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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #404379
Research Project: Smart Optical Sensing of Food Hazards and Elimination of Non-Nitrofurazone Semicarbazide in Poultry

Location: Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit

Title: Microalgae can promote nitrification in poultry-processing wastewater in the presence and absence of antimicrobial agents

Author
item WANG, QICHEN - Auburn University
item CHILDREE, ELIZABETH - Auburn University
item BOX, JUSTIN - Auburn University
item LOPEZ-VELA, MELISSA - Auburn University
item SPRAGUE, DILLON - Auburn University
item CHERONES, JESSA - Auburn University
item HIGGINS, BRENDAN - Auburn University

Submitted to: ACS ES&T Engineering
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/25/2023
Publication Date: 1/25/2023
Citation: Wang, Q., Childree, E., Box, J., Lopez-Vela, M., Sprague, D., Cherones, J., Higgins, B. 2023. Microalgae can promote nitrification in poultry-processing wastewater in the presence and absence of antimicrobial agents. ACS ES&T Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestengg.2c00360.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestengg.2c00360

Interpretive Summary: Antimicrobial chemicals are often used during poultry processing to meet food safety standards. Treating wastewater from poultry processing plants can be challenging due to the presence of antimicrobial agents such as peracetic acid (PAA) and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) in the wastewater which can suppress nitrifying bacteria. Research was conducted to test the effects of adding microalgae, PAA, and CPC on nitrification in poultry processing wastewater. Results from this study suggest that incorporating algae into engineered treatment systems for poultry processing wastewater can improve the function of nitrifying bacteria, enabling potential water reuse in hydroponic plant irrigation.

Technical Abstract: Wastewater from poultry-processing plants can be challenging to treat, partially because of the antimicrobial processing aides such as peracetic acid (PAA) and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) which suppress nitrifying bacteria. The objective of this research was to test the effects of adding microalgae, PAA, and CPC on nitrification in poultry-processing wastewater. Batch experiments were designed to test two different green algae along with PAA or CPC in a set of full-factorial experiments. The presence of C. sorokiniana increased nitrate production up to 2.7-fold compared to cultures without algae, but this effect was only statistically significant in one of the experiments. The measurement of nitrate was confounded by the fact that this alga consumes both nitrite and nitrate. Carrying out the experiment with A. protothecoides (which does not consume nitrite or nitrate) resulted in 4-9-fold higher peak nitrate concentrations compared to cultures without algae (p < 0.005). These improvements were more than enough to overcome the negative suppressive effects of PAA and CPC. The results suggest that incorporation of algae into engineered treatment systems for poultry-processing wastewater could improve the function of nitrifying bacteria, enabling potential water reuse in hydroponic plant irrigation.