Activated Sludge Inhibition Capacity Index

Toxic compounds in sewage or industrial wastewater may inhibit the biological activity of activated sludge impairing the treatment process. This paper evaluates the Inhibition Capacity Index (ICI) for the assessment of activated sludge in the presence of toxicants. In this study, activated sludge was obtained from industrial treatment plants and was also synthetically produced. Continuous respirometric measurements were carried out in a reactor, and the oxygen uptake rate profile obtained was used to evaluate the impact of inhibiting toxicants, such as dissolved copper, phenol, sodium alkylbenzene sulfonate and amoxicillin, on activated sludge. The results indicate that ICI is an efficient tool to quantify the intoxication capacity. The activated sludge from the pharmaceutical industry showed higher resistance than the sludge from other sources, since toxicants are widely discharged in the biological treatment system. The ICI range was from 58 to 81% when compared to the synthetic effluent with no toxic substances.