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The influence of SBR parameters on the sludge toxicity of synthetic wastewater containing bisphenol A

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Abstract

Synthetic wastewater with bisphenol A (BPA) concentrations of 7.5, 20, and 40 mg/L was treated with activated sludge sequential batch reactors (SBRs). The sludge acute toxicity indicated by the inhibitory ratio to luminous bacteria T3 was evaluated. The influent COD was controlled at approximately 300 mg/L, and aerobic conditions were maintained in the SBR. It was found that the process of BPA biodegradation, as opposed to BPA adsorption, contributed to the formation of sludge toxicity; there was a positive relationship between sludge toxicity and influent BPA concentration, and the toxicity centralized in intracellular regions and the intersection of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in sludge flocs. Since the BPA biodegradation process dedicated to sludge toxicity, the influence of key operational parameters such as sludge retention time (SRT) and hydraulic retention time (HRT) on sludge toxicity were investigated. It was founded that sludge toxicity decreased significantly when SRT and HRT were shortened from 20 to 10 days and 12 to 8 h, respectively. The results of Pearson correlation analysis indicated that the Shannon index H of the bacterial community correlated significantly to sludge toxicity. The results from both similarity analysis and UPGMA indicated that influent quality characteristic contributes much more to bacterial community than operation parameters, and then leads to difference between blank and control sludge toxicity.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51008124, 51378207), the Natural Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (No. 51125032), and the Shanghai Pujiang Program (No. 13PJD009) in China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, People’s Republic of China

    Xiurong Chen, Jianguo Zhao, Jun Zhao, Na Yang, Fei Zhang & Zijian Jiang

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  1. Xiurong Chen
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  2. Jianguo Zhao
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  3. Jun Zhao
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  4. Na Yang
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  5. Fei Zhang
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  6. Zijian Jiang
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Correspondence to Xiurong Chen.

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Responsible editor: Ester Heath

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Chen, X., Zhao, J., Zhao, J. et al. The influence of SBR parameters on the sludge toxicity of synthetic wastewater containing bisphenol A. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 9287–9296 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2837-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2837-4

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