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Factors affecting the removal of metals during activated sludge wastewater treatment II. The role of mixed liquor biomass

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Abstract

Samples of mixed liquor from a laboratory-scale activated sludge simulation, operated at a range of sludge ages from 3 to 12 days, were treated with formaldehyde in order to obtain a metabolically inactive biomass. The metal removal behavior of this biomass was compared with that of untreated biomass. Only Cu and Ni were found to exhibit a high degree of removal in the presence of active biomass. Manganese, Cd, Co, and Tl demonstrated removals little affected by the activity of the biomass, and at longer sludge ages more metal was taken up by formaldehyde-treated than by untreated cells.

Dispersed mixed liquor in the form of a bulking sludge was found to have a greater affinity for most metals than a well-settled, compact mixed liquor. Consequently, it is proposed that the important factors in metal removal by the mixed liquor solids were related to their behavior as particulates, the physical characteristics of the particle being more important than their viability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Public Health Engineering Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, Imperial College of Science and Technology, SW7 2BU, London, UK

    P. S. Lawson, R. M. Sterritt & J. N. Lester

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  1. P. S. Lawson
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  2. R. M. Sterritt
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  3. J. N. Lester
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Lawson, P.S., Sterritt, R.M. & Lester, J.N. Factors affecting the removal of metals during activated sludge wastewater treatment II. The role of mixed liquor biomass. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 13, 391–402 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01056254

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01056254

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