Phosphorus accumulation by bacteria isolated from a ontinuous-flow two-sludge system

In this article, polyphosphate-accumulating organisms （PAOs） from a lab-scale continuous-flow two-sludge system was isolated and identified, the different phosphorus accumulation characteristics of the isolates under anoxic and aerobic conditions were investigated. Two kinds of PAOs were both found in the anoxic zones of the two-sludge system, one of them utilized only oxygen as electron aeceptor, and the other one utilized either nitrate or oxygen as electron aeceptor. Of the total eight isolates, five isolates were capable of utilizing both nitrate and oxygen as electron acceptors to uptake phosphorus to some extent. And three of the five isolates showed good phosphorus accumulative capacities both under anoxic or aerobic conditions, two identified as Alcaligenes and one identified as Pseudomonas. Streptococcus was observed weak anoxic phosphorus accumulation because of its weak denitrification capacity, but it showed good phosphorus accumulation capacity under aerobic conditions. One isolates identified as Enterobacteriaceae was proved to be a special species of PAOs, which could only uptake small amounts of phosphorus under anoxic conditions, although its denitrification capacity and aerobic phosphorus accumulation capacity were excellent.     

Immobilization of activated sludge using improved polyvinyl alcohol （PVA） gel

The microbial immobilization method using polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)gel as an immobilizing material was improved and used for entrapment of activated sludge.The oxygen uptake rate(OUR)was used to characterize the biological activity of immobilized activated sludge.Three kinds of PVA-immobilized particles of activated sludge,that is,PVA-boric acid beads,PVA-sodium nitrate beads and PVA-orthophosphate beads were prepared,and their biological activity was compared by measuring the OUR value.The bioactivity of both autotrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms of activated sludge was determined using different synthetic wastewater media (containing 250 mg/L COD and 25 mg/L NH_4~ -N).The experimental results showed that the bioactivity and stability of the three kinds of immobilized activated sludge was greatly improved after activation.With respect of the bioactivity and the mechanical stability,the PVA-orthophosphate method may be a promising and economical technique for microbial immobilization.     

Copper biosorption on immobilized seaweed biomass： Column breakthrough characteristics

The biosorption of copper by the brown seaweed Sargassum baccularia,immobilized onto polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)gel beads, was investigated with fixed-bed experiments.Laboratory-scale column tests were performed to determine breakthrough curves with varying flow rates and feed concentrations.A theoretical fixed-bed model,known as the Bohart-Adams equation,was evaluated in simulating the experimental breakthrough curves.The Bohart-Adams model qualitatively predicted the breakthrough trends.PVA- immobilized seaweed biomass beads were amenable to efficient regeneration with aqueous solution containing the chelating agent ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid(EDTA).The biosorbent retained most of its original uptake capacity over three cycles of use.The excellent reusability of the biosorbent could lead to the development of a viable metal remediation technology.