Demonstration of adapted packed-bed bioreactor for accurate and rapid estimation of biochemical oxygen demand: insights into the influence of microbial community structure and functions.

This study demonstrated a novel approach to accurately estimate 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in textile wastewater using a microbial consortium from food processing wastewater fixed on coconut fibers. Although glucose-glutamic acid (GGA) has been widely known as the most preferred substrates for microbial respiration, its calibration surprisingly resulted in an overestimation of BOD in textile wastewater due to its lower utilization rate compared to that of textile wastewater. After being adapted with a new nutrient environment composed of GGA and textile wastewater, the adapted packed-bed bioreactors (PBBRs) was capable of accurate estimation of BOD in textile wastewater using GGA standard solution.