The Role of Flagellates in Coke-Plant Activated Sludge.

The activated sludge process is used by the coal-coking industry to treat toxic substances from the wastewater generated by the coking process. High levels of ammonia, phenol, cyanide, and thiocyanate are removed from the wastewater by the activity of a mixed microbial community. Though the microbes efficiently remove the toxic compounds, they in turn create a problem: the removal of the biomass that is generated in the degradation of these compounds. The transport and disposal of the excess sludge results in what is possibly the largest cost factor in the activated sludge treatment of wastewater.Because the microbial community is essential to the process, alternatives for reduction of the biomass are few. Turnover of the bacterial biomass by other organisms in the sludge is one way in which reduction in the amount of biomass is facilitated. Protozoans, nematodes, and rotifers are known to prey on the bacteria in sludge and convert a portion of the unwanted biomass to carbon dioxide.Flagellated protozoans were observed in coke-plant activated sludge, and the biomass of their population was determined. The ideal conditions for flagellate growth were determined so that further study of the activities of these organisms could be accomplished. The predominant flagellate in this sludge was isolated, identified, and characterized. Electron microscopy was used to confirm the identification.A monoxenic culture of the predominant flagellate, Bodo saltans, was established so that the predatory role of this flagellate could be quantified. A yield constant was determined to be 0.76, and was used to predict the effects of predation by this organism in the actual treatment process. This organism was found to survive in the presence of high concentrations of the toxic substances present in the coke-plant wastewater.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Year

1983

Author dc:creator

• Mullins, Alan L

• Bodo saltans
• Coke-plant wastewater
• Carbon dioxide
• Sludge treatment

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/6999

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.library.uab.edu:etd-collection-7991