Acclimation of activated sludge to bisphenol A: effect of ammonium on the acclimation process

A.M. FERRO OROZCO; EDGARDO M. CONTRERAS; NOEMI E. ZARITZKY

Santiago de Chile

Congreso; XXV Interamerican Congress of Chemical Engineering; 2011

Bisphenol A (BPA) is extensively used in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. It has been reported that BPA is an endocrine disruptor with strogenic activity. Biodegradation of BPA had been reported in waste water treatment plants, pure microbial cultures, and nitrifying activated sludge. The objective of the present work was to analyze the acclimation process of activated sludge to BPA in the absence and presence of ammonium. Consecutive batch assays were performed in the presence and absence of ammonium. Samples were taken at different times to determine chemical oxygen demand (COD), total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN), total phenols (TP) and biomass (X) concentrations. Results suggest that the presence or absence of ammonium did not modify the acclimation of the biomass or the biodegradation of bisphenol A in the activated sludge system, and that the acclimation of the biomass requires a minimum of three consecutive batch assays.