Metagenomic Analysis of Biofloc Produced from Furfural Residue Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

Biofloc technology (BFT) is an environmentally-friendly and recyclable technology. This technology is widely used in the aquaculture industry and has vast prospects due to its ability to convert pollutants in aquaculture tail water into microbial protein feed. BFT was derived from the activated sludge method but in past studies it only had a role in aquaculture waste. In this study, we used metagenomic technology to study the microbial structure of bioflocs (BF) produced from furfural residue wastewater. The microbial structure is one of the most important parts of BF applications and must be distinguished from activated sludge. Metagenomic analysis is suitable to show us the essence of BF. Bacillota (27%), Pseudomonadota (18%), Mucoromycota (20%), and Ascomycota (15%) are the dominant microbes in BF, which are different from the microbiological compositions in CK group (Pseudomonadota accounts for 81% of total microorganisms). The heatmap shows a significant difference in BF and CK. The relative abundance of ARGs (Antibiotics resistance genes) in BF is also lower than CK, decreasing by 62.13%. This research shows that the BF produced by furfural residue wastewater contains the properties of BF from aquaculture. This result provides a theoretical basis for promoting BFT in organic wastewater from all fields in the future.