Effect of potassium persulphate addition on sludge disintegration of a mesophilic anaerobic fermentation system

Persulphates, an advanced oxidation process, has been recently used as an alternative pretreatment method to enhance short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) yield from waste-activated sludge (WAS) anaerobic fermentation (AF). But so far, the effects of peroxydisulphate (PDS) dosages on mesophilic anaerobic fermentation are still not studied fully. Herein, we explored the influences of potassium PDS addition on mesophilic AF of WAS. Notably, the addition of PDS could drastically accelerate WAS solubilization and hydrolysis, which was proportional to the amount of PDS. The maximal total SCFAs yield of 249.14 mg chemical oxygen demand/L was obtained with 120 mg PDS/g suspended solids addition at 6 days of AF, which was 2.2-fold that of the control one. Tightly bound extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) were transformed into loosely bound EPS and dissolved organic matters, and aromatic proteins and humic-like substances of EPSs were disintegrated, which were caused by the devastating effects of PDS treatments on EPSs disruption. The intracellular constituents of microbial cells in the sludge were released accordingly. As a result, there was release of soluble substrates derived from the disintegration of both EPSs and cells, the amounts of which were proportional to the dose of PDS. Moreover, microbial diversity and richness were both decreased in the presence of PDS, and the relative abundance of phyla Actinobacteria increased with the increase of the PDS dosage. In addition, the stability of sludge flocs was destroyed in the presence of PDS, the distribution of particle size tended to be small and dispersive, and dewaterability of the sludge was deteriorated.