ABSTRACT
Interactions between metals and microorganisms play an important role in the geochemical cycling of trace heavy metals. In biological wastewater treatment processes, microorganisms in activated sludge have a high metal complexation capacity and then substantially affect the speciation, immobilization, transport, and bioavailability of metals in biological wastewater treatment plants. Previous study showed that there are many heavy metals (e.g., copper) in municipal and industrial wastewaters [1]. It is of great significance to study the surface complexation of metals on microorganisms
and to understand their fates in biological wastewater treatment plants. In addition, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), high-molecular weight compounds secreted by microorganisms, also have a significant impact on the fates of heavy metals [2,3]. The relevant functional groups involved in the interaction between metals and microorganisms are reported to be –COOH, –OH, –NH2, and –PO4, etc [4].
