Online course
2. Microbiology and Metabolism
Microorganisms are central to biological wastewater treatment. This contemporary course covers basic topics of wastewater microbiology by questioning: “what are microorganisms and how do they grow?”. It progresses from descriptions of microbial cells and physiology, metabolic diversity and trophic groups, and niche establishment along environmental gradients, to formulations of stoichiometry, thermodynamics, and kinetics of microbial growth useful for modelling. It further addresses microbial ecology and ecophysiology methods to track microorganisms and functionalities in sludge. The course scope and coverage are expanded with examples and exercises that will enrich your experience in this exciting field. Several videos deal with experimental aspects of modern microbiology and molecular methods applied in wastewater treatment (see also courses 18.5 and 18.6), and with simple mathematical models of microbial interactions in communities. By the end of the course, you will be able to approach microbial processes involved in nutrient removal with confidence.
Course information
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Learning objectives
After completion of the course you should be able to approach microbial processes involved in nutrient removal with confidence, by addressing these questions: what are microorganisms, how do they grow, how can we select for them, how can we model microbial processes, how can we monitor them?
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Syllabus
This course covers the following topics:
- Basics of wastewater microbiology
- Microbial cells and physiology
- Metabolic diversity and trophic groups
- Microbial niches along gradients
- Stoichiometry, thermodynamics, and kinetics of microbial growth
- Illustrations with simple mathematical models
- Microbial ecology and ecophysiology methods
- Integration of microbial knowledge in engineering practice
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Organization
This course consists of video lectures, presentation slides, reading materials, exercises, and assignments with solutions. In principle, each video presentation has its complementary presentation slides. All videos are available for viewing in the section “Video-recorded presentations”. The materials are packaged in three (.zip) files, namely, the “Videos”, the “Presentations”, and the “Documents”. All the files can be downloaded from the section “Download course materials”. Some files may be of considerable size, so you need to ensure that your computer has sufficient bandwidth and capacity for downloading.
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Delivery method
This course is currently designed for a SELF-STUDY mode. It is FREE, and does not include guidance, support, exams, assessment, and certification. It is possible that shortly, the series (or its parts) will be adopted by institutions that may deliver the guided version, including certification. As soon as this is the case, it will be advertised on this website.
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Open Access
The content is available for free unlimited access and use, consistent with Global Sanitation Graduate School’s commitment to ensuring open access to information and knowledge. Please note that the video materials fall under the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), presentations under the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), readers (OA books of IWA Publishing) under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), and other readers under the license specified by the publisher. Although care has been taken to ensure the integrity and quality of these materials and information, no responsibility is assumed by the author(s), Global Sanitation Graduate School, or IHE Delft Institute for Water Education for any damage to property or persons as a result of the use of these materials and/or the information contained herein.
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