To determine whether these mechanisms occur across units during continuous operation of the EcoRecover process, biomass samples were collected from the mix tank effluent and PBR effluent across the full focus period. In the full-scale system, higher biomass C:N ratios (and carbohydrate:protein ratios) were consistently observed in the PBR effluent than the mix tank effluent during periods of good performance (Figures ; Figure ). The observation of higher C:N ratios in biomass leaving the PBRs relative to the biomass leaving the mix tank further underscores the importance of stored carbohydrates in nutrient recovery and the balancing of cell growth across unit operations. To benchmark the observed carbohydrate consumption across batch and continuous operations, the mobilized carbohydrates were normalized to the quantity of phosphorus recovered from the system. The microbial communities consumed between 37 and 76 mg-carbohydrate•mg-P -1 in the mix tank batch experiment (after 60 to 120 minutes) and an average of 33 mg-carbohydrate•mg-P -1 (median of 42 mg-carbohydrate•mg-P -1 ; n = 25) during continuous operation across the full focus period (Figure ). These ratios are similar to past values reported in the literature for bench-scale phosphorus-limited experiments with Scenedesmus obliquus and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (46 +/-9 mg-carbohydrate•mg-P -1 ), and less than the theoretical ratio derived from lumped pathway metabolic modeling (90 to 163 mg- carbohydrate•mg-P -1 ; Figure ). One potential explanation for lower carbohydrate consumption (relative to theoretical values) is the storage of polyphosphate, which would coincide with phosphorus uptake but would not have the same energy, reducing power, and carbon requirements as cell growth processes (including the synthesis of functional biomass precursors ). Altogether, results from the bench-scale experiments and full-scale monitoring confirmed that (i) phosphorus removal occurs in dark, nutrient-rich conditions (i.e., the mix tank) and is facilitated by the consumption of stored carbohydrates and oxygen, (ii) photosynthesis in the PBRs supports the uptake of residual phosphorus, the accumulation carbohydrates in cell biomass, and the production of oxygen, and (iii) phosphorus uptake and growth may be (at least) partially decoupled (e.g., via luxury uptake of phosphorus). and Section S8 (Full-scale biomass composition trends).