The wastewater from a Shochu liquor distillery contains high-strength organic compounds, especially ultra-high-strength suspended solids(SS). We investigated the treatment of the Shochu liquor wastewater using a pilot-scale membrane bioreactor system(MBS) for 190 days. The wastewater was fed to MBS at a concentration of 13,000 mg/l in SS and 40,000 mg/l in COD. It was proved that this system has a high performance in SS decomposition and organic compound elimination. The effluent BOD was less than 100 mg/l and the COD was less than 600 mg/l. The COD removal was more than 98 % at the COD loading rate of 7 kg/m3/d. More than 0.28 m3 of methane was obtained from 1 kg-COD. The VSS decomposition ratio calculated from a VSS balance was 85% and the VSS conversion ratio of feed COD was 0.057 kg-VSS/kg-COD. The withdrawal rate exerted the significant influence on the performance of the MBS.

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The phylogenetic and physiological characteristics of mesophilic and thermophilic bacteria isolated from a field-scale sewage sludge composter were determined by 16S rDNA and phenotype analyses. Of the 34 mesophilic isolates, 5 (15%), 16 (47%), and 3 (9%) displayed amylase, protease, and lipase activities, respectively. Among these isolates, the following species were identified based on their 16S rRNA gene sequences: Aneurinibacillus aneurinilyticus, Bacillus fortis, Bacillus subtilis, Brachybacterium paraconglomeratum, Brevibacterium otitidis, Dietzia maris, Pseudomonas xiamenensis, Staphylococcus lentus, Thermobifida fusca, Ureibacillus thermosphaericus, and Vagococcus lutrae. However, 15 isolates could not be identified as known taxa, thus indicating new bacterial taxa. Of these new taxa, it is likely that NoID A plays an important role in organic matter decomposition during composting based on its physiological characteristics. Sapporo sewage sludge compost contains a microbial ecosystem with novel bacterial biodiversity, comprising a high percentage of previously unrecognized species. This study improves our knowledge of the unique bacteria in sewage sludge compost, providing a future resource for bacterial genetic information and bacterial species of agricultural benefit.

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