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Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and surface properties of activated sludges: effect of organic carbon sources

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Abstract

The study aims to clarify how the type of organic substrate in a wastewater affects the production and composition of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and hydrophobicity and surface charge of activated sludges. For this purpose, three activated sludge reactors were operated in parallel with feeds composed of the organics (i) peptone, glucose, and acetate and (ii) peptone and (iii) glucose. EPS extracted from sludges were fractionated into very loosely bound, loosely bound, and tightly bound fractions and analyzed for protein and polysaccharide. Also, molecular weight distribution of proteins was determined by using high-pressure size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC). Regardless of the type of organic substrate, in each sludge, tightly bound EPS (TB-EPS) prevailed. The type of organic substrate affected the relative proportion of protein and polysaccharide and had an impact on hydrophobicity and surface charge. The sludge fed with peptone was distinctly more hydrophobic and had a lower negative surface charge than others. HPSEC fingerprints revealed that the variety and size of proteins were dependent on the type of feed. HPSEC also pointed to a shift of high molecular weight (MW) proteins from TB-EPS to others. In addition, results of a parallel study examining the inhibitory effect of Ag+ on three sludges were interpreted along with feed composition, EPS, and surface measurements. The response of each sludge to toxic Ag+ ion seemed to change with the type of feed.

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Acknowledgments

The support of this study by TUBITAK (Project No: 111Y018) and B.U.BAP (Project No: 14Y00D1 and 09Y101P) is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Sciences, Bogazici University, 34342, Bebek, Istanbul, Turkey

    Ayse Gul Geyik, Başak Kılıç & Ferhan Çeçen

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  1. Ayse Gul Geyik
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  2. Başak Kılıç
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  3. Ferhan Çeçen
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Correspondence to Ayse Gul Geyik.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Fig. S1

Typical HPSEC fingerprints of TB-EPS. (A) CR sludge (B) RG sludge (C) RP sludge. (PNG 126 kb)

Fig. S2

Relationship between protein/polysaccharide (carbohydrate) (P/C) ratio and surface hydrophobicity of activated sludges. (GIF 69 kb)

High resolution image (TIFF 18.4 kb)

Fig. S3

Relationship between protein- and polysaccharide-EPS and surface charges of activated sludges. (GIF 80 kb)

High resolution image (TIFF 28 kb)

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Geyik, A.G., Kılıç, B. & Çeçen, F. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and surface properties of activated sludges: effect of organic carbon sources. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 1653–1663 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5347-0

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