Molecular Insights into Extracellular Polymeric Substances in Activated Sludge

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are known to crucially affect the properties and performance of activated sludge, but the detailed influential mechanisms and the pertinence to specific compositional, structural properties of EPS are still elusive. Such knowledge gaps have severely limited o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2020-07, Vol.54 (13), p.7742-7750
Main Author: Yu, Han-Qing
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activated sludge
Biological activity
Biological wastewater treatment
Extracellular Polymeric Substance Matrix
Macromolecules
Molecular structure
Pollutants
Sewage
Sludge
Structure-function relationships
Waste Disposal, Fluid
Waste Water
Wastewater treatment
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Summary:Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are known to crucially affect the properties and performance of activated sludge, but the detailed influential mechanisms and the pertinence to specific compositional, structural properties of EPS are still elusive. Such knowledge gaps have severely limited our ability in optimizing biological wastewater treatment processes, for which long-term robust and efficient sludge performance remains one of the main bottlenecks. Here, we overview the new knowledge on the molecular structure of sludge EPS gained over the past few years and discuss the future challenges and opportunities for further advancing EPS study and engineering. The structural and functional features of several macromolecules in sludge EPS and their important structural roles in granular sludge are analyzed in detail. The EPS–pollutant interactions and environment-dependent regulation machinery on EPS production are deciphered. Lastly, the remaining knowledge gaps are identified, and the future research needs that may lead to molecular-level understanding and precise engineering of sludge EPS are highlighted.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.0c00850