Monthly variation of activated sludge extracellular polymeric substances and their correlation with the removal of anthropogenic micropollutants

摘要

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are produced during biological nutrient removal inrnwastewater treatment processes (WWTPs). EPS may have a seasonal variation, howeverrnthere are only few studies available on their dynamics with temperature. Moreover, recentrnstudies have shown that EPS may play a role in the removal of emerging contaminants ofrnconcern (ECCs) in wastewater, and this may be attributed to the organic nature of ECCs.rnAdditionally, the tightly-bound and the loosely-bound EPS fractions may interact differentlyrnwith ECCs since their composition and transport properties are different. The objective ofrnthis study is to monitor EPS and test their correlation with the removal of selected ECCs inrntwo activated sludge WWTPs. Our results show an EPS seasonal trend and that EPSrnproduction is positively correlated with temperature. Some ECCs adsorbed to the activatedrnsludge have significant correlation with EPS components, suggesting a preferential ECCrntransport to sludge digestion.