Resource Recovery from Wastewater By Directing Microbial Metabolism Toward Production of Value-added Biochemicals

Transitioning wastewater treatment from mere pollutant removal to resource recovery necessitates exploiting the metabolic capabilities of microbial communities. Studies suggest that under low-oxygen conditions, microbes activate oxygen-responsive regulons that suppress the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, diverting carbon flux towards biosynthetic pathways and accumulating valuable organic metabolites. We hypothesized that dynamically altering dissolved oxygen levels in activated sludge would disrupt aerobic metabolic equilibrium, enhancing the production of valuable biochemicals like amino acids and fatty acids. To test this, batch experiments were conducted with activated sludge under constant aeration and rapid cycling between oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor states. Fluctuating oxygen concentrations between 0 and 2 mg/L significantly increased valuable biochemical production compared to constant aeration (P View larger version (23K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@181590corg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@fd51c3org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@102ddd1org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@130dc73_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG