INFLUENCE OF SELECTED PHARMACEUTICALS ON ACTIVATED SLUDGE DEHYDROGENASE ACTIVITY

• Main Author: Agnieszka Tomska
• Format: Article
• Language: Polish
• Published: Polish Society of Ecological Engineering (PTIE) 2016-06-01
• Series: Inżynieria Ekologiczna
• Subjects: dehydrogenase activity; TTC test; activated sludge; sulfanilamide; erythromycin
• Online Access: http://www.journalssystem.com/ie/Wplyw-wybranych-farmaceutykow-na-aktywnosc-dehydrogenaz-osadu-czynnego,63280,0,2.html

Due to the increasing consumption of pharmaceuticals for the treatment of humans and animals as well as inadequate procedures for the disposal of pharmaceuticals into environmental, pollution caused by them is increasing. Generally these substances are introduced to the wastewater treatment plant with municipal wastewater. They are often resistant to biodegradation and can cause to the disruption in biological wastewater treatment processes. Traditional water treatment plants are not designed to remove pharmaceutical contaminants. Therefore, part of it are introduced into water bodies with treated wastewater and next into the soil trough sludge disposal. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of selected antibiotics - sulfanilamide and erythromycin on activated sludge dehydrogenase activity with use of trifenyltetrazolinum chloride (TTC test). Dehydrogenases activity is an indicator of biochemical activity of microorganisms present in activated sludge or the ability to degrade organic compounds in waste water. TTC test is particularly useful for the regularity of the course of treatment, in which the presence of inhibitors of biochemical reactions and toxic compounds are present. It was observed that the dehydrogenase activity decreases with the increase of a antibiotics concentration. The lowest value of the dehydrogenase activity equal to 32.4 μmol TF / gMLSS obtained at sulfanilamide concentration 150mg / l. For this sample, an inhibition of dehydrogenase activity was 31%.