Abstract
Abstract Activated sludge method dominates among the currently used biological wastewater treatment systems. The dynamic development of this technology implies need for research, most of which are carried out in laboratory conditions. Biolog system seems to be an effective tool that allows a quick assessment of microbial activity of activated sludge. The aim of this study was to verify Biolog® EcoPlates’ usage for comparing the functional and metabolic diversity of activated and excess sludge microbial communities, collected from WWTP “Klimzowiec” in Chorzów with the excess sludge subjected to the purification process, and then long-term adaptation in laboratory conditions. Changes in the functional diversity of activated sludge during the adaptation in the lab-scale were verified. It was found that the acclimatization process plays a crucial role in sludge adaptation to the laboratory environment. In addition, it has been shown that subjecting the excess sludge to purification may lead to changes in functional diversity of this community.
Highlights
Intensive industrialization and fast urbanization affect the variable quantitative and qualitative composition of wastewater introduced into the sewage treatment plants, wherefore the wastewater treatment constantly undergoes numerous modifications
The functionally stable and efficient operation of Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTPs) relies upon the abundance and activity of microbial populations included in the activated sludge assemblages
As the most studies on activated sludge are performed in laboratory conditions, the adaptation of inoculation sludge seems to be a crucial process to avoid mistakes in the experimental results caused by acclimatization phenomena [19]
Summary
Intensive industrialization and fast urbanization affect the variable quantitative and qualitative composition of wastewater introduced into the sewage treatment plants, wherefore the wastewater treatment constantly undergoes numerous modifications. Application of the systems based on intensification of the naturally occurring organic compounds biomineralization processes in Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTPs) is an economic and ecological acceptable solution, but most of all the removal of more than 90% wastewater organic substances takes place [1] Nowadays, for both large and small WWTPs, the Activated Sludge Process (ASP) allows very effective treatment of industrial and municipal sewage, representing the most commonly used technology for biological wastewater treatment. Found out for heterotrophic microbial communities metabolic activity in Biolog system is based on the premise that microorganisms vary in pattern and rate at which they utilize natural carbon sources [11,12] This method may have an application for monitoring and assessment of activated sludge condition and for prediction in advance the effects of negative factors in WWTPs such as discharge of highly-loaded wastewaters, low oxygen concentration or even environmental disasters. The research was aimed to determine the effect of excess sludge purification process on its functional diversity
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