Microbial Communities in Nutrient-removing Membrane Bioreactors: A Review

During last decade, researches on membrane bioreactors have been focused on nutrient removal. Different aspects of nutrient removal have been studied including different configuration of nutrient removal systems including configuration of nutrient removal systems, hybrid systems, treatment of industrial waste water, influence of hydraulic and solid retention time and dynamics of microbial community structure. A significant number of studies have been focused on microbial communities responsible for enhance nutrient removal in MBR systems. The researchers have applied numerous cultural-independent technologies in last decade. They utilized Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (FISH), Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE), Phospholipid Fatty Acid (PLFA) analysis and Respiratory quinone profile methods. The impacts of operational conditions such as internal recycling rate, SRT and composition of organic substrate on microbial communities have also studied. Present review summarizes important findings of studies focused on microbial communities in nutrient-removing MBR systems.