Exploratory analysis of the microbial community profile of the municipal solid waste leachate treatment system: A case study

Victor Hugo Jacks Mendes Dos Santos; Pâmela de Medeiros Engelmann; Letícia Marconatto; Luiz Gustavo Dos Anjos Borge; Pâmela de Lara Palhano; Adolpho Herbert Augustin; Luiz Frederico Rodrigues; João Marcelo Medina Ketzer; Adriana Giongo

doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2022.01.014

Exploratory analysis of the microbial community profile of the municipal solid waste leachate treatment system: A case study

Waste Manag. 2022 Mar 15:141:125-135. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2022.01.014. Epub 2022 Feb 1.

Authors

Victor Hugo Jacks Mendes Dos Santos¹, Pâmela de Medeiros Engelmann², Letícia Marconatto³, Luiz Gustavo Dos Anjos Borge³, Pâmela de Lara Palhano³, Adolpho Herbert Augustin³, Luiz Frederico Rodrigues³, João Marcelo Medina Ketzer⁴, Adriana Giongo⁵

Affiliations

¹ Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Institute of Petroleum and Natural Resources, 6681 Ipiranga Avenue, TECNOPUC, Building 96J, 90619-900 Porto Alegre, Brazil; Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Materials Engineering and Technology Graduate Program, 6681 Ipiranga Avenue, Building 32, 90619-900 Porto Alegre, Brazil. Electronic address: victor.santos@pucrs.br.
² Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Institute of Petroleum and Natural Resources, 6681 Ipiranga Avenue, TECNOPUC, Building 96J, 90619-900 Porto Alegre, Brazil; Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Materials Engineering and Technology Graduate Program, 6681 Ipiranga Avenue, Building 32, 90619-900 Porto Alegre, Brazil. Electronic address: pamela.mengelmann@pucrs.br.
³ Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Institute of Petroleum and Natural Resources, 6681 Ipiranga Avenue, TECNOPUC, Building 96J, 90619-900 Porto Alegre, Brazil.
⁴ Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Institute of Petroleum and Natural Resources, 6681 Ipiranga Avenue, TECNOPUC, Building 96J, 90619-900 Porto Alegre, Brazil; Linnaeus University, Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, 391 82 Kalmar, Sweden.
⁵ Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Institute of Petroleum and Natural Resources, 6681 Ipiranga Avenue, TECNOPUC, Building 96J, 90619-900 Porto Alegre, Brazil; Regional University of Blumenau, Environmental Engineering Graduate Program, Blumenau, Brazil. Electronic address: adrianagiongo@gmail.com.

PMID: 35114563
DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2022.01.014

Abstract

Studies on the degradation dynamics of landfill leachate indicate that the microbial community profile is a valuable and sensitive tool for landfill monitoring programs. Although knowledge about the microbial community can improve the efficiency of leachate treatment systems, little is known about the microbial profile changes that occur throughout the leachate attenuation process. In the present work, an exploratory analysis of the microbial community profile of the MSW leachate treatment system in the municipality of Osório (Brazil) was conducted. In this way, a comprehensive analysis of chemical parameters, isotopic signature and microbial profile data were applied to monitor the changes in the structure of the microbial community throughout the leachate attenuation process and to describe the relationship between the microbial community structure and the attenuation of chemical and isotopic parameters. From data analysis, it was possible to assess the microbial community structure and relate it to the attenuation of chemical and isotopic parameters. Based on massive parallel 16S rRNA gene sequencing, it was possible to observe that each leachate treatment unit has a specific microbial consortium, reflecting the adaptation of different microorganisms to changes in leachate characteristics throughout treatment. From our results, we concluded that the structure of the microbial community is sensitive to the leachate composition and can be applied to study the municipal solid waste management system.

Keywords: Amplicon sequencing; Isotope analysis; Landfill leachate; Multivariate analysis; Municipal solid waste.