• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
• /
• v.5 no.6
• /
• pp.460-464
• /
• 2000

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are believed to play a role in the binding and formation of microbial flocs. However, the precise role is not well known. Sludge settling characteristics and the carbohydrate to protein ratio in EPS were tested with various airflow rates in this study. Sludge was collected from three modified sequencing batch reactors (SBRs), which were operated at 16$\^{C}$ with an airflow rate of 0.8L/min, 3L/min and 6L/min, respectively. During the operation, the reactor operated at an airflow rate of 0.8L/min showed sludge volume index (SVI) of 80 to 90ml/g and a constant ratio of carbohydrate to protein in the EPS, while a significant increase in the SVI was seen in the other reactors. Sludge bulking increased the amount of carbohydrate in the EPS, while kept protein almost constant in the airflow rate of 3L/min ad 6L/min. Surface charge also increased with increases in the carbohydrate to protein ratio in the EPS, which weakens the attraction between the EPS and multivalent cations. The ratio of carbohydrate to protein in the EPS was tween the EPS and multivalent cations. The ratio of carbohydrate to protein in the EPS was inferred to be essential for bioflocculation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.63-69
• /
• 2021

Microalgae are primary producers of aquatic ecosystems, securing biodiversity and health of the ecosystem and contributing to reducing the impact of climate change through carbon dioxide fixation. Also, they are useful biomass that can be used as biological resources for producing valuable industrial products. However, harvesting process, which is the separation of microalgal biomass from mixed liquor, is an important bottleneck in use of valorization of microalgae as a bioresource accounting for 20 to 30% of the total production cost. This study investigates the applicability of sewage sludge-derived extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) as bioflucculant for harvesting microalgae. We compared the flocculation characteristics of microalgae using EPSs extracted from sewage sludge by three methods. The flocculation efficiency of microalgae is closely related to the carbohydrate and protein concentrations of EPS. Heat-extracted EPS contains the highest carbohydrate and protein concentrations and can be a best-suited bioflocculant for microalgae recovery with 87.2% flocculation efficiency. Injection of bioflocculant improved the flocculation efficiency of all three different algal strains, Chlorella Vulgaris, Chlamydomonas Asymmetrica, Scenedesmus sp., however the improvement was more significant when it was used for flocculation of Chlamydomonas Asymmetrica with flagella.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.323-329
• /
• 2000

The coupling of an activated sludge reactor with a membrane unit, i.e., Membrane Coupled Activated Sludge (MCAS) system offers several advantages over conventional process. But the major hurdle in the extensive use of this process is the continuous reduction of permeation flux caused by membrane fouling. The aim of this study is to investigate membrane fouling characteristics in the MCAS process. During crossflow ultrafiltration(CFUF) of activated sludge, floc size decreased abruptly at the beginning of operation and thereafter decreased continuously and gradually. The floc size changed from 100~200 to $6{\sim}8{\mu}m$ depending on recirculation velocity. This floc breakage played a key role in rapid increase of $R_c$(cake layer resistance), which led to flux decline. The floc breakage stimulated biomass to release EPS(Extracellular Polymeric Substance) which has been known to be one of the major membrane foul-ants. The amounts of EPS before and after CFUF were 266 and 405(VS mg/MLSS g), respectively. The rise up of EPS concentration was another factor affecting flux decline in MCAS system.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.195-203
• /
• 2018

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has been widely used as an initial mucolytic agent and is generally used as an antioxidant to help alleviate various inflammatory symptoms. NAC reduces bacterial extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production, bacterial adhesion to the surface and strength of mature biofilm. The efficacy has been shown to inhibit proliferation of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. In membrane bioreactor (MBR) processes, which contain a variety of gram negative bacteria, biofilm formation has become a serious problem in stable operation. In this study, use of NAC as an inhibitor of biofilm contamination was investigated using the center for disease control (CDC) reactors with MBR sludge. Biomass reduction was confirmed with CLSM images of membrane surfaces by addition of NAC, which was more efficient as the concentration of NAC was increased to 1.5 mg/mL. NAC addition also showed decreases in EPS concentrations of the preformed biofilm, indicating that NAC was able to degrade EPS in the mature biofilm. NAC addition was also effective to inhibit biofilm formation by MBR sludge, which consisted of various microorganisms in consortia.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.77-86
• /
• 2018

The human pathogen and food spoiler Bacillus cereus can form biofilms that act as a persistent source of contamination, which is of public health concern. This study aimed to understand how the source of isolation might affect the behavior of biofilm formation. Biofilm formation abilities of 56 strains of B. cereus isolated from different environments, including human food poisoning, farm, and food, were determined. Crystal violet assay results revealed significant (p < 0.05) differences in biofilm formation abilities among the strains isolated from different sources only at an early stage of incubation. However, strain origin showed no impact on later stage of biofilm formation. Next, correlation of the group of isolates on the basis of their biofilm-forming abilities with the number of sessile cells, sporulation, and extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) formation was determined. The number of sessile cells and spores in biofilms was greatly influenced by the groups of isolates that formed dense, moderate, and weak biofilms. The contribution of extracellular DNA and/or proteins to EPS formation was also positively correlated with biofilm formation abilities. Our results that the source of isolation had significant impact on biofilm formation might provide important information to develop strategies to control B. cereus biofilm formation.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
• /
• v.10 no.5
• /
• pp.331-338
• /
• 2019

This study aimed to investigate the membrane fouling and sludge characteristics in a pilot-scale submerged membrane bioreactor (MBR) operated under low temperature ($7^{\circ}C$). To elucidate the mechanisms of membrane fouling at low temperature, we studied the correlation between MBR performances and physicochemical properties of sludge including extracellular polymeric substance (EPS), relative hydrophobicity (RH) and floc size during long-term operation. The MBR was shown able to remove chemical oxygen demand (COD) stably and efficiently (>90 %) in the case of overgrowth of filamentous bacteria (bulking sludge) at low temperature. On the other hand, the occurrence of filamentous bulking greatly accelerated membrane fouling, as indicated by membrane filtration period of 14 days for filamentous bulking at $7^{\circ}C$, in comparison with that of 27 days for non-bulking sludge at $24^{\circ}C$ The overgrowth of filamentous bacteria resulting from low-temperature condition led to an increased release of EPS, higher RH, smaller floc size and lower fractal dimension of sludge. These factors accelerated the formation of compact cake layer on membrane surface in association with performance diminution in terms of increase in transmembrane pressure (TMP) of the membrane and thus the decrease in membrane permeability.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.73-78
• /
• 2005

This study was performed to examine the disinfection capability of a Rotating Activated Bacillus Contactor (RABC) system, in which the predominant species, Bacillus sp. was expected to have a removal or inactivation effect of total coliforms. In a settling test with mixtures of E. coli and Bacillus sp., a high removal of E. coli was observed at $20{\sim}40^{\circ}C$, while insignificant removal at $10^{\circ}C$. In a batch test, a 4.5% addition of Bacillus sp. to activated sludge considerably enhanced the removal effect of total coliforms, indicating Bacillus sp. played an important role in improving the settlability of the sludge and coliforms. In a pilot scale RABC system, the concentration of total colifroms reduced remarkably in the settling tank, suggesting that total coliforms in the RABC process were eliminated through coagulation and precipitation, probably due to extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) of Bacillus sp. The fraction of Bacillus sp. in the total cell count in the RABC process was in the range of 4.5%~6.3%. The majority (75%) of the Bacillus sp. in the RABC process was Bacillus subtilis which is known to enhance coagulation and precipitation by producing EPS. Hence, an adoption of a RABC process might be able to eliminate the disinfection unit process from a wastewater treatment system.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.245-253
• /
• 2018

