The Behavior of Organic Phosphorus Under Non-Point Source Wastewater in the Presence of Phototrophic Periphyton

Abstract

To understand the role of ubiquitous phototrophic periphyton in aquatic ecosystem on the biogeochemical cycling of organic phosphorus, the conversion and removal kinetic characteristics of organic phosphorus (Porg) such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were investigated in the presence of the periphyton cultured in artificial non-point source wastewater. The preliminary results showed that the periphyton was very powerful in converting P org evidenced by the fact that inorganic phosphorus (P inorg ) content in solution increased from about 0.7 to 14.3 mg P L 21 in 48 hours in the presence of 0.6 g L 21 periphyton. This was because the periphyton could produce abundant phosphatases that benefited the conversion of P org to P inrog . Moreover, this conversion process was described more suitable by the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The periphyton was also effective in removing P org , which showed that the P org can be completely removed even when the initial P org concentration was as high as 13 mg P L 21 in 48 hours in the presence of 1.6 g L 21 periphyton. Furthermore, it was found that biosorption dominated the P org removal process and exhibited the characteristics of physical adsorption. However, this biosorption process by the periphyton was significantly influenced by biomass (absorbent dosage) and temperature. This work provides insights into P org biogeochemical circulation of aquatic ecosystem that contained the periphyton or similar microbial aggregates.

Phototrophic periphyton techniques combine phosphorous removal and recovery for sustainable salt-soil zone

“…Our previous study indicated that the periphyton had high adsorptional capability of P (Lu et al, 2014a;Lu et al, 2014b). The structural and compositional characteristics of periphytic assemblages are heterogeneous, it naturally possesses sorption sites for P such as EPS, cell walls, cell membranes, and cytoplasm (Flemming & Leis, 2003).…”

“…These researchers argued that assimilation was the main removal mechanism of P by periphytons. On the other hand, some studies suggested that the adsorption or co-precipitation of P with metal salts (especially with CaCO 3 ) was the main P removal mechanism (Dodds, 2003;Lu et al, 2014a;Lu et al, 2014b;Scinto & Reddy, 2003). To our knowledge, the quantification of P (especially of organic phosphorous, P o ) removal mechanism in the presence of phototrophic periphyton was not well studied.…”

Periphyton: an important regulator in optimizing soil phosphorus bioavailability in paddy fields

“…Studies indicated that periphyton plays important roles in P biogeochemistry in aquatic ecosystems because of its high affinity for P (McCormick et al 2006). The high affinity for P by periphyton is explicable in terms of assimilation (Liu et al 2016a), adsorption (Lu et al 2014a;Lu et al 2014b), co-precipitation (Drake et al 2012), and interception or trapping of P (D'Aiuto et al 2015).…”

“…Additionally, many studies reported that periphyton can release or immobilize extracellular enzymes such as AP that contribute to the transformation of organic P into inorganic P (Ellwood et al 2012;Lu et al 2014b). As a result, it is anticipated that the presence of periphyton in paddy field may assist the conversion of organic P into inorganic P, thereby resulting in an increase in BAP in paddy soil.…”

“…On the one hand, periphyton has a high affinity for P and can remove it effectively from waters through entrapment (Dodds 2003), assimilation (Liu et al 2016a), adsorption (Lu et al 2014a), or co-precipitation (Borovec et al 2010). On the other hand, periphyton can release extracellular enzymes such as alkaline phosphatase (AP) which can transform organic P into inorganic P (Ellwood et al 2012;Lu et al 2014b). However, most researches on periphyton focus on ponds, rivers, streams, and lakes (Larned 2010;Pietro et al 2006).…”