Enhanced biological wastewater treatment using sodium alginate-immobilized microorganisms in a fluidized bed reactor

摘要

In this study,a microbial consortium isolated from an activated sludge tank of a conventional wastewater treatment plant was immobilized using sodium alginate(SA)as a support material for contaminant biodegradation in wastewater.A volume of 500 mL of activated sludge was immobilized in the SA beads(with a mass concentration of 25 g/L).The resulting SA beads were characterized,introduced into a fluidized bed reactor,fed with 1000 mL of the sample,and characterized again after the treatment process.The SA-immobilized microorganisms were tested first for degradation of organic matter(expressed as chemical oxygen demand)and total phosphorous in domestic wastewater,achieving removal efficiencies of 71%and 93%,respectively,after 12 h.Subsequently,the SA-immobilized microorganisms were tested for degradation of a basic blue 9(BB9)textile dye in a condition that simulated textile wastewater.The efficiency of the BB9 degradation was found to be as high as 99.5%after 2 h.According to these results,SA-immobilized microorganisms were found to be an environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative for treatment of municipal and industrial wastewater effluents.