Performance of a biocrust cyanobacteria-indigenous bacteria (BCIB) co-culture system for nutrient capture and transfer in municipal wastewater

L. Wu; L. Quan; Z. Deng; Ashiwin Vadiveloo; Y. Cheng; L. Yang; Z. Zhang; A. A. Saber; S. Lan

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164236

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Performance of a biocrust cyanobacteria-indigenous bacteria (BCIB) co-culture system for nutrient capture and transfer in municipal wastewater

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Performance of a biocrust cyanobacteria-indigenous bacteria (BCIB) co-culture system for nutrient capture and transfer in municipal wastewater

L. Wu, L. Quan, Z. Deng, Ashiwin Vadiveloo, Y. Cheng, L. Yang, Z. Zhang, A. A. Saber and S. Lan

The science of the total environment, Vol.888, 164236

2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164236

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Abstract

This study aimed to explore the potential for transferring nutrients from municipal wastewater through the cultivation of biocrust cyanobacteria, since little is known regarding the growth and bioremediation performance of biocrust cyanobacteria in actual wastewater, especially their interaction with indigenous bacteria. Therefore, in this study, the biocrust cyanobacterium, Scytonema hyalinum was cultivated in municipal wastewater under different light intensities, to establish a biocrust cyanobacteria-indigenous bacteria (BCIB) co-culture system, in order to investigate its nutrient removal efficiency. Our results revealed that the cyanobacteria-bacteria consortium could remove up to 91.37 % and 98.86 % of dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus from the wastewater, respectively. The highest biomass accumulation (max. 6.31 mg chlorophyll-a L−1) and exopolysaccharide secretion (max. 21.90 mg L−1) were achieved under respective optimized light intensity (60 and 80 μ mol m−2 s−1). High light intensity was found to increase exopolysaccharide secretion, but negatively impacted cyanobacterial growth and nutrient removal. Overall, in the established cultivation system, cyanobacteria accounted for 26–47 % of the total bacterial abundance, while proteobacteria consisted up to 50 % of the mixture. The composition and ratio of cyanobacteria to indigenous bacteria were shown to be altered by adjusting the light intensity of the system. Altogether, our results clearly illustrate the potential of the biocrust cyanobacterium S. hyalinum in establishing a BCIB cultivation system under different light intensity for wastewater treatment and other end-applications (e.g., biomass accumulation and exopolysaccharide secretion). This study presents an innovative strategy for transferring nutrients from wastewater to drylands through cyanobacterial cultivation and subsequent biocrust induction.

Details

Title: Performance of a biocrust cyanobacteria-indigenous bacteria (BCIB) co-culture system for nutrient capture and transfer in municipal wastewater
Authors/Creators: L. Wu
L. Quan
Z. Deng
Ashiwin Vadiveloo - Murdoch University, Centre for Water, Energy and Waste
Y. Cheng
L. Yang
Z. Zhang
A. A. Saber
S. Lan
Publication Details: The science of the total environment, Vol.888, 164236
Publisher: Elsevier B.V.
Identifiers: 991005575466207891
Copyright: © 2023 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Murdoch Affiliation: Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems; Centre for Water, Energy and Waste; School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences; Algae R&D Centre
Resource Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Citation topics: 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology; 3.40 Forestry; 3.40.838 Rangeland Dynamics
Web Of Science research areas: Environmental Sciences
ESI research areas: Environment/Ecology