title: Microbiology of a biological contactor for winery wastewater treatment.
abstract: 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. This suggested that the naturally occurring microorganisms were able to form a stable biofilm and also reduce the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of winery wastewater (on average 43% with a retention time of 1h). One of the yeast isolates, MEA 5, was able to reduce the COD of synthetic wastewater by 95% and 46% within 24h under aerated and non-aerated conditions, respectively. The yeast isolates could therefore play an important role in the degradation of organic compounds under aerobic conditions, such as those associated with an RBC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, 7602 Matieland, South Africa.
authors.forename: Lida
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Malandra
authors.forename: Gideon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wolfaardt
authors.forename: Ancha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zietsman
authors.forename: Marinda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Viljoen-Bloom
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria; D018441:Biofilms; D019149:Bioreactors; D007220:Industrial Waste; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000378:metabolism; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012621:Seasons; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D014920:Wine; D015003:Yeasts
chemical_list: D007220:Industrial Waste; D009930:Organic Chemicals