Phage therapy for improving sludge quality: towards healthier and more energy-efficient water treatment

Companies are required by law to treat the wastewater they produce before discharge. Many companies are responsible for treating and processing their wastewater themselves. The most common type of wastewater treatment is aerobic treatment in which sludge is produced. In many cases, this sludge is disposed of to a sludge processing plant. The better the sludge dewatering, the more treated water is produced and the more efficient the treatment is, requiring less energy for subsequent sludge processing.
Sludge sedimentation is negatively affected by a common problem, namely filamentous bacteria. A commonly used solution is to treat the sludge with chemicals. However, this method has a high cost and a negative environmental impact. In addition, the PWO project Enzubel (2016-2019) showed that filamentous bacteria lead to poor oxygen transfer in aerobic basins, resulting in aeration requiring up to 57% additional energy.
In this project, we aim to select suitable phages or phage cocktails that specifically destroy filamentous bacteria as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative. The aim is to develop a phage treatment for improving sludge quality with a positive impact on the energy consumption of water treatment.