Xiurong Chen

Toxicity formation and distribution in activated sludge during treatment of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) wastewater.

The organic toxicity of sludge in land applications is a critical issue; however, minimal attention has been given to the mechanism of toxicity formation during high-strength wastewater treatment. To investigate the relevant factors that contribute to sludge toxicity, synthetic wastewater with N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) was treated in a sequential aerobic activated sludge reactor. The acute toxicity of sludge, which is characterised by the inhibition rate of luminous bacteria T3, is the focus of this study. Using an operational time of 28 days and a hydraulic retention time of 12h, the study demonstrated a positive relationship between the acute toxicity of sludge and the influent DMF concentration; the toxicity centralised in the intracellular and inner sections of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in sludge flocs. Due to increased concentrations of DMF, which ranged from 40 to 200mgL(-1), the sludge toxicity increased from 25 to 45%. The organic toxicity in sludge flocs was primarily contributed by the biodegradation of DMF rather than adsorption of DMF. Additional investigation revealed a significant correlation between the properties of the bacterial community and sludge toxicity.

Correlation between microbial diversity and toxicity of sludge treating synthetic wastewater containing 4-chlorophenol in sequencing batch reactors

The relationship between microbial diversity and sludge toxicity in the biotreatment of refractory wastewater was investigated. Synthetic wastewater containing 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) was treated by an activated sludge using a sequencing batch bioreactor (SBR). At the end of a single SBR cycle, a stable operation stage was reached when the 4-CP was not detected both in aqueous and sludge phases and the effluent COD was maintained at approximately 70 mg L(-1) for the blank and control sludge groups. Then, the diversity of the microorganisms and the sludge toxicity were measured. The results showed that the Microtox acute toxicity of the control sludge was higher than those of the blank sludge. The difference analysis of the microbial diversity between the blank and control sludge indicated that the sludge toxicity was closely related to microbial diversity.

Inhibitory effect of cyanide on nitrification process and its eliminating method in a suspended activated sludge process

Inhibition of nitrification by four typical pollutants (acrylonitrile, acrylic acid, acetonitrile and cyanide) in acrylonitrile wastewater was investigated. The inhibitory effect of cyanide on nitrification was strongest, with a 50% inhibitory concentration of 0.218 mg·gVSS-1 being observed in a municipal activated sludge system. However, the performance of nitrification was recovered when cyanide was completely degraded. The nitrification, which had been inhibited by 4.17 mg·gVSS-1 of free cyanide for 24 h, was recovered to greater than 95% of that without cyanide after 10 days of recovery. To overcome cyanide inhibition, cyanide-degrading bacteria were cultivated in a batch reactor by increasing the influent cyanide concentration in a stepwise manner, which resulted in an increase in the average cyanide degradation rate from 0.14 to 1.01 mg CN-·gVSS-1·h-1 over 20 days. The cultured cyanide-degrading bacteria were shaped like short rods, and the dominant cyanide-degrading bacteria strain was identified as Pseudomonas fluorescens NCIMB by PCR.

The investigation of different pollutants and operation processes on sludge toxicity in sequencing batch bioreactors

ABSTRACT The influence of different target pollutants and operation modes in sequencing batch bioreactors (SBRs) on sludge toxicity was compared in this study. Sludge toxicity was characterized by the inhibiting luminosity through using luminescent bacterium Photobacterium phosphoreum (P. phosphoreum) during either gradual acclimation or impaction processes with synthetic wastewater containing high-strength bisphenol A (BPA) or N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF). When the activated sludge was first acclimated with either 120 mg/L DMF or 20 mg/L BPA, and then respectively increased to 200 mg/L DMF and 40 mg/L BPA it was defined as gradual acclimation process, whereas when the activated sludge was, respectively, injected with 200 mg/L DMF and 40 mg/L BPA directly it was defined as impaction process. Results showed that the toxicity of the impacted sludge was greater than that of the gradual acclimated sludge, especially in the initial stage before 10 d. Activated sludge treating BPA synthetic wastewater exhibited higher toxicity due to the more inhibition of BPA to sludge activity compared to that of DMF. The proteomics analysis indicated that the stress responses of activated sludge to DMF and BPA stimulation were both significant. In turn, the secretions from two kinds of sludge under stress conditions contributed to sludge toxicity.