Abstract
Introduction. Heavy metals discharged with wastewater can lead to a toxic effect on the microbiocenosis of activated sludge and significantly decrease the degree of wastewater treatment, which dictates the need for a more detailed study and search for ways to detoxify activated sludge at the recycling stage and, at the same time, solve the problems of the neutralization of sewage sludge for safe soil disposal. To ensure the adequacy of the approach to the choice of the methodology for the neutralization of sludge, including sewage sludge, it is necessary to perform compositional analysis of their organic fractions and heavy metal compositions. Methods. To determine the quantitative content of organic components in activated sludge, a sample of sludge was dried to an air-dry state and then subjected to separation into fractions using a method based on the different solubility of compounds with the use of different solvents. Then, extractants were added step by step to the weighted samples of sewage sludge weighing about 2 g each (in a volume 20 times greater than the weight of the weighted sample (40 ml)). Results. The results of the study show that polysaccharides are the dominant form of the organic fraction (polymers) in sewage sludge. Most heavy metals were identified in acidic polysaccharides, humic-like acids and lipids. Significant concentrations of phosphates were observed for the same components of polymer substances in the biomass of activated sludges. Conclusion. The products of extraction of polymer substances of the activated sludge biomass and the content of heavy metals in them may indicate the biosorption of heavy metals by zoogleal accumulations (having a polysaccharide structure) of activated sludges in aeration tanks during biological treatment. Therefore, extracellular biopolymers can be a “target” in the development of targeted technologies for the neutralization of activated sludges.
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