Performance and mechanisms of a microbial-earthworm ecofilter for removing organic matter and nitrogen from synthetic domestic wastewater.

The performance of a microbial-earthworm ecofilter for the treatment of synthetic domestic wastewater is evaluated, and the mechanisms of organic matter and nitrogen transformation investigated. Vermifiltration efficiently reduced chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia nitrogen (NH(3)-N) from the influent. A combination of soil with sawdust possessed higher porosity and specific surface area than other media, and this microporous structure together with wormcast surface greatly facilitated COD reduction at depths from 5 to 35 cm. Nitrogen variations in wastewater were influenced by soil properties, earthworm activities, and wormcast characteristics. Their interaction with added nitrogen determined soil nitrogen distribution. In addition, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles revealed a highly diverse community of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and Nitrospira in soil layers. There was a positive correlation between the Shannon biodiversity index for AOB and decreasing NH(3)-N concentration, indicating that dominant soil microbes played a major role in removing NH(3)-N and nitrogen conversion. In contrast to previous reports, identification of retrieved sequences of AOB species showed that most belonged to an uncertain AOB genus. This biofiltration system is a low cost, efficient alternative for decontaminating local domestic wastewater.