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Activated sludge as inoculum for ready biodegradability testing: effect of source.

G Vazquez-Rodriguez¹, G Goma, J L Rols

¹Centro de Investigaciones Químicas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Cd. Universitaria, Carretera Pachuca-Tulancingo Km. 4.5, C.P. 42076, Pachuca Hgo., Mexico.

Environmental Technology

|September 26, 2003

Summary

Reproducibility of ready biodegradability tests (RBT) is poor due to undefined inoculum. This study shows activated sludge from high-load plants offers better biodegradation potential, but homogenization efforts were unsuccessful, highlighting the need for better inoculum standardization.

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Area of Science:

Environmental Science
Microbiology
Chemical Engineering

Background:

Reproducibility of ready biodegradability tests (RBT) is a significant challenge.
Inconsistent results are often attributed to the undefined source and quality of the microbial inoculum.
Activated sludge, commonly used as inoculum, exhibits variability based on operational parameters.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the variability in activated sludges as inoculum sources for RBT.
To compare the characteristics of activated sludges from municipal wastewater treatment plants operating at different massic loading rates (MLR).
To assess the impact of inoculum source and quality on biodegradation test outcomes.

Main Methods:

Activated sludges were collected from municipal wastewater treatment plants with varying MLRs (0.1, 0.5, 0.9 kgBOD5 kgVSS(-1) d(-1)).
Inocula were prepared after sludge settling and analyzed for active/cultivable cell densities, dehydrogenasic activity, BOD5, and hydrolytic enzyme profiles.
Biodegradation kinetics of dodecyl benzene sulfonate were evaluated using these inocula in RBT.

Main Results:

Biomass from the High-MLR treatment plant demonstrated the highest biodegradation potential, characterized by higher microbial densities and enzyme activities.
This high-MLR derived inoculum resulted in the fastest biodegradation kinetics for dodecyl benzene sulfonate in RBT.
Attempts to homogenize inocula based on cultivable cell density and dehydrogenasic activity did not improve results for this specific chemical.

Conclusions:

Activated sludge characteristics, particularly from high-MLR plants, significantly influence biodegradation test results.
Standardizing inoculum quality and quantity is crucial for improving the reproducibility of RBT.
Further research is needed to develop effective methods for inoculum homogenization in biodegradability testing.