Advancing biological phosphorus removal from wastewater using applied genomics

Wastewater can be damaging to the environment if left untreated. Microorganisms play important roles in removing harmful pollutants, such as organics and nutrients, within wastewater treatment plants. For instance, certain wastewater bioreactor designs promote the growth of specialized microbes that sequester phosphorus into their cells, which prevents harmful algal blooms in natural waters and enables sustainable nutrient recovery as fertilizer. Yet, we currently understand little about the types of microorganisms within these treatment processes, and what types of metabolisms they are performing. Such information is direly needed to develop engineering solutions that recover resources from waste and improve environmental water quality. This research will employ new genomics-based techniques to study the microorganisms that are active within a novel wastewater treatment process that AECOM is developing in partnership with the City of Penticton (British Columbia). TO BE CONT’D

Faculty Supervisor:

Ryan Ziels

Student:

Pranav Sampara

Partner:

AECOM

Discipline:

Engineering - civil

Sector:

University:

University of British Columbia

Program: