title: Three-dimensional excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy and gel-permeating chromatography to characterize extracellular polymeric substances in aerobic granulation.
abstract: Three-dimensional excitation emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy and gel-permeating chromatography (GPC) were employed to characterize the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in aerobic granulation. EPS matrix in this study was stratified into four fractions: (1) supernatant, (2) slime, (3) loosely bound EPS (LB-EPS), and (4) tightly bound EPS (TB-EPS). The results showed that the dissolved organic carbon was mainly distributed in TB-EPS fraction, and increased with increasing the operating time. The supernatant, slime, and LB-EPS fractions exhibited four fluorescence peaks, an autochthonous signature, unimodal MW distribution and lower molecular weight (MW) (3 < log [MW]<5), whereas the TB-EPS fraction only had two peaks, an allochthonous signature, multiple peaks and higher MW (5 < log [MW]<7). It was deemed that the formation of aerobic granules was correlated with the accumulation of proteins in the TB-EPS fraction. EEM spectroscopy and GPC profiles could be used as appropriate and effective methods to characterize the EPS in aerobic granulation from a micro-view level.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Huacheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Pinjing
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Guanzhao
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Liming
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shao
mesh_terms: D000332:Aerobiosis; D002850:Chromatography, Gel / Q000379:methods*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers