Application of molecular technique (FISH) to detect the occurrence of pathogenic indicator in wastewater treatment systems | |
| Author | Dongol, Robert |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-07-42 |
| Subject(s) | Refuse and refuse disposal Fluorescence in situ hybridization Sewage--Purification--Activated sludge process |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Engineering and Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of applying a molecular technology such as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to detect some pathogenic indicator in wastewater treatment plant. Wastewater samples were collected from an activated sludge plant and waste stabilization ponds treating domestic wastewater and analyzed for E. coli densities using FISH and membrane filtration (MF) techniques. Based on the six months study, it was found that these two techniques gave the same trend of E. coli densities, but had low correlation coefficients. More investigation on the use of FISH technology to enumerate E. coli at other activated sludge and waste stabilization ponds is recommended to test its feasibility. The cost of E. coli analysis by FISH was estimated to be US$ 4.8 (163.78 Baht) per sample excluding the instrument costs, while that of MF was US$ 2.42 (82.53 Baht) per sample. FISH technique was found to be cheaper than MF if there are more than 8 samples to be analyzed at a time. FISH analysis requires more intensive working hours while MF requires less working hours of 2 hours and long waiting hours. The effects of operating engineering parameters such as HRT, depth and organic loading rate were found to have effects on bacterial die-offs. The longer the HRT, the more dieoffs of pathogens was found. Depth is another parameter, sunlight can penetrate effectively to all the zones of shallower ponds and can effect effectively. Similarly, higher bacterial die-offs were also found at lower organic loading rates. FISH detected higher order of number than MF because FISH counts both live and dead cells whereas MF count only live and clumped cells in which one clump is counted as one colony |
| Year | 2007 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering and Management (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Chongrak Polprasert |
| Examination Committee(s) | Annachhatre, Ajit P.;Shipin, Oleg. |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | AIT Fellowship |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2007 |