Application of Thermophilic Bacteria for the Treatment of Municipal Wastewaters

Wastewater treatment process that utilizes bacteria and other microorganisms to decompose organic substances is a complex process and not fully understood due to the large variabilities of the treatment conditions. There is a dearth of studies on the role of thermophilic bacteria in the treatment of domestic sewage. Therefore, this study aims to assess the efficiency of thermophilic bacteria in wastewater treatment. Four different strains of thermophilic bacteria were used at two different temperatures, 50 and 55 °C. Authentic sewage samples collected from a local Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) were used for this purpose. Results of the study revealed that better performance of the thermophilic bacteria was observed at 50 °C compared with the performance at 55 °C. At 55 °C, the TOC removal rate reached 90%, whereas it reached 84% at 55 °C. In addition, the removal of nitrogen at 50 °C reached a value of 93%, whereas it reached 74% at 55 °C. Furthermore, the removal rate of phosphorus at 55 °C reached 36%, whereas it reached 69% at 50 °C or approximately twice the removal at 55 °C. The study confirms the efficiency of thermophilic bacteria in treating authentic wastewater prior to discharge to the environment.