Abstract
The method presented involves using the oxygen uptake rates of activated sludges for determining the microbial activity and viability. The microbial activity correlates well with the substrate reduction first order rate constant. K1, determined in batch operations, and with the specific substrate utilization rate, q, of steady state operations. The microbial viability determined based on respiratory activity would result in slightly higher values than other means such as plate counting, since some of the respiratory activity is contributed by nonviable yet active cells. The extent of respiratory activity attributed to the nonviable cells increases as the biological solids retention time increases (or net growth rate decreases). Since the loss of ability of multiplication is not necessarily associated with loss of biochemical activity, the viability determined by the respiratory activity would represent more realistically the activity of microbes and thus is suggested as the preferred technique.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 373-381 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Water Research |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1985 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
Acknowledgements--This research is supported by the Office of Research Grants and Centers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under the competitive research program. R80820l. This paper has not been subjected to the Agency's required peer and administrative review and, therefore, does not necessarily reflect the views of the Agency. Thus, no official endorsement should be inferred. Jerry Y. C. Huang is an Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee. Meng-Dawn Cheng and James T. Mueller are graduate research assistants in the same department.
Keywords
- activated sludge
- microbial activity
- oxygen uptake rate
- solids retention time
- viability