The aim of this study is to investigate the membrane fouling in a thermophilic membrane bioreactor (TMBR) operated different sludge retention times (SRTs). For this purpose, TMBR was operated at four different SRTs (10, 30, 60 and 100 days). Specific cake resistance (${\alpha}$), cake resistance, gel resistance, total resistance, MFI (modified fouling index) and FDR (flux decrease ratio) were calculated for all SRTs. It was observed that flux in the membrane increases with rising SRT although the sludge concentrations in the TMBR increased. The steady state flux was found to be 31.78; 34.70; 39.60 and 43.70 LMH ($Liter/m^2/h$) for the SRTs of 10, 30, 60 and 100 days respectively. The concentrations of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) and soluble microbial product (SMP) decreased with increasing SRT. The membrane fouling rate was higher at shorter SRT and the highest fouling rate appeared at an SRT of 10 d. Both the sludge cake layer and gel layer had contribution to the fouling resistance, but the gel layer resistance value was dominant in all SRTs.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.197-204
• /
• 2021

In MBR, extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) is known as an important factor of fouling; soluble EPS (sEPS) affects internal contamination of membrane, and bound EPS (bEPS) affects the formation of the cake layer. The production of EPS changes according to the composition of influent, which affects fouling characteristics. Therefore, in this study, the effects of the F/M ratio on the sEPS concentration, bEPS content, and fouling were evaluated. The effects of F/M ratio on the amount and composition of EPS were confirmed by setting conditions that were very low or higher than the general F/M ratio of MBR, and the fouling occurrence characteristics were evaluated by filtration resistance distribution. As a result, it was found that the sEPS increased significantly with the increase of the F/M ratio. When the substrate was depleted, bEPS content decreased because bEPS was hydrolyzed into BAP and seemed to be used as a substrate. In contrast, when the substrate is sufficient, UAP (utilization-associated products) was rapidly generated in proportion with the consumption of the substrate. UAP has a relatively higher Protein/Carbohydrate ratio (P/C ratio) than BAP, and this means, it has a higher adhesive force to the membrane surface. As a result, UAP seems like causing fouling rather than BAP (biomass-associated products). Therefore, R_f (Resistance of internal contamination) increased rapidly with the increase of UAP, and R_c (Resistance of cake layer) increased with the accumulation of bEPS in proportion, and as a result, the fouling interval was shortened. According to this study, a high F/M ratio leads to an increment in UAP generation and accumulation of bEPS, and by these UAP and bEPS, membrane fouling is promoted.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.18 no.8
• /
• pp.1459-1469
• /
• 2008

Using a rotating biological contactor modified with a sequencing bath reactor system (SBRBC) designed and operated to remove phosphate and nitrogen [58], the microbial community structure of the biofilm from the SBRBC system was characterized based on the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) constituents, electron microscopy, and molecular techniques. Protein and carbohydrate were identified as the major EPS constituents at three different biofilm thicknesses, where the amount of EPS and bacterial cell number were highest in the initial thickness of 0-100${\mu}m$. However, the percent of carbohydrate in the total amount of EPS decreased by about 11.23%, whereas the percent of protein increased by about 11.15% as the biofilm grew. Thus, an abundant quantity of EPS and cell mass, as well as a specific quality of EPS were apparently needed to attach to the substratum in the first step of the biofilm growth. A FISH analysis revealed that the dominant phylogenetic group was $\beta$- and $\gamma$-Proteobacteria, where a significant subclass of Proteobacteria for removing phosphate and/or nitrate was found within a biofilm thickness of 0-250${\mu}m$. In addition, 16S rDNA clone libraries revealed that Klebsiella sp. and Citrobacter sp. were most dominant within the initial biofilm thickness of 0-250${\mu}m$, whereas sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, such as Beggiatoa sp. and Thiothrix sp., were detected in a biofilm thickness over 250${\mu}m$. The results of the bacterial community structure analysis using molecular techniques agreed with the results of the morphological structure based on scanning electron microscopy. Therefore, the overall results indicated that coliform bacteria participated in the nitrate and phosphorus removal when using the SBRBC system. Moreover, the structure of the biofilm was also found to be related to the EPS constituents, as well as the nitrogen and phosphate removal efficiency. Consequently, since this is the first identification of the bacterial community and structure of the biofilm from an RBC simultaneously removing nitrogen and phosphate from domestic wastewater, and it is hoped that the present results may provide a foundation for understanding nitrate and phosphate removal by an RBC system.