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Biodegradation and toxicity of melamine at high activated sludge concentrations in a membrane bioreactor

Shengnan Xu, Minghao Sun, Allen Thompson, Zhiqiang Hu
Available Online 11 December 2017, wst2017614; DOI: 10.2166/wst.2017.614
Shengnan Xu
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Missouri, E2509 Lafferre Hall, Columbia, MO 65211
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Minghao Sun
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Missouri, E2509 Lafferre Hall, Columbia, MO 65211
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Allen Thompson
Department of Bioengineering, University of Missouri
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Zhiqiang Hu
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Missouri, E2509 Lafferre Hall, Columbia, MO 65211
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  • For correspondence: huzh@missouri.edu
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Abstract

Melamine is recalcitrant and toxic to bacteria in conventional activated sludge systems. In this study, we investigated the degradation and toxicity of melamine in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) system operated at high activated sludge concentrations (∼8.5 g TSS/L). Melamine was dosed at 3 mg/L for about 100 days. The average melamine removal efficiency in the MBR system was 20 ± 11%. Meanwhile, batch studies showed the acclimated sludge from the MBR had higher removal efficiencies after the depletion of readily biodegradable substrate (acetate) while non-acclimated sludge did not remove any melamine. As acclimated sludge had removal efficiencies ranging from 33 ± 6% (by 1.7 g TSS/L biomass) to 41 ± 10% (by 8.5 g TSS/L biomass), microbial specialists with unique hydrolytic enzymes in the acclimated sludge were likely responsible for melamine degradation. Since bacteria prefer to use readily biodegradable substrates for growth in the MBR, the population of microbial specialists capable of degrading melamine or the capability of cometabolism appeared not to increase with an increase in biomass concentration. Nevertheless, because of high sludge concentrations and thus low mass ratio of toxic melamine to biomass in the MBR, the long-term melamine exposure did not affect MBR activated sludge performance.

  • melamine
  • sludge adaptation
  • membrane bioreactor
  • cometabolism
  • biodegradation
  • First received 27 March 2017.
  • Accepted in revised form 29 November 2017.
  • © IWA Publishing 2017
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Biodegradation and toxicity of melamine at high activated sludge concentrations in a membrane bioreactor
Shengnan Xu, Minghao Sun, Allen Thompson, Zhiqiang Hu
Water Science and Technology Dec 2017, wst2017614; DOI: 10.2166/wst.2017.614
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Biodegradation and toxicity of melamine at high activated sludge concentrations in a membrane bioreactor
Shengnan Xu, Minghao Sun, Allen Thompson, Zhiqiang Hu
Water Science and Technology Dec 2017, wst2017614; DOI: 10.2166/wst.2017.614

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Keywords

melamine
sludge adaptation
membrane bioreactor
cometabolism
Biodegradation
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