Perturbations to common gardens of anaerobic co-digesters reveal relationships between functional resilience and microbial community composition.

We report the relationship between enrichment of adapted populations and enhancement of community functional resilience in methanogenic bioreactors. Although previous studies have shown the positive effects of acclimation, this work directly investigated the relationships between microbiome dynamics and performance of anaerobic co-digesting reactors in response to different levels of an environmental perturbation (loading of grease interceptor waste [GIW]). Using the methanogenic microbiome from a full-scale digester, we developed eight sets of microbial communities in triplicate using different feed sources.

Microbial community assembly in engineered bioreactors.

Microbial community assembly (MCA) processes that shape microbial communities in environments are being used to analyze engineered bioreactors such as activated sludge systems and anaerobic digesters. The goal of studying MCA is to be able to understand and predict the effect of design and operation procedures on bioreactor microbial composition and function. Ultimately, this can lead to bioreactors that are more efficient, resilient, or resistant to perturbations.

Microplate-Based Cell Viability Assay as a Cost-Effective Alternative to Flow Cytometry for Microalgae Analysis.

Cell viability is a critical indicator for assessing culture quality in microalgae cultivation for biorefinery and bioremediation. Fluorescent dyes that distinguish viable from nonviable cells can enable viability quantification based on the percentage of live cells. However, fluorescence analysis using the typical flow cytometry method is costly and impractical for industrial applications.

Biotransformation of micropollutants in moving bed biofilm reactors under heterotrophic and autotrophic conditions.

We investigated the transformation of four pharmaceuticals (Diclofenac, Naproxen, Ibuprofen and Carbamazepine) in a moving bed biofilm reactor subjected to different COD/N ratios in four experimental phases. The shift from medium to high range COD/N ratio (i.e.

Growth of Dunaliella viridis in multiple cycles of reclaimed media after repeated high pH-induced flocculation and harvesting.

Minimizing the use of water for growing microalgae is crucial for lowering the energy and costs of animal feed, food, and biofuel production from microalgae. Dunaliella spp., a haloterant species that can accumulate high intracellular levels of lipids, carotenoids, or glycerol can be harvested effectively using low-cost and scalable high pH-induced flocculation.