The role and significance of extracellular polymers in activated sludge. Part I: Literature review

Abstract

In biological wastewater treatment, bacteria tend to aggregate by forming flocs, biofilms and even granules. A large part of the floc structure in activated sludge is composed of extracellular polymers. The extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are mainly responsible for the structural and functional integrity of biofilms/flocs and they are considered to be important for the physico-chemical properties of activated sludge. This review considers the composition of EPS and proportion between the constituents. Moreover it includes the relationship between the EPS constituents and sludge properties such as sludge retention time, hydrophobicity and surface charge.