Production of biodegradable plastics from chemical wastewater - a novel method to reduce excess activated sludge generated from industrial wastewater treatment

摘要

Biological polymers produced by microbial fermentation are naturally biodegradable and are potential environment-friendly substitutes for synthetic plastics. However, broader applications are restricted by high production costs. In this study, activated sludge bacteria in a conventional system treating a wastewater that contained xenobiotic organics were induced by nitrogen deficiency in the reactor liquor to accumulate intracellular storage polymers, which can be extracted as a low-cost source of biodegradable plastics. Chromatographic analysis of the extracted polymers revealed a composition of poly-hydroxyalkanoate and a number of related co-polymers. Alcaligene spp. in the activated sludge microbial consortium was identified as the main genus that accumulated these polymers.