INVESTIGATION INTO THE MICROBIOLOGY OF A HIGH-RATE JET-LOOP ACTIVATED-SLUDGE REACTOR TREATING BREWERY WASTE-WATER

The microbiology of a jet loop activated sludge reactor treating brewe ry wastewater has been investigated, with a venturi system combining l iquid pumping with air diffusion being the basic feature of the system . The high F/M ratio, the high growth rate of the bacteria and the hig h levels of turbulence registered in the jet loop reactor caused the d isappearence of filamentous bacteria and the production of a cloudy ef fluent. The population in the reactor was mainly formed by aerobic bac teria all belonging to the Pseudomonas species. Facultative anaerobes were present in small numbers, namely Klebsiella oxytoca, Klebsiella p neumonia ssp. pneumo., Vibrio fluvialis and Aeromonas hydrophila, Very high levels of respirometric activities were recorded for the mixed l iquor of the reactor. The respirometric activities of individual isola tes were also found to be remarkably high, especially when treating br ewery wastewater. The magnitudes of their activities were a function o f their relative abundance within the reactor. Copyright (C) 1996 IAWQ .