Phenol and p-nitrophenol biodegradations by acclimated activated sludge: Influence of operational conditions on biodegradation kinetics and responding microbial communities

This study aims to evaluate the influence of operational factors (i.e. substrate concentration, activated sludge concentration and acclimation concentration) and the microbial communities of activated sludge on the aerobic biodegradation of phenol and p-nitrophenol (PNP). During the biodegradation process, the phenol or PNP biodegradation and activated sludge growth kinetics were determined and the interaction effects of the operational factors...