WASTEWATERMICROBIOLOGY

Third Edition

GABRIEL BITTONDepartment of Environmental Engineering Sciences

University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

A JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC., PUBLICATION

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WASTEWATERMICROBIOLOGY

Third Edition

WASTEWATERMICROBIOLOGY

Third Edition

GABRIEL BITTONDepartment of Environmental Engineering Sciences

University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

A JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC., PUBLICATION

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Bitton, Gabriel.

Wastewater microbiology / Gabriel Bitton. -- 3rd ed.p. ; cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-471-65071-4 (cloth)

1. Sanitary microbiology. 2. Water--Microbiology. 3. Sewage--Microbiology.

[DNLM: 1. Sewage--microbiology. 2. Water Microbiology. 3. Safety

Management. 4. Water Purification--methods. QW 80 B624w 2005] I. Title.

QR48.B53 2005

628.30010579--dc222004019935

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher

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to Julie and Natalie

CONTENTS

Preface ix

Preface to the First Edition xi

Preface to the Second Edition xiii

PART A. FUNDAMENTALS OF MICROBIOLOGY 1

1. The Microbial World 32. Microbial Metabolism and Growth 453. Role of Microorganisms in Biogeochemical Cycles 75

PART B. PUBLIC HEALTH MICROBIOLOGY 107

4. Pathogens and Parasites in Domestic Wastewater 1095. Microbial Indicators of Fecal Contamination 1536. Water and Wastewater Disinfection 173

PART C. MICROBIOLOGY OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT 211

7. Introduction to Wastewater Treatment 2138. Activated Sludge Process 2259. Bulking and Foaming in Activated Sludge Plants 259

10. Processes Based on Attached Microbial Growth 29111. Waste Stabilization Ponds 30712. Sludge Microbiology 32113. Anaerobic Digestion of Wastewater and Biosolids 34514. Biological aerosols and Bioodors from Wastewater

Treatment Plants 371

PART D. MICROBIOLOGY OF DRINKING WATER TREATMENT 395

15. Microbiological Aspects of Drinking Water Treatment 39716. Microbiological Aspects of Drinking Water Distribution 41917. Bioterrorism and Drinking Water Safety 457

PART E. BIOTECHNOLOGY IN WASTEWATER TREATMENT 471

18. Pollution Control Biotechnology 473

vii

PART F. FATE AND TOXICITY OF CHEMICALS INWASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS 499

19. Fate of Xenobiotics and Toxic Metals in WastewaterTreatment Plants 501

20. Toxicity Testing in Wastewater Treatment Plants UsingMicroorganisms 527

PART G. MICROBIOLOGY AND PUBLIC HEALTH ASPECTS OFWASTEWATER EFFLUENTS AND BIOSOLIDSDISPOSAL AND REUSE 545

21. Public Health Aspects of Wastewater and Biosolids Disposalon Land 547

22. Public Health Aspects of Wastewater and Biosolids Disposalin the Marine Environment 573

23. Wastewater Reuse 589

References 609

Index 729

viii CONTENTS

PREFACE

I would like to mention some of the changes and additions that have been included in the

third edition of Wastewater Microbiology. In general, every chapter of the book has been

revised (up to July 2004) to include the latest developments in the field, and I will highlight

only the major ones.

A review of the most important molecular techniques has been added to Chapter 1,

while the most recent methodology for measuring microbial biomass in environmental

samples is described in Chapter 2. New developments in enhanced biological phosphorus

removal (EBPR) are covered in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 covers new findings on old and emer-

ging (e.g., Helicobacter pylori, Cyclospora, Microsporidia) microbial pathogens and para-

sites. Much progress has been made concerning the detection of Cryptosporidium and

Giardia in environmental samples, including wastewater. The improved methodology is

also covered in Chapter 4. As regards disinfection of water and wastewater, research

efforts are now focusing on UV disinfection in industrialized countries and on the use

of solar radiation in developing countries (Chapter 6).

Armed with new molecular tools and microsensor/microelectrode technology, investi-gators are making progress in understanding the microbial ecology and the surface prop-

erties of activated sludge flocs. The methodology used is similar to that used in biofilms.

These advances will help us to better understand the flocculation process in activated

sludge (Chapter 8). Concerning bulking and foaming in activated sludge plants, most of

the recent studies have focused on the characterization and phylogeny of filamentous

microorganisms (Chapter 9).

In the last few years we have witnessed an increased interest in biofilm microbiology.

Biofilms develop on biological and nonbiological surfaces and are ubiquitous in natural

aquatic environments and engineered systems (e.g., fixed-film bioreactors). Their ben-

eficial role in fixed-film bioreactors has been known for years (chapter 10). However,

the impact of biofilms on drinking water distribution systems has been the subject of

increased research activity around the world (chapter 16). This interest is further heigh-

tened by the findings that biofilms are the source of medical problems such as dental

plaques or colonization of artificial implants, leading to increased rate of infection in

patients. The discovery of communication among members of the biofilm community

(i.e., quorum sensing using signaling chemicals such as homoserine lactones) may lead

to potential means of controlling biofouling of surfaces.

ix

Chapter 13 shows that new procedures, particularly molecular techniques, have helped

shed light on the phylogeny of methanogens and other Archaea.

Part D (Microbiology of Drinking Water Treatment) of the third edition now comprises

three chapters instead of two as in the second edition. The third chapter (Chapter 17) intro-

duces the reader to bioterrorism microbial agents and their potential impact on drinking

water safety.

In Chapter 18 (Biotechnology of Waste Treatment: Pollution Control Biotechnology), I

have added some information about membrane bioreactors (MBR technology), while in

Chapter 21, new developments in the area of bioremediation have been included.

Finally, in Chapter 23 (Wastewater Reuse), I have made an attempt to introduce the

reader to the microbiological aspects of the treatment of wastewater effluents by

natural and constructed wetlands and by the use of attached algae for polishing wastewater

effluents.

Since the World Wide Web is increasingly becoming an integral part of the learning

process at education institutions, I have added some Web resources to each chapter of

the book to help students increase their knowledge or satisfy their curiosity about topics

discussed in a given chapter. I have also included questions at the end of each chapter.

These questions can help students in studying the material or can be used as homework.

I thank Jorge Gomez Moreno for drawing several of the new figures for the third edition

of this book. His attention to detail is much appreciated.

I am grateful to Nancy, Julie, Natalie, Jonathan, my entire family, and friends for their

love and moral support.

GABRIEL BITTON

Gainesville, Florida

x PREFACE

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

Numerous colleagues and friends have encouraged me to prepare a second edition of

Introduction to Environmental Virology, published by Wiley in 1980. Instead, I decided

to broaden the topic by writing a text about the role of all microorganisms in water and

wastewater treatment and the fate of pathogens and parasites in engineered systems.

In the 1960s, the major preoccupation of sanitary engineers was the development of

wastewater treatment processes. Since then, new research topics have emerged and

emphasis is increasingly placed on the biological treatment of hazardous wastes and the

detection and control of new pathogens. The field of wastewater microbiology has blos-

somed during the last two decades as new modern tools have been developed to study

the role of microorganisms in the treatment of water and wastewater. We have also wit-

nessed dramatic advances in the methodology for detection of pathogenic microorganisms

and parasites in environmental samples, including wastewater. New genetic probes and

monoclonal antibodies are being developed for the detection of pathogens and parasites

in water and wastewater. Environmental engineers and microbiologists are increasingly

interested in toxicity and the biodegradation of xenobiotics by aerobic and anaerobic bio-

logical processes in wastewater treatment plants. Their efforts will fortunately result in

effective means of controlling these chemicals. The essence of this book is an exploration

of the interface between engineering and microbiology, which will hopefully lead to

fruitful interactions between biologists and environmental engineers.

The book is divided into five main sections, which include fundamentals of micro-

biology, elements of public health microbiology, process microbiology, biotransform-

ations and toxic impact of chemicals in wastewater treatment plants, and the public

health aspects of the disposal of wastewater effluents and sludges on land and in the

marine environment. In the process microbiology section, each biological treatment

process is covered from both the process microbiology and public health viewpoints.

This book provides a useful introduction to students in environmental sciences and

environmental engineering programs and a source of information and references to

research workers and engineers in the areas of water and wastewater treatment. It

should serve as a reference book for practicing environmental engineers and scientists

and for public health microbiologists. It is hoped that this information will be a catalyst

for scientists and engineers concerned with the improvement of water and wastewater

treatment and with the quality of our environment.

I am very grateful to all my colleagues and friends who kindly provided me with illus-

trations for this book and who encouraged me to write Wastewater Microbiology. I will

always be indebted to them for their help, moral support, and good wishes. I am indebted

to my graduate students who have contributed to my interest and knowledge in the

xi

microbiology of engineered systems. Special thanks are due to Dr. Ben Koopman for

lending a listening ear to my book project and to Dr. Joseph Delfino for his moral

support. I thank Hoa Dang-Vu Dinh for typing the tables for this book. Her attention to

detail is much appreciated.

Special thanks to my family, Nancy, Julie, and Natalie, for their love, moral support,

and patience, and for putting up with me during the preparation of this book.

GABRIEL BITTON

Gainesville, Florida

xii PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

PREFACE TO THE SECONDEDITION

The second edition of Wastewater Microbiology incorporates the latest findings in a field

covering a wide range of topics.

During the past few years, we have witnessed significant advances in molecular

biology, leading to the development of genetic probes, particularly the ribosomal RNA

(rRNA) oligonucleotide probes, for the identification of wastewater microorganisms.

The road is now open for a better identification of the microbial assemblages in domestic

wastewater and their role in wastewater treatment.

The use of genetic tools has also been expanded as regards the detection of pathogens

and parasites (Chapter 4), and biotechnological applications for wastewater treatment

(Chapter 17). Chapter 4 has been expanded due to the emergence of new pathogens and

parasites in water and wastewater. The topic of drinking water microbiology has been

expanded, and two chapters are now devoted to this subject. Chapter 15 deals with

water treatment and Chapter 16 covers the microbiology of water distribution systems.

New methodology that shows the heterogeneous structure of biofilms and their complex

biodiversity includes nondestructive confocal laser-scanning microscopy in conjunction

with 16S rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes (Chapter 16). The topic of wastewater

and biosolids disposal on land and in receiving waters has also been expanded and is

now covered in two chapters (Chapters 20 and 21).

New figures and tables have been added to further enhance the illustration of the book.

Many old figures and graphs were redrawn to improve the visual aspect of the book.

I am very grateful to the colleagues who reviewed the book proposal for their valuable

suggestions concerning the second edition of Wastewater Microbiology. I am particularly

grateful to my mentor and friend, Professor Ralph Mitchell, of Harvard University. As

editor of the Wiley series in Ecological and Applied Microbiology, he offered me his

full support in the undertaking of this project. I thank Dr. Charles Gerba of the University

of Arizona for his continuous moral support and enthusiasm. I thank Dr. Robert

Harrington, senior editor at Wiley, for enthusiastically endorsing this second edition of

Wastewater Microbiology.

A picture is worth a thousand words. I thank Dr. Christopher Robinson of the Oak

Ridge Institute of Science and Education, and Dr. H.D. Alan Lindquist of the U.S. EPA

for promptly and kindly sending me photomicrographs of Cryptosporidium parvum.

I am grateful to Dr. Rudolf Amann of the Max-Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology,

Bremen, Germany, for allowing me to use his excellent color pictures on the use of rRNA

xiii