Characterization of the dissolved organic matter in sewage effluent of sequence batch reactor: the impact of carbon source

Abstract

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) transformation in sequence batch reactor (SBR) fed with carbon sources of different biodegradability was investigated. During the biologic degradation process, the low molecular weight (MW) fraction ( 1 kDa as well as the hydrophobic fraction in DOM gradually increased with the carbon sources changing from sodium acetate to glucose and starch. The DOC fractionation and the EEM all demonstrated that EfOM from the effluent of the SBR fed with starch contained more fulvic acid-like substances comparing with the SBR fed with sodium acetate and glucose.