Wastewater Treatment Reactors

Microbial communities are extremely complex, containing thousands of species, where the exact function of most species is unknown. In addition to this complexity, microbial communities respond quickly to alterations in physico-chemical parameters of their habitat. However, the physiological consequences of such changes for higher trophic levels and for the respective ecosystem are mostly unknown. Wastewater Treatment Reactors: Microbial Community Structure focuses on the following: analyses of microbial community structure in relation to changes in physico-chemical parameters; analyses of gene content (metagenome) or gene expression (metatranscriptome) of microbial communities in relation to changes in physico-chemical parameters; physiological analyses of microbial communities, enrichment cultures or pure cultures of key species in relation to changes in physico-chemical parameters; and analyses and modelling of potential consequences of changes in microbial community structure or function for higher trophic levels in a given habitat. Several studies have been carried out to understand bulking phenomena and the importance of environmental factors on sludge settling characteristics, which are thought to be strongly influenced by flocculation, sludge bulking, foaming and rising. The temporal dynamics of bacterial communities are also discussed. Describes the state-of-the-art techniques and the application of omics tools in wastewater treatment reactors (WWTRs)Describes both the theoretical and practical knowledge on the fundamental roles of microorganisms in WWTRsPoints out the reuse of treated wastewater through emerging technologiesDiscusses the economics of wastewater treatment and the development of suitable alternatives in terms of performance and cost effectivenessDiscusses cutting-edge molecular biological toolsGives an in-depth knowledge to study microbial community structure and function in wastewater treatment reactors