Toxicity of Chromium to Activated Sludge

The work deals with the toxicity of hexavalent and trivalent chromium to activated sludge. Cr(VI) was added as K2Cr2O7, and Cr(III) as Cr2(SO4)3. Toxicity is expressed as the inhibition of respiratory activity of microorganisms present in activated sludge. Respiration was measured by two methods, by means of an oximeter with an oxygen electrode and by means of a manometric apparatus permitting continuous observation of biological oxygen demand (BOD). The equation of the normal distribution function was used to construct inhibition curves and to calculate effective concentration (EC50). The influence of exposure time was observed as was the influence of concentration of activated sludge on the value of EC50. The 1-h EC50for Cr(VI) by the ISO method was determined to be in the range of 40–90 mg/liter. A greater scatter of measured values, 46–201mg/liter, was found for the first hour of exposure by the manometric method. In the case of Cr(III) only combined inhibition by chromium ions and pH was determined. The 0.5-h EC50was 49 mg/liter.