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Evaluation of sludge reduction by an environmentally friendly chemical uncoupler in a pilot-scale anaerobic/anoxic/oxic process

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Abstract

An environmentally friendly chemical, tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium sulfate (THPS), was used as a metabolic uncoupler to reduce sludge production in a pilot-scale anaerobic/anoxic/oxic process. The results show that the addition of THPS (1.08–1.86 mL/m3 influent) in the sludge return section could reduce waste activated sludge by about 22.5 %, and decrease the sludge yield by about 14.7 % at the end of a run. At the same time, the addition of THPS slightly lowered the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), soluble COD and NH4 +–N, and slightly improved removal of total nitrogen. The effects of THPS addition on two characteristics of activated sludge in oxic tank are discussed in detail and the results suggest that the settleability of sludge was reduced by addition of THPS, while the specific oxygen uptake rate was increased. Molecular biology analysis shows that the addition of THPS had little effect on the microbial communities of sludge.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully thank the financial support by the Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment (2012ZX07203-001) and the State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry (No. 10Y02ESPCR).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, People’s Republic of China

    Xuesong Guo, Junxin Liu & Benyi Xiao

  2. Rhodia (China) Co. Ltd., Shanghai, 201108, People’s Republic of China

    Jianming Yang

  3. Beijing Drainage Group Research Center, Beijing, 100021, People’s Republic of China

    Yuan Liang

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  1. Xuesong Guo
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  2. Jianming Yang
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  3. Yuan Liang
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  4. Junxin Liu
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  5. Benyi Xiao
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Correspondence to Benyi Xiao.

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Guo, X., Yang, J., Liang, Y. et al. Evaluation of sludge reduction by an environmentally friendly chemical uncoupler in a pilot-scale anaerobic/anoxic/oxic process. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 37, 553–560 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-013-1022-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-013-1022-3

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