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Updated: Jul 25, 2026

A Novel Bioreactor for High Density Cultivation of Diverse Microbial Communities
Published on: December 25, 2015
Reduction of suspended biomass in municipal wastewater using bdelloid rotifers
1Institute of Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, UK.
Abstract:
Clarification of municipal wastewater was shown to be improved significantly by the addition of cultured bdelloid rotifers. The rate and degree of suspended particle removal were correlated with rotifer number. The size range of unsettled particles suspended in wastewater was determined and found to overlap with the size range of particles consumed by rotifers. Rotifers were shown to have two distinct effects on suspended particles: consumption of biomass due to feeding activity; and improved settling, probably due to enhanced aggregation. These experiments demonstrate the potential for the use of bdelloid rotifers in an enhanced wastewater treatment process, with reduced biomass production and improved effluent clarity.
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