title: Hydrolytic enzymes in activated sludge: extraction of protease and lipase by stirring and ultrasonication.
abstract: Hydrolytic enzymes released by the microorganisms in activated sludge are responsible for the organic matter degradation; however, the optimal extraction procedure of this valuable resource has not been well established until now. The present study evaluates the recovery of protease and lipase from the activated sludge by using stirring and ultrasonication, varying different parameters such as extraction time, concentration of additives (Triton X100, Cation Exchange Resin and Tris buffer), stirring velocity, ultrasonic power and sludge source. Sludge was collected from two urban wastewater treatment plants located in Prague (Czech Republic) and Reus (Spain). It was found that stirring using 2% v/v Triton X100 for 1h was enough to extract 57.4 protease units/g VSS, and that the same method using a combination of 10mM Tris pH 7.5+0.48 g/mL CER+0.5% TX100 as an additive allowed to extract 15.5 lipase units/g VSS from sludge collected from Reus Wastewater Treatment Plant. Ultrasonication allowed reducing the extraction time to 10 min for protease (using 2% v/v Triton X100 yielding 52.9 units/g VSS) and to 20 min for lipase (without any additive yielding nearly 21.4 units/g VSS), which makes this method appropriate for the extraction of enzymes from the activated sludge, and suitable to be scaled up for its application in the industry.
authors.affiliation: Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Escola Tècnica Superior d'Enginyeria Química, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Av. Països Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. debora.nabarlatz@urv.cat
authors.forename: Debora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nabarlatz
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vondrysova
authors.forename: Pavel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jenicek
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stüber
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Font
authors.forename: Agustí
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fortuny
authors.forename: Azael
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fabregat
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bengoa
mesh_terms: D006868:Hydrolysis; D008049:Lipase / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000528:radiation effects; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000528:radiation effects; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry*; D013010:Sonication
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D008049:Lipase; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases