Bacteriophages and their role in biological wastewater treatment: a review

Abstract:

Biological wastewater treatment is a process conventionally used to achieve wastewater purification and resource recovery through the degradation of pollutants by microbial flora. Bacteriophages, which are known to infect bacteria, are widely distributed viruses found in biological wastewater treatment systems. They can specifically control the microbial flora in wastewater, thereby regulating sludge characteristics and affecting wastewater treatment performance. Therefore, it is vital to study the distribution of bacteriophages and explore the significance of their activity in biological wastewater treatment systems. This review summarized the distribution of bacteriophages in different biological wastewater treatment processes and preliminarily analyzed methods of isolation, cultivation, and identification of bacteriophages, along with the advantages and disadvantages of these methods. This review also explored the following functions of bacteriophages:(1) regulating microbial community structure and affecting wastewater treatment, (2) being used as an indicator organism for environmental monitoring, (3) controlling pathogenic bacteria, sludge bulking, sludge foaming, and membrane fouling, and (4) reducing sludge production. Additionally, this review expounded the associated influencing factors, including temperature, pH, multiplicity of infection, and charged particles. Furthermore, this review discussed potential problems that may be encountered during the practical biological wastewater treatment process, along with corresponding solutions. Finally, this review proposed the prospective development of the use of bacteriophages in the biological wastewater treatment process and aimed to provide a reference for the development and application of biological wastewater treatment systems, in order to promote the healthy development of wastewater treatment.