Statistical experimental designs were used to optimize the process of phenol degradation by Candida tropicalis Z-04, isolated from phenol-degrading aerobic granules. The most important factors influencing phenol degradation （p 〈 0.05）, as identified by a two-level Plackett-Burman design with 11 variables, were yeast extract, phenol, inoculum size, and temperature. Steepest ascent method was undertaken to determine the optimal regions of these four significant factors. Central composite design （CCD） and response surface analysis were adopted to further investigate the mutual interactions between these variables and to identify their optimal values that would generate maximum phenol degradation. The analysis results indicated that interactions between yeast extract and temperature, phenol and temperature, inocuhim size and temperature affected the response variable （phenol degradation） significantly. The predicted results showed that the maximum removal efficiency of phenol （99.10%） could be obtained under the optimum conditions of yeast extract 0.41 g/L, phenol 1.03 g/L, inoculum size 1.43% （V/V） and temperature 30.04℃. These predicted values were further verified by validation experiments. The excellent correlation between predicted and experimental values confirmed the validity and practicability of this statistical optimum strategy. This study indicated the excellent ability of C. tropicalis Z-04 in degrading high-strength phenol. Optimal conditions obtained in this experiment laid a solid foundation for further use of this microorganism in the treatment of highstrength phenol effluents.
Jiangya Zhou Xiaojuan Yu Cong Ding Zhiping Wang Qianqian Zhou Hao Pao Weimin Ca
The effects of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) on aerobic granulation in sequencing batch reactors (SBR) were investigated by evaluating the EPS content, and the relationship between EPS composition and surface properties of glucose-fed aerobic granules. The results show that aerobic granular sludge contains more EPS than seed sludge, and it is about 47 mg/gMLSS. Corresponding to the changes of EPS, the surface charge of microorganisms in granules increases from -0.732 to -0.845 meq/gMLSS, whereas the hydrophobicty changes significantly from 48.46% to 73.16%. It is obviously that changes of EPS in sludge alter the negative surface charge and hydrophobicity of microorganisms in granules, enhance the polymeric interaction and promote the aerobic granulation. Moreover, EPS can serve as carbon and energy reserves in granulation, thus the growth between the interior and exterior bacteria is balanced, and the integrality of granules is maintained. SEM observation of the granules exhibits that EPS in granules are ropy; by mixing with bacteria, compact matrix structure can be formed. The distribution of EPS in granules profiles the importance of EPS storage. It can be concluded that EPS play a crucial role in aerobic granulation.
