Insoluble exopolysaccharides (EPS) in the anaerobic sequential batch biofilm reactor: characterization and factors that enhance the production

Author(s)

Ana Paula Miqueleto

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Carlos.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC/SBD)
• Defense date: 2006-11-07

Examining board members

Marcelo Zaiat; Sérgio Francisco de Aquino; Nelma Regina Segnini Bossolan; Marlei Barboza Pasotto; Eduardo Cleto Pires

• Advisor: Marcelo Zaiat

Abstract

The insoluble exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced in anaerobic treatment processes from some kinds of wastewater are unwelcome due to operational problems that it may cause, making the process unfeasible most of times. The anaerobic sequential batch biofilm reactor (ASBBR), containing immobilized biomass, is a new configuration of reactor that has been studied for wastewater treatment with positive results. Nevertheless, it was verified the production of EPS in some conditions, which made the process impracticable. To avoid these operational problems in full scale it is important to know the factors that enhance EPS production on those systems. Thus, the objectives of this work were investigating the influence of different carbon sources and the relation carbon/nitrogen (C/N), on the production and composition of extracellular polymers (EPS) and on the performance of the ASBBR with immobilized biomass in polyurethane foam. The carbon sources used were glucose, meat extract, soybean oil, the three carbon sources combined and acetic, butyric and propionic acids combined. On the experiments with variation of C/N relation, glucose was used as carbon source and urea as nitrogen source. The C/N relations were: 13.6 (C/N1), 6.8 (C/N2) and 3.4 (C/N3) gC/gN. Another experiment was accomplished to verify the influence of microerophilic conditions on EPS production, bubbling nitrogen gas, keeping under strict anaerobic conditions and using glucose as carbon source. The reactor was fed with 1000 mgDQO/L in all experiments, achieving 82% of organic substance removal average efficiency, except when fed with soybean oil. At this condition it was verified the adsorption phenomenon in the material support. The yield of EPS was 23.60 mg/g carbon, 13.3 mg/g carbon , 9.0 mg/g carbon, 5.9 mg/g carbon, 5.70 mg/g carbon, 2.6 mg/g carbon and 1.4 mg/g carbon when the reactor was fed with glucose in the relation C/N2, glucose/meat extract/soybean oil, glucose in the relation C/N3 and meat extract, respectively. The production of EPS was not observed at strict anaerobic conditions. Results suggest that the carbon source, microerophilic condition and high C/N relation favor EPS production. Through enzymatic tests with combined cellulase, it was verified that cellulose was the main exopolysaccharide present at the polymeric material. Furthermore, polymers composition is not influenced by different nutritional conditions, comparing infrared spectra of EPS samples. In these cases, the produced bacterial cellulose presents different allomorphic organizations as showed by X-rays analysis. (AU)