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Extraction of Structural Extracellular Polymeric Substances from Aerobic Granular Sludge
Published on: September 26, 2016
Influence of operating conditions on extracellular polymeric substances and surface properties of sludge flocs
Hongwu Wang1, Huanhuan Deng, Luming Ma
1The State Engineering Research Center for Municipal Pollution Control under the College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 200092 Shanghai, PR China. wanghongwu@mail.tongji.edu.cn
Abstract:
Extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) originating from the metabolism or lysis of microorganisms play important roles in biological wastewater treatment. It is necessary to understand the correlation between EPSs and the reactor operation and sludge-retention time (SRT) of the activated-sludge process to gain efficient operational strategies. Laboratory-scale completely mixed activated-sludge processes were used to grow the activated sludge with starch or glucose. Two modes of reactor operation, the S-mode and B-mode, were investigated. The results showed that polysaccharides and proteins were the main constituents in the EPSs. The percentage of polysaccharides (PSs) and proteins (PNs) in the loosely bound EPSs (LB-EPSs) and tightly bound EPSs (TB-EPSs) were 18-90% and 18-85%, respectively. The LB-EPS content was related to the operation modes and SRT. The LB-EPS contents in B-mode were triple that of S-mode, and the LB-EPS yield of sludge decreased at an increased SRT. The polysaccharides and proteins in the LB- and TB-EPSs were both dependent on the operation modes and SRT.
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