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A Novel Separation Method of Microthrix parvicella Filaments from Activated Sludge by a Hydrophobic Plate

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to develop a novel method to separate Microthrix parvicella (M. parvicella) filaments from activated sludge easily and quickly, as there are a few difficulties in the isolation of M. parvicella filaments, such as complicated isolation process, time consuming, etc. In this work, a series of hydrophobic plate with and without microchannels have been prepared for the separation of M. parvicella filaments. The results showed that the presence of microchannels and hydrophobic property of the hydrophobic plates affected the separation efficiency of M. parvicella significantly. The scanning electron microscope and Keyence Digital Microscope analysis results showed that the diameter of microchannels was similar to the width of M. parvicella filament, which was beneficial for the fastening of M. parvicella filaments on the plate. The hydrophobic property of the prepared plates was tested by contact angle of water droplets, and the results displayed that the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) plate possessed the highest contact angle compared with that of other plates, like polymethylmethacrylate, polystyrene plate, and PDMS plate with no hydrophobic microchannels. Thus, it was concluded that the high separation efficiency of PDMS plates to M. parvicella filaments was due to its best hydrophobic property.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51178289, 21402139), Technological Development Foundation Program for College in Tianjin City (20140518), Tianjin Construction Committee Science Technology Project (2014-23), and Tianjin Natural Science Foundation (14JCTPJC00480).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science, TianJin Chengjian University, No. 26 Jinjing Road, Xiqing District, Tianjin, 300384, China

    Xuening Fei, Weiguo Yan & Guozhi Jia

  2. School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, TianJin Chengjian University, Tianjin, 300384, China

    Songya Li & Huaji Ma

  3. School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Xuening Fei & Lingyun Cao

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  1. Xuening Fei
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  2. Songya Li
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  3. Lingyun Cao
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  4. Weiguo Yan
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  5. Huaji Ma
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  6. Guozhi Jia
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Correspondence to Xuening Fei.

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Fei, X., Li, S., Cao, L. et al. A Novel Separation Method of Microthrix parvicella Filaments from Activated Sludge by a Hydrophobic Plate. Curr Microbiol 71, 465–470 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-015-0860-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-015-0860-4

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