Phosphine Production Potential of Various Wastewater and Sewage Sludge Sources

Abstract

A laboratory incubation procedure followed by gas chromatographic detection was used to measure phosphine production potential in representative wastewater and sewage sludge sources. Phosphine production potential was determined by measuring the rate of phosphine formation in samples incubated under laboratory conditions over a seven day period when both electron donors and the targeted electron acceptor were not limiting factors. Results of our experiments showed that except the primary effluent and secondary effluent wastewater samples all other samples studied (influent wastewater, various type of sludge and sediment sources) produced phosphine. The minimum phosphine production potential value (0.39 pg/ml wastewater/day) was measured in composite influent wastewater samples while the maximum (268 pg/g wet sludge/day) was measured in sediment samples collected from an open-air sewage treatment plant.