Title: Behaviour of bacterial extracellular polymeric substances from activated sludge: a review

Authors: Yu Tian

Addresses: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, The 2ed campus, Harbin Institute of Technology, 202 Haihe Road, Nanggang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150090, PR China

Abstract: Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS) are the predominant constituents of activated sludge and dramatically affect its properties. As EPS constitute as much as 50–90% of the solid phase of sludge, the use of EPS may bring a great reduction in sludge volume and mass, which have been great environmental interest. In this paper, results of over 60 publications related to structure, composition, storing condition, extraction and characteristics of EPS and their influences on behaviours of EPS is analysed. Possible application of EPS in heavy metal contamination is also discussed, together with a brief consideration of possible research interests.

Keywords: extracellular polymeric substances; bacterial EPS; activated sludge; metal contamination control; pollution control; environmental pollution; heavy metals.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2008.016900

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2008 Vol.32 No.1, pp.78 - 89

Published online: 28 Jan 2008 *

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