Bio-Refinery of Organics into Value-Added Biopolymers: Exploring the Effects of Hydraulic Retention Time and Organic Loading Rate on Biopolymer Harvesting from a Biofilm-Based Process
Qingna Shang,
Lin Li,
Yi Zhang,
Xueqing Shi,
Harsha Ratnaweera,
Dong-Hoon Kim,
Haifeng Zhang
Affiliations
Qingna Shang
National and Local & Joint Engineering Research Center for Urban Sewage Treatment and Resource Recycling, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, 11 Fushun Road, Qingdao 266033, China
Lin Li
National and Local & Joint Engineering Research Center for Urban Sewage Treatment and Resource Recycling, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, 11 Fushun Road, Qingdao 266033, China
Yi Zhang
National and Local & Joint Engineering Research Center for Urban Sewage Treatment and Resource Recycling, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, 11 Fushun Road, Qingdao 266033, China
Xueqing Shi
National and Local & Joint Engineering Research Center for Urban Sewage Treatment and Resource Recycling, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, 11 Fushun Road, Qingdao 266033, China
Harsha Ratnaweera
National and Local & Joint Engineering Research Center for Urban Sewage Treatment and Resource Recycling, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, 11 Fushun Road, Qingdao 266033, China
Dong-Hoon Kim
Department of Smart City Engineering, Inha University, 100 Inharo, Michuhol-gu, Incheon 22212, Republic of Korea
Haifeng Zhang
National and Local & Joint Engineering Research Center for Urban Sewage Treatment and Resource Recycling, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, 11 Fushun Road, Qingdao 266033, China
This study aimed to examine the impacts of hydraulic retention time (HRT) and organic loading rate (OLR) on the alginate-like exopolymers’ (ALEs) recovery potential from a biofilm-based process. A lab-scale moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) was operated under different HRT (12.0, 6.0, and 2.0 h) and OLR (1.0, 2.0, and 6.0 kg COD/m3/d) conditions. The results demonstrated that the reduction in HRT and increase in OLR had remarkable effects on enhancing ALE production and improving its properties, which resulted in the ALE yield increasing from 177.8 to 221.5 mg/g VSS, with the protein content rising from 399.3 to 494.3 mg/g ALE and the enhanced alginate purity by 39.8%, corresponding to the TOC concentration increasing from 108.3 to 157.0 mg/g ALE. Meanwhile, to illustrate different ALE recovery potentials, microbial community compositions of the MBBR at various operational conditions were also assessed. The results showed that a higher relative abundance of EPS producers (29.86%) was observed in the MBBR with an HRT of 2.0 h than that of 12.0 h and 6.0 h, revealing its higher ALE recovery potential. This study yields crucial results in terms of resource recovery for wastewater reclamation by providing an effective approach to directionally cultivating ALEs.
