Phosphorus accumulation by bacteria isolated from a ontinuous-flow two-sludge system
Phosphorus accumulation by bacteria isolated from a continuous-flow two-sludge system

In this article, polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) from a lab-scale continuous-flow two-sludge system was isolated and identified, the different phosphorus accumulation characteristics of the isolates under anoxic and aerobic conditions were investigated. Results showed that two kinds of PAOs were both found in the anoxic zones of the two-sludge system, one of them utilized only oxygen as electron acceptor, and the other kind utilized either nitrate or oxygen as electron acceptor. Of the total eight isolates, five isolates were capable of both utilizing nitrate and oxygen as electron acceptors to uptake phosphorus to some extent. And three of the five isolates showed good phosphorus accumulation capacities both under anoxic or aerobic conditions, two identified as Alcaligenes and one identified as Pseudomonas. Strcptococcus was observed weak anoxic phosphorus accumulation because of its weak denitrification capacity, but it showed good phosphorus accumulation capacity under aerobic conditions. One isolates identified as Enterobacteriaceae was proved to be a special species of PAOs, which could only uptake small amounts of phosphorus under anoxic conditions, although its denitrification capacity and aerobic phosphorus accumulation capacity were excellent.