Extracellular processes in wastewater treatment
Lead Research Organisation:
Newcastle University
Department Name: Sch of Engineering
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the role of enzymes in the degradation of organic matter in aerobic systems. The outcomes will further serve as a reference model to enhance the enzymatic activity in the anaerobic processes, which are less energy intensive.
Aims and Objectives
1. Investigating the content and structure of EPS and its abundance in different wastewater samples
2. Identifying the dominant bacteria involved in producing the EPS
3. Determining the enzymes that have role in degrading the organic constitutes of wastewater
4. Identifying the environmental factors that can affect the enzymatic activity
5. Studying the possible regulatory mechanisms for the secretion of enzymes by microbial cells
In order to fulfill the aims of the research, we are proposing the following steps:
1. Collection of wastewater samples from different WWTPs
2. Analysing the microbial diversity of samples by molecular biology methods
3. Extraction of EPS from microbial flocs
4. Measuring the contents of EPS by specific methods
5. Measuring the enzymatic activity by using relevant substrates
6. Modifying environmental conditions to test the enzymatic activity of microbial cells
7. Unifying a model for optimizing the biodegradability of WW by enzymes
Aims and Objectives
1. Investigating the content and structure of EPS and its abundance in different wastewater samples
2. Identifying the dominant bacteria involved in producing the EPS
3. Determining the enzymes that have role in degrading the organic constitutes of wastewater
4. Identifying the environmental factors that can affect the enzymatic activity
5. Studying the possible regulatory mechanisms for the secretion of enzymes by microbial cells
In order to fulfill the aims of the research, we are proposing the following steps:
1. Collection of wastewater samples from different WWTPs
2. Analysing the microbial diversity of samples by molecular biology methods
3. Extraction of EPS from microbial flocs
4. Measuring the contents of EPS by specific methods
5. Measuring the enzymatic activity by using relevant substrates
6. Modifying environmental conditions to test the enzymatic activity of microbial cells
7. Unifying a model for optimizing the biodegradability of WW by enzymes
Organisations
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP/N509528/1 | 01/10/2016 | 31/03/2022 | |||
| 1948822 | Studentship | EP/N509528/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/12/2020 | Reihaneh Bashiri |
| Description | There is more energy in wastewater than is used to treat it. Most large cities use the activated sludge process, which require a huge amount of electricity. However, the anaerobic digestion (AD) technology can treat wastewater with zero input energy while producing biogas/electricity. Nonetheless, the AD process is problematic in temperate climates as key players in the microbial community, are temperature sensitive. Domestic wastewater consists of various polymeric substances like carbohydrates, proteins and lipids that microbial community can hydrolyse and uptake as source of energy. However, this hydrolysis step is rate limiting and highly depends on how microbial cells overcome environmental and temperature barriers to produce extracellular enzymes. Specific polymers require a specific enzyme, for example lipases to break down lipid molecules. Among all the enzymes microbes need to produce, lipases seem to be most temperature sensitive since at cold temperatures lipids degrade poorly while proteins and carbohydrates are degraded. Yet, about 30-40 % of the total chemical oxygen demand of the domestic wastewater are lipids. The first hypothesis to test was to evaluate the lipolytic potential of the microbial community and see if they are secreted outside the cells through molecular biology techniques like metagenomics and metaproteomics. From the metagenomics data so far, we found number of cold-adapted lipases in our metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), at both 4? and 15?. However, compared to the other proteins existing in the genomes, lipases are in minority. The proteomics results are still under the process. |
| Exploitation Route | Parties interested and potentially benefiting from the work would include: i) The bioenergy community working on feedstock degradation to convert it to energy ii) A wide community of research in all the areas interested in linking genes to enzymes iii) The community of researchers and practitioners interested in lipophilic enzymes. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Energy,Environment,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |