title: Roles of extracellular polymeric substances in enhanced biological phosphorus removal process.
abstract: Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) process is known to mainly rely on the ability of phosphorus-accumulating organisms to take up, transform and store excess amount of phosphorus (P) inside the cells. However, recent studies have revealed considerable accumulation of P also in the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of sludge, implying a non-negligible role of EPS in P removal by EBPR sludge. However, the contribution of EPS to P uptake and the forms of accumulated extracellular P vary substantially in different studies, and the underlying mechanism of P transformation and transportation in EPS remains poorly understood. This review provides a new recognition into the P removal process in EBPR system by incorporating the role of EPS. It overviews on the characteristics of P accumulation in EPS, explores the mechanism of P transformation and transportation in EBPR sludge and EPS, summarizes the main influential factors for the P-accumulation properties of EPS, and discusses the remaining knowledge gaps and needed future efforts that may lead to better understanding and use of such an EPS role for maximizing P recovery from wastewater.
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Department of Chemistry, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Wei
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Department of Chemistry, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Ling
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Department of Chemistry, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China.
authors.forename: Guo-Ping
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Department of Chemistry, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China. Electronic address: hqyu@ustc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Han-Qing
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D005110:Extracellular Space / Q000737:chemistry*; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; D012722:Sewage; D010758:Phosphorus
keywords: Activated sludge; Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR); Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS); Mechanism; Phosphorus (P) recovery