Aerobic granular sludge is a novel compact biological wastewater treatment technology for integrated removal of COD (chemical oxygen demand), nitrogen, and phosphate charges. We present here a multiscale model of aerobic granular sludge sequencing batch reactors (GSBR) describing the complex dynamics of populations and nutrient removal. The macro scale describes bulk concentrations and effluent...

Seasonal changes in abundance of nitrifiers (ammonia-oxidizing and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria) in surface and bottom water of freshwater ponds were examined with respect to temperature, DO, pH as well as concentration of ammonia and nitrite. The most probable number (MPN) of ammonia-oxidizers in different ponds varied from 1297 +/- 3.6 to 1673.23 +/- 0.36 ml(-1) in bottom and 720.5 +/- 8.1 to 9...

The adhesion of plated metal layers to polymer surfaces is of prime importance for the reliability of interconnections in electronics. An increase in the roughness of the polymer surface, caused by chemical treatment, plays an important part in the adhesionstrength of plated metal layers by increasing the total area of interface betweenboth layers. Hence, the evolution of polymer surface roughn...

At Hot Creek in California, geothermally derived arsenite is rapidly oxidized to arsenate. This process is mediated by microorganisms colonizing the surfaces of submerged aquatic macrophytes in the creek. Here we describe a multifaceted approach to characterizing this biofilm community and its activity. Molecular techniques were used to describe the community as a function of 16S-rRNA gene dive...

Phylogenetic relationships among 20 nonsporeforming and two endospore-forming species of sulfate-reducing eubacteria were inferred from comparative 16S rRNA sequencing. All genera of mesophilic sulfate-reducing eubacteria except the new genus Desulfomicrobium and the gliding Desulfonema species were included. The sporeforming species Desulfotomaculum ruminis and Desulfotomaculum orientis were f...

Geological carbon sequestration in basalts is a promising solution to mitigate carbon emissions into the Earth's atmosphere. The Wallula pilot well in Eastern Washington State, USA provides an opportunity to investigate how native microbial communities in basalts are affected by the injection of supercritical carbon dioxide into deep, alkaline formation waters of the Columbia River Basalt Group...

Acidic thermal springs offer ideal environments for studying processes underlying extremophile microbial diversity. We used a carefully designed comparative analysis of acidic thermal springs in Yellowstone National Park to determine how abiotic factors (chemistry and temperature) shape acidophile microbial communities. Small-subunit rRNA gene sequences were PCR amplified, cloned, and sequenced...

Despite the fact that ammonium nitrate (AN) has the highest hydrogen content and fairly high oxygen balance (compared to other oxidizers), its extremely low formation enthalpy and relatively low density makes it one of the worst power oxidizers in solid composite propellants (SCP). Nevertheless, AN has certain advantages ¡ the combustion of the compositions containing AN is virtually safe, its ...

In grazed, grassland soils, sheep urine generates heterogeneity in ammonia concentrations, with potential impact on ammonia oxidizer community structure and soil N cycling. The influence of different levels of synthetic sheep urine on ammonia oxidizers was studied in grassland soil microcosms. ‘Total’ and active ammonia oxidizers were distinguished by comparing denaturing gradient gel electroph...

The diversity of microbial communities constitutes a critical component of good soil-management practices. To characterize the effects of different management practices, molecular indicators such as phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA), denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and composition of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria were used to analyze bacterial community structure and diversity from fou...