Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology – Measuring or testing process involving enzymes or... – Involving oxidoreductase
Patent
1997-06-16
1999-01-26
Leary, Louise N.
Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology
Measuring or testing process involving enzymes or...
Involving oxidoreductase
435 26, 435 25, 435 27, 435 4, 436 62, 436 63, 395708, 395705, 364550, C12Q 128, C12Q 132, C12Q 100
Patent
active
058637494
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention is concerned with a method of determining the organic content (such as, for example, the biomass content) of a fluid; in particular the invention is concerned with a method of determining the organic content of a fluid which may be operated in a continuous process.
Frequently, in industrial waste treatment, waste water treatment or in brewing plants or the like, an accurate measurement of the organic content of a fluid may be required so as to determine, for example, the treatment or filtration efficiency of the plant. Typically, any such measurements are taken only once during a working day, which is insufficient to identify fluctuating organic loads within the fluid, thus leading to inefficient treatment of the fluid due because of use of non-optimal conditions for treatment of the fluid.
Furthermore, waste water of both domestic and industrial origin is frequently treated by a biological aerobic process which uses suspended micro-organisms (the activated sludge process). The biomass concentration is an important parameter in maintaining effluent quality. It is generally measured off-line as dry weight. On-line probes based on, for example, turbidity, are generally unreliable and measure inert particles and dead cells.
We have now developed a method of determining the organic content of a fluid, which can be used for organic compounds or for biomass, and which can provide more effective monitoring and process control and hence optimization of the treatment process.
Thus, according to the present invention there is provided a method of determining the content of organic matter of a fluid (generally an aqueous fluid), which method comprises: agent; and volume of oxygen liberated provides a measure of the content of organic matter of the fluid.
The volume may be measured as an absolute volume, or as a rate of evolution (in other words, the volume evolved in a unit time).
In one embodiment of the invention the method may be used to provide a measure of the living or viable biomass content of a fluid, such as for example, the content of active aerobic cells in a sample of fluid. Thus, advantageously, the method can be used to determine the amount of microbes present in, for example, aerobic biotreatment processes. In this embodiment the fluid may be subjected to chemical or physical treatment to disrupt the cells, either prior to, or coincident with, step (a); it is not necessary for the oxidizing agent to be in excess.
In further embodiments (such as when the organic matter comprises soluble or insoluble organic compounds, such as hydrocarbons or cellulose present in the fluid), the oxidizing agent is present in excess relative to the organic matter. In this embodiment, the reaction of the sample with excess oxidizing agent causes organic material contained in the fluid to be oxidised, and residual unreacted oxidizing agent, when reacted with the enzyme, releases oxygen from the oxidizing agent which may then be measured. The volume of oxygen liberated provides a measure of the content of organic matter of the fluid, because the volume of oxygen liberated is substantially inversely proportional to the volume of organic matter in the sample.
In this embodiment of the invention, the method may be used to determine the organic content of a fluid, such as the organic load of effluent in, for example, waste water treatment plants or the like. In this embodiment, the resulting mixture from step (a) is contacted with an immobilized enzyme, capable of releasing oxygen from any unreacted oxidizing agent.
In this embodiment of the invention, the oxidizing agent is, preferably, reacted with the sample of fluid separate from the immobilized enzyme for sufficient time to oxidize substantially all of the organic matter present. The sample of fluid is, preferably, acidified prior to reaction with the oxidizing agent. Thus, advantageously, the fluid can be kept at a pH sufficient to inhibit activity of any micro-organisms present which may possess peroxidase activity.
The sample may also be subjected t
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International Search Report; Feb. 21, 1996.
Dinsdale Richard Mark
Hawkes Dennis
Hawkes Freda
Leary Louise N.
University of Glamorgan Commercial Services Limited
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