biofilm microbial community structure was resistant (not impacted by the disturbance), and the nitrifier community was resilient (the ability to recover to baseline conditions after the disturbance).

Duke Scholars

Published In

ACS Es and T Water

DOI

EISSN

2690-0637

Publication Date

February 14, 2025

Volume

5

Issue

2

Start / End Page

575 / 582
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Ali, P., Xu, G., Carlson-Stadler, R., Delgado Vela, J., Liu, L., Shaw, A., & Stadler, L. B. (2025). Resilience in Function, Microbial Community Structure, and Nitrifier Composition of Bench-Scale Biofilm Reactors during Wet Weather Disturbances. ACS Es and T Water, 5(2), 575–582. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00524
Ali, P., G. Xu, R. Carlson-Stadler, J. Delgado Vela, L. Liu, A. Shaw, and L. B. Stadler. “Resilience in Function, Microbial Community Structure, and Nitrifier Composition of Bench-Scale Biofilm Reactors during Wet Weather Disturbances.” ACS Es and T Water 5, no. 2 (February 14, 2025): 575–82. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00524.
Ali P, Xu G, Carlson-Stadler R, Delgado Vela J, Liu L, Shaw A, et al. Resilience in Function, Microbial Community Structure, and Nitrifier Composition of Bench-Scale Biofilm Reactors during Wet Weather Disturbances. ACS Es and T Water. 2025 Feb 14;5(2):575–82.
Ali, P., et al. “Resilience in Function, Microbial Community Structure, and Nitrifier Composition of Bench-Scale Biofilm Reactors during Wet Weather Disturbances.” ACS Es and T Water, vol. 5, no. 2, Feb. 2025, pp. 575–82. Scopus, doi:10.1021/acsestwater.4c00524.
Ali P, Xu G, Carlson-Stadler R, Delgado Vela J, Liu L, Shaw A, Stadler LB. Resilience in Function, Microbial Community Structure, and Nitrifier Composition of Bench-Scale Biofilm Reactors during Wet Weather Disturbances. ACS Es and T Water. 2025 Feb 14;5(2):575–582.

Published In

ACS Es and T Water

DOI

EISSN

2690-0637

Publication Date

February 14, 2025

Volume

5

Issue

2

Start / End Page

575 / 582