Relationship between protozoan and metazoan communities and operation and performance parameters in a textile sewage activated sludge system》.pdf

Available online at ScienceDirect European Journal of Protistology 50 (2014) 319–328 Relationship between protozoan and metazoan communities and operation and performance parameters in a textile sewage activated sludge system Liliana Araújo dos Santos, Vânia Ferreira, Maria Olívia Pereira, Ana Nicolau∗ CEB – Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal Received 16 May 2013; received in revised form 24 February 2014; accepted 19 March 2014 Available online 18 April 2014 Abstract The present study aims at investigating the possibility of assessing performance and depuration conditions of an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant through an exploration of the microfauna. The plant, receiving textile industrial (70%) and domestic (30%) sewage, consists of a two-step biological depurating plant, with activated sludge followed by a percolating system. A total of 35 samples were analyzed during five months, and 30 taxa of protozoa and small metazoa were found. Epistylis rotans, Vorticella microstoma, Aspidisca cicada and Arcella sp. were the most frequent protozoa identified. Several significant correlations between biological, physical–chemical and operational parameters were determined, but no significant correlations could be established between biological parameters and removal efficiencies. The Sludge Biotic Index (SBI) reflected the overall state of the community but only presented statistically significant correlations with the influent total suspended solids (TSS), total suspended solids in mixed-liquor (MLTSS) and dissolved oxygen (DO). The determination of key groups and taxa along with general community parameters showed to have potential value as indicators of the depuration conditions. Despite the impossibility of correlating biological parameters and the removal efficiencies, the present study attests the valu