Dynamics of the Morphological Features of Microbial Structures in Engineered Environmental Systems

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2014 will mark the 100th anniversary of the activated sludge process-the dominant technology still applied to biological wastewater treatment. Today, wastewater management issues in Canada and globally include the costs of infrastructure renewal and operations, reducing energy consumption, improving treatment requirements for emerging contaminants, water reuse, energy and resource recovery, and the development and adoption of advanced technologies. Engineers and scientists recognize that new solutions to water management issues will draw upon integration of new tools and advancements in microbiology and biotechnology. **The research proposed employs novel advanced analytical and experimental approaches developed in our laboratory to study the morphological features and physicochemical properties of microbial structures and the communities within. Importantly, the focus is on the dynamic features and changes in structures: as flocs become granules, destabilization of structures including periodic sloughing events in hybrid integrated fixed-film activated sludge systems (IFAS); and the interactions between suspended forms (flocs and granules) and biofilms in the IFAS system. These are relevant not only to understanding fundamental features of these structures but to important design and operating criteria in the application of granular sludge (time to develop granules and their stability) and IFAS reactors (biofilm thickness control and stability). **At a fundamental level the operation of laboratory-scale IFAS reactors permits the opportunity to examine flocs, granules and films in the same reactor operated under well-controlled conditions. Our understanding of the role of extracellular polymeric substances, is improving but incomplete. The roles of proteins, and adhesins in particular, and interactions with polysaccharides in the extracellular polymeric substances of complex microbial communities associated with flocs and films and at microbial interfaces within engineered environmental systems will be explored further. **A key role for the research program is in the development of HQP and the transfer expertise on the application of important new and novel techniques and methods to young trainees and investigators (scientists and engineers) working on environmental problems. Training has been central to the applicant's research program and this will be further enhanced through participation in the NSERC supported CREATE-TWNER (Clean Technologies for Water Refining and Nutrient and Energy Recovery) program.