EBSMicroGalleryeBook

eBookMicroGalleryCopyright©2018EBS–WastewaterTrainingandConsulting.AllRightsReservedContentsEBSMicroGalleryeBook2346910111213141516171819IntroductionAlgaeAmoebaFilamentousBacteriaFlagellatesFree-SwimmingCiliatesWormsPurpleSulfurBacteriaRotifersStalkedCiliatesSuctoriansGastrotrichsCrawlingCiliatesAdditionalInformation3EBSMicroGalleryeBookIntroductionThemicroscopeisanextremelyimportanttoolwhenitcomestoassessingyourwastewatertreatmentsystem.Thereisawealthofinformationtobediscoveredbyexaminingthemicroorganismspresent.Amicroscopicexaminationcanprovidevaluableinformationaboutyoursystem,bothgoodandbad,butonlyifyouknowwhatyouarelookingat.InthisMicroGallery,youwillfindpicturesandgeneralinformationonsomeofthemorecommontypesofhigherlifeforms,algae,andfilamentousbacteria.Bydeepeningyourunderstandingofwastewatermicrobiology,youwillbeinabetterpositiontoassessthehealthofyourwastewatertreatmentsystem.4EBSMicroGalleryeBookAlgaeareeasilyrecognizableduetotheirdistinctivecolor.Moderatelevelsofalgae,particularlyinstagnant,non-aeratedorquiescentzonesarequitecommon,andmaynotposeanissueifpresentinsmallamounts.Aslevelsincreasehowever,algaecanposesignificantoperationalchallenges,mainlyatthedischarge.AnoverabundanceofalgaecanleadtoelevatedTSSandBODlevelsatyourfinaleffluent,leadingtopermitviolationsaswellasadecreaseinreceivingwaterquality.Inadditiontocreatingproblemswitheffluentquality,thepresenceofalgaecanbeindicativeofexcessnitrogenand/orphosphorus.AlgaeChapter1400x1000x400x400x100x1000x5EBSMicroGalleryeBookFilamentousBacteriaChapter2400x400x400x1000x1000xFilamentsarelongstrandsofbacteriagrowingendtoend,andarecommoninActivatedSludgesystems.Filamentscomeinallshapesandsizes,andtheshapeoftheindividualcellsisusuallyindicativeofthetype.Themostcommonlyusedratingscaleforfilamentabundanceis0-6,withzerobeingnonepresentand6beingexcessive.Itisimportanttoknowwhat“normal”isforyoursystem,andevaluatechangesfromthatreferencepoint.Someplantsroutinelyoperateatalevelof6withnosignificantproblems,whileotherfacilitiesmayexperienceproblemsatalevelof4.6EBSMicroGalleryeBookFilamentousbacteriacanexistinwastewatertreatmentsystemsforanumberofreasons,buttherearesomecommonlyacceptedcauses.Septicity,nutrientdeficiencies,abundanceofsimplefoodsourcessuchassugars,lowdissolvedoxygencontent,oranimbalanceinthefoodtomassratioareafewexamplesofthemostcommonlyidentifiedcauses.Byunderstandingwhatspecificfilamentsarepresentinyourwastewater,andwhatthecommonlyassociatedconditionswiththatfilamenttypeare,youcanbegintotakestepstowardsprocessimprovement.FilamentousBacteriaChapter21000x400x400x400x7EBSMicroGalleryeBookOncethecauseisdetermined,theplantcanmakethenecessarychangestothesystemtocontrolthegrowthrateofthattypeoffilament.Onceafilamentousbulkingeventhasbeenidentified,itmaybepossibletocontrolthefilamentstemporarilybyusingremedialmethodslikechlorinationortheadditionofhydrogenperoxide.FilamentousBacteriaChapter2Filamentousbacteriaarenotallbad.Forexample,theyareexcellentBODdegraders.Theyalsoprovideabackboneforotherflocformingbacteriatogrowon,helpingtoformstrongerflocwhichimprovessettleability.Asfilamentlevelsbegintorise,however,floctendstobecomemorediffusewhichleadstodecreasedsettleability.Thisiswhenissuestendtoarisewithsecondaryclarifierperformance.Itmayeventuallybecomenecessarytoreducetheabundanceoffilamentsthroughtheuseofchlorineiflevelsbecometooexcessive.Whilethismaylowerlevelstemporarily,itisashort-termsolution.Amoresuccessfullong-termsolutionistotrytoidentifyandminimizetheconditionsthatleadtotheirgrowth.Thismaynotonlyhelptoreducelevelsnow,butalsopreventfutureproliferation.400x400x1000x100x8EBSMicroGalleryeBookAmoebaareuniqueinthattheyhavenodistinctshape.Amoebamovebytheuseoffoot-likeprotrusionscalledpseudopodia(falsefeet).Bare,ornaked,amoebaarecommonlyfoundduringstartupsorinheavilyloadedWWTPs.Testate,orshelled,amoebawillusuallyindicateastable,lightlyloadedwastewatersystem.Theycanoftenbedistinguishedbytheir“pineapple”appearance.AmoebaChapter3Amoebaemovebytheuseoffoot-likeprotrusionscalledpseudopodia(falsefeet).Apseudopodiaispushedoutandthemaincellmassmovesbyflowingintotheextendedportion.Theyaresometimeshardertodetectbecausetheyusuallymoveextremelyslowly.1000x400x400x400x400x9EBSMicroGalleryeBookFlagellatesarethesmallestandsimplesttypeofhigherlifeformroutinelyencountered.Theycanhaveanywherefromonetofourflagella,whicharehair-likeprojectionstheyusetocreateawhip-likemovement.Flagellatesfeedonsolubleorganicmatteranddispersedbacteria,andthusarethepredominantlifeformfoundinheavilyloadedplantsorduringstartups.TheirpresenceinwastewatertreatmentsystemstypicallyindicateshighBODlevelsand/orlowdissolvedoxygenlevels.Flagellatesarelesssusceptibletotoxicconditionsthanmoreadvancedhigherlifeforms,andaregenerallythefirsttocomebackafterasystemupset.Thepresenceorabsenceofflagellatescanindicatewhetherconditionswithinasystemareimprovingorgettingworse.FlagellatesChapter4Someflagellatescontainchlorophyllandarecapableofphotosynthesis.Duetotheparticularcharacteristicofresemblingplants,theyareoftenclas