Microbiology of a biological contactor for winery wastewater treatment.

Winery wastewaters are characterised by large seasonal fluctuations in volume and composition and are often discarded with little or no treatment. A rotating biological contactor (RBC) was used to investigate microorganisms associated with the biological treatment of winery wastewater. Extensive biofilms developed on the RBC discs and contained a number of yeast and bacterial species that displayed a dynamic population shift during the evaluation period.