Role of Rhodobacter sp. Strain PS9, a Purple Non-Sulfur Photosynthetic Bacterium Isolated from an Anaerobic Swine Waste Lagoon, in Odor Remediation

Abstract

Temporal pigmentation changes resulting from the development of a purple color in anaerobic swine waste lagoons were investigated during a 4-year period. The major purple photosynthetic bacterium responsible for these color changes and the corresponding reductions in odor was isolated from nine photosynthetic lagoons. By using morphological, physiological, and phylogenetic characterization methods we identified the predominant photosynthetic bacterium as a new strain of Rhodobacter, designated Rhodobacter sp. strain PS9. Improved swine production efficiency over the last few decades has resulted in a trend towards concentrated animal feeding operations (15). This trend has also resulted in increased private and government awareness of the potential effects of high-density production facilities on water and air quality associated with manure storage and treatment systems (3,32,43,45,46,52). Swine production facilities generally store manure in earthen, concrete, or steel-lined storage basin, pit, or lagoon systems for up to 14 months prior to land application (14,16). During storage, the effluent becomes anaerobic, and emission of malodorous compounds often becomes a problem. Several treatment systems have been described to control the release of odorous compounds from livestock wastes (26,56). Aeration, addition of chemical oxidants, and methanogenic digestors all reduce odors generated during storage and treatment (1,37). However, the use of these techniques has not received widespread acceptance because of the initial expense, management time, and equipment maintenance required. Other treatments designed to reduce odors from swine production facilities include addition of chemicals, including sodium nitrate and enzymes such as yucca extracts, and addition of mixed microbial populations to storage systems (56). These treatments are expensive and have produced inconsistent results (38).Because of cost and space limitations, anaerobic lagoons are often used for animal waste management systems. These lagoons serve as storage facilities and support anaerobic degradation of complex organic compounds. However, in the absence of oxygen and most other terminal electron acceptors, the incomplete oxidation of the complex organic compounds in livestock waste produces offensive by-products, such as volatile organic compounds (VOC), hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia (21,32,38,45,46,54). The concentration of odorous compounds from anaerobic lagoons can be minimized in many cases with good management practices (56). However, regardless of the management practices used, the concentration of odors from lagoons appears to be dependent on the microflora that develops in the system. For example, it is common practice to seed new anaerobic swine waste lagoons with material from working lagoons to accelerate the development of a stable microflora (56).One microbial event that has been observed by a number of investigators in relation to odors from swine waste storage lagoon systems is the temporal change in the pigmentation of the lagoo...

Complete genome sequence of the metabolically versatile photosynthetic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris

“…Purple photosynthetic bacteria are a major component of microbial populations found in wastewater treatment facilities exposed to sunlight 17,18 . R. palustris thrives in such environments because it metabolizes structurally diverse compounds found as components of degrading plant and animal wastes.…”

Disinfection of swine wastewater using chlorine, ultraviolet light and ozone

“…The lagoon size is 65.5 m (L) Â 58.8 m (W) with the depth ranging from 2.4 to 5.5 m. The aqueous phase of this lagoon turns purple in the warm weather. The purple color indicates the probable presence of photosynthetic purple bacteria that can consume odoriferous compounds such as hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and excess volatile fatty acids (Kobayashi et al, 1983;Do et al, 2003). The non-functional study lagoon (Lagoon B) is the initial stage of a two-stage system without solid separation, recycle and solid removal.…”

“…These lagoons depend on both microbial activity and (Barker and Drigger, 1985;Miner et al, 2000). Factors that can adversely affect microbial activity include organic overloading, temperature and pH fluctuations, salt buildup, ammonia accumulation, and the use of disinfectants and antibiotics (Hilpert et al, 1984;Poels et al, 1984;Hansen et al, 1998;Zahn et al, 2001;Do et al, 2003). Veterinary antibiotics are widely used as additives in food or water at CAFOs to prevent and treat animal disease outbreaks due to their prophylactic and therapeutic qualities as well as to promote animal growth (Carlson and Fangman, 2000).…”

Distribution and Capacity for Utilization of Lower Fatty Acids of Phototrophic Purple Nonsulfur Bacteria in Wastewater Environments

“…Thus, the treatment of wastewater using PNSB, termed the photosynthetic sludge process, has been studied and in particular applied to the purification of highly concentrated organic wastewater 7,15,19,21,22,24,26,30) . PNSB strains have been isolated from various wastewater environments including photosynthetic sludge plants and classified as species of the genera Rhodobacter 7,14,17,41) , Rhodocyclus 14,41) , Rhodocista 48) , Rhodopseudomonas 14,22,41) and Rubrivivax 14,41) .…”