title: Effects of Cu2+ on morphological structure, functional groups, and elemental composition of aerobic granular sludge.
abstract: Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) is shaped by the self-immobilization of microorganisms. In this study, AGS was cultivated successively in a column sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with glucose and sodium acetate as the carbon sources. The shock-loading effects of varying the Cu2+ concentration (0.0, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0, or 10.0 mg/L) on the characteristics of aerobic granules were studied. The results show that Cu2+ has a toxic effect on the aerobic granules. Although the aerobic granules became increasingly loose as the Cu2+ concentration increased from 1.0 to 5.0 mg/L, their structural integrity was largely maintained. However, the aerobic granules disintegrated and their skeletons consisting of internal filamentous bacteria were exposed at the Cu2+ concentration of 10.0mg/L. The functional groups -NH2, -OH, -COOH, and C-N reacted with Cu2+. Ca, Fe, and P were the major trace elements observed in the AGS. With an increase in the Cu2+ concentration from 0.0 to 10.0 mg/L, the weight percentages of the essential elements Fe, Ca, Na, and K in the granules decreased from 23.98%, 24.64%, 3.86%, and 3.87% to 14.90%, 13.93%, 0%, and 0%, respectively, whereas the weight percentage of copper increased correspondingly from 0% to 35.43%. Cu2+ was exchanged with the essential metals and chelated by the nitrogen-containing functional groups (-NH2 or C-N) of the protein. These effects influenced the structural stability of the sludge.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lakes, Environment College, Hohai University, Nanjing, PR China. zhxyqq@hhu.edu.cn
authors.forename: Xiao-Ying
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Xing-Nan
authors.initials: XN
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yu-Jie
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D000332:Aerobiosis; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D004602:Elements; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D004602:Elements; D012722:Sewage; D003300:Copper