Working Paper 2000-4 for Internal Circulation Only

Resin acids are the major toxicants in pulp and paper mill effluents (PPMEs), and they form pitch interfering with papermaking. Efficient and reliable resin acid removal is critically important to prevent toxicity discharge and ensure runability of paper machines. Two resin aciddegrading bacteria, Pseudomonas abietaniphila BKME-9 and Zoogloea resiniphila DhA-35, were tested in laboratory sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) for their ability to enhance resin acid removal by biomass from a full-scale biotreatment system treating PPMEs. Both bacteria enhanced resin acid removal but not removal of total organic carbon (TOC) by either pHshocked or starved activated sludge. These two bacteria also increased resin acid removal when the sludge was given high concentration (200 μM) of resin acid. A most-probable-number polymerase chain reaction (MPN-PCR) assay showed that these two bacteria were initially not detectable (detection limit: 10 bacterial cells/ml) in the sludge community and were persistent after inoculation. Both bacteria did not substantially change the indigenous microbial community composition, as assayed by ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (RISA). Our results suggest that it is feasible and potentially useful to enhance resin acid removal by bioaugmentation using special resin acid-degrading bacteria such as BKME-9 and DhA-35.