Print Email Facebook Twitter Influence of particle size distribution on anaerobic degradation of phenol and analysis of methanogenic microbial community Title Influence of particle size distribution on anaerobic degradation of phenol and analysis of methanogenic microbial community Author Wang, Jing (Hefei University of Technology) Wu, Benteng (Hefei University of Technology) Muñoz Sierra, Julian (TU Delft Sanitary Engineering; KWR Water Research Institute) He, Chunhua (Hefei University of Technology) Hu, Zhenhu (Hefei University of Technology) Wang, Wei (Hefei University of Technology) Date 2020 Abstract Sludge morphology considerably affects the mechanism underlying microbial anaerobic degradation of phenol. Here, we assessed the phenol degradation rate, specific methanogenic activity, electron transport activity, coenzyme F420 concentration, and microbial community structure of five phenol-degrading sludge of varying particle sizes (i.e., < 20, 20–50, 50–100, 100–200, and > 200 μm). The results indicated an increase in phenol degradation rate and microbial community structure that distinctly correlated with an increase in sludge particle size. Although the sludge with the smallest particle size (< 20 μm) showed the lowest phenol degradation rate (9.3 mg COD·gVSS−1 day−1), its methanogenic activity with propionic acid, butyric acid, and H2/CO2 as substrates was the best, and the concentration of coenzyme F420 was the highest. The small particle size sludge did not contain abundant syntrophic bacteria or hydrogenotrophic methanogens, but contained abundant acetoclastic methanogens. Moreover, the floc sizes of the different sludge varied in important phenol-degrading bacteria and archaea, which may dominate the synergistic mechanism. This study provides a new perspective on the role of sludge floc size on the anaerobic digestion of phenol. Subject Anaerobic digestionMethanogenic activityMicrobial community structureParticle size distributionPhenol degradationPhenol-degrading sludge To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:be8b7eca-68d6-4d49-a00b-dbf18f7fe5dc DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-07665-z Embargo date 2021-01-14 ISSN 0944-1344 Source Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27 (10), 10391-10403 Bibliographical note Accepted author manuscript Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2020 Jing Wang, Benteng Wu, Julian Muñoz Sierra, Chunhua He, Zhenhu Hu, Wei Wang Files PDF ESPR_D_10_04373_R2.pdf 2.13 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:be8b7eca-68d6-4d49-a00b-dbf18f7fe5dc/datastream/OBJ/view