title: Sludge reduction by uncoupling metabolism: SBR tests with para-nitrophenol and a commercial uncoupler.
abstract: Nowadays cost reduction is a very important issue in wastewater treatment plants. One way, is to minimize the sludge production. Microorganisms break down the organic matter into inorganic compounds through catabolism. Uncoupling metabolism is a method which promote catabolism reactions instead of anabolism ones, where adenosine triphosphate synthesis is inhibited. In this work, the influence of the addition of para-nitrophenol and a commercial reagent to a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) on sludge production and process performance has been analyzed. Three laboratory SBRs were operated in parallel to compare the effect of the addition of both reagents with a control reactor. SBRs were fed with synthetic wastewater and were operated with the same conditions. Results showed that sludge production was slightly reduced for the tested para-nitrophenol concentrations (20 and 25 mg/L) and for a LODOred dose of 1 mL/day. Biological process performance was not influenced and high COD removals were achieved.
authors: Instituto de Seguridad Industrial, Radiofísica y Medioambiental, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: elzuag@etsii.upv.es.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Zuriaga-Agustí
authors: Instituto de Seguridad Industrial, Radiofísica y Medioambiental, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
authors: J A
authors: JA
authors: Mendoza-Roca
authors: Instituto de Seguridad Industrial, Radiofísica y Medioambiental, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Bes-Piá
authors: Instituto Ingeniería del Agua y Medio Ambiente, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
authors: J L
authors: JL
authors: Alonso-Molina
authors: Instituto Ingeniería del Agua y Medio Ambiente, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
authors: I
authors: I
authors: Amorós-Muñoz
mesh_terms: D019149:Bioreactors; D009596:Nitrophenols / Q000378:metabolism*; D012722:Sewage; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D009596:Nitrophenols; D012722:Sewage; C024836:4-nitrophenol
keywords: Cell disruption; Metabolic uncoupler; Sludge reduction; Viability; Wastewater treatment