Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 25, 2026

A Novel Bioreactor for High Density Cultivation of Diverse Microbial Communities
Published on: December 25, 2015
Relationship between protozoan and metazoan communities and operation and performance parameters in a textile sewage
Liliana Araújo dos Santos1, Vânia Ferreira1, Maria Olívia Pereira1
1CEB - Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal.
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 value of the microfauna to assess the operation of the activated sludge systems even in the case of non-conventional plants and/or plants receiving industrial sewage.
More Related Videos
15:19Development of Sulfidogenic Sludge from Marine Sediments and Trichloroethylene Reduction in an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor
Published on: October 15, 2015
09:58Environmental Screening of Aeromonas hydrophila, Mycobacterium spp., and Pseudocapillaria tomentosa in Zebrafish Systems
Published on: December 8, 2017
Related Concept Videos
Overview of Protists
Diversity of Protists IV
Marine Microbial Ecology
Bioreactor Design and Operational System
Microbial Mats
Freshwater Microbial Ecology